Game Review: Shards of Memories (Mobile)

Shards of Memories tells the story of a professor struggling through a difficult period of his life. His story is told through photographs & minimal text dialogue that accompanies each one.

A very simple to play art puzzle game, your goal is to piece together his shattered memories. Drag & drop the shards or tap to rotate them to create a completed picture. Each completed puzzle represents a new memory & over 91 levels spread across 3 chapters, you’ll learn all about the emotional turmoil he has been going through.

This might sound like a pretty great game, worth every penny of the £1.49 it costs. Unfortunately it’s got some pretty big flaws, big enough that they can’t be simply ignored.

The game can be completed in under an hour & that is if you’re taking your time. It’s criminally short but it had to be because any longer & the repetitive puzzle solving would become unbearable. Every puzzle is the same, no variations on the theme. Just drag & drop the pieces together. You’ll be doing this over 91 levels & with very little challenge.

The story just isn’t that interesting, it lacks an emotional punch because the professor is such a dour person & the backstory regarding him & his ex-wife is never explored fully. Considering they spilt up 4 years ago & he is asking her to visit the dog I’d wager a guess that he might have been the one with the issues…

It only starts to gather pace in the final few memories but by then it’s too late.

Finally the music…soft & subtle piano driven stuff that matches the style of game you’re playing however each chapter’s music just plays on a loop & it’s not good enough to make that an enjoyable experience.

The game promises multiple endings but is very vague about how you reach them. There are no real clues & considering the lack of variety with each puzzle it’s hard to see just how you reach the alternative endings.

The better question though should actually be if it’s worth it or not…I’m not so sure it is.

Shards of Memories is available to buy now for £1.49 from developer, Milos Micakovic.