Mind Diver Review
Indoor Sunglasses drew inspiration from Return of the Obra Dinn to tell a tragic, intimate story about love and loss.
Mind Diver. Credit: Indoor Sunglasses / Playism
Mind Diver, developed by Indoor Sunglasses and published by Playism, is a cyberpunk detective adventure that originated as a student project before evolving into something far more ambitious. Taking the title almost too literally, you swim through someone's mind to piece together their story and solve a mystery. It's heavily inspired by Lucas Pope’s Return of the Obra Dinn, but it differentiates itself by telling a far more intimate, emotionally resonant story about relationships, mourning, and obsession.
You play as an unnamed Mind Diver, a technician using experimental technology to explore the fragmented memories of Lina, a woman whose partner Sebastian has mysteriously disappeared after a party. Lina's memories are broken as her mind is deteriorating rapidly. Your job is to investigate her shattered recollections and deduce what should fill the gaps.
Mind Diver. Credit: Indoor Sunglasses / Playism
I originally expected the game to present a series of escalating cases, something like the structure of the Phoenix Wright games or The Case of the Golden Idol. I was pleasantly surprised to discover it focuses on a single mind and a single deeply personal narrative. You dive into Lina's Mind Ocean, literally swimming through surreal landscapes with each memory floating in its own bubble, waiting to be explored.
The gameplay centers on audio clues and careful observation. You use a tool to "pick up" objects and people, then drop them into memory gaps to restore the scene. Some puzzles are straightforward—listening to dialogue and placing the object they're discussing into someone's hands. Others are more difficult, requiring you to correctly fill multiple related gaps simultaneously before the memory confirms. Like Obra Dinn, success depends on paying close attention to conversations, scrutinizing small details, and making logical connections. The puzzle structure shares some DNA with The Case of the Golden Idol as well.
Mind Diver. Credit: Indoor Sunglasses / Playism
The naturalistic voice performances and writing add genuine authenticity to the characters and story. Even more striking is the 3D-scanned art style used throughout. I'm assuming the scans are of the voice actors themselves, which creates an uncanny sense of realism. The rough, imperfect quality of the scanned visuals feels like a deliberate choice. We’re viewing these memories frozen in time, through the lens of the experimental, imperfect mind-diving tech that’s part of the story. Those rough edges actually contribute to the feeling of authenticity rather than detracting from it.
Mind Diver. Credit: Indoor Sunglasses / Playism
Mind Diver is an engrossing mystery full of tragedy and emotional weight. It's refreshing to see more games taking inspiration from Obra Dinn's deduction-focused gameplay while finding their own voice. Where Pope's masterpiece gave us a cold, methodical insurance investigation, Indoor Sunglasses delivers something warmer yet more emotionally devastating with its depiction of a fragmented relationship. I'd love to see Indoor Sunglasses create a sequel or episodic series highlighting new people and cases, exploring more stories through their unique emotional lens.
Mind Diver is available now on Steam.
Overall Score: 8/10
Played on: Steam Deck
