Steins;Gate 0 is a continuation of the original Steins;Gate from 5pb in visual novel form. Set in Akihabara, Tokyo, players will follow this science adventure as Rintaro Okabe who must make decisions along the way (such as answering calls from an AI called Amadeus) which will guide the story and ending. Similar to what would be called the Butterfly Effect, Steins;Gate 0 follows multiple timelines and multiple people along the way. This also includes multiple histories as well. A key point for this game is that to prevent what is going to happen in the future (such as a death or WW3) something must be changed in the past. With the accidental discovery of time travel this group of friends via a microwave and phone, characters send text messages which allow them to jump through time but still remain connected to each other.
Okabe is done with time travel. Due to his failure to save Kurisu he spends his days wistfully just living his life. All this changes when he goes to a presentation about artificial intelligence. The designers have used Kurisu as one of the avatars. Okabe becomes a tester and slowly becomes more intertwined with the program. His decision will also bring him back to the time travel world as well as put enemies, old and new, on his trail once again.
The main strength of the Steins;Gate series has always been its writing. These are not games which have extraordinary combat or gorgeous graphics. The visual novel format plays to this strength. While the idea of having multiple endings in a visual novel is not new, the addition of side quests makes this a truly unique experience. These side quests are not activated by an evident decision made by the player. It could be as simple as responding to a text message in the right way.
In visual novels, character images use the same motions repeatedly with little to really bring to the imagination. The backgrounds fail to change very much and are overall bland, however, therefore visual novels also work. The best part of getting involved in such a game is to experience the plot. Steins;Gate 0 takes its plot very seriously. While the subject is time travel, it is treated with scientific authority and as much realism as the creators can bring. Okabe has very real human enemies, he must also contend with time itself. The world line convergence will try to keep the past unchanged. How does Okabe, and you as the player, fight against something against you can’t see, touch, or even attack?
I wish we could get more in to the specific details of Steins;Gate 0 but this would completely ruin the experience for the players. With that said, I can tell you this, the replayability is very high here. You will want to know what else is going on. Even with such a complicated story, the game will have you playing everything else in the series as well, if you haven’t already that is. Since the game has such a strong plot that pulls players in I wholeheartedly endorse Steins;Gate 0 . So, go out and try it for yourself.
9/10
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Available now on: PS4, Xbox, PC, PS Vita
