2064: Read Only Memories

I originally bought Read Only Memories because I found the premise intriguing; cyber-punk adventure, dealing with the age-old question, of what it means to be human? Fascinating! The gorgeous screenshots also helped sway my decision. And initially, I was pleasantly surprised - I really liked the aesthetics, which reminded me of Interplay's Neuromancer, the soundtrack was genuinely good, and the first few characters you're introduced to were interesting. However, that initial good impression soon soured. Those first few interesting characters (one of which is your "quirky robot" side-kick) are the only ones who aren't cardboard cutouts, and that quirky robot soon becomes a nagging pest you wish you could dump in the ocean. And the plot, which was what drew me to the game initially, has been done many times before, and with much greater skill and grace. The worst offender, however, is the utter lack of any gameplay. ROM is painfully linear, and you are railroaded from one location to the other. The "puzzles" are non-existent, and yet the game insists on holding your hands to a degree that is infuriating. In the end, I found myself simply clicking to advance, deprived of any agency as a player. And that was when I gave up, and uninstalled the game. I did not finish the game, but after checking playthroughs on Youtube, I'd estimate I've completed 2/3 of the game, and what was left assured me that I made the right decision. For a better cyber-punk story, go watch Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. The writing is much better, and the experience is about as interactive as ROM, except you don't have to click your mouse. TL;DR: + Beautiful pixel-art + Nice soundtrack - Underwhelming story - Impoverished gameplay Get it if you enjoy the Visual Novel genre, 'cause this isn't your traditional adventure game.

Overall I enjoyed the game. The graphics are spot on for the genre. I especially liked the chill techo soundtrack, very appropriate for the game. The setting was cyberpunk, but a little too bright, clean and sunny for me. Not much of an edge. A sprinkle of a little more Blade Runner would help. At times I felt the game was a little preachy and ham fisted in it's presentation of sexuality themes. It's great to see that games are becoming more diverse and inclusive, but at a certain point it becomes a distraction. I'm really not interested in the sexual orientation of the characters in video games, unless it is relevant to the story in some way. Some of the characters seemed almost solely defined by their sexuality, which makes me think the only reason that they are in the game is to make a statement, which is often just, "I'm gay! And I'm in a video game!" But the main disappointment that I had with the game (and the reason for only three stars) was the spoon feeding. You really don't have to think very much about anything. You're told exactly what you need to be doing and where you need to be going. There isn't really much satisfaction completing any of the "puzzles" when you're told exactly what you're supposed to do. When talking to people, it really doesn't matter which response that you click on, you're still going to be progressing through the game in the same way. So in the end, I'm left wondering if the developers were mostly just interested in making this game as a platform to express their worldviews and beliefs at the expense of character development, challenge, and gameplay.

Basically, and keeping it succinct, this is one of the very few games astonishingly only delivered part of the visual aspect. It's like asking for a Pizza and receiving a half-baked taco. We've all been there. The premise is basically that a super-smart robot invaded your apartment one night and is asking for your help, fine, fun, interesting premise, like going to the amusement park, you know most of the fun rides but there is always something new. Gameplay-wise, it behaves akin to a visual novel more than a point and click adventure, simple as that. Rarely you'll need to get back and forth, rarely you'll need to solve a puzzle, if none at all. It could be forgiven if the story was interesting... Which is not. Basically, this game is plagued by one of the worst set of characters I've ever seen. The robot tells you that it will be your friend, but every single scene it admonishes you for something you did, or speak in a condescending tone. Others are downright hostile, weirdly dumping their life stories to someone whom they barely met and openly insulted. The only character to be truly friendly with you is the cop gal. That's it. Yet the game tells me that I should care for those people, that I should compliment the robot every second on the way and seek the creator of an annoying machine that will literally try to sway nearly any conversation to talk about itself. So it's more or less like one of those Carnivals that were already into town, with a bad paint job, broken attractions and you're pretty sure someone is going to stab you if you go to that hotdog stand. And they try to sell themselves as new.

This is the type of game you buy simply because, in theory, it touts as having all the things you want to see in a game. Cyberpunk that focuses on trans-humanism and body modifications that is going to fit the setting where we've gone far past the point of current plastic surgery? Point and click adventure with puzzles? Multiple endings?! Instead you get a luke warm, if not tepid, visual novel that has as much cyberpunk in it as a Shirley Temple has alcohol in it and as much point and click adventuring as pointing and clicking on something to advance the story. Sometimes you have to click on one thing first before you can click on another and move to the next scene, so does that count as a "point and click" puzzle? And to be honest, if the writing was above average I would have given it at least a 3, maybe a 4... But instead, without spoiling much, Astroboy breaks into your apartment and regardless of your answers, your character agrees to help him. Every dialogue choice feels like it goes the same way where you're expected to choose the "right" answer and if you don't the game will brow beat you heavily for it, with the multiple endings playing into that near the end. The world building never really fleshes out and there's no allowance for your character (yours, not Astroboy) to really have any agency, so I found myself not knowing or caring why my character acting certain ways resulted in them being punished by the game. This game has a really interesting core idea but it feels like it was made by someone who had no idea what any of the terms used to describe it actually mean. There's really no point and click and very little cyber or punk with most of it focusing on general scifi and transhumanism. It's really just a visual novel with more visuals to it.