N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure

NERO is pretty to look at but is decidedly lacking when it comes to substance or involving players in the intricate story it’s trying to tell.

56%Game Brain Score

story, graphics

grinding, stability

56% User Score Based on 94 reviews

Critic Score 55%Based on 9 reviews

Platforms

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About

N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure is a single player casual action adventure game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Storm in a Teacup and was released on April 29, 2016. It received neutral reviews from both critics and players.

N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure is a story-driven first-person puzzle game that explores emotional depths through the journey of a young boy and his mysterious companion. With a beautiful, immersive world and intuitive controls, players will experience feelings rarely found in video games. The game is a visual novel and puzzle hybrid, inviting players to explore and discover the history behind this mysterious setting.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure screenshot

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56%

Audience ScoreBased on 94 reviews

story41 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

Visually stunning graphics and rich atmosphere that create an immersive experience.
Emotional storytelling that resonates with players, often evoking strong feelings.
The game features a unique approach to narrative delivery through floating text and voice acting.

Gameplay is primarily a walking simulator with simplistic puzzles that lack challenge and depth.
Excessive bloom and lens flare effects can be distracting and make it difficult to see clearly.
The pacing is slow, which can lead to a tedious experience, especially for players seeking more interactive gameplay.

story
128 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
63%
5%
The game's story is a central focus, often described as emotional and touching, exploring themes of loss and family dynamics, though opinions on its execution vary widely. While some players appreciate the unique storytelling approach through text and narration, others criticize it for being predictable, melodramatic, or poorly delivered, with many noting that the gameplay mechanics detract from the narrative experience. Overall, the story is seen as a highlight for some, but its effectiveness is undermined by technical issues and a lack of depth in certain areas.
- “The story is a touching story about loss and persevering.”
- “A very touching story with beautiful graphics of nature with pretty colors and the moon.”
- “The heart-wrenching story revolves around a family of three, and it will keep you hooked until the ending.”
- “The story is rather bad; the developers have confused 'dark/difficult themes' for 'deep+meaningful'.”
- “The story had potential, but was just bland and rushed.”
- “The overall story was very realistic and believable.”
graphics
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
35%
11%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the stunning visuals and beautiful art style, particularly in certain environments and cutscenes. However, many players criticize issues such as poor lighting, excessive bloom, and glitches that detract from the overall experience, leading to a perception of inconsistency in quality. While the aesthetics can be captivating, they are often overshadowed by technical shortcomings and repetitive elements.
- “The visuals and ambience are really great.”
- “A very touching story with beautiful graphics of nature with pretty colors and the moon.”
- “You play this game in an avatar movie environment with really stunning visuals; I thought Valley was a beautiful game, but this is by far the most amazing looking game I've ever seen.”
- “The visuals aren't great; when you launch the game, it's way too dark to see most things. If you adjust the gamma setting to be high enough to see around properly, the colors start looking really washed out.”
- “The visuals are immensely ugly and yet treated as if you're crossing a world of magical grandeur. Combine this with the impassive story and atrocious puzzles, and you've got a formula for catastrophe.”
- “Outside of the cinematics, the game’s technical graphics are lackluster.”
gameplay
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
73%
12%
The gameplay is primarily a walking simulator with simplistic mechanics and minimal challenge, often criticized for its slow pace and frustrating puzzles. While the atmosphere and story are engaging, the gameplay lacks depth and innovation, making it suitable mainly for fans of the genre rather than those seeking a robust gaming experience. Overall, it is recommended for its narrative and ambiance, but players should temper their expectations regarding gameplay complexity.
- “Gameplay is simple but okay; sounds are good enough to create a good atmosphere, and the puzzles are decent as well.”
- “So far, I like the mechanics, atmosphere, and the story of the game.”
- “It's quite linear, doesn't have much actual gameplay, and it doesn't look amazing, but it's still an interesting place to explore.”
- “Moving story and nice music, graphics somewhat okay but glitchy, gameplay is nothing more than a walking simulator that's too slow for comfort and the 'puzzles' are meh at best, frustrating at times.”
- “Recommended for the concept and story, but don't expect anything special gameplay-wise.”
- “The aiming puzzles are more difficult than they need to be, and the aiming mechanic is a bit broken; it's made slightly better if using a keyboard and mouse, but still not perfect.”
emotional
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
92%
8%
The emotional aspect of the game is a mixed bag, with some players praising its touching narrative about loss and perseverance that evokes strong feelings, while others criticize it for being overly melodramatic and poorly executed. Despite the beautiful visuals and innovative elements, the storytelling suffers from awkward phrasing and pacing issues, leading to a divide in player experiences. Overall, while many found the story to be heartfelt and impactful, others felt it fell short of its emotional potential.
- “The heart-wrenching story revolves around a family of three, and it will keep you hooked until the ending.”
- “I really enjoyed the story; it wasn’t anything mind-blowing, but it was emotional, and I admit that it got me all choked up and had me in tears.”
- “The story attempts to be particularly emotionally stirring, and I have no doubt that it will indeed have that effect on many of the players who play it, particularly those with children.”
- “The game takes place in a ridiculously dark environment full of objects with way too much bloom and lens flare effects on them, so that this game is a pain to play with both the lights on or the lights off, tells a terribly schmaltzy, melodramatic and yet boring story through floating, glowy text blocks, full of awkward phrasing and typos in the English translation, which are strewn all over the map, plus some occasional, dull voice acting.”
- “- horrific boring story”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
12%
19%
The music in the game is generally praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers highlighting the soundtrack as a standout feature that complements the visuals and story. However, some players noted that certain tracks can be repetitive or mismatched with the gameplay, leading to mixed feelings about the overall audio experience. Overall, the music is seen as a significant strength, contributing to the game's emotional impact.
- “I love the sound design and soundtrack, and the visuals are quite beautiful at times.”
- “The atmosphere is thrilling and the music beautiful.”
- “You can really tell this was a labor of love from the developer, the scenery is beautiful, the music is perfect, and the story is engaging.”
- “Music and other audio outputs were sometimes nice and atmospheric and other times made you say 'why is this music playing?' and became very repetitive.”
- “Some of the music and ambience was decent and very fitting, but the audio was hit and miss.”
- “Some of the music and ambience was repetitive and annoying.”
atmosphere
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
18%
18%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its rich, immersive qualities, featuring beautiful music and a dark, poetic ambiance that enhances the storytelling. While the scenery is visually stunning, some players noted issues with contrast that can hinder visibility. Overall, the game successfully creates a captivating atmosphere that draws players into its narrative of love, loss, and hope, despite some repetitive audio elements and simplistic gameplay mechanics.
- “The atmosphere is thrilling and the music beautiful.”
- “As you progress, you find out more about the family and their trials of life and death, and along the way there are a few interesting events that add to the lore of the story and set a poetic atmosphere.”
- “I have to acknowledge the atmospheric scenery and dark ambience that are very good.”
- “The aesthetics are beautiful but are slightly ruined by the uncontrollable contrast, leaving you blind with nothing to see. However, I expect a fix for this, so let it not drive you away from the beauty of the wide and open atmosphere of this game.”
- “Gameplay-wise, it's a bit on the weaker end of the gene pool, but as a walking simulator that isn't a jump scare fest, it ranks up there pretty highly. With that said, I'd recommend picking this game up; you'll love the atmosphere and be completely drawn into this amazing game.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the repetitive nature of collecting picture pieces in a dark, low-contrast environment that lacks variety. The achievement hunting and puzzle-solving elements are often described as overly laborious, detracting from the overall experience.
- “Walking sim, collecting the picture pieces is too much of a chore for the achievement because it's too dark with low contrast, making exploration tedious and the environment too samey.”
- “The achievement hunting meta game becomes very tedious, especially with the puzzle parts search.”
- “This makes some puzzles more tedious than they need to be.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report significant stability issues, including frequent visual glitches and persistent button prompts that interfere with gameplay. Additionally, the game experiences freezing after the initial loading sequence, detracting from the overall experience.
- “There were a bunch of visual glitches; the button prompt to summon the magic projectile kept appearing randomly and wouldn't disappear until I encountered the next cutscene.”
- “After the first video/trailer/introduction, it loads for about 3 seconds, then the game freezes.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's visuals are highly praised, earning a perfect score for beauty; however, there are mixed opinions on optimization, with some users noting a lack of it while others find it satisfactory.
- “The optimization is good.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is noted for its unique and engaging design, particularly highlighted by the glowing-eyed figures in light-trimmed cloaks, which offer a refreshing departure from typical character aesthetics.
- “The glowing-eyed figures in their light-trimmed cloaks made for a fun and different take on the usually standard character design.”
- “Fairly unique character design.”

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55%Critics’ scoreBased on 9 critic reviews

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Frequently Asked Questions

N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure is a casual action adventure game with fantasy theme.

N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure was released on April 29, 2016.

N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure was developed by Storm in a Teacup.

N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure has received neutral reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure is a single player game.

Similar games include Silence, Caligo, AER Memories of Old, Aporia: Beyond The Valley, MIND: Path to Thalamus and others.

N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure

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