In recent years, I have followed Annapurna Interactive’s work pretty closely. I enjoy a good narrative experience as much as the next person, and Annapurna Interactive has worked with some great developers. They tend to focus on stories that may hit a little closer to home and often have a strong emotional narrative behind them. A Memoir Blue isn’t an exception to this rule and playing it on Switch has me feeling somewhat conflicted.

Developed by Cloisters Interactive, A Memoir Blue is a self-proclaimed “interactive poem about a superstar athlete and the all-encompassing love between mother and daughter.” You play as Miriam, interacting with various parts of memories and a surreal, dreamlike world as you experience Miram’s history with her mother.

As the phrase “interactive poem” might suggest, this is less of a game you play, and more of an experience you are immersed in. There are a lot of emotional, hard-hitting elements that tackle a lot of ideas. Things like the burden of success, single parenthood, misunderstandings between parents and children, and a variety of other topics are touched on in the story.

A Memoir Blue presents the story by alternating between 3D environments and hand-drawn animated vignettes. There is no dialogue, but there is a beautiful soundtrack that accompanies each moment and emotional story beat. I don’t really have any complaints with A Memoir Blue, because it is such a simple premise and game that there isn’t much to complain about.

The only potential complaint I could have is that I think this might play better on a PC since you manipulate a cursor around. However, it plays just fine on Switch. It is also very short, playable in about an hour. There really isn’t any replay value, but there is something to be said about a story that lays its cards on the table and doesn’t outstay its welcome.

If you find the $7.99 price tag a bit steep for an hour, I can understand that too. The experience is good and will hit harder for some than others. So, I’d suggest picking it up on sale if that’s something you might be concerned about. Overall, A Memoir Blue is a great narrative experience, it just feels a little light on substance for its price tag and lack of replay value.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of A Memoir Blue was provided by Annapurna Interactive for this review.

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A Memoir Blue

$7.99

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Beautiful Visuals
• Emotional Story
• Simple Controls and Gameplay

Cons

• Very Short
• No Replay Value
• Price is a Little Steep