Subversive Memories is a short survival horror with a Signalis-style perspective and art style. You play as Renata, a woman who goes to investigate an abandoned military facility sometime (supposedly) after 1980’s Brazil. The game draws from historical events- the military dictatorship that occurred between 1964-1985, the terrible things that occurred, and the “subversives” who opposed it.

The game is 90% focused on puzzles, and they are quite challenging! If you know me, you know I feel right at home with this. While most of the puzzles are a little challenging but not crazy (similar to Tormented Souls), there are a couple optional ones that I was stumped on and had to look up. Overall, they are pretty fantastic and definitely the highlight.

Combat? Extremely basic, a bit janky (hit boxes are rough), but mostly avoidable. The atmosphere is decent, there’s some solid spooky moments and cool concepts but for the most part it is just standard 3D industrial stuff with a pixelated filter. The map is great and marks all puzzles for you.

The story… while I’m certainly not a Brazilian history expert, after a bit of research the story seems to be directly commenting on real world events. Censorship, political prisoners (about 480), torture, corruption, propaganda - all of the depicted atrocities seen did take place. I wouldn't say it’s the most nuanced commentary, no where near as poignant and balanced as Conscript was (the game is pretty explicitly pro-communism, with not much critique into the atrocities that has brought as well). Regardless, I appreciate games that bring in some real world events and analysis - it makes things interesting and unique.

The game is only about 2-3 hours long, so it may be a little overpriced for some. It’s certainly not one of my favorites, but it is a solid puzzle game with an interesting historical fiction story and survival horror mechanics.

6.8/10