Publisher: ESDigital Games
Platform(s): PC (Steam), PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: PC (Out Now), Consoles 2025
Memory Lost is a twin-stick shooter title set in a cyberpunk world. In a world where corporations rule, you are an AI trying to overthrow your creator, the RedSky Corporation. As an AI, your best weapon in the war is the ability to take over the cybernetic implants of your enemies and have them execute your bidding while they…execute…each other. My demo took place during the tutorial level for this game, and I did not get to experience the story due to time constraints.
The control scheme is true twin-stick: you use the left joystick to move around, and you use the right one to change the direction of your character. You use the left bumper to do a heaver attack and the left trigger to do your regular attack. As whoever you’re fighting as takes damage and gets near dying, Memory Lost‘s core gimmick comes into play: body swapping. You press B, target another enemy, and suddenly you’re fighting as them. You have your new enemy’s weapon abilities, health bar, speed, and more. You can also pick up weapons that range from assault rifles to pistols to shoot enemies with the press of a button. The development team, Magic Hazard, says there are 60 enemy types and 77 unique weapons for you to get your hands on and fight with. If that wasn’t enough, there is also a skilltree with abilities that you can unlock to help further refine your gameplay.
I went hands-on with the tutorial level during my time with Memory Lost, and I found there was a lot to love. You have to really lean into the body-swapping aspect of the game, and I found myself killing as many enemies as I could with ranged attacks and with my left bumper until I ran out of ammunition, and then I would switch bodies as soon as I started to go down swinging with my weaker base attack. It took some time to get used to switching bodies, but I did enjoy it. I found myself preferring the larger, heavier brutes though because they could do more damage than some of the smaller, weaker enemies. The cyberpunk world did feel quite dystopian and dirty, and I liked the distinct character models the enemies had. This is a good thing, as you will need to know fairly instantly what enemies have what skills and what types of damage they do as you play through Memory Lost.
All that said, I did feel overwhelmed with the enemy waves at times. Towards the end of the demo, I kept dying at the end when I was out of body-switching meter (it’s a meter that grows as you kill more enemies, so it isn’t limitless). I finally had to grab an assault rifle, hightail it to the back edge of the arena, and kill off as many enemies as I can before body switching, grabbing another assault rifle, and doing the same thing again. It felt slightly like a cheese strategy, but it worked.
Overall, I thought it was a decent game. If you’re a fan of twin-stick shooters and you’re looking for something with a novel mechanic, then Memory Lost may be what you’re looking for.
Are you planning on picking up Memory Lost?
What kind of weapons are you hoping to wield in the game?
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