N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure Reviews

N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure is ranked in the 10th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9 / 10.0
May 13, 2015

Even after finishing, it's difficult to pin NERO down to a concept or feeling that's easy to explain. It's a game that prioritizes emotion above all else, and it does so wonderfully. But as the boy at the heart of this tale learns, emotions are tough to understand, and thus NERO is tough to understand. You'll just know that you felt something, and that sensation alone is worth the journey.

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3 / 10.0
Jul 4, 2016

N.E.R.O. relies on philosophical lessons in order to create its story, but in terms of gameplay it feels too clumsy and simple.

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Attack of the Fanboy
AOTF Staff
Top Critic
May 15, 2015

NERO is pretty to look at but is decidedly lacking when it comes to substance or involving players in the intricate story it's trying to tell.

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May 14, 2015

'Nero' may have some rough edges and frame rate problems, but the brief experience offers a genuinely affecting story that lives up to the 'interactive novel' billing.

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63 / 100
Jun 1, 2015

Nero calls itself an interactive story, and does fine by itself with the story aspect, however interaction is sorely lacking. Nero is an ambitious project and an obvious labour of love, and may be a worthwhile purchase for any gamer with a taste for story and mature subject matter, but be prepared for painfully dull puzzles and a few other blunders.

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5.5 / 10.0
Jun 27, 2016

A visually beguiling though relaxing explorative adventure, N.E.R.O fails to properly capitalise on its unique setting as its simple puzzles, brief duration, and lack of replayability ultimately damages its long-term appeal.

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5 / 10
Jun 23, 2016

N.E.R.O. intrigues as an interactive visual novel, but it fails in its attempts to be a game. The puzzles here are laughably easy, and they subsequently get in the way of the storytelling. There are some beautiful cutscenes and an interesting story here, but they're too often impeded by unenjoyable gameplay.

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EGM
Top Critic
3.5 / 10.0
May 29, 2015

A few interesting puzzles can't save Nero from being an overwritten, mawkish plod that runs so poorly on the Xbox One it's tough to play without feeling sick.

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May 20, 2015

As a visual novel and piece of fiction, NERO is an absolute treasure. As an actual game, though, it is almost a complete disaster, with slow, boring gameplay and technical hiccups abound.

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4 / 10.0
May 15, 2015

I wanted to like Nero, I really did, but as the credits rolled all I could do was wish I could get my two hours back.

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4 / 10.0
Jun 28, 2016

NERO is not fun. NERO might have a powerful story. NERO might look pretty. But NERO is not fun. Nor enjoyable. Or engaging. Or really anything that may have driven me to want to keep playing. The only thing that kept me playing was the review, because dammit I'm a games writer and that's what I do. For its few successes in deep storytelling and pretty visuals, it fails to come together in any meaningful way. Less interactive than a game. Slower to consume than a book. Not as visual as a movie. NERO takes storytelling's greatest mediums and takes away the reasons you would use each particular canvas to tell a story. The result is a slow technical mess that has something deep to say but doesn't know how to say it.

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6.9 / 10.0
Nov 25, 2016

A little below the technical standards of this generation, and not so brilliant in terms of puzzles, N.E.R.O. manages to narrate an intimate and devastating tragedy, in a very touching way.

Review in Italian | Read full review

ACG
Top Critic
Rent
Apr 29, 2016
N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure Review video thumbnail
4.5 / 10.0
Jun 20, 2015

Nero should be experienced, but never under these circumstances.

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5 / 10.0
May 4, 2016

N.E.R.O. has the potential to be very deep if you can connect with it and fully understand it.

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Ken Barnes
Top Critic
4 / 10
May 15, 2015

Your mileage may vary depending on how much the story grabs you, but most will find that the asking price here is too high for what you get.

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Digitally Downloaded
Matt C.
Top Critic
Jul 5, 2016

As a story-focused first-person adventure game, NERO is quite remarkable. It's surreal, heartfelt, bittersweet, and thought-provoking, and that should have been more than enough to carry it without the need for shoehorned-in "gameplay". As it is, it's a very good game, but it would have been so much better if it hadn't tried so hard to avoid the "walking simulator" criticism and just ran with its strengths.

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93%
Aug 2, 2016

I had a good time with N.E.R.O. Sure, some people don't like the "walking simulator" genre in which the game will probably be included, but for me, it felt more like an interactive visual novel with a solid narrative that kept me interested from start to finish. After doing my N.E.RO.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure review, I can wholeheartedly recommend that you buy this PlayStation 4 release.

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Digitally Downloaded
Pierre-Yves L.
Top Critic
May 27, 2015

Nero is a beautiful contrast between light and dark, love and pain. It's not a fast-paced game, but rather a reflective, insightful, and emotional experience that is a very different kind of game that what we're used to. What starts as nothing more than a simple story of a woman and the man she loves, it quickly transforms itself into a heartfelt and wrenching story of a mother and her husband who go through one of the most wrenching, desperate series of emotions that a human being could experience.

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9 / 10
Jun 27, 2016

N.E.R.O is a short game that can be completed in a handful of hours, but there is a lot more to the game than meets the eye. The game is well worth your time and I was very happy that I got a chance to do this N.E.R.O.: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure review because this is a great game you have to play on PlayStation 4.

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