Everything you need to know about Bright Memory: Infinite for Xbox Series X
One person made this entire game.
Microsoft's divisive May 7 presentation on Xbox Series X games kicked off with an action-packed indie game called Bright Memory: Infinite. The demo moves pretty fast and packs in tons of gaming tropes, making for a bombastic, memorable, and totally surprising opening to the presentation.
If Bright Memory: Infinite has been stuck in the back of your mind since that reveal, here's your chance to learn even more about this ambitious indie game that was made entirely by a single person.
Bright Memory: Infinite release date — When is it?
As Bright Memory: Infinite was one of the first third-party Xbox Series X games shown off, you might think that it's a launch title. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Bright Memory Infinite's latest trailer does not mention a release date, and its Steam page says "TBD" in regards to a release window.
The game's official page on Xbox.com lists "2021" as Bright Memory: Infinite's release window. A more specific timeframe within next year has not been given as of May 2020, but the fact that part of it is already playable and was shown off suggests that we could expect it in the first half of that year.
For anyone who is interested in the game, they can already get a taste of it: A prequel of sorts called Bright Memory was released on Steam in March 2020. It doesn't have everything shown in this new trailer, but it will give you a decent idea of what to expect from the final package.
Bright Memory: Infinite PC, PS5 ports — What platforms will it be on?
This game is not an Xbox Series X exclusive like The Medium or Scorn, but PS5 players shouldn't get their hopes up just yet. Since its appearance during the Inside Xbox presentation, Bright Memory: Infinite has only been confirmed for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. While the game is playable on a current-gen system, the Xbox Series X version of it will have some special enhancements.
"The quality of the graphics of Bright Memory: Infinite for the Xbox Series X is the aspect I focused most on throughout the game’s development, in order to truly harness and show off the abilities of the next-gen system," Zeng Xiancheng explained on Xbox Wire. "I’ve also made use of the dramatic visual effects made possible by the Xbox Series X, which can be seen in dynamic scenes in which wind, rain, leaves, and pebbles are visibly sucked toward a wormhole as the player explores their surroundings."
It is worth noting that a tweet from March 2019 does mention PlayStation platforms, though those systems have not been brought up since the game has re-emerged. Bright Memory: Infinite may have the potential to come to other next-gen systems but for now, assume that it will only be on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Bright Memory Infinite developer — Who is it?
Following Bright Memory Infinite's appearance during May 7's show, Aaron Greenberg touted that this Xbox Series X game was only created by one guy. The aforementioned developer Zeng Xiancheng has been creating this game by himself. He released Bright Memory in March 2020, showing the progress he has made on his own. Bright Memory: Infinite is taking even more work and polish than that.
While the development of Bright Memory: Infinite is being handled by one guy, he does have the help of a publisher: Playism. This Japanese publisher isn't super well-known in North America, but has its hands in Japanese games you may have heard of such as Kero Blaster, a platformer from the creator of indie hit Cave Story.
The development of Bright Memory Infinite is being handled by one guy.
Bright Memory: Infinite story — What is it about?
In the Xbox Wire post about the Xbox Series X port, Xiancheng teased what Bright Memory: Infinite's sci-fi story, which takes place in 2036, would be about. "The player will take on the role of Shelia, a member of the Supernatural Science Research Organization (SRO), an organization in possession of more advanced science and technology than even the military," he explained.
During their adventure, Xiancheng hints that players will be "navigating a spaceship that can travel through time, battling ancient samurai displaced from 1000 years ago to the present, and exploring a wormhole that has appeared on Earth." It certainly seems like a bombastic sci-fi plot, and it will be interesting to see how the story and writing turn out with one man at the helm.
If you want to get a taste of its world and story, you can check out Bright Memory on Steam, which serves as a prequel to Infinite. It takes place in 2020 and follows Shelia as she is sent to a supernatural island above the North Pole after an accident.
Bright Memory: Infinite gameplay — How does it play?
Bright Memory: Infinite was one of the few games from Microsoft's showcase to have a trailer that was completely comprised of gameplay. As you can tell from the footage, Bright Memory: Infinite is a first-person shooter. Its sci-fi edge gives the game more room to play around though, bringing things closer to a title like Bulletstorm or even some of the combat from Overwatch.
In addition to the fast-paced gunplay, the trailer also shows that players have a sword and grappling hook at their disposal to use in and outside of combat. The Xbox Wire post also confirms that players will have a "variety of skills to create their own personalized style of fighting" that "can be combined and will generate different effects when utilized."
If you're an FPS fan looking for a new game to shake things up next year and like to support indie developers, you should definitely keep Bright Memory: Infinite on your radar.
Bright Memory Infinite will be released for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X in 2021.
