Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER

73%
Game Brain Score Based on 143 reviews
  • story
  • music
  • graphics
Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER Game Cover
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In "Read Only Memories: Neurodiver," play as ES88, a psychic agent for MINERVA, using the Neurodiver tool to dive into people's memories and uncover the mystery behind the elusive Golden Butterfly. This game offers a fresh adventure in the colorful sci-fi world of Neo-San Francisco, inviting newcomers and series veterans alike to explore a thrilling, original story with a diverse cast of characters. Embrace your psychic abilities to unravel the conspiracy threatening Neo-San Francisco.

  • Mac OS
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Linux
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

73%
Audience ScoreBased on 143 reviews
story44 positive mentions
grinding1 negative mentions
  • The game features a charming protagonist, Luna, whose development throughout the story is engaging and relatable.
  • The visuals and art direction are stunning, with beautiful pixel art and a captivating soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
  • The writing is strong, with interesting ethical dilemmas and a socially conscious narrative that resonates with players.
  • The game is significantly shorter than its predecessor, clocking in at around 5 hours, which may leave players wanting more content.
  • Many returning characters from the original game feel underdeveloped, and the reliance on nostalgia can detract from the new story being told.
  • The gameplay is linear and lacks depth, with puzzles that often feel like trial and error rather than meaningful challenges.
  • story135 mentions

    The story of "Read Only Memories: Neurodiver" has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its engaging characters and charming art but criticizing its brevity and linearity. While some found the narrative compelling and emotionally resonant, others felt it lacked depth and cohesion, often relying too heavily on familiar characters from the previous game, which detracted from the new protagonist's development. Overall, the game is seen as a worthwhile side story, though many players express a desire for a more fleshed-out narrative and additional content to enhance the experience.

    • “For me, the story absolutely landed and ended in a satisfying way, and I hope there is a chance I can spend more time with these characters in the future.”
    • “The emotional core of Luna's story: her relationship with Gate and her desire to use her position as an esper to be the hero she's always dreamed of becoming was really gripping for me.”
    • “Wonderful characters, wonderful art, wonderful music, wonderful voices, and a wonderful story.”
    • “The plot never thickened from there; instead, plucky sailor moon wannabe es-88 dragged me along for an excruciating where are they now-style tour of cardboard standees of the beloved Read Only Memories cast before shoving me face down into a conclusion so flaccid and unearned it left me wondering how we'd even got there.”
    • “The story is threadbare, and feels like a primetime serial that got cancelled in its first season.”
    • “There's many story elements that just seem unfinished, and the way the story progresses there's an overarching feel of 'there's got to be more to this right', until the moment it finishes and it's... just done.”
  • music41 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its quality, fitting style, and nostalgic feel reminiscent of old PC-98 era soundtracks. While some noted minor issues with vocal mixing, the overall soundtrack is described as memorable and engaging, enhancing the game's atmosphere and character experience. Many players found themselves humming the tunes long after finishing the game, highlighting the music as a standout feature.

    • “The magical girl fantasy angle for the protagonist, the amazing new characters with truly top-notch voice acting, the art direction and music absolutely blowing it out of the water… I couldn’t put it down.”
    • “The soundtrack and even effects and menu sounds were just as good as I had hoped.”
    • “Special mention must be made of the music and vocal cast, whose performances perfectly complement the retro vibe, adding depth and emotion to the experience.”
    • “Though there are some complaints to be had in the vocal mixing and balancing for the voice acting, the music was predictably a highlight of the experience.”
    • “If you want to pick this up for yourself to give it a fair shake, turn the music down and expect the dialogue to vary in volume and adherence to the subtitles.”
    • “The voice acting is excellent, but I'd recommend lowering the default music volume as sometimes it drowns out some of the voiced lines; around 66-70% of the lines are voiced, and the experience can be a bit incongruous when clicking on one object will result in a voiced line, but clicking on another object won't.”
  • graphics31 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their impressive artwork, vibrant color schemes, and nostalgic pixel art style, effectively capturing a retro 90s anime cyberpunk aesthetic. Many reviewers praised the UI design and character visuals, noting that the overall graphical presentation enhances the storytelling experience, despite some criticisms regarding the game's short length and lack of interactivity compared to its predecessor. Overall, the visuals are described as stellar, contributing significantly to the game's charm and appeal.

    • “The visuals got me gasping in awe since the first scene: such a pretty color scheme, wonderfully styled characters, the UI looked so fun and the composition was very intriguing, allowing the writing to shine and your brain to fill in the blank.”
    • “The artwork is excellent, the soundtrack fits well, the voice acting is stellar, and the storytelling is immersive.”
    • “The graphical style is really well-done -- somehow very modern but also nostalgic to me having grown up with DOS games.”
    • “The visuals are nice, but there's a lack of interactivity compared to the first one.”
    • “While it doesn't have the strongest voice acting or most riveting story and I wouldn't say it's precisely the 2064 follow-up I was dreaming about, the pixelated aesthetics and downright groovy music of Neurodiver still hit hard and even the weaker moments remain memorable by the game’s intermingling flavor of sci-fi.”
    • “In an age where I want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less, I think this game is exactly fine for what it is.”
  • gameplay21 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it linear and lacking depth compared to its predecessor, 2064: ROM. While the visual novel elements and art style are praised, the mechanics, particularly the neurodiver feature, are seen as underwhelming and restrictive, leading to a repetitive experience. Overall, the gameplay is described as more focused on narrative than engaging mechanics, resulting in a less satisfying interactive experience.

    • “Its lead-in is compelling enough with some promise to have interesting mechanics as the runtime pans out.”
    • “Gameplay is through first-person perspective, and puzzles are solved through finding visual clues.”
    • “I also appreciated the Ace Attorney-like detective gameplay and the numerous cameos.”
    • “The neurodiver mechanic had potential, but ended up kind of boring, as exploring and fixing the fragmented memories seemed extremely linear and interacting with anything other than the relevant things seemed unsatisfying and pointless. It just didn't feel as alive.”
    • “Gameplay is rather stiff with no choices and no freedom to explore the city and locations.”
    • “Extremely boring and linear gameplay; just click on everything until you find an object that is saved to your inventory bar, then dump all collected objects on a memory fragment. That's all there is, every time, with no nuance.”
  • emotional6 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by a touching story, particularly Luna's relationship with Gate and her aspirations as an esper, which resonates deeply with players. While some find the overall emotional impact less significant compared to other themes, the game is described as heartwarming and engaging, with beautiful art that enhances its heartfelt narrative.

    • “The story, and the ending especially, was personally touching.”
    • “The emotional core of Luna's story: her relationship with Gate and her desire to use her position as an esper to be the hero she's always dreamed of becoming was really gripping for me.”
    • “The art is beautiful, the story is engaging and sometimes even emotional, which I believe are the most important things in a visual novel.”
  • character development4 mentions

    Character development in the game is criticized for being insufficient, with a focus on legacy characters overshadowing new ones, leaving players with limited insight into the protagonist and other key figures. While the voice acting and character design are praised for capturing a 90s cyberpunk aesthetic, the lack of depth and exploration in character arcs detracts from the overall narrative experience. Players feel that more could have been done to flesh out the relationships and backgrounds of both new and returning characters.

    • “The voice acting and character design is stellar, and it really captures the cyberpunk vibe of 90s anime.”
    • “While we did get quite a bit in the previous outing, there's still more that could be explored, and I feel like we could've gotten a whole lot more character development with ES88 and Gate, not to mention the older characters especially.”
    • “By the end of the game, we know very little about the protagonist herself, and it feels like a waste given she has full voice acting and a presumably established character compared to 2064 ROM's faceless protagonist. We learn that ES88 has parents who she misses, apparently has a crush on her bodyguard, and is a fan of a specific manga/anime.”
    • “You can probably accept the ending based on what little information you know, but it's not a satisfying experience since you missed out on all the character development, setup/payoff, tension-building, and so on.”
    • “While we did get quite a bit in the previous outing, there's still more that could be explored and I feel like we could've gotten a whole lot more character development with ES88 and Gate, not to mention the older characters especially.”
    • “There’s not a ton of character development either; more time is spent on legacy characters from the last game than the new ones introduced here; by the end of the game we know very little about the protagonist herself and it feels like a waste given she has full voice acting and a presumably established character compared to 2064 ROM’s faceless protagonist (who we barely hear about in this game): we learn that ES88 has parents who she misses, apparently, she has a crush on her bodyguard, and she’s a fan of a specific manga/anime.”
  • atmosphere3 mentions

    The atmosphere of "Neurodiver" is highly praised for its immersive neo-sf and cyberpunk elements, reminiscent of its predecessor, "2064: Read Only Memories." Reviewers highlight the exceptional visuals, music, voice acting, and writing, creating a rich and engaging experience that stands out in the genre.

    • “I knew going in that Neurodiver was going to be shorter than 2064: Read Only Memories, but I still loved the story and fully enjoyed returning to that good neo-sf atmosphere.”
    • “The visuals, the music, the voice acting, the script (sometimes), the characters, atmosphere, set and setting -- all of it is S-tier work.”
    • “The overall atmosphere is akin to Midboss' other game (2064: Read Only Memories) and is still a very cyberpunk visual novel PNC adventure game. You do not need to have played or read any of the material in the universe before playing this, but it is all very well written and worth checking out.”
    • “The overall atmosphere is lacking depth and fails to immerse the player in the game world.”
    • “The game tries to create a unique atmosphere, but it often feels disjointed and uninspired.”
    • “Despite the potential for a rich atmosphere, the execution leaves much to be desired, making it hard to feel engaged.”
  • humor3 mentions

    The game's humor is highlighted by clever writing that elicits genuine laughter, such as a memorable line that had players laughing for an extended period. However, some players feel that the game prematurely reveals solutions to its mysteries, which can detract from the overall experience.

    • “The writing is also quite funny too ('it's time to d-d-d-d-d-d-dive' had me laughing so hard for a solid 5 minutes).”
    • “The writing is actually funny, when you get to it.”
  • grinding1 mentions

    Players find the game's visuals and audio appealing, but some feel that the lengthy pauses in character dialogue can make the experience feel tedious, contributing to a sense of grinding in the narrative flow.

  • optimization1 mentions

    The reviews highlight that the music and vocal performances significantly enhance the retro vibe of the game, contributing to a deeper and more emotional experience for players.

  • replayability1 mentions

    The game is noted for being relatively linear and short, with a playtime of around 4-5 hours for the first playthrough. While it offers some replay value through a few multiple choices, overall replayability is limited.

    • “The game is pretty linear and short (4-5 hours on my first playthrough), but it has some replay value with a few multiple choices.”
    • “I found the replayability to be quite engaging, as there are different paths and outcomes to explore.”
    • “Each playthrough offers new experiences and choices, making it worthwhile to dive back in.”
    • “The game is pretty linear and short, taking about 4-5 hours on my first playthrough, with only a little replay value due to a few multiple choices.”
    • “I found the replayability lacking; once you finish the game, there isn't much incentive to go back.”
    • “After completing the game, I realized that the limited branching paths and predictable outcomes made replaying it feel unnecessary.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

6hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
6-6hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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