App Army Assemble: Forgotten Memories: Remastered - "Is this survival horror appropriately creepy?"

Halloween might be in the rearview memory for 2024, but that doesn't mean we can't continue to enjoy some horror when the feeling grabs up. The recently released Forgotten Memories: Remastered promises all of that good stuff, taking inspiration from the likes of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Both are good inspirations, but does it stack up? We handed the game over to our App Army community to find out. 

Here's what they said:

Naail Zahid

I find myself pleasantly surprised and very happy to experience the game again in this remastered form. The lighting, graphics, controls, animation - everything has been overhauled and it feels like a whole new game. From the enemy AI to the combat, it feels closer to their original vision of wanting a proper console horror game. It's still a goofy predictable story but great for a mobile game.

The hitboxes for enemies aren't as random or glitchy - enemies aren't as stupid as in the older game, where they get stuck into walls as they used to. The save system is as before, like the classic survival horror games of yesteryear, with limited saves due to collectables.

My criticism of this game is carried over from the original - the game is very short. Like almost to the point of hilarity it can be beaten in an hour if you are like me and have played it before. And honestly, it's way too short because by the time you start really getting into it, it's over. The game is set up so that there would be more sequels, but we never got any DLC or continuation after all these years, and that's why it was surprising to me.

Mark Abukoff

This is a really gorgeous and creepy mystery/puzzler/walking killer mannequin thriller. I’ve pretty much summed it up there. With graphics cranked up (my iPhone can handle it), it’s a startlingly realistic and atmospheric Creepshow of a game/story, really and not terribly long. The sound and graphics are top-notch. Premium in my opinion. Controls are occasionally difficult. On one hand, it’s easy to get into a corner and have to sort of struggle out. But on the other hand, when you’re being attacked by these zombie mannequins, that does kind of add to the experience.

When you’re searching for items or even doors, it will show you where every clickable object or location is, which is infinitely useful. There are different levels of difficulty, and I’ll be honest, I started on easy. Initially, I was more interested in the story than the challenge. If you go for harder, it will obviously challenge you more and in different ways. If you like good-looking, atmospheric games like this, I happily recommend it. With lights out and headphones on.

Brian Wigington

I was eager to try this game out due to its original Resident Evil vibes. I was pleasantly surprised with the sharp graphics and dark, moody vibe. The controls are pretty decent with only occasional wonkiness and the sound helps create a great atmosphere. At the start, you awake in a creepy dark room having been shot. You must search for clues as to why you are there and a med kit to heal your wounds.

As the story progresses and you search for Eden, a missing child, you receive "messages" from a lady on tape recorders. She only communicates to you with recordings, which is odd and adds to the uneasiness you feel. I found myself exploring every nook and cranny of the asylum with my flashlight.

The third-person view gives you a fair amount of control and is pretty responsive. I occasionally mis-tapped but not often. Items or areas of interest will shimmer to attract your attention. Lots of areas of interest give you bits of info or plot points. I was very impressed with the skill-level options as well as the graphics settings. 

It ran very well on my device with default settings and I will try enhanced settings soon. If you like a creepy adventure game with lots of exploring via direct control of your character then give Forgotten Memories a go. It is not full of combat action. Instead, you are figuring out where you are, and why you're there, and solving puzzles interspersed with bits of action. One of the best games like this that I've played.

Torbjörn Kämblad

Dark, brooding and filled with mannequins – but not Silent Hill. Forgotten Memories still gives me the same kind of creeping sensation while playing it. Moving through dark corridors, smashed-up restrooms and venturing into an asylum. This is a game with high production values in both the sound and graphical departments. The voice acting is well made with a calm Lara Croft kind of vibe.

The controls are fine using touch, but it took me a while to realise that with the wrong rotation of the phone the action, and run buttons were covered by the Face-ID-island. The slow lurching sensation was soon exchanged for a sprinting into madness sensation. Overall a nice horror experience taking inspiration from both Silent Hill and the early Alone in the Dark games.

Bruno Ramalho

Well well, a console-looking game running on my phone? Yes, thank you. This one looks very good on my phone, and as soon as it opened up, in a dark room, with headphones on (as it should be played of course), it reminded me of games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil right away.

The visuals and sound design is very well done, and the game begins in a very stressful mood, which is always a good thing for a survival horror game. Our character wakes up wounded in a room, and very dizzy needs to find a way to cure the wound, and stop the bleeding, so we can carry on investigating where we are and what we need to do. 

It looks like we are in some kind of abandoned hospital or clinic, full of creepy-looking mannequins everywhere (mannequins are always creepy and a very good prop for horror movies). We already know where this is going when you go past one mannequin and its head turns back towards you.

Lots of places to search for clues and useful objects, and weapons, because we are gonna need those as soon as those pesky mannequins start coming after us to kill us. There are some puzzles to solve and a lot of travelling back and forth to use the objects here and there and unlock other objects that will be needed to unlock other stuff elsewhere. Controls work very well, but you can become very stressed when being attacked by more than one creature at a time.

 As I said, the graphics are top-notch, and there are some cut scenes here and there, and even the voice acting is very well done. I'm taking my time through the game, as I usually explore everything very thoroughly and I walk slowly everywhere. I guess I will start running to go faster, but I'm afraid of losing some pieces of the story because there are a lot of things to interact with.

One thing I noticed is that you can run away from danger if you move to another place quickly which is weird. There is no automatic saving, so we have to be careful to find a computer to do our manual save before visiting a new place. All in all, lots of suspense and a few scares. A very nice game for survival horror fans.

Robert Maines

Forgotten Memories: Remaster is an upgrade to a game that was originally released in 2015. It’s a survival horror game in the same genre as Alone in the Dark or Resident Evil. Played in the third person, you guide Rose Hawkins around a creepy asylum, picking up objects and solving puzzles, listening to audio recordings and battling enemies.

This really is a game best played using headphones. The graphics are ok but it’s the audio where the creepiness of the asylum is invoked. Movement is a bit clunky with touch controls and the manual save is just as annoying as in other survival horror games. Although short it is a nice addition to the genre and gets a thumbs-up from me.

Sangeet Shukla

I recently played Forgotten Memories: Remastered Edition on MI Tab 5. The game’s graphics are exceptional, delivering a console-like experience, and the haunting atmosphere(from the first scene) grips you from start to finish. The gameplay is a mix of exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat.

While the puzzles are well-designed and keep you engaged, the controls feel a bit stiff, especially during action sequences. This can make some encounters more frustrating. On the positive side, the voice acting is surprisingly good. The game is not overly long, but it offers a satisfying dose of horror. It is a standout title for mobile horror fans.

Jason Rosner

Forgotten Memories: Remastered is a third-person psychological survival horror game. This new edition is an absolutely fantastic way to play an App Store classic that was released way back in 2015. Everything here gets a fresh coat of paint, from the graphics which look sharp and crisp as ever, to the outstanding scarily tense atmospheric sounds, to more responsive controls; my expectations for this remaster were not only met but exceeded.

And this all gets even better when playing with the lights off! More and more we are seeing console-quality video games come to mobile that remind us of just how great our smartphone tech has become. When it’s this good, we want the experience to last, and with the promise of new chapters and DLCs still to come, it’s great to see a premium title give us reasons to come back again. Forgotten Memories: Remastered harkens back to the ‘90s horror classics that fans of the genre will adore.

Oksana Ryan

From the beginning, I found this game atmospheric and it put me on edge. Upon waking up the main character finds she cannot remember how she ended up in the grim asylum, wounded and alone. Basically, everything goes downhill from then on, with scary mannequins, blood-soaked floors and walls, and creepy tape messages throughout the game. There is interaction with objects as you progress, although at times I did suspect that some of them were there just to fill in time as they had no real purpose to them.

The graphics are good, the music and voices are perfect for the game and the controls are easy to master. I think if you enjoy scary, atmospheric games with a story to unfold, then this is the one for you. As it says at the start - watch in the dark with your headphones on - it won’t disappoint.

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