Desta: The Memories Between Critic Reviews

Desta: The Memories Between is a dodgeball-like turn-based strategy game set in personal dreams where you really need to plan each move.

Desta: The Memories Between manages to tackle a broach of relatable topics, in a way that feels very real thanks to a brilliant cast. Ustwo’s latest is a touching message about finding the right words Combat may look simple on the outside, but get to grips with the core concept and you’ll find considerable depth to explore.

Desta: The Memories Between offers an undoubtedly original experience, a mix of genres and suggestions that uses narration as the glue between increasingly complex strategic clashes, with the roguelite approach to remind us at every moment that a defeat will bring us back to the beginning.

Desta: The Memories Between is an interesting follow-up to developer Ustwo's breakout hit, Monument Valley. It swaps the abstract, yet emotional storytelling for something more overt, but still dreamlike. The overall setup, visual aesthetic, and soundtrack is great and the tactical combat is fun, but repeated conversations make some of the runs feel like a chore, and sometimes the dodgeball feels more like a loose cannon. Desta's journey, however, is a relatable one and helping them complete it--even in a dream--was a cathartic experience that made me want to text that friend I had not spoken with in years.

It’s the right level of strategy and team synergy for a micro-scale game like this.

While the core gameplay of Desta can deliver hours of entertainment thanks to nuanced core gameplay and a likeable lead, the touch controls can be a little frustrating and those looking for a challenge may be hard-pushed to find one out of the gate. Still, this game knows its demographic and those who belong to it are almost guaranteed to feel right at home in the dreamscape streets of Desta’s London.

It's worth pushing through a few early stumbles for the wry smile and inner warmth it leaves.

Desta: The Memories Between can’t quite figure out how to make the most of its odd genre mashup. Though the individual elements are solid, a lack of commitment to roguelike randomization in the single mode available at launch means the systems don’t really mesh together how you’d expect, and the replay value suffers as a result.