Surprisingly Wholesome Recollections: A Debauched Memories Review

By Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: PC

It's been a while since we've reviewed a PC-based visual novel here at A-to-J, and I'm pleased to report that it's a streak that ends now! Debauched Memories is the sequel to a game called Stolen Memories, it even was referred to as "Stolen Memories II" in some early press materials. Stolen Memories released back in April, and Debauched Memories just recently launched on Steam. Even though it's a sequel to a game that has lots of 18+ content, and has a title that sort of implies more of the same, it's actually a rather tame experience all things considered. We'll get more into that throughout the review, but I felt that was worth getting out of the way early on for those who might be put off by such content. Anyhow, there's not much more to say as far as intros go, so let's get right into it!

Debauched Memories places you into the role of Slava, a college student who returns home to his step-mom(?) Masha, and his friend(?) Alya. I'm actually not really sure what the relationships are between all the characters, beyond the obvious romantic ties of course, but it somehow never bothered me in the grand scheme of things. What's important to the plot is that Masha currently is jobless and whiling away her time watching TV and doing nothing, and Alya is thinking about leaving school to pursue other interests beyond academic ones. Slava has his hands full dealing with two very close people in his life suddenly needing life-changing guidance, when a third girl enters. Alya's younger sister, Lily, shows up and adds yet more hijinks into the mix. Thankfully she has her whole life ahead of her, so her dramatic life questioning moments will probably be saved for a later sequel. The rest of the game explores Masha and Alya's attempts to find new paths in life, while Slava does his best in guiding them. Even though the game wraps up far more quickly than I was expecting, I will say that the story was well-written for what it is. It doesn't have any fluff, and moves along at a very brisk pace. There's even a decent amount of characterization along the way, and that's not often seen in games like this. There's more to it all of course, but we'll get to that in due time. Oh, and I have to say now that the game's description calls the main character "Slava", but he's referred to as "Slavik" in the game. I'm not sure if there's a reason for that or not.

Even though Slava appears to be romantically interested in all of the girls, and even refers to sleeping with them here and there, things rarely go beyond a stray kiss or a random pet. I actually went into this game expecting it to be full of stuff I'd have to censor for the review, but found nothing at all of the sort. I'm not actually disappointed by this, but I can see how some players might feel like they had a bait and switch pulled on them. Even though it technically dropped the first game's name from its current title, Stolen Memories is full of 18+ content that you can see right away from its Steam page. And this game's title and choice of publicity screenshots lean into that a bit. Even though I don't want to make it seem like the developer was being dishonest in acknowledging the content one would get, I do think that the game's presentation could've leaned more into the mostly wholesome aspects of this sequel. That, or maybe there is an 18+ version of this game hiding somewhere that I need a patch to find, I'm not sure. 

While we're on the topic of misleading descriptions, I have a few bones to pick about the game's promotional materials. Within its press releases, and in its online details, Debauched Memories is said to be "non-linear", take "4-5 hours" to complete, and even have "5+ endings". I can tell you right now that the game is extremely linear, it's very short, and only has about two of the promised five endings. I say "about", as I guess one can argue what "endings" means in that context. There are some different changes in the dialogue you can get via choices, but it's nothing beyond what you'd see in any other visual novel. They mostly just add a line or two here or there, and a few are important in setting you on the paths to those two aforementioned endings. If there are indeed more endings in the game, I never figured out how to unlock them. I was very thorough too, and even tried out every dialogue combination available, but nothing beyond the two was seen. Even though I don't think the game is bad by any stretch, I am put off a bit by the fact that the developer slipped in a few mistruths into its online description.

Visually Debauched Memories looks like your typical anime-styled visual novel, and even features some neat animations. Said animations are rather simple, and mostly just involve characters jumping around, blinking, or crying, but they were a nice touch nonetheless. There are also several chibi scenes that break up the monotony a bit. The backgrounds in the game are very limited, but I guess that can be a given considering the game's length. I have to say now that the Steam description does state that AI was used in the creation of the backgrounds, though it didn't detract from my experience at all. The visuals aren't going to win any awards, but they are great for what they are. My only complaint about the visuals is that there isn't anything like a gallery where one can enjoy them on their own. This is a standard visual novel feature, and its exclusion is a big missed opportunity. Also, now is as good as time as any to mention that Masha is an elf, and I just don't know what to do with that information. I guess maybe I should play that first game after all...

I actually have very little to say about the music of Debauched Memories, as it didn't do a whole lot that makes it stand out. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just that it simply exists in the background most of the time. Generic music is an issue I have in many visual novels, so I won't be too hard on this game for not giving players much to work with in the audio department. Even though Debauched Memories dropped the ball a bit when it comes to its soundtrack, it hits out of the park with its voice acting. Even though this may look like a Japanese-created game, it's actually Russian in origin. That means we get a Russian language track. Having Russian voices come out of very anime-looking characters was a bit odd, but the performances were so spot on that I didn't really care after a while. Slava isn't voiced at all, but that's standard fare in visual novels. There's even a stray English line during the credits. Once again, nothing groundbreaking to be found here, but it's great for what it is.

I've mentioned it offhandedly a couple times already, but Debauched Memories is a very short game. It only took me about 30 minutes to get to my first ending, and played for just over an hour to explore all the other dialogue choices. Reading speed might add a bit more to other players' times, but I think it's fair to say this is a 1-2 hour game at most. What's sad is that the various dialogue choices don't really alter all that much, and I only tried for the second ending so I could get the achievement for it. The story was good and all that, but I wish it was a bit longer. This gives off the vibes of a short 30 minute one-shot OVA that never got picked up for a series, and I'm not exactly sure that's a compliment or not. Considering it currently carries a $7.99 price tag, I wish the content was far deeper, but that price isn't all that bad considering the quality on display.

Even though I'm a bit put off by its current price point, I still have to give Debauched Memories a full recommendation. It's a great little visual novel that has some pretty memorable characters. It's silly, it's short, and it's not all the 18+ ecchi game the title implies. I had fun with it, and I think other visual novel fans will too. Maybe pick it up when it's on sale though. See you in the next one!

Check Out Debauched Memories on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2590790/Debauched_Memories/

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Story: A
Gameplay: N/A
Graphics: A-
Music/Sound: B+
Value: B

Overall: A-

Pros:
+ A short fun visual novel that doesn't have a lot of the usual padding.
+ The writing is spot on, and the characters are all great and memorable.
+ The visuals are great, as is the Russian dialogue track.
+ Leaves you wanting more, but in a good way.

+/- Though the first game has lots of 18+ content, and this game even has "debauched" in its title, it features no ecchi content at all.

Cons:
- Is a very short game at maybe 1-2 hours. (At most.)
- The game's online descriptions mention things the game doesn't have, like non-linear gameplay and more than five endings.
- Its current price feels just a bit high considering the amount of content you get.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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Nice save there!

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