If you were to look at the Steam store page for Memoria Wake, you might see that the game is rather ambitious. The user-defined tags label the title as an action RPG and a Metroidvania, while the game's own description calls it a Souls-like. We took a look at the demo that's currently available for the public and came away intrigued.

The demo provides a vague outline of a story. The opening cut scene refers to how no one really does things alone, but it conveys this in a way that is artistic, so it also sacrifices clarity to achieve that vision. The store page spells things out more clearly, as you're traveling to a dream world to rescue your lost friend. At the same time, this may also be a metaphor, as you'll meet up with characters in the demo level who reference moving away and how it can be an opportunity to meet new friends.

Memoria Wake is an action RPG presented from an isometric perspective, but those RPG elements are light. You get XP from killing enemies, and you can upgrade your weapons and stats from your bed, but don't expect a traditional leveling up system or armor and weapon upgrades. You also shouldn't expect to have consumable items. You can unleash a basic attack and run and dodge, but there's no jumping. You can also fall from anywhere, so expect to treat narrow pathways as something dangerous. Overall, it works fine, and there's nothing out of the ordinary.

For the Metroidvania user tag, there's no evidence of that thus far, but that can change in the full game. The demo level is fairly large, with loads of explorable areas. There's nothing that can be considered secret, but there's also nothing that carries the hallmark of a Metroidvania, where you discover one key item and must do a hefty amount of backtracking to use it and discover more areas. The closest you get to that is finding a block of fuel for a train, but that feels like a general task rather than something that is unique to the genre.

The Souls-like mechanics are also quite light. There is no stamina meter, so you can dodge and run and swing your umbrella to your heart's content. You can go to bed, which is this game's equivalent of a bonfire, and you can upgrade and save your game, but you won't automatically regenerate health, and enemies won't respawn. You have an energy meter that can be used to refill your health or as ammo for secondary weapons, giving the game a risk/reward element that is becoming a standard part of the genre. You also have the parry mechanic, which gives you a good deal of energy if you perform it successfully. However, the timing for the parry has to be perfect. Any deviation results in you getting hit because there's no blocking. In other Souls-likes, an imperfect parry results in not achieving the bonus, but you're also not penalized heavily for it.

The presentation is pleasing. The music gives off a vibe that is both comforting and creepy, which is a good fit for the dangerous yet childlike dream setting. The graphics have a gorgeous watercolor look, and the lighting enhances the style, especially when you move closer to doorways from darkened areas and see the light falling on your character as you approach. The only negative thus far is the blur effect, which seems more aggressive than expected since it can cover your character at times. The effect is intended to focus squarely on your character, while keeping everything else out of focus, but it's sometimes doing the opposite.

At the moment, Memoria Wake is a game with some promise that needs some improvements. The parry mechanic is perhaps the biggest thing, as the very tight timing window combined with the lack of a block makes it feel out of place. Otherwise, the setting and combat seem fine, but we'll really need to see more of the game to get a better idea of how it'll fare before its proposed 2027 release.