Subversive Memories

As a survival horror game, it's a solid 3-4 hour experience. What elavates it to exceptional is the excellent narrative, inspired by real stories from Brazil's military dictatorship. To Brazilians, this hits extremely hard, especially the special ending. To everyone else, it's a fasctinating way to explore the dark past of other nations, like Red Candle Games' "Detention" did with Taiwan's White Terror era.

"Um povo sem memória é um povo sem história" Numa nação em que 40 anos após o término da ditadura militar se vê flertando novamente com essas ideias fascistas é de extrema importância que essa memoria seja reforçada para que nunca esqueçamos o que aconteceu com o Brasil, para que nunca volte a se repetir, já que, infelizmente, quem matou e torturou diversos camaradas estão morrendo de velhice se esbaldando da anistia. Subversive Memories deixa de lado o "não quero politica em meus jogos" e escancara sua mensagem em meio a uma atmosfera absurda que remete aos clássicos do gênero e a trechos que faz o estomago embrulhar. Ele não é terror por ser sobre jumpscare ou sobre lendas, ele é terror por ser inspirado no que aconteceu na realidade. Jogaço, ansioso por mais jogos do Akira.

Combining gripping survival horror gameplay with a history lesson and maybe a little political messaging is a tightrope dance most devs would - if at all - only dare shivering and on tippy-toes. Southward Studio sees that tightrope, takes a running jump onto it and does flic-flacs and splits on it without even so much as a stumble. Subversive Memories is that tightrope. But first, and why you probably are reading this in the first place, is Subversive Memories a good survival horror? Yes. So much yes. The story, even ignoring its historical and political depth, is gripping, the mechanics intriguing, the puzzles fun and challenging and the combat scary but satisfying. The game doesn't overstay its welcome, being perfectly paced along its maybe 6 hour runtime, a duration I prefer for my horror games. Keep it tight. Sure you will think of Resident Evil here, Silent Hill there and, given the combat, a little Alan Wake everywhere, but Subversive Memories is very much its own game. You put eggs in omelettes and zabaione, that doesn't make a zabaione an omelette. If Subversive Memories were just that, a sweet, creamy delight of a survival horror, I'd be fine with that and still wholeheartedly recommend you play it. But as the egg and sugar in the zabaione is a vehicle for some alcoholic kick, so is the survival horror game you have before you also a vehicle for a lesson in Brazillian history and resistance against an oppressive regime. And family. "Subversive Memories"... only halfway through the game I realized the genius of that title. And, yes, that sounds heavy, and it is, but the delivery is so well crafted that you are more intrigued than apalled, that you *want* to learn more. It's not a happy lesson. But it's a good one. Again, and I can't stress this enough, you don't need to be me and spend hours on end on wikipedia researching Brazil's history in the 1960s to 1980s to appreciate and enjoy this game. But you can, and it makes the experience so much richer.

Subversive Memories is the exact sort of game that makes me wish Steam reviews had a "neutral" rating. There's a lot about the game to like. The music is captivating, the atmosphere is perfect for Silent Hill/Resident Evil fans, and the story is a well-crafted blend of real-world horror and supernatural spookiness. The devs were also clearly passionate about ensuring the real atrocities their government committed once upon a time aren't forgotten (lest history be doomed to repeat itself). I'm giving a thumbs up because I want to support indie devs whenever possible, but those looking to play Subversive Memories should know there's also a lot about the game that I most certainly *didn't* like. My biggest issues was undoubtedly the puzzles. They start out easy enough, but they quickly become so esoteric and tedious as to sully the rest of the experience. What makes them even worse is that you can only review critical information gleaned from files and notes when you're in a save room, forcing the player to constantly backtrack whenever they need to remember some small detail from a note they found earlier. The "combat" is serviceable enough, but it too is made all the more irritating by the extremely limited number of flashlight batteries and healing items you can find, and the fact that dying forces you back to the main menu. Thankfully, there's no limit to how many times you can save your game (i.e. no ink ribbons or other item you need). One final saving grace I will say for Subversive Memories is that it's not a very long game (roughly 3-5 hours if you're taking your time and working towards the game's "true" ending), which in this case means it doesn't overstay its welcome. The horror vibes are most certainly strong with this one, but again, I would not recommend unless you're a real sucker for truly brain-teasing puzzles and you don't mind putting up with more old school survivor horror sensibilities.

Joguinho mais que necessário nos tempos atuais! Muito boa estreia do estúdio. Parabéns, Akira! Obrigado à comunidade do Nautilus e equipes envolvidas! 🖤

Tantas palavras são pouco para agradecer essa obra. Tudo é incrível nesse jogo: música, efeitos sonoros, ambientação, narrativa e, o mais importante, a mensagem. A realidade nua e crua da nossa história: onde os reais criminosos financiados, treinados e vassalos de uma nação estrangeira, oprimem sua própria população, e até hoje estão impunes das suas transgressões. Assim como é descrito no jogo, se aposentam e morrem velhos como se absolutamente nada tivesse acontecido, diferentemente de suas vítimas, que nem o corpo é devolvido a família, restando apenas a memória. Além disso, ótimos puzzels!

Subversive Memories é um mergulho em um dos períodos mais sombrios e hediondos da história do Brasil recente. Apesar dos fatores sobrenaturais que o jogo aborda, ele trata com muito respeito a memória das vítimas da Ditadura Cívil-Empresarial-Militar que perduraram pelos 21 anos mais tenebrosos do Brasil contemporâneo. A história de Renata é uma história que se confunde com a memória nacional de quem viveu aqueles tempos. Um jogo necessário. Um resgate na memória. Uma chama que não deve ser apagada da nossa coletividade. Para mais detalhes e impressões, leia nossa análise completa aqui: https://www.salvandonerd.blog.br/subversive-memories-analise-pc/

Прошел, польстившись на обещания "сайлент хилла про Бразилию семидесятых". Тема потенциально очень богатая - Бразилии в XX веке сильно досталось, она избежала мировых войн, но зато перепробовала практически все возможные виды диктатур. То есть вроде как есть о чем рассказать. По факту же вышел пшик, 3-часовая простецкая бродилка по традиционному заброшенному особняку, с минимальными головоломками и редкими-редкими одиночными монстрами. В сюжете намешали и политические репрессии (это самая интересная часть повествования), и не пойми откуда взявшиеся ожившие тени, которые надо расстреливать фонариком в стиле Алана Вейка, и ниобиевые шахты под особняком (оказывается, Бразилия добывает примерно 90% мирового ниобия), и погибшая древняя цивилизация, оставившая людям послание "мы хотели как лучше, но вышло очень плохо, мы погубили себя, НЕ ПОВТОРЯЙТЕ НАШИХ ОШИБОК УМОЛЯЕМ" (причем никаких пояснений, что собственно у бедолаг случилось, не прилагается). При этом графон очень симпатичный, звук отличный, играется приятно. Мог бы оставить нейтральную оценку - оставил бы. P.S. Но лучшее, что есть в Subversive Memories - это титры сразу после запуска. Они сообщают игроку, практически дословно: [quote]1. Бразилия - это такая страна, она реально существует. 2. Бога нет.[/quote]