Often when a game is marked as a walking simulator, it’s suggested it will lack appeal for those interested in an abundantly interactive experience. 11-11 Memories Retold in one of those few games that just crosses the line to keep things interesting long enough to finish the game. Unfortunately, it slowly overstays its welcome, dragging down an otherwise compelling and emotional narrative.
11-11 gives you the perspectives of both a Canadian and German soldier during WWI in 1916. Both sign up for different reasons, but both have the same reasons for wanting to leave. This evokes emotional conflicts as you play, showing you the darker reality of WWI.
Many WWI games revolve around first person shooters. 11-11 however, gives you a different way to experience a portion of this timeline. Whether it’s wondering around talking to soldiers, taking photographs of overzealous superiors, tasking a bird to fly to and retrieve objects, fixing radios or chasing birds as a cat; it offers mechanics that make it stand above other games of a similar genre.
The narrative is where the game excels the most and honestly, it alone is what makes this worth playing. The way the two characters stories intertwine with each other and the outcomes from choices of those around you make, will make you either hate or love them. They do well to illustrate the human sides of Harry (the Canadian), Kurt (the German) and many other characters in the game, despite the harrowing events surrounding them.
Gameplay is generally interesting enough. When you play as Harry, you mostly wonder around taking pictures. The photography mechanics are basic enough, you point and shoot, but you do often need to get the composition right. It then introduces mechanics limited to certain scenarios like soccer/football in a camp. When playing as Kurt, you do go around repairing things at times. It might involve something basic like turning the dials on a radio or flicking a switch. Other more general mechanics for both characters might involve talking to other NPCs, walking (a lot) and moving objects. There is a mini game with cards that you can play but it’s simply pressing a button at the right time. This does add a bit of character to the gameplay but unfortunately it gets old quickly and often the constant wondering gets tiring as it drags on.
The graphics are on the more unique side of things. In a weird way, I sort of liked them, but I hated them as well. I think it was that odd juxtaposition of detailed moments clashing with the living painting style animations which also lacked detail. I don’t think this will be for everyone, and it was just a constant reminder of how bad my eyesight has gotten as I’ve got older. But it’s a nod to the times where paintings were appreciated a lot more and fits both the style and narrative of this game so well. I had no real performance issues, mainly playing this on an AllyX w/ Bazzite. There were times when the frames dipped and it was noticeable, which is unfortunate, but it did not at any point make the game unplayable or unbearable. They were few and wide apart enough to ignore.
Everything in the game sounded good. The voice acting was great, and I think the fact that Elijah Wood voiced Harry was originally what intrigued me about this game. Every character feels unique based on the voice actor, even the random NPCs. The music was so fitting, and never once did I feel it was distracting. It leaned into the scenarios and further evoked emotions from ranging from anger to happiness and sorrow.
The game does have a few different endings, so there is some replay value but since you can just replay the chapter/section, it doesn’t warrant a full playthrough. There isn’t too much you can do differently throughout the entire game. It’s really a one and done title. I did go back to repeat the last section to see the different endings you could get and didn’t really find much satisfaction in them compared to the one I got.
Despite its attempt to differentiate itself from other walking simulators, it sadly falls short and somewhat ruins an otherwise intriguing story. I do think the price is a bit steep for what it delivers on but would highly recommend grabbing it on a sale or if you genuinely want to experience a sombre yet relaxing game set in WWI. It’s extremely hard to fail in this game which is partly to blame for the hollow gameplay but it’s really the narrative that carries it all, and that’s entirely okay in this case.
To see a WWI game from the eyes of both sides is a rare encounter. It kept me hooked long enough to clock 7 hours in it, and while I felt moments of “please just end already”, I mostly feel glad I played until the end which constantly has me wondering if I could have done anything differently.
