Should you dive into this cyberpunk world?
Return to the vibrant cyberpunk world of Neo-San Francisco from 2064: Read Only Memories, filled with friendly and familiar faces including Jess Meas, the gene-spliced, hybrid lawyer, TOMCAT, the notorious hacker, and Lexi Rivers, former police officer turned private eye. Take on the role of ES88, a telepath with the ability to delve into memories employed by MINERVA, a powerful organization specializing in neurotechnology and extrasensory projection phenomena.
Tasked with tracking down the Golden Butterfly, a naturally gifted psychic on the loose and wreaking havoc through the subconscious minds of Neo-San Francisco, by using the Neurodiver to search the memories in which it hides. Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER’s Deep Dive mechanic enables ES88 to identify, manipulate, and unlock information, though overuse can irreparably corrupt her target’s memory. NEURODIVER will introduce new characters, locations, and mechanics, including the ability to dive into and change other characters’ memories, as well as overhauled art and an unsolved case to crack with multiple endings.
From the likes of Blade Runner or Cyberpunk 2077, I’ve always been fascinated by cyberpunk worlds. I hadn’t heard of the Read Only Memories franchise before, but was taken in by the cyberpunk style and before I knew it, I had to dive in to find what ending awaited me…
NEURODIVER’s story allows you to dive into people’s memories and interact as if you were them, which helps unravel the story and opens up new locations at different point of time for you to access. It’s more or less a visual novel, but there are multiple endings to be earned so you have a good reason to replay the game.
The story itself is gripping and the characters are all memorable, while the visuals are designed to be retro and yet maintain the cyberpunk theme well. The music is also pretty retro, but in a good way.
The Verdict
Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER is a visual novel game that is set in a superb cyberpunk setting. It doesn’t change the genre, but it does more than enough to keep you hooked to the very end and even then, enough for you to replay it for multiple endings. Definitely one for fans of cyberpunk.