This was a pleasant surprise for me. Wonderful storytelling, absolutely beautiful soundtrack, Elijah Wood and Sebastian Koch, and meaningful choices that impact the story and how it is told. If you're looking for a cinematic experience that draws you in, and if you don't care too much about gameplay and innovative mechanics, this is for you.
11-11: Memories Retold is a thrilling story about a photographer and a German veteran during World War 2 that shows both sides a the war telling the same story from 2 perspectives. The game has a great story and amazing art direction in this relaxing short story.
84/100
84/100
Video Games are such a great way to tell a story, and with this game, it's in its element. The game feels like it tells a personal perspective of what the War was like, from all sides on a much more human level than we're used to in other War media. Definitely give it a go.
~ Walking Sim ambientado durante a WW1 que acompanha a vida de dois personagens de ambos os lados do conflito, revelando como o destino dos dois se entrelaça numa narrativa trágica. Jogo com uma experiência única, entretanto, infelizmente subestimado. JOGUEM!
I didn’t expect much when I found this game in the bargain bin. What a got was an engaging story of 2 soldiers destined to meet during the war. Simple gameplay made following these 2 characters the main focus (which is a good thing). At first the water colour art style was a set back, evolving into one of my favourite parts of the game. Worth the play for sure.
Now before I begin I just want to clarify this:
This is strictly my own opinion. If you disagree with me, more power to you. Just keep the comments civil and respectful.
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to
GAME MODE: ON!
Tomorrow is an important day for the whole world. An integral moment in human history when the First World War ended.
After years of merciless killing, storming and destroying, it all came to a bitter end on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
That day will forever be known as Remembrance Day.
A time of year when we gather together to pay respects to and honor those who have lost their lives in the various battles for their respective countries. A time of year where we would always recognize the people who risked everything for the loved ones back home.
Those who returned safe, those who did not, lest we forget them all.
So in honor of this historical moment, there is a game that not only pays a great amount of tribute but is quite a hidden gem that deserves a bigger audience.
That game being 11-11: Memories Retold.
Released back in 2018 to accommodate the centennial of the armistice, this artistic adventure was brought to us by publisher Bandai Namco and was developed by DigixArt in collaboration with Aardman Animations, the iconic Bristol-based studio behind Chicken Run, Arthur Christmas and, of course, Wallace & Gromit.
In regards to 11-11, this was one of Aardman's more ambitious projects as well as one of their more grown-up efforts as opposed to their usual family-friendly fare. As this is a game about the First World War, great care was taken to uphold the memories of the people who served during that time and even took the extra step by conveying the emotion and humanity of each side of the fight. So naturally, don't expect a cheeky claymation romp.
When the game came out, it generally received favorable reviews though some took issue with the pacing and a few technical issues. Nevertheless, the effort was commended though unfortunately, it wasn't ever talked about in the years since release.
But what do I think of the game? Is it worth picking up and playing today or was it just not engrossing enough to warrant even a try at a demo? Best to find out now.
STORY & CHARACTERIZATION:
Taking place during the final couple years of the Great War, the game follows two protagonists, Canadian photographer Harry Lambert and German engineer Kurt Waldner, as they both enlist to fight for their respective countries.
For Harry, he serves to take photos for the papers and make the efforts look glamorous as a means to impress his childhood crush back home. For Kurt, on the other hand, his only agenda is to locate his missing son whose entire battalion was either KIA or MIA.
As the two sides fight on, both Harry and Kurt end up crossing paths and although they're supposed to be enemies, sudden circumstances ended up turning them into friends ultimately leading to a conflict that could end in tragedy.
As stated before, Aardman and DigixArt's sole intention with this game is to convey the humanity of each fighting side and for what it's worth, they managed to succeed in that front. The reason it was able to work as well as it did is because, as far as my WW1 knowledge is concerned, there's no definitive villain on any side. Just regular people that became soldiers. I mean, I'm sure there were a few assholes but I haven't heard anything about anyone on the same level as Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein or Vladimir Putin. I could be wrong, I'm not a major expert on WW1, so if anyone educated on the matter can let me know, that would be appreciated.
So because there's no true face to hate on during that time, it's plausible to humanize who is usually considered the enemy and make likable and sympathetic characters out of those on the other side. It's why I hold the one scene from War Horse with Joey stuck in the barbed wire in such high regard and it's why I consider Joyeux Noel the best Christmas movie ever made because no matter how you slice it, the enemy is just like you and me, people with alot to come home to and possibly lose. No irredeemable Nazis, no anti-refugee terrorists, just regular people enlisted in such harsh and unforgiving circumstances. Therefore, it makes sense why these two soldiers from different sides would come together and grow accustomed to each-other's company and whenever they are together, it makes for some of the most investing stuff in the game.
It especially helps that both Harry and Kurt are performed wonderfully by Elijah Wood and Sebastian Koch respectively. These two are able to convey so much personality that it makes their personal journeys all the more engaging and impactful. But while I do enjoy Harry's story, I honestly prefer Kurt more as he has alot more going on and far more personal matters on his mind to the point where when certain revelations make things come crashing down, the resulting outcome is more than believable.
There's also plenty of side-characters that give the story a bit more flavor such as Kurt's wife and daughter, Harry's commanding major and various civilians and fellow soldiers you interact with along the way with some being more integral than you may think.
As you play through the game, your actions do affect the ultimate outcome of the story depending on the people you help out or talk to, what kind of pictures you're taking and the words you write in a letter. Your choices do matter and it can result in one of multiple endings, one of which, unfortunately, was quite sad as fuck but that's only because the game gave me limited time to think about what the hell to do or say. No spoilers or anything but I will say that I hope that your ending turned out better than mine did.
I've heard alot of people say that this game can be boring to play but I personally never got that. When I first played this, I didn't even realize that I was playing for three hours straight until I saw how much juice my controller's battery had left and by the time I came back to it and finished it, same thing happened again, had no idea how long I've been playing until I looked at the clock before a break. That's how engrossed I was in the story, I was honestly never bored by it and the overall length is just enough to make the game worth revisiting every November.
GAMEPLAY & CONTROLS:
The game is played in a third-person perspective as you traverse through sixteen chapters across a three-part narrative, navigating various environments and performing integral tasks. Though despite being a war game, you never use a gun once. All Harry has is a camera which you can use to take interesting pictures and Kurt only has his technical skills to either eavesdrop on enemy conversations or fix up radios and other machinery. There's the occasional segments where you take control of either a cat or a bird but besides that, there's not much else in the way of gameplay aside from the occasional quick-time event, stealth section and whatnot.
As stated before, your actions do have an impact on the final outcome of the story so do choose wisely if you want to get a good ending but other than that, getting to the end is a decent-enough job as the controls work adequately enough and it's not too difficult to figure out what to do or where to go and even if you do get lost, the developers were nice enough to lay out the occasional directional sign to let you know where you need to be. Though there are a few times where you need to be in the precise spot in order to interact with certain objectives which may come off as a bit annoying but not that bad.
In terms of any extra content, aside from some kind of free DLC, there's really not much aside from the collectables. Throughout the game, you'll find pieces of letters, photos and other memorabilia that, once put together, tell a story that connects to the Great War which makes for admirable educational value and once you've collected everything in a single part, you get to unlock a bonus video so do keep an eye out when you can.
So yeah, there's not much else I can really go over here. Just some simple gameplay with nothing too fancy going on. It may seem a little lackluster but just let it keep on going and you'll get something out of it.
GRAPHICS & PRODUCTION VALUE:
Although Aardman are more well-known for their plasticine stop-motion works, they obviously wanted to try a more impressionist style to fit with the tone of the game. Inspired by the artistic works of J. M. W. Turner, Claude Monet and Alexander Peterhof, the paint-like look of the visuals stuck out so beautifully and is one of the major reasons to check this title out. In a way, it kinda reminds me of the movie Loving Vincent in the sense that the whole story is like a historical painting come to life. Obviously, it's not actually hand-painted and it's all developed and programmed on the Unity engine but that doesn't make the craft any less pleasing to look at and it's what makes 11-11 such a defining experience. Top that off with an excellent cinematic score by Olivier Deriviere and you'll be getting something truly special.
There are a few technical problems that do take me out a bit but not that many. There are a few rare times when dialogue would randomly cut to make way for another line and loading screens do tend to occasionally bug out for a brief moment. Nothing bad but it is distracting.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Overall, aside from a few noticeable slight problems, 11-11: Memories Retold was a damn good effort that was visually-unique with a gripping and wonderful story to boot.
If you're into adventure games, this is one to definitely keep a look out for.
Oh, and Happy Remembrance Day.
Lest We Forget.
Until next time, thank you for taking the time to check out this installment of GAME MODE: ON.
If you liked what you've read here and want to see more, you can go ahead and follow me whenever you want.
And also, don't forget to check out my Letterboxd page for new film reviews every week.
AFTER-NOTE: For the record, yes, I am very much looking forward to Aardman's latest movie coming out next month.
This is strictly my own opinion. If you disagree with me, more power to you. Just keep the comments civil and respectful.
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to
GAME MODE: ON!
Tomorrow is an important day for the whole world. An integral moment in human history when the First World War ended.
After years of merciless killing, storming and destroying, it all came to a bitter end on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
That day will forever be known as Remembrance Day.
A time of year when we gather together to pay respects to and honor those who have lost their lives in the various battles for their respective countries. A time of year where we would always recognize the people who risked everything for the loved ones back home.
Those who returned safe, those who did not, lest we forget them all.
So in honor of this historical moment, there is a game that not only pays a great amount of tribute but is quite a hidden gem that deserves a bigger audience.
That game being 11-11: Memories Retold.
Released back in 2018 to accommodate the centennial of the armistice, this artistic adventure was brought to us by publisher Bandai Namco and was developed by DigixArt in collaboration with Aardman Animations, the iconic Bristol-based studio behind Chicken Run, Arthur Christmas and, of course, Wallace & Gromit.
In regards to 11-11, this was one of Aardman's more ambitious projects as well as one of their more grown-up efforts as opposed to their usual family-friendly fare. As this is a game about the First World War, great care was taken to uphold the memories of the people who served during that time and even took the extra step by conveying the emotion and humanity of each side of the fight. So naturally, don't expect a cheeky claymation romp.
When the game came out, it generally received favorable reviews though some took issue with the pacing and a few technical issues. Nevertheless, the effort was commended though unfortunately, it wasn't ever talked about in the years since release.
But what do I think of the game? Is it worth picking up and playing today or was it just not engrossing enough to warrant even a try at a demo? Best to find out now.
STORY & CHARACTERIZATION:
Taking place during the final couple years of the Great War, the game follows two protagonists, Canadian photographer Harry Lambert and German engineer Kurt Waldner, as they both enlist to fight for their respective countries.
For Harry, he serves to take photos for the papers and make the efforts look glamorous as a means to impress his childhood crush back home. For Kurt, on the other hand, his only agenda is to locate his missing son whose entire battalion was either KIA or MIA.
As the two sides fight on, both Harry and Kurt end up crossing paths and although they're supposed to be enemies, sudden circumstances ended up turning them into friends ultimately leading to a conflict that could end in tragedy.
As stated before, Aardman and DigixArt's sole intention with this game is to convey the humanity of each fighting side and for what it's worth, they managed to succeed in that front. The reason it was able to work as well as it did is because, as far as my WW1 knowledge is concerned, there's no definitive villain on any side. Just regular people that became soldiers. I mean, I'm sure there were a few assholes but I haven't heard anything about anyone on the same level as Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein or Vladimir Putin. I could be wrong, I'm not a major expert on WW1, so if anyone educated on the matter can let me know, that would be appreciated.
So because there's no true face to hate on during that time, it's plausible to humanize who is usually considered the enemy and make likable and sympathetic characters out of those on the other side. It's why I hold the one scene from War Horse with Joey stuck in the barbed wire in such high regard and it's why I consider Joyeux Noel the best Christmas movie ever made because no matter how you slice it, the enemy is just like you and me, people with alot to come home to and possibly lose. No irredeemable Nazis, no anti-refugee terrorists, just regular people enlisted in such harsh and unforgiving circumstances. Therefore, it makes sense why these two soldiers from different sides would come together and grow accustomed to each-other's company and whenever they are together, it makes for some of the most investing stuff in the game.
It especially helps that both Harry and Kurt are performed wonderfully by Elijah Wood and Sebastian Koch respectively. These two are able to convey so much personality that it makes their personal journeys all the more engaging and impactful. But while I do enjoy Harry's story, I honestly prefer Kurt more as he has alot more going on and far more personal matters on his mind to the point where when certain revelations make things come crashing down, the resulting outcome is more than believable.
There's also plenty of side-characters that give the story a bit more flavor such as Kurt's wife and daughter, Harry's commanding major and various civilians and fellow soldiers you interact with along the way with some being more integral than you may think.
As you play through the game, your actions do affect the ultimate outcome of the story depending on the people you help out or talk to, what kind of pictures you're taking and the words you write in a letter. Your choices do matter and it can result in one of multiple endings, one of which, unfortunately, was quite sad as fuck but that's only because the game gave me limited time to think about what the hell to do or say. No spoilers or anything but I will say that I hope that your ending turned out better than mine did.
I've heard alot of people say that this game can be boring to play but I personally never got that. When I first played this, I didn't even realize that I was playing for three hours straight until I saw how much juice my controller's battery had left and by the time I came back to it and finished it, same thing happened again, had no idea how long I've been playing until I looked at the clock before a break. That's how engrossed I was in the story, I was honestly never bored by it and the overall length is just enough to make the game worth revisiting every November.
GAMEPLAY & CONTROLS:
The game is played in a third-person perspective as you traverse through sixteen chapters across a three-part narrative, navigating various environments and performing integral tasks. Though despite being a war game, you never use a gun once. All Harry has is a camera which you can use to take interesting pictures and Kurt only has his technical skills to either eavesdrop on enemy conversations or fix up radios and other machinery. There's the occasional segments where you take control of either a cat or a bird but besides that, there's not much else in the way of gameplay aside from the occasional quick-time event, stealth section and whatnot.
As stated before, your actions do have an impact on the final outcome of the story so do choose wisely if you want to get a good ending but other than that, getting to the end is a decent-enough job as the controls work adequately enough and it's not too difficult to figure out what to do or where to go and even if you do get lost, the developers were nice enough to lay out the occasional directional sign to let you know where you need to be. Though there are a few times where you need to be in the precise spot in order to interact with certain objectives which may come off as a bit annoying but not that bad.
In terms of any extra content, aside from some kind of free DLC, there's really not much aside from the collectables. Throughout the game, you'll find pieces of letters, photos and other memorabilia that, once put together, tell a story that connects to the Great War which makes for admirable educational value and once you've collected everything in a single part, you get to unlock a bonus video so do keep an eye out when you can.
So yeah, there's not much else I can really go over here. Just some simple gameplay with nothing too fancy going on. It may seem a little lackluster but just let it keep on going and you'll get something out of it.
GRAPHICS & PRODUCTION VALUE:
Although Aardman are more well-known for their plasticine stop-motion works, they obviously wanted to try a more impressionist style to fit with the tone of the game. Inspired by the artistic works of J. M. W. Turner, Claude Monet and Alexander Peterhof, the paint-like look of the visuals stuck out so beautifully and is one of the major reasons to check this title out. In a way, it kinda reminds me of the movie Loving Vincent in the sense that the whole story is like a historical painting come to life. Obviously, it's not actually hand-painted and it's all developed and programmed on the Unity engine but that doesn't make the craft any less pleasing to look at and it's what makes 11-11 such a defining experience. Top that off with an excellent cinematic score by Olivier Deriviere and you'll be getting something truly special.
There are a few technical problems that do take me out a bit but not that many. There are a few rare times when dialogue would randomly cut to make way for another line and loading screens do tend to occasionally bug out for a brief moment. Nothing bad but it is distracting.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Overall, aside from a few noticeable slight problems, 11-11: Memories Retold was a damn good effort that was visually-unique with a gripping and wonderful story to boot.
If you're into adventure games, this is one to definitely keep a look out for.
Oh, and Happy Remembrance Day.
Lest We Forget.
Until next time, thank you for taking the time to check out this installment of GAME MODE: ON.
If you liked what you've read here and want to see more, you can go ahead and follow me whenever you want.
And also, don't forget to check out my Letterboxd page for new film reviews every week.
AFTER-NOTE: For the record, yes, I am very much looking forward to Aardman's latest movie coming out next month.
The art style of this game was amazing! I loved playing it every minute :)
The idea works on paper, the idea of having the entire game in an art style remisicent of a painting, switching between both sides of the conflict pretty much almost on the fly to tell a dual story, all very interesting ideas.
However, none of them are fully realised and I don't think they drive it home in the long run. The art style, as bold as it is, is very uncanny and often times not that pleasant to look at especially considering how poorly optimised this game is. It's very buggy, stuttery, it's held back a lot by it's mechanics and isn't very satisfying to play. The narrative is very underdeveloped for a 7 hour long experience, neither side of the story really interested me but both did have some pretty stark moments that were gut wrenching however ultimately let down by how bizarre this game was and honestly... how untrue to history it actually was.
So many things that happened in this game were not very realistic in the slightest, so many concepts that defied logic of actual events and things that were possible during World War I, it was hard to appreciate with so much poor attention to detail in it's setting which, in fairness, to many wouldn't be a problem but having researched a fair amount of both world wars prior it's just very hard to enjoy.
I don't know whether to hate this game or love it, because some moments were pretty sad whilst the majoirty of it was just very lackluster and not at all gripping. I give it points for trying, I think if it was executed a bit better it would have been a great experience.
However, none of them are fully realised and I don't think they drive it home in the long run. The art style, as bold as it is, is very uncanny and often times not that pleasant to look at especially considering how poorly optimised this game is. It's very buggy, stuttery, it's held back a lot by it's mechanics and isn't very satisfying to play. The narrative is very underdeveloped for a 7 hour long experience, neither side of the story really interested me but both did have some pretty stark moments that were gut wrenching however ultimately let down by how bizarre this game was and honestly... how untrue to history it actually was.
So many things that happened in this game were not very realistic in the slightest, so many concepts that defied logic of actual events and things that were possible during World War I, it was hard to appreciate with so much poor attention to detail in it's setting which, in fairness, to many wouldn't be a problem but having researched a fair amount of both world wars prior it's just very hard to enjoy.
I don't know whether to hate this game or love it, because some moments were pretty sad whilst the majoirty of it was just very lackluster and not at all gripping. I give it points for trying, I think if it was executed a bit better it would have been a great experience.
At first I was more of a fan of Kurt's story than of Harry's. Kurt's just felt a lot more emotional and I never really understood Harry's romantic pull towards Julia. Kurt fighting to get through to war to back home to his family and to find his son felt a lot more grave than Harry simply wanting to tap into the glory of war to impress some girl. Towards the end (like Part III), the bond between Kurt and Harry felt more worthwhile and I felt a lot more invested in the game. Definitely felt disappointed with the ending *I* got the first time, but I really love that they included multiple endings. The art/visual style was great, the soundtrack pretty nice, and the play style was a nice relief/change from other WWI & WWII games that are always third-person or first-person shooters.
Also, I loved playing as Lottie the cat <3
Also, I loved playing as Lottie the cat <3
Beautiful, artistically sophisticated game in the setting of World War 1. Good, emotional scenes that work, underpinned by beautiful, painterly graphics. Good voice acting.
One of the clumsier war stories I've experienced, with gameplay to match
This review contains spoilers
Surprisingly - quite moved by this one.
Slow start but an incredible orchestral score and wonderful acting performance from both lead characters kept me engaged.
The ending I achieved was quite bittersweet and sad. I’m sure there’s another way to do it - but I’m happy with the outcome for the characters and their stories.
Cannot stress how gorgeous both the art style and score is in this game.
Has made me want to go back to books like the regeneration series and dive a bit more into World War I history.
Slow start but an incredible orchestral score and wonderful acting performance from both lead characters kept me engaged.
The ending I achieved was quite bittersweet and sad. I’m sure there’s another way to do it - but I’m happy with the outcome for the characters and their stories.
Cannot stress how gorgeous both the art style and score is in this game.
Has made me want to go back to books like the regeneration series and dive a bit more into World War I history.
En lo personal me encanto la historia , un poco lenta en momentos , pero el estilo me termino de gustar al final , un juego muy recomendado de unas 4 a 5 horas aproximadamente.
A TellTale style adventure game about a Canadian and a German in World War 1, and their intertwined destinies. Designed to look like an impressionist painting at all times, which really softened the grim sections.
Beautiful and unique art style is super cool but can be kinda headache-inducing. Overall, easy short game with a well-told story.
The art style was very unique, I've never seen anything quite like it. There were collectibles and multiple endings to find, but overall the game just felt boring.
Check out the entire review here: https://youtu.be/dT4e9FP5ZkM
Check out the entire review here: https://youtu.be/dT4e9FP5ZkM