The oft-neglected adventure genre received an charmingly cyberpunk-flavored bump in 2015 with developer MidBoss’ Read Only Memories. Fast-forward to mid-2018 and what might very well be the definitive version of the game makes its debut on the Nintendo Switch, complete with an additional side story, an updated title, and several other goodies present in earlier releases.

We’re a long ways past the golden age of adventure games, point-and-click or otherwise. In a games industry increasingly interested in visually stunning setpieces and frenetic gameplay, it’s easy to forget that there used to be a genre dedicated almost purely to the power of the written word. 2064: Read Only Memories Integral makes for a solid addition to adventure game library, mostly due to its imaginative worldbuilding, snazzy pixel art style, and colorful cast.

2064: Read Only Memories Integral is a detective story at its heart, almost tech noir at times, although it occasionally experiments with a bit of action gameplay, too, which puts it somewhere near the crossroads of Snatcher, Gabriel Knight, and visual novels. The player takes the role of a struggling journalist living in Neo-San Francisco (Neo-SF for short) in 2064. Their mundane life is jolted by the appearance of a pint-sized robot named Turing who needs their help to locate their missing creator, a friend of the protagonist. Turing is the first artificial intelligence of its kind, different from the tens of thousands of ROM’s (“Relationship and Organizational Managers”) who work various jobs for humans as non-sapient machines.

This story is set against a version of the United States that’s embroiled in a national debate over genetic modifications for humans. There’s a large community of “hybrids” who have voluntarily, or out of necessity, spliced themselves with different animal genes. A recent law, the Human Protection Act, limits the rights of these individuals to the extent of making them second-class citizens by forcing sterilization amongst other things. The hybrid struggle isn’t entirely intertwined with the overall narrative of the game, which is much more concerned with Turing and the questions and concerns surrounding artificial intelligence. Still, the frequent references by characters to genetic modifications, the Human Protection Act, or growing corporate power in America help to bring the world of the game to life without being an exposition dump. At the very worst, Turing itself enjoys demonstrating its knowledge of various subjects, leading to fairly natural, if somewhat tedious, monologues about particular events and issues within the game’s world and history.

Much of the gameplay revolves around solving simple puzzles that require obtaining an item or two from one character or location to present to a different character elsewhere. These puzzles are mostly linear and don’t allow for much leeway on the solutions, but there’s some humor to be had from the narrative indulging experimentation with different, absurd item combinations or actions long enough to comment on why these ideas can’t possibly work. For example, attempting conversation with a parked car yields enthusiastic, if vaguely sarcastic, commentary on the futility of such an enterprise.

Most of the player’s impact on the narrative comes in the form of dialogue choices with major characters, especially Turing. The player’s relationship with these characters will eventually influence the climax of the story, which has multiple ways of concluding. Often these dialogues involve shared reflection on ethical or philosophical concerns relating to different themes in the story. Some characters respond well to a measured, neutral attitude, while others prefer or despise a too-friendly stance that’s interpreted as the player sucking up to them. These characters include an altruistic computer hacker, a hardboiled detective with a rebel streak, a bitter hybrid attorney with a hidden softer side, and a charismatic revolutionary leader who detests genetic modification. The varying attitudes and backgrounds of these characters, not to mention their surprisingly talented voice actors, go a long way towards making the game’s story, world, and themes more engaging.

2064: Read Only Memories Integral runs into issues during its final act with a shift in gameplay and some hastiness in its writing. An optional arcade game that calls for quickly shooting enemies on a grid becomes a mandatory sequence that leads into a final boss encounter. It’s not a terribly difficult sequence but aiming on a grid isn’t ideal for shooting down groups of moving enemies that will quickly overwhelm the player, and the whole scene doesn’t synergize well with the methodical puzzle-solving and slow-burn pacing of the rest of the game. The “final boss” does make use of a previous puzzle’s model, while adding in a little of the shooting gameplay if certain conditions are met, and plays out well for the most part. However, the final boss’ dialogue during this encounter is almost absurdly heavy on exposition, as if the writers felt it was imperative they explain and wrap up any and all possible plot threads as quickly as possible during the fight. The encounter feels more contrived than the rest of the game, but not so much that the experience is completely derailed in the process.

2064: READ ONLY MEMORIES INTEGRAL takes an intelligent and thoughtful approach towards questions about artificial intelligence, genetic modification, and humanity’s future in the context of rapid technological progress. It’s all classic cyberpunk stuff, delivered in an attractive, pseudo-retro art style. It’s a short ride at about 3-5 hours, but an entertaining one for those more interested in engaging with the setting, ideas, and characters than challenging puzzles or combat. And, in the end, that’s what good adventure games have always delivered the most on.

8/10

Check Out the 2064: Read Only Memories Integral Trailer:

2064: READ ONLY MEMORIES INTEGRAL is available in the Nintendo Switch eShop for $20.64USD and support English with full audio and Japanese with a text-only localization. To learn more, visit the 2064: Read Only Memories Integral official website and follow it on Facebook and Twitter, or follow MidBoss on Twitter and Tumblr.

Michael Schreiber

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I've been gaming for 22 years, ever since my mom picked up a secondhand NES, and I've played on just about every gaming platform out there since. I think video games are one of most innovative and artistic mediums in the world today, and I'm always curious how developers will surprise me next.

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