If you thought that Expedition 33 was the first time a French studio dove into JRPG territory, well fortunately, you would be wrong. In 2021, Midgar Studio released Edge of Eternity, a game that to this day is still mostly positive on Steam with 1,771 steam reviews as of the writing of this preview. Now in 2026 they are revisiting the “Edge” series with upcoming Edge of Memories. While the first chapter demo releases on June 15, 2026, we were able to get hands on just a bit sooner.

Story

Plagued by one recurring dream, we meet Eline, our protagonist, a young woman who awakens on a beautiful beach. The first chapter is titled, a Stranger to Herself, letting us know our heroine might be missing some memories. Edge of memories get it? We also quickly meet a mysterious man named Ysoris who needs assistance and thus begins our journey. Interestingly enough he seems to know us and is shocked by the thought that we would leave him behind. What does he know that we don’t know?

As it would turn out, he knows quite a bit, including about us. Only after we arrive at a nearby village and prove ourselves to be a Soul Whisperer, one who can help others. Think of it as a special sort of confession where confessing to someone frees us from emotional pain and suffering. However there is so much more to Eline than just the confessionals. In a world that is being ravaged by the Corrosion, an infection that mutates others abominations, Eline seeks to fight back and remove it. Only for us to learn that she has her own relationship with the Corrosion, she can control it. Now she’s on her journey to save the world from extinction due to the corrosion, or at least do her best to save as many as she can.

Cut Scenes

Much of the story takes place through a variety of dialogue. It’s here in which we see how varied the characters can look at times. Unfortunately, this isn’t always good, because it isn’t always consistent. In some scenes, we’ll see characters mouths move as they speak. In others, despite it looking like your typical visual novel, the mouths stay

The character models are interesting. Cut scenes sometimes have mouth movement, sometimes none, sometimes weird facial expressions. While it isn’t uncommon to have a variety of cut scenes in a game, it sometimes feels like it is a bit unfinished during scenes such as the first one below. Her expression would change but her mouth would not move to match the well done voice acting. As long as you do not stare at the mouth expressions, it isn’t so bad, but when occurring not too long after a fully animated scene it can feel strange. Thankfully, the voice acting makes up for the emotional pull when the animation is less animated.

The World Visuals

The world settings and visuals are amazing. Especially when it comes to the juxtaposition of Eline’s bright coloring and some of the vicious world around her. When the world feels moderately safe, or at least not deathly such as basic exploration on the beach, the colors are bright and vibrant. However when we find ourselves up against the corruption Eline sticks out like a sore thumb. This feels very purposeful so it works. Eline is looking to be the hero and stop the Corrosion which has clearly infected the entire area with large hands, long fingers, and eyeballs that may be watching your every move.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean the visuals are perfect. A few times during gameplay while traversing the world, the ground would shift in coloring. It didn’t seem like this was due to the spreading corrosion but just a bit of rendering. Of course, this is just a demo so there is plenty of reason to believe that this will be resolved by the time the game is fully launched. Thankfully, it isn’t everywhere and only occasionally happened with Eline would run around but when it seems grass is sprouting from sand, it’s quite noticeable.

Another small issue is that during certain scenes, your map marker doesn’t always disappear. Towards the end of the demo, I kept seeing the market for my previous location floating around during the cut scenes. Since this is a preview it isn’t enough to say the game is far from finished, but definitely something I hope they revisit before the final release.

Combat

One thing that may not need any revisiting is combat. This is where Edge of Memories really shines. The combat is smooth even for how fast paced some of Eline’s attacks are. When you hit the perfect dodge you’re welcomed by a close up of that moment. You also get to use your companions to try out different strategies during combat. In this preview, Ysoris was able to use two different attacks, one lighting, one fire. The switch from fighting as Eline to using his attack, and then returning to controlling Eline was beautifully smooth. Yes, it does show you Ysoris quickly before putting it back with Eline as the focus, but it didn’t disrupt my gameplay as long as I stayed mindful of her positioning.

Your companions also do have their own health gauges so its important to be mindful of these. Only once did Ysoris drop and thankfully it didn’t result in a game over at that point. However it was a reminder that they are not invincible and require some care. Thankfully potions you can craft will allow you to heal not only yourself, but them as well.

Yet one of the most fun parts of combat is when Eline uses the Corrosion to fight. Once the rage component of Eline’s combat is unlocked, your attacks and your perfect dodges contribute to filling the meter before unleashing hell on your enemies. During these moments Eline’s swords disappear and she turns into a monstrous form of herself, ready to slash and claw at her opponents. If she was fast before, she’s even faster now and with less concerns for her own health. Perhaps that’s because her health bar disappears while she is in this form. Yes, while in Black Beast Mode, she’s invincible. Enjoy!

The world also changes around her when she fights as the beast. Her attacks are much stronger and the world seems to lose some of its color. While her enemies still seem colorful, the scenery is black and white. It’s as if nothing else matters but getting the blood of her enemies under claws. The use of color is masterful to get the focus and attention where it needs to be. If Midgar can get the rest of the game feeling as smooth as combat, they will be in great shape.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Edge of Memories has me very intrigued. While there is still some cleaning up to do before the full release, it seems that Midgar Studios is promising a fast paced, yet heartfelt adventure in Edge of Memories. Personally I am definitely looking forward to seeing the full release later this year. There is still some polish that Edge of Memories can benefit from and if that means the game comes out late 2026, it could be worth the wait for JRPG fans.

Edge of Memories is developed by Midgar Studio and will be published by Nacon. It is currently listed for a 2026 release on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, or Steam. Thank you to Midgar Studio & Nacon for the PC preview code.