[u][h1]OVERVIEW:[/h1][/u]
[h2][i]✅ Spoiler-free! Full review with spoilers later! ✅[/i][/h2]
[h2]STORY[/h2]
Masterpiece · Psychological Horror · Emotional
⭐ 10/10
[h2]GAMEPLAY[/h2]
Visual Novel · Minimal Interaction · Choices
⚪ N/A
[h2]CHALLENGE[/h2]
Not Applicable
⚪ N/A
[h2]GRIND[/h2]
Some Route Repetition · For True Ending · For 100% Completion
🟡 6/10
[h2]VISUALS[/h2]
Anime · Unique · Impressive
🟢 9/10
[h2]MUSIC & SFX[/h2]
Heavenly
⭐ 10/10
[h2]VOICE ACTING[/h2]
Great · Amazing
🟢 9/10
[h2]EXTRAS[/h2]
CG Library · Sound Library · Movie Library
⚪ N/A
[h2]LENGTH[/h2]
30-50 Hours
🟢 9/10
[h2]REPLAYABILITY[/h2]
Replay It Once or Twice · For Story
🟡 7/10
[h2]VALUE[/h2]
BUY NOW!
🟢 9/10
[h2]TECHNICAL[/h2]
Controller Issues · Minimal PC Requirements · No Monitor Selection
🟡 7/10
[h2]AUDIENCE[/h2]
Teens · Adults
[quote][h1]MY SCORE AVERAGE: 8.4/10[/h1]
[h1]MY PERSONAL SCORE: 10/10[/h1]
[h2][url=https://kelkr.in/(INSERT-LINK)]After reading the full review and rundown below, click here for even more thoughts, compliments & complaints![/url][/h2][/quote]
[h2][i]⚠️ MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW! ⚠️[/i][/h2]
[u][h1]REVIEW:[/h1][/u] Hello. This is John Titor. The year is 2026. I'm sending this review to the @channel from the future, which is why it took me so long to finally play this despite loving visual novels (VNs).
This game, man. It's pure cinema. It disguises itself as a goofy sci-fi comedy where a group of dumb friends, a "mad scientist," a ditz, and one "hacka" friend discover that their microwave invention, the PhoneWave (name subject to change), can teleport and gelify bananas and other small objects. It started as a device that lets you call the microwave to heat food. Except, it isn't merely teleportation. It's straight-up time travel.
From there, romance seeps in, relationships deepen, and the game quietly builds toward something much darker. Do not be fooled: this game is emotional, brutal, and PEAK psychological horror. I cannot tell you how many times it brought tears to my eyes.
Much like Danganronpa, I neglected the Science Adventure series, otherwise known as the ";" series, I joke. And, well, the series I neglect usually become some of my favorites. This beautifully devastating tear-jerker is no exception.
Almost a year ago, I finished CHAOS;HEAD NOAH. I still need to review it, but I developed persistent non-spinning dizziness shortly afterward, and a year later it's still ongoing. It almost felt like I was taking on Takumi's delusions in real life.
I love STEINS;GATE. I'll play through the whole series and the new reboot. Playing S;G will go down as one of the most unforgettable experiences I've ever had, and I don't even like time travel. In fact, I'd say I hate it. I've watched plenty of shows that use it, and it usually feels cheap, tacked on to compensate for weak plot development, or way too safe. Take LOST, for example. It was a fantastic show that I'll forever love, but even I hated the time-traveling parts in the later seasons. They felt extremely lazy and nonsensical.
S;G does the exact opposite. At first, I wasn't sure it would work because the ability to go back felt safe. But no, it wasn't safe at all. That's where the game bites you and tears your heart to shreds. Hope becomes hopelessness, then pure emptiness, and the time travel itself creates that pain. Whether you love or hate time travel, play this VN.
This is time travel DoneRight (name NOT subject to change).
El. Psy. Kongroo.
[u][h1]RUNDOWN:[/h1][/u]
[u][h3]STORY[/h3][/u] I was wrong about everything I'm about to explain. I met Rintaro Okabe, the man of many names: the self-proclaimed mad scientist Hououin Kyouma (MUAHAHA!!), Okarin, and Lab Mem 001 of the Future Gadget Lab. I was nervous; the game bombarded me with time travel, paradoxes, and astrophysical concepts that left me confused beyond belief. I felt like I was on [i]Jeopardy![/i] because I'd always think, "What is a black hole?" "What is a Kerr black hole?" Oh, and of course, "What [the HELL] is a naked singularity?" Sometimes, I felt like even more of a ditz than Mayuri, and that's saying a lot.
As the story continued, Okabe recruited more Lab Mems, including Kurisu, Daru, Mayuri, Suzuha, Faris, Luka, and the sheepish Moeka, each becoming involved with the Future Gadget Lab in their own way. There were times when I felt bored. Some of the nickname jokes felt very overused, and some D-Mail chapters felt repetitive. Still, much of the writing felt raw and real, and I wanted to know where it would end up.
Eventually, nearly EVERY complaint I had fell apart. During the Time Leap Machine explanation in Chapter 5, everything about the time travel finally clicked. I could finally sit there peacefully, connect with the characters a LOT more, and understand the story.
Then, despite all the warning signs, the story smacks you across the face. BOOM: Moeka reveals herself as one of SERN's Rounders, the Lab Mems are held at gunpoint, and Mayuri gets shot in the head. It felt like getting hit by a semi-truck! The Ned Stark-esque betrayal made everything go from 0 to 100 REAL. QUICK. I was pissed, sad, and trying to cuddle up next to the hope of time leaping. Considering my earlier thoughts about time travel feeling too safe, ironic, isn't it?
That's what this game does so well. It breaks you. It takes that hope, puts it in the PhoneWave (name subject to change), and gelifies it. The game doesn't merely raise the stakes; it DETONATES them, like an incendiary bomb.
All I could do was root for Okabe; I felt terrible for him. When things refused to go his way, I'd get frustrated because I was completely emotionally invested. I even started missing the silly moments between the Lab Mems. When Okabe called someone by one of their nicknames, it suddenly [i]did[/i] feel right. His character development is phenomenal; he's easily my favorite character.
The only things that really bothered me were some stupid lines, particularly from Daru. His future daughter reuniting with her past father goes from wholesome to, uh, weird and sexual (?!). Still, these complaints are tiny compared with everything this wonderful story accomplishes.
Everything that originally bothered me did a complete 180° turn. This will go down as one of the rawest and most emotional narratives I've experienced. Once the story takes off, it never lets up. The psychological horror is there to stay... However! The ending is nothing short of beautiful, magnificent, and well-earned. [i]That[/i] is the choice of Steins Gate.
[u][h3]GAMEPLAY[/h3][/u] It's a VN with minor choices leading to different endings, so I chose not to score it.
[u][h3]CHALLENGE[/h3][/u] N/A
[u][h3]GRIND[/h3][/u] Make a save every chapter. Skipping is fast, but replaying story sections for different routes still got annoying.
[u][h3]VISUALS[/h3][/u] The game looks great and has an incredibly unique art style. Some eyes look weird, but I love the different vibes. It looks much different from CHAOS;HEAD NOAH, in a GOOD way. The fact that this is from 2016 amazes me!
[u][h3]MUSIC & SFX[/h3][/u] I'm a sucker for electronic beep-boop music, and the OST is amazing. I even use the game's ringtones on my phone daily!
[u][h3]VOICE ACTING[/h3][/u] I'm getting more used to Japanese voice acting; the cast was incredible. There's so much raw emotion and heart there.
[u][h3]EXTRAS[/h3][/u] Mainly collections. N/A.
[u][h3]LENGTH[/h3][/u] Amazing length for a 30+ hour VN.
[u][h3]REPLAYABILITY[/h3][/u] I won't replay it for a while because of its length, but I'll eventually play the reboot.
[u][h3]VALUE[/h3][/u] BUY IT! MUAHAHA!
[u][h3]TECHNICAL[/h3][/u] I used the CoZ patch, which I highly recommend. Shout-out to them for making that mod! My Xbox controller never worked, so I had to use a mouse. Startup glitches also sometimes forced restarts, and there's no monitor selection.
[u][h3]AUDIENCE[/h3][/u] Mostly adults and some teens. Certain parts haven't aged well.
