The science fiction text-adventure game Read Only Memories: Neurodiver will release in 2020. Neurodiver is the sequel to studio MidBoss’s first game, 2064: Read Only Memories.
MidBoss took elements of the classic text adventure and brought them into the Read Only Memories games. The point-and-click gameplay borrows from the early LucasArts days. Games like Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and The Dig forced players to utilize the mouse to explore the environment in a variety of ways. A major component to the classic text-adventure is solving a mystery, and Read Only Memories promises to deliver a futuristic-noir storyline.
Players familiar with the first entry will also recognize some of the characters. The hacker, TOMCAT; the gene-spliced lawyer, Jess Meas; and the private eye, Lexi, will all return in Neurodiver.
For those interested in using telepathy as an element of gameplay, Neurodiver will allow the player to change the memories of people in the game. Presumably, this power is meant to solve the case that our protagnoist, ES-88, was hired for. As it turns out, when ES-88 signed up for the job, she gave up her own memories in the process. ES-88’s telepathic ability comes via a device provided to her by the corporation who hired her for the job.
If players overuse the telepathic ability, however, they will risk corrupting the target’s memory permanently.
2064: Read Only Memories has a VA-11 Hall-A tie-in
MidBoss’s first game has a tie-in with another futuristic text adventure, VA-11 Hall-A. Sukebon Games and MidBoss, who were working on their respective titles separately, later chose to make their games set in the same world. VA-11 Hall-A‘s major feature is that the player takes the role of a bartender and must navigate through dialogue while choosing the best drinks to serve to customers. Various drinks, the news website Augmented Eye, and the NSFW League all make an appearance in both games.
Fans of these games may be searching for more Easter eggs in the upcoming Neurodiver. See the game’s official trailer below.
