Before I went into Edge of Memories, I wanted to approach it with a different kind of mentality for a preview. Usually, before writing a preview, we know a bit of what to expect, and we’re meant to write our experiences in a kind of matter-of-fact way. But I wanted to go back to the halcyon days of my youth. It’s Friday night; I’ve just come back from Blockbuster with a random game that caught my eye. Will this be the thing that defines my weekend?
Edge of Memories opens with an anime intro cutscene that is both the perfect level of cheese and awesome. Right away, my toes were tapping to an overly dramatic pop song showing a plethora of characters staring seriously into the distance. I knew I was in for a treat. From there, the demo wasted no time throwing players right into the action as these games often do—with an unwinnable fight against a nightmare boss creature.
What I liked about Edge of Memories is that it has the tone of a PlayStation 2 or GameCube RPG. When the game begins properly, we’re introduced to the main character Eline in a silly, almost slapstick way—as she trips over an injured man after being startled by a crab. But despite its levity, there’s an undercurrent of gravitas that is immediately present and sets up an alluring sort of mystery as to who these characters are and what their mission is.
But it’s not just an interesting story that makes Edge of Memories alluring. Almost immediately, the characters are brought to life through a combination of interesting visual design and charming vocal performance. Dialogue between Eline and her first party member, Ysoris, is sharp, somewhat snarky as the two learn to trust each other while having vague memories of an earlier meeting, but there’s an air of sadness surrounding other NPCs as fears of The Corrosion spread throughout the world.
And the demo continues by throwing players right into the action, which is straightforward in its execution, but pretty fun once you’re engaged. Much like its story, it’s got a very early 2000s ARPG vibe, where players are given some basic light attack/heavy attack combos and unlock more variations for attack as they level up. Despite its relative simplicity, Edge of Memories constantly throws large groups of enemies at you, making it feel more like a hack n’ slash than a traditional ARPG.
Now, since this is an early demo, there was a certain degree of choppiness on display, particularly with animations not playing correctly. Furthermore, some enemies’ attack telegraphs were almost completely unreadable, and as such, the flow of battle often had certain…let’s say gaps. However, the foundation was certainly there for a combat system that not only had a frenetic pace, but could be incredibly captivating with a proper sense of fluidity.
“While the demo was certainly rough, Edge of Memories shows a lot of promise.”
The way the game gives players a suite of special moves by combining light and heavy attacks makes it so even if you’re button mashing in the heat of the moment, you can usually pull off something cool. This expands even further when new characters join your party and provide Eline with special elemental attacks. In some ways, it reminded me a bit of Arknights: Endfield, where the flow of combat is maintained through your party as they lend you their moves and keep combos going.
While the demo was certainly rough, Edge of Memories shows a lot of promise. Even in the small bit I got to experience, it presented a world that was truly fantastic and almost dream-like in its presentation. Combining an anime aesthetic with a suite of bright colours, and utilizing a high level of detail and unique design, the continent of Avaris comes to life in a genuine way and makes you want to continue exploring to see what new landscape awaits.
It’s clear a lot of love is going into Edge of Memories—considering its developer is named after one of the most iconic locations in any JRPG. With a little more polish and some tweaking here and there, this could be a true gem of the genre and further proof of the quality games that come from the indie scene.
Edge of Memories is set to release in 2026 for PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, and XBOX Series X|S. The first chapter demo is currently available on Steam.
