Gameplay / Fun / Engagement: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Art Style / Visuals: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Audio / Sound Design: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Theme: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The memory + action idea is really cool. I like that running out of movement doesnt just stop you and instead throws you into a completely different challenge to recover it. It makes the game feel a lot more interesting than a normal maze game.The recovery part gets a bit too difficult later though. Id probably keep the beams fast but make getting hit less punishing. Or give the player a short invincibility time after taking damage so one mistake doesnt turn into multiple hits. A small warning before a beam appears would help too. Maybe the edge could glow for half a second so you know where its coming from.I also think the different chapters need to communicate their new mechanics better. When branching paths and fake routes start appearing it can be hard to tell if something is actually new or if the game just restarted. A small transition like "Chapter 2" and one short line explaining that the maze has changed would fix that without spoiling anything. Branches could also have a tiny visual difference so you notice when the path actually splits.
The story idea fits the theme really well but Id give the player a little bit of context earlier. You dont need to explain everything because the mystery is part of the game. Even a few small hints about who the character is or why these memories matter would make the ending hit harder instead of explaining almost everything only at the end.
For polish Id also improve the purple beams a bit. Some particles when they appear and a stronger hit effect would make the recovery sections feel much better. A proper transition between chapters would be nice too instead of making it look like the game just started again.
Theme is definitely 5/5 for me. Making the long way home more about recovering something that was lost instead of literally travelling a huge distance is a really nice interpretation.
Very interesting idea and theres a lot you could expand here. Mostly Id work on making the later difficulty more fair and making progression between chapters much clearer.
If you have some time please check out my game too! Id really appreciate a rating and some feedback :)