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

About

"N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure" is a single-player, story-driven fantasy game with puzzles and beautiful visuals. Players explore an intriguing world as a young character, accompanied by a mysterious companion, experiencing uncommon emotions in a journey filled with magic and discovery. The game combines elements of visual novels and puzzle games to create a unique and affecting experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

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

54%

Audience ScoreBased on 94 reviews

story40 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

The game features visually stunning graphics and unique environments that create an immersive atmosphere.
The story is emotional and touching, effectively conveyed through a combination of floating text and narration.
The sound design and music enhance the overall experience, contributing to the game's emotional depth.

The gameplay is slow-paced, with frustratingly easy puzzles that often feel unnecessary and unchallenging.
Excessive bloom and lens flare effects can be distracting and make it difficult to see, detracting from the visual experience.
The story can be predictable and lacks depth, with some narrative elements feeling rushed or poorly executed.

story
125 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
62%
6%
The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its emotional depth and unique storytelling approach through text and narration, while others criticize it for being predictable, poorly executed, and riddled with awkward phrasing and typos. Many reviews highlight the story's themes of loss and family, but note that the execution often falls flat, with rushed endings and a lack of engaging puzzles to support the narrative. Overall, while the visuals and atmosphere are praised, the story's impact is diminished by its inconsistencies and heavy-handedness.
- “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 compelling enough, and I had no major technical issues other than the slow walking speed and excessive bloom.”
- “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 story itself was passable, it feels like whatever worldbuilding it was trying to do at the start didn't really matter after the halfway point.”
graphics
55 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
36%
11%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the stunning visuals and beautiful art style, particularly in cutscenes and specific environments. However, many players criticize issues such as poor lighting, excessive darkness, and a lack of coherence in level design, which detracts from the overall experience. While the aesthetics can be captivating, technical flaws and repetitive visuals leave some feeling underwhelmed.
- “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 so far.”
- “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 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
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
72%
12%
The gameplay is generally described as simplistic and linear, with a focus on exploration rather than complex mechanics. While some players appreciate the atmosphere and story, many criticize the aiming mechanics and puzzle difficulty, noting that the game may not appeal to those seeking challenging gameplay. Overall, it is seen as a walking simulator with limited interactivity, best suited for players who enjoy narrative-driven experiences.
- “With the gameplay side of things, you walk around and eventually get a partner you can command to move.”
- “Gameplay is simple but okay; sounds are good enough to create a good atmosphere and the puzzles are okay as well.”
- “So far I like the mechanics, atmosphere, and the story of the game.”
- “They aren't required to continue, but really, if you let me skip the gameplay part of your game, what's the point?”
- “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.”
- “Sure, I felt relief when I finally managed to nail a shot, or felt joy when I managed to get it in the first try, but in the end, I really disliked this mechanic.”
emotional
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
91%
9%
The emotional aspect of the game is polarizing, with some players finding the story deeply touching and evocative, particularly regarding themes of loss and family, while others criticize it as overly melodramatic and poorly executed. Despite its flaws, many appreciate the emotional investment it fosters, with some players reporting it brought them to tears. Overall, the narrative's impact varies significantly among players, influenced by personal experiences and expectations.
- “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
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
13%
20%
The music in the game is generally praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers highlighting the excellent soundtrack and sound design. However, some players noted that certain tracks can be repetitive or mismatched with the gameplay, leading to mixed feelings about the audio experience. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's immersive quality, though it may not consistently resonate with all players.
- “I love the sound design and soundtrack, and the visuals are quite beautiful at times.”
- “The atmosphere is thrilling and the music is 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?' It 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
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
10%
30%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its thrilling and poetic qualities, enhanced by beautiful music and atmospheric scenery that evoke themes of love, loss, and hope. However, some users noted issues with repetitive audio and contrast problems that detract from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, the immersive environment and engaging lore make it a compelling choice for fans of the walking simulator genre.
- “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, but if you really aren't sure, wait for a Steam sale. You'll love the atmosphere and be completely and utterly drawn into this amazing game.”
- “As you progress, you find out more about the family and their trials of life and death. Along the way, there are a few interesting events that add to the lore of the story and set a poetic atmosphere.”
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 meta game is seen as overly burdensome, making puzzle-solving feel more like a chore than an engaging challenge.
- “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%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent visual glitches and persistent button prompts that disrupt gameplay. Additionally, players report freezing during loading sequences, particularly after the initial introduction.
- “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%
Reviews on optimization are mixed; while some users praise the game's visuals highly, they note a lack of optimization, suggesting performance issues. Conversely, others report that the optimization is satisfactory, indicating a varied experience among players.
- “The optimization is good.”
- “Beautiful game 10/10, but the optimization could use some improvement.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The 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.”