Pasta: The Memories Between is a spinning shift strategy roguelike through a history focused on social anxiety. The main character is a young one who after being forced to return to the town for a few days in which his childhood will begin to have a series of dreams in which, both metaphorically and literally, he will have to face all those he left behind. In each of the chapters that make up the different runs we explore a concrete conflict in the past of highlighting trying both an explanation to what happened as a possible solution that helps us overcome it. To allegorically represent the way in which we work these internal conflicts in our psyche, the title proposes a kind of prisoner ball game on a board formed by boxes in which we will have to take into account the passes, the rebounds and the potential of the different special skills when ending our enemies.

Although simple, the gameplay of highlights: The Memories Between achieves the very valuable achievement of seemingly deep and full of possibilities. The game takes off when we begin to master the exclusive movement of each member of our team, to use in our favor the rebound (which can lead us to spectacular releases that affect three or four enemies if we control the strength well) and to learn the possibilities Of the different objects that we can find in each run. Thanks to the option to change in each scenario both the skills, the improvements and the companions, we can easily feel that we turn_ concrete chapters, transmitting at all times feeling of progression. For its part, the story stands out for its honesty and a series of nuances that demonstrate the team’s interest in exploring the edges of social anxiety instead of simply resorting to it to give the game a more adult t1. The first chapter, dedicated to the best childhood friend, is a good example of this huge nuance of tones that the games wants to reach. In this plot, and at the same time that the friend recriminates us to disappear for years without even making a call, the internal monologue of the protagonist ranges from the guilt for not calling when, obviously, they have missed her, and the absolute conviction of That his friends hate him and, therefore, has done well to disappear. Although not all chapters achieve this intensity-the first two and the last two are especially careful-the game seems to delve into a much more personal and aware way than other similar titles.

But despite the fact that both the story and the gameplay in high: The Memories Between work well separately, the combination of both elements generates friction during the game. Only in one of the chapters, the one dedicated to James, makes sense that our protagonist is at balls-he will come with the aim of forcing him to listen to him-as a prelude to the resolution of the conflict. With the rest of the characters the metaphor does not finish curdling, especially because the problem comes from the main character’s own fears. And although the game is shield in fantasy-what we witness are only nervous dreams-and the Us two team worries about representing the characters with an evil aura before we defeat them (something that could indicate that they are not themselves but An evil creation of our subconscious) is hard to understand how it helps to defeat its former art teacher who trusted Elle despite his bad attitude or a joking friend who has not yet entrusted to his gender identity. The arc that stands out is about finding enough confidence to return and the value necessary to overcome her fears and show himself as it is. However, the prisoner ball game suggests aggressiveness, competitiveness and submission, emotional states that do not define any of the characters. As if that were not enough, despite the fact that our interaction with the characters tries to be metaphorical, the final resolution leaves this aside to present directly in the form of dialogue, something that, again, removes weight to the gameplay with the ball.

It seems evident, because of the way in which Roguelike’s cyclical structure tries to marry a linear narrative, which Hades is one of the main references for the TWO team. However, Supergiant Games’s proposal works because the goal of Zagreb that starts every run is independent of all the small stories we establish with the rest of the characters. Each and every time we try to escape from the underworld can directly relate to the previous failures, so that although we go back through the same stages we have the feeling of moving forward in pursuit of the final objective. Here, however, every time we start a new dream, we must reconcile with the friends already recovered, transferring the feeling that night after night we learn the same lesson without that leaving any place in our soul and without the certainty that all These dreams, how we easily forget, will help for the end.

It is striking as highlight: The Memories Between is boycotting himself in the same way that his protagonist does. His competent gameplay forces us to relive the emotional moments of a story that, with each lap, seems flatter and less sensitive. At the same time, the careful narrative makes the actions we execute in the game are as incomprehensible as entertaining, putting the player in a Brett: should we enjoy so muchsymbolically_ symbolically to the friends we want to recover?

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