Another good quote from that article:
"But Ready Player One goes so far beyond a reasonable reference-to-plot ratio that it often feels more like binge-reading 1980s-related Wikipedia articles than reading a novel. The vast majority of these references are superfluous to the narrative, which means their only purpose is to elicit the most primitive of responses: I recognize that thing. ... With Ready Player One, the references come first. Take them away, and there’s not much left."