Remembering Emily takes an unusual approach to visual novel storytelling, relating its tale by way of the memories of the protagonist Thomas, through sessions with his therapist, Noah (or so it seems).

Overview

Over the course of seven chapters, each containing one either/or choice which gifts a Steam achievement per option selected, and a conclusion which alters dependent upon the choices made prior (thereby functioning in a similar manner to the original Cinderella Phenomenon), we learn how Thomas met the enigmatic titular character, became both entranced by and wary of her; and ultimately how their relationship played out, and the impact it had upon his workmate and admirer Kate, and her brother William.

Presented with options for both Spanish and English, the game looks appealing with a gentle colour palette, attractively large sprites over nicely drawn, uncluttered backdrops.  There are also a few CGs along the way, albeit without a gallery to view separately.

Experience

What Remembering Emily does well, is to draw in the reader to the budding relationship between the primary characters courtesy of a finely crafted script which constantly creates elements of intrigue in the mind, only to then throw in a twist at the closure of a chapter and cast a cloud over any judgements that may have been made up to that point.  By the end of the game, certainly in one of the two possible outcomes, the story performs a neat little dance around the expectations leaving the reader caught off-balance by its final revelations.

Another nice little touch involves the references to real life things that many of us will recognise, with several distinguishable social media sites being used by the cast, and even a conversation involving an instantly identifiable, successful visual novel also available on Steam.

Positives

• Well drawn, pleasing graphics.
• Strong, interesting script.
• Pleasant piano-based supporting soundtrack.
• Options give some narrative variation and two endings.
• A good, fast, history log (accessed through the menu tag “Story”).
• Plenty of save slots.

Negatives

• No backstep function.  (Mitigated somewhat by the good history log).
• No skip function.  This is a big one as second playthrough becomes very tiring on the hands having to manually tap through all of the previously seen captions.
• Incomplete English translation edit:  
  1. a collection of relatively minor typos.
  2. persistent transposition of he/him/his and she/her/hers.
  3. two Spanish captions slipped through without any translation at all.

Verdict

Unquestionably, the first read through of this story is a rewarding affair with its likeable characters, interesting relationship dynamics and regular repositioning of expectations; all told in a manner that feels fresh when compared with the standard narrative style of the overwhelming majority of visual novels.  However, second playthrough does err more towards work than leisure due in large part to the absence of a skip read-text facility, creating an avoidable user-unfriendliness aspect.

Achievements are awarded for each different user choice made and for reaching each of the two available conclusions, making 100% completion attainable without frustration.  A complete, steady game experience should last in the region of 4 hours, though this does allow for “skipping” manually during the second pass.

I have played through the game only in English, and despite some shortcomings outlined above, overall the translation quality is sufficient to ensure that everything can be understood at the first time of asking, although it would have needed only a quick onceover by a native speaker to provide the polish that is lacking in this respect.  Close, but no cigar; as the saying goes.

Bearing in mind that this is a first-time indie studio release and the creators have gone to the trouble of providing an English version right off the bat in addition to the Spanish original, and have also produced an original and entertaining story with pleasing graphical and audio support; there are enough good reasons to recommend the game overall, however..  there does remain a question on the price set.

At a full price of £9.29, Remembering Emily invites value comparisons against its peers of a similar size, and undertaking such checks leaves it looking somewhat on the expensive side with just 4 hours gameplay and a limited store of user functions within.  Whilst it is undoubtedly worth your time, it may be most prudent to keep an eye on pricing, and nip in when it is either repriced a little more moderately, or the subject of a sale discount around 30%.

Be sure to check out Otome Lovers other excellent review of this game by Amjara

Otome Lovers wishes to thank Tortita Studio for providing a free review copy for this game.

Review also posted on Steam ➞