WheelMates Collectibles: Neuro-Core Orbs & Ducks

Quick answer: WheelMates has four collectible types spread across the house — green Neuro-Core orbs in every level (the "green orbs" people search for), Memory Card audio logs telling the story, Custom Parts for car customization, and 15 ducks exclusive to Backyard. Each type ties to its own achievement; see the achievements guide for unlock details, especially the duck one, which has a genuine trick to it.

Neuro-Core orbs (the "green orbs")

These are the small green glowing orbs scattered through every one of the game's six areas, and they're what people mean when they search "wheelmates green orbs." They're plentiful — Backyard alone has roughly 500 of them, based on the recorded playthrough used across this site's guides — so you're not likely to miss them by accident while exploring normally.

Collecting all of them across the whole game unlocks the achievement Charge to full capacity! (see the achievements guide). Given how many there are, this is more of a "keep an eye out as you go" collectible than something you'd realistically backtrack level-by-level to mop up.

Memory Cards (the story collectible)

Memory Cards are audio logs — sometimes referred to as cassette tapes in the game's presentation — that fill in the game's backstory: the disappearance of Professor Everett Bloom and his partner, Oliver. They're the collectible most worth actually stopping for, since they're the main way the game tells its story outside of the Node voice logs mentioned in the achievements list.

Collecting every Memory Card unlocks Story driven.

Custom Parts (cosmetic, not just collectible)

Custom Parts are car customization pieces — colors, tires, antennas, horns — hidden around the house rather than handed to you upfront. Some of them sit in areas you can only reach once you've picked up a later gadget (Grapple, Magnetic Grabber, Magnet Wheels, Phase Shifter or Paintgun), so a first pass through an early area won't necessarily get you everything; you may need to revisit once you have more tools, the same way the full walkthrough describes backtracking through earlier rooms.

Collecting all Custom Parts unlocks Ultra-Fine-tuning.

Ducks — Backyard only, and there's a trick

Unlike the other three types, ducks only appear in Backyard, and there are exactly 15 of them: 8 yellow, 7 camouflage. The camouflage ones are, as the name implies, harder to spot against the environment than the bright yellow ones.

Here's the part worth knowing before you start hunting: collecting all 15 doesn't complete anything by itself. The tied achievement — "Right where they're belongs to be" — actually requires dropping all 15 into Backyard's swimming pool, and the pool has no water in it. Players commonly assume they need to fill the pool first; they don't. See the achievements guide for the full explanation, since this is the single most confusing unlock in the game.

A quick collecting checklist

• Neuro-Core orbs — every level, high volume, collect as you naturally explore
• Memory Cards — every level, worth pausing for since they carry the story
• Custom Parts — every level, some gated behind gadgets you get later, so plan a second pass
• Ducks — Backyard only, 15 total (8 yellow + 7 camouflage), collect all and drop them in the empty pool

For where each of these fits into the order you'll naturally encounter them, the full walkthrough covers every level start to finish.