Cerevrum: Brain Training Game

July 11, 2023 Gareth Griffiths

$6.99 • One‑time purchase Cerevrum Inc. • Indie Brain training PC VR (SteamVR)

Released 28 March 2017 • Steam • Memory • Attention • Spatial reasoning

Cerevrum

Cerevrum turns brain training exercises into a sci‑fi defence game. In the world of Enuma you fend off waves of enemy spaceships and protect glowing Soul Crystals, and every win depends on a thinking skill: remembering, paying attention, combining shapes or picturing objects in space. It was one of the very first attempts to bring cognitive training into virtual reality.

Developer: Cerevrum Inc.

Price: $6.99 on Steam

Platform: PC VR via SteamVR

Focus: Thinking skills • Memory • Focus

5.6

/10

XR School Score

Worth a Look

Clever idea • Cheap • Fun skill based challenges • Dated and PC only • No proof it improves thinking

Pioneer • 2017 One of the first VR
brain training games

Overview

Cerevrum is a brain training game from Cerevrum Inc., released on Steam on 28 March 2017 after first appearing on the Oculus store for Samsung Gear VR, where its developers billed it as the first brain training game made for virtual reality. The idea is to take the short puzzles found in smartphone brain training apps and wrap them in something more exciting: a conflict between gods in a far away world called Enuma, played out across planets you travel between.

On Steam the game is built around two challenges. In the first you destroy hordes of enemy spaceships; in the second you defend precious Soul Crystals from attackers. You cannot simply point and shoot. Each round relies on one thinking skill, which the developers group into four areas: memory, attentiveness, figural synthesis (fitting shapes and patterns together) and spatial intelligence. An early example tracks three orbs as they move around you, and you must remember which one was which colour before you can strike.

Why VR Suits This Kind of Task Tracking moving objects all around you, judging distance and holding a pattern in your head while the scene changes are things a phone screen cannot really test. In a headset the targets surround you, so attention and spatial reasoning have to work in three dimensions. That is the real novelty of Cerevrum, and it is why it felt promising to early reviewers, one of whom found it very fun and engaging despite expecting a dry training app.

The Four Thinking Skills

🧠

Memory

Hold colours, positions or sequences in mind while the scene moves, then act on what you remembered.

👀

Attentiveness

Keep track of several moving targets at once without losing focus on the one that matters.

🧩

Figural synthesis

Combine shapes and visual patterns into a whole, the kind of reasoning found in non‑verbal puzzles.

🧭

Spatial intelligence

Picture where objects are and how they move in the space around you, then respond in the right place.

According to the developers, difficulty adapts to how well you are doing, so the game should stay challenging as you improve. Rounds are short, which suits brief sessions and makes it easy to pass the headset around.

A Word on Brain Training Claims Research on commercial brain training apps has generally found that people get better at the trained games themselves, with much weaker evidence that the improvement carries over to everyday thinking or school work. Cerevrum has not been independently tested, and its developers do not publish study results. Treat it as an enjoyable way to exercise focus and memory, not as a proven way to raise attainment.

Cerevrum vs Smartphone Brain Training

Feature

Cerevrum

Phone apps

Setting

Immersive 3D space battle

Flat screen puzzles

Skills

Memory, attention, shapes, spatial

Usually wider range of mini games

Spatial challenge

Targets all around you

Limited to the screen

Progress tracking

Basic

Often detailed charts

Hardware

Gaming PC and PC VR headset

Any phone

Classroom Value

Originality of idea

7.8

Engagement

6.6

Value for money

7.0

Curriculum link

3.5

Hardware accessibility

3.0

Strengths and Limitations

Strengths

Imaginative way to practise memory and focus
Uses 3D space in ways a phone app cannot
Difficulty adapts to the player
Short rounds suit quick turns on a headset
Low price for a full game
Small download (300 MB) and modest PC needs

Considerations

PC VR only: Quest needs a PC link
Released in 2017 and looks its age
Too few Steam reviews to show a score
The Gear VR version is no longer sold
No evidence that skills transfer to school work
English only

For Teachers: Use It for Talking, Not Testing Cerevrum has no direct curriculum link, but it can start a useful conversation in PSHE or science about how memory and attention work, and whether “brain training” really makes us smarter. Older students could design a simple experiment: play for a week, test themselves on a different memory task before and after, and discuss whether practice on one task helps another. As with any headset activity, keep sessions short and supervise younger players.

$6.99

Steam • PC VR via SteamVR • Check Steam for the UK price and offers

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Quick Facts

Developer: Cerevrum Inc.
Released: 28 March 2017 (Steam)
Price: $6.99 (Steam)
Platform: PC VR via SteamVR • VR only
Controls: Tracked motion controllers
Skills: Memory, attentiveness, figural synthesis, spatial intelligence
Language: English
Minimum PC: Intel i5‑2500 • GeForce GTX 660 • 64‑bit Windows
Storage: 300 MB
Players: Single player

Verdict

Cerevrum was ahead of its time: a brain training game that uses the space around you to stretch memory, attention and spatial reasoning. It is cheap, easy to pick up and genuinely fun in short bursts. It is also dated, PC only and, like most brain training, unproven as a way to improve thinking beyond the game itself. It is worth a look if you already have a PC VR setup and want a novel discussion starter about how our brains learn, but it should not be bought as a learning intervention.

The XR School

The XR School

Cerevrum: Brain Training Game

Cerevrum

Gareth Griffiths