In 2015, developer Midboss released it’scyberpunk adventure, 2064: Read Only Memories, after a successful crowdfunding campaign. Set decades from now in the eponymous year of 2064; its narrative explores the concept of Artificial Intelligence and the relationship between humans and robots. It wrapped itself in some wonderfully retro pixel art. I loved it and considered it one of my favorite games ever; its cast of characters was charming and full of depth, while the mystery it presented to the player was genuinely gripping. Since its sequel, Read Only Memories: Neurodiver, was announced, I’ve been eagerly awaiting its release, and almost a decade later, that day is almost upon us.
Enigmatic Espers & Misty Memories – Does Neurodiver Impress?
Read Only Memories: Neurodiver builds on its predecessor with a more focused narrative and richer character development, making each interaction a piece of the larger puzzle.
But even though May 16th is nearly here, I was allowed to play a preview build and witness some never-before-seen content. Covering the first few chapters, it’s interesting to see the original game’s familiar concepts blended with new additions. Read Only Memories: Neurodiver plays out very familiarly; it’s a point-and-click adventure game where the focus is exploring and examining your environment. However, from what I played, at least the sense of progression felt much more linear this time. The true setpieces of the game are the Neurodives, where our protagonist, ES88, dives into the minds of others to help them regain their own memories, which furthers her investigation into the actions of a mysterious rogue esper.
Character Deep Dive: New Faces and Old Friends in Neurodiver
Each dive tasks you with exploring the memory, searching for anomalies, and clearing them with gathered items that are important to restoring said memory. Even in these early chapters, you must consider what memory you are trying to fix and what items are necessary, so it will be interesting to see how they develop further in later chapters. Some of these dives will even take you into the minds of some familiar faces, such as Lexi Rivers, the friendly detective who aided the protagonist and Turing in the original game. Learning more about characters already so well-developed seems like a winning formula, and learning about the new cast will also be a delight. There are many memorable faces from these initial hours alone, each with an endearing personality and charismatic design.
Our protagonist, ES88, is the perfect example of this, as she stands to be a bit of an enigma herself. A young esper employed by a powerful organization, there seem to be some gaps in her history, so I’m curious to see where her arc goes within the rest of the adventure. She’s just a delight as a lead in general, so full of upbeat charisma, and the way she plays off of her cool and collected robot companion, GATE, is extremely adorable. In the original game, the protagonist was more or less the player standing in, as they were left faceless, and the game allowed you to choose which pronouns were used for them. Since a large part of that game was about the player building a rapport with Turing, it made sense as a narrative choice. With a named main character present in Neurodiver signaling a focus on a protagonist’s journey, I am excited to see where ES88’s story will go.
Neurodiver’s shift towards a more linear storytelling mirrors an Ace Attorney-style adventure, focusing on delivering a tightly woven narrative that captivates from start to finish.
Narrative Focus: The Shift Towards Linear Storytelling in Neurodiver
If I’m concerned about anything, the new structure might be sacrificing the player choice and the open-ended nature of the original. That was one of the more memorable parts of the game, which could lead to wildly different player experiences and even offer multiple endings. From what I’ve played, the game doesn’t allow you that freedom to deviate. Still, I also suspect that was an intentional decision, as Neurodiver feels much more like an ‘Ace Attorney-styled mystery than a ‘Snatcher mystery. Midboss is focusing more on telling a compelling and thrilling story with a cast of colorful and sometimes eccentric characters in this new entry. I’m on board with that, even if sacrifices must be made.
Anticipating the Release: Final Thoughts and Expectations for Neurodiver
This is before I even talk about the visuals, in which almost everything has been improved. 2064: Read Only Memories was a fine-looking game, but Neurodiver takes it to a whole new level with much more detailed environments, charismatic and expressive character portraits, plus an additional cinematic flair that brings each moment to life. The soundtrack is shaping up to be solid, and the voice acting is impeccable. Much work has been put into making Neurodiver a treat for the eyes and the ears.
We’ll soon find out how Neurodiver is as a complete package, but after playing this recent build, everything seems to be in excellent hands. ES88’s investigation is set to be thrilling and thought-provoking, proving that the many years of work spent on crafting Neurodiver have been well spent. We’ll give you our complete verdict once the game is out on May 16th.
