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[orthodoxy1095]

Platform: PS4 / PSV (PS3 in JPN only)
Price: PS4: $59.99/£44.99 / PSV: $39.99/£34.99
Players: 1
Genre: Visual Novel
Developer: 5pb., Nitroplus
Publisher: PQube
Rating: PEGI: 16 / ESRB: M
Release Date: November 25th (EU) / November 29th (NA)
Download size: PS4: 8.2GB (also reported at 6.71GB?), PSV: 1554MB + a small patch

November 2010, in the Beta World Line, divergence 1.129848%.

This is the story of the Rintaro Okabe who was not able to save "her" on July 28.

This is the timeline where, after enduring so much suffering and sorrow, Rintaro Okabe has given up on rescuing "her."

This is the Rintaro Okabe who has sunk into a depression, given up on his friends, his research and most importantly, on time-traveling.

This is the fruit of Rintaro Okabe's choices and sacrifices.

This is the story of the Amadeus.

This is the story of a future which couldn't be saved.

As with Steins;Gate, the branching plot of Steins;Gate 0 is decided by how you respond to social interactions via your phone. How you respond to your phone will once again steer the course of the story as well as your relationship with the other characters. However, this isn't yesteryear's Phone Trigger system, this is a newly updated system! The twist is that Okabe's old grandpa flip-phone has been upgraded to a smartphone, meaning that now the story's route is changed via the applications installed on the new phone. You can read and reply to text messages, answer calls, and answer the new “Amadeus” AI all from your phone. Much like with the first game, your decision to answer, or to not answer will decide which ending you meet.

And yes, there are stickers in “RINE Messaging” app like you would expect with it oh-so coincidentally sharing a name similar to another popular messaging app with stickers...

OpenCritic: 86
Five reviews worth being highlighted:
TheSixthAxis - 9/10

Steins;Gate 0 is phenomenal. Every part of it is bigger and better than the game that came before it. Rather than a tacked on sequel storyline that disturbs the perfect ending of the original, it explores a wealth of material hidden between that story’s many layers, and ends up creating a narrative that almost rivals that of the original. It’s a game that is, without a doubt, for a specific crowd, and while it’s inaccessible to newcomers, the entire point is to explore another side to the narrative in a manner that would be lost on new players.

Destructoid - 8.5/10

I went into Steins;Gate 0 with a level of hesitation and uncertainty. After all, its predecessor managed to wrap up its story fairly neatly, so I really didn't know how well a sequel would even work. Thankfully, Steins;Gate 0 does a fantastic job of continuing the story, to such an extent where I'd almost consider it to be mandatory for anyone with a fondness for the original visual novel.

TechRaptor - 9.5/10

After finishing Steins;Gate 0, I can't think of it as a sequel. With how well it fits into the original story, complimenting it - Steins;Gate 0 feels like the missing half to the original that I didn't even know I wanted, let alone needed. Now that I've read it though, I can't think of Steins;Gate without it.

God is a Geek - 9.5/10

Steins;Gate 0 is the sequel I never knew I wanted. It is a perfect alternate take with various expositions for characters I know and love from Steins;Gate. The new characters are great and I’m glad I’m in a timeline in which not only does Steins;Gate get a proper sequel, but one in which it is localised so soon after release in Japan.

Cubed3 - 9/10

Without doubt, this is a must-play for fans of the series, managing to be a perfect accompaniment and semi-sequel to the original. Though the first game indisputably felt like a complete tale, Steins;Gate 0 nonetheless feels like an essential part of that story, and is so integrated with the original that it mostly feels like the whole story is finally being told.

1. I haven’t played the first game yet. Would this game be enjoyable for those that haven't played it?
   Theoretically, you might get some enjoyment out of the experience, but I would never advise starting with this game. The original Steins;Gate is a masterpiece of the genre and you should start there so you can get fully invested in the characters before you jump in here.
2. I watched the anime adaptation of Steins;Gate, I can play this game right?
   I would still recommend you play the actual game to get the whole story of Steins;Gate, but yes, you should understand the emotional weight of the scenario.
3. So wait a second, is this game a sequel or a prequel?
   Well, neither exactly? It is both a continuation of the previous game and an alternate universe. The term “midquel” is somewhat appropriate here.
4. Who came up with the title? I’ve seen you post on GAF, there’s no way you’re clever enough to come up with that.
   Guilty as charged. calc84maniac came up with it.
5. I like trophies. Where’s that sweet trophy list at?
   Gotcha covered fellow hunter. Obviously, spoilers within link.
6. Is this game related to those other weird games with semi-colons in the titles?
   Yes. This is part of the Science Adventure series which is comprised of Chaos;Head, Steins;Gate, Robotics;Notes, and Chaos;Child. No, you do not need to have played the others to play this one, just Steins;Gate.
7. Does this have an English dub?
   No. Only Japanese audio is available.
8. How long will this take me to finish?
   If VNDB estimates are to believed, it should take you between 30-50 hours to complete all the endings. So that puts it roughly in line with how long S;G ran for many people. Actual playing time will of course be dependent on your reading speed.
9. Is there a PC port inbound?
   There is a Japanese Windows release bound to be released very soon now. Presumably an English version will follow soon after.
10. I want to know more about the characters? Why'd you skimp on the OT deets?
    I was actually worried about the character descriptions being considered spoilers. You can see from my story "description" that I'm taking the route of caution in describing the story as lightly as possible. In fact, I'm still a little concerned about putting names with the characters' faces. If you really want a quick overview of who's who, here's a link with short one to two sentence bios for each.
11. Where is the spoiler thread? I want to discuss all of the spoils!
    We didn't need a spoiler thread last time, thanks to everyone being smart with their spoiler tags. Hopefully that will be the case again, but if we absolutely need to splinter off the thread at some point, we can.
12. Steins;Gate was a pain to get all the endings, will I need a guide here?
    Reportedly these endings, and the True Ending in particular, are much more simple to get. If you do need a guide though, the translator for the first game made a quick guide for reaching all the endings: https://twitter.com/DistantValhalla/status/797871908112961536

On that note, one last thing: WATCH YOUR SPOILERS. Use spoilers tags for potential spoilers and clarify what's being tagged! If you're like me, you might not give a tiny rat's butt about spoilers, but we will have many people who do. Be considerate and use spoiler tags appropriately so we don’t have any drama. If you're going to spoiler tag something, be smart and try to tag it in a way that gives people context so they don't click a spoiler they didn't want to see.

 

[Zhao_Yun]

Best OT title!
Can't wait for my copy to arrive!

 

[Grim Patron]

Great OT.

Spoiler

tfw my review wasn't highlighted ;_;

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I wish we were getting a PC release right away, but I guess I can go and play it on the Vita instead. But it will feel way more right to play this game on PC.

 

[TheMrPliskin]

Great OT!

I was all prepared to play this tomorrow before I realised that for some reason the store I've ordered from is under the impression it's out on Monday so now I wait.

 

[Yoshi]

I play this every second week when I take the bus to give my tutorial session, started with that today. So far, I prefer S;G0 over the original. Less cringey writing, particularly due to the change in the main character and the early absence of

Spoiler

Itaru

.

By the way, am I the only one who is reminded of Mad Mikkelsen from Alexis Leskinnen, visually? I'd love for him to have a somewhat comparable role to Hannibal in Hannibal though I am of course aware this is unlikely .

 

[MaximumSpider]

Really sucks it releases the same day as FFXV. Guess Imma have to shelve Final Fantasy until I beat this.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

Great OT.

Spoiler

tfw my review wasn't highlighted ;_;

Just added yours actually

 

[Jawbreaker]

Clever title!

 

[Shizuka]

I can't wait to finish the game and write my review. The game has been a really wild ride.

 

[Burbeting]

Will the game be available on PlayStation Store?

 

[Zhao_Yun]

Will the game be available on PlayStation Store?

Yes.

 

[Burbeting]

Yes.

Great!

I own the original Steins;Gate, but I saw the anime adaptation first, so it's been bit of a slog to get through those slow opening hours. But Zero would be a new experience.

 

[D-Man]

Just like the original, I'll be going in completely blind with this game. Steins;Gate blew me away, so my hype for this is naturally through the roof.

El Psy Kongroo.

 

[Benzychenz]

Patiently awaiting this to arrive from the UK. Shipped on the 18th so it shouldn't be far away.

Not going to start until I finish with Pokemon though, I'm strictly one game at a time (and it's working in that I'm actually finishing every game I start).

But I am super hyped! Played through the first S;G on Vita earlier this year and it blew me away, one of my favourite stories ever and not just in games.

 

[Raytow]

Just wondering, I've been playing a physical euro copy, when the patch hits will the game update even if my psn account is from the USA(vita only one account usable)?

 

[Shizuka]

Just wondering, I've been playing a physical euro copy, when the patch hits will the game update even if my psn account is from the USA(vita only one account usable)?

You'll be able to download the patch regardless of your account's region.

 

[Raytow]

You'll be able to download the patch regardless of your account's region.

*phew* thanks.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

I noticed that PlayStation Lifestyle ripped into the game this morning and gave it a 5/10.

Visual novels are an underappreciated niche of gaming to be sure, but games like this don’t do the genre any favors. This might have been fantastic as an anime series, but the lack of real choices in how the story goes kind of kills the interactive vibe a visual novel is supposed to have. Even though the text messages and phone calls alter the story, the length of the full story, complete with monotonous gameplay, doesn’t make replaying it for all the endings very enticing.

I don't really understand what kind of more interesting gameplay they were looking for from a Visual Novel, but in the interest of fairness I figured I might as well balance out the glowing reviews I put in the OT.

 

[bobawesome]

Any title that reminds me of ZTD is automatically terrible. Please try again.

Kidding.

 

[Yoshi]

I noticed that PlayStation Lifestyle ripped into the game this morning and gave it a 5/10.



I don't really understand what kind of more interesting gameplay they were looking for from a Visual Novel, but in the interest of fairness I figured I might as well balance out the glowing reviews I put in the OT.

Well, take a look at the Zero Escape or Danganronpa series, which are basically the other two big VN series on PSV, but have lot more interaction. I think it is fine that SG is as it is, but VNs can have quality gameplay.

 

[Benzychenz]

Any title that reminds me of ZTD is automatically terrible. Please try again.

Kidding.

Steins;Gate 0 |OT| A Better Time Dilemma

Well, take a look at the Zero Escape or Danganronpa series, which are basically the other two big VN series on PSV, but have lot more interaction. I think it is fine that SG is as it is, but VNs can have quality gameplay.

I wouldn't classify them as visual novels though.

 

[Blablurn]

Started today

Its nice when u dont know anything about the story.

I finished the first one after watching the anime. Destroyed a lil of the drama.

0 starts off well.

 

[MaximumSpider]

Just like the original, I'll be going in completely blind with this game. Steins;Gate blew me away, so my hype for this is naturally through the roof.

El Psy Kongroo.

Seriously this. Bought the game last year but didn't play it until Janurary this year. Went in completely and could not stop playing.
For me, it was one if those games I never wanted to end.

 

[ThatsMytrunks]

I'm three hours in on my review copy, and I love it. I read all the mangas that have come out since the first game, and they definitely use a good bit of it.

I've had a number of technical hiccups with the Vita version. One hard crash, one point where text stopped displaying, and a number of times where the fade-in didn't function properly and only took up half the screen.

But everything has been manageable, and the text that I've skipped was easy enough to re-read thanks to the backlog.

 

[Omikaru]

ShopTo are saying my copy won't arrive until the 28th. Kind of annoyed at them to be honest.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

Well, take a look at the Zero Escape or Danganronpa series, which are basically the other two big VN series on PSV, but have lot more interaction. I think it is fine that SG is as it is, but VNs can have quality gameplay.

That's why it comes across as fallacious comparison. Steins;Gate and S;G 0 are basically straight visual novels.

Zero Escape, Dangonronpa and Ace Attorney aren't strictly Visual Novels. They're hybrid Visual Novel-Adventure Games. They're trying to accomplish different things.

Steins;Gate 0 |OT| A Better Time Dilemma

LMAO.

I wouldn't classify them as visual novels though.

Yup.

 

[Bitch Pudding]

Thx for the excellent OP!

Steins; Gate is a master piece, indeed, with one of the most satisfying "true" endings I've ever experienced in over 30 years of gaming.

As OP recommended, DO NOT play Zero w/o having finished the first one.


Plan to play Zero during commuting within the next weeks.

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

I bought the Vita version of Steins;Gate day one, and then it was half off within a couple of months...and it took me nearly a year to 100%. I'm definitely getting this, but my backlog is big enough that I'll probably hold off for a bit.

 

[Kresnik258]

ShopTo are saying my copy won't arrive until the 28th. Kind of annoyed at them to be honest.

Ditto! I ordered with them because they're always cheapest and normally get the game to you a day or two before release. Went in GAME today and they had copies on shelves, but my copy hasn't even shipped yet!

I'd cancel my order, but they're £35 in GAME =/

 

[todd360]

Is this going to be on psn? I looked for it yesterday, but I couldn't find a preorder page.

 

[Grim Patron]

Just added yours actually

Thanks! 🙏

I noticed that PlayStation Lifestyle ripped into the game this morning and gave it a 5/10.



I don't really understand what kind of more interesting gameplay they were looking for from a Visual Novel, but in the interest of fairness I figured I might as well balance out the glowing reviews I put in the OT.

Yea I read that. I don't get why compare dangan to steins in any discussion. One is a pure vn and one has exploration and minigames and such.

Either way s;g0 is great. Listening to the OP right now.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Well, take a look at the Zero Escape or Danganronpa series, which are basically the other two big VN series on PSV, but have lot more interaction. I think it is fine that SG is as it is, but VNs can have quality gameplay.

Those aren't visual novels.

Like Danganronpa isn't even remotely close to being a visual novel.

 

[RedToad64]

I know that the developers said the game would play on PSTV, but if somebody could 100% confirm it, that would be great!

 

[calc84maniac]

Any title that reminds me of ZTD is automatically terrible. Please try again.

Kidding.

In my defense I came up with that title before ZTD was released and everybody flipped out over it, haha.

Anyway, my Amadeus Edition (EU version) just dispatched from the UK, so I'm considering whether to keep or cancel my Amazon US version...

 

[Dangansona]

Shit Nae is back? I never want to see her again.

 

[Garudan]

God I want this so bad. I'll be playing ffxv that day of course but maybe if I wait until January again (like with Steins;Gate vita) Amazon will have one of those Calender editions for this too.

 

[ys45]

Oh I can't wait to start this , my collector from Rice Digital has not shipped yet, hope it will soon .

This will be the perfect game for my Holiday vacations .
Does the game require a guide to the many endings ? Or are they obvious to get ?

 

[Parakeetman]

Great work with the OT!

 

[calc84maniac]

Shit Nae is back? I never want to see her again.

I want to see her again

Spoiler

in Robotics;Notes Elite please 5pb please

 

[orthodoxy1095]

Oh I can't wait to start this , my collector from Rice Digital has not shipped yet, hope it will soon .

This will be the perfect game for my Holiday vacations .
Does the game require a guide to the many endings ? Or are they obvious to get ?

Reportedly these endings, and the True Ending in particular, are much more simple to get.

Spoiler for how many S;G 0 endings there are:

Spoiler

There are six endings.

If you do need a guide though, the translator for the first game made a quick guide for reaching all the endings: https://twitter.com/DistantValhalla/status/797871908112961536

 

[ys45]

Reportedly these endings, and the True Ending in particular, are much more simple to get.

Spoiler for how many S;G 0 endings there are:

Spoiler

There are six endings.

If you do need a guide though, the translator for the first game made a quick guide for reaching all the endings: https://twitter.com/DistantValhalla/status/797871908112961536

Thank you

 

[Orcastar]

Got my copy today, woo! But I only just started Pokemon Moon yesterday...

 

[Soriku]

Steins;Gate 0 |OT| A Better Time Dilemma

Came in to post this.

 

[calc84maniac]

Came in to post this.

Keep in mind that when I came up with the OT title I intentionally kept it ambiguous whether the "another" was referring to ZTD or the original Steins;Gate. And saying this is better than Steins;Gate, from what I hear, is very much in the realm of subjectivity.

 

[Shizuka]

Steins;Gate 0 is most definitely not better than Steins;Gate.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

So excited for this. Hoping the download is up nice and early tomorrow. I've avoided almost everything about this sequel. All I know is the timeline it takes place in. The right way to go in to this I think. Steins Gate is my favorite video game story of all time. I have high expectations.

El Psy Kongroo

 

[Shift Breaker]

Great OT, and title. Looking forward to playing this, but with FFXV out so soon as well, it'll be tough.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

I don't want to derail with joking about the OT title but in defense of the "better" title joke, I'm betting it'll be a "better time dilemma" than the other time dilemma game of 2016.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

Zero Time Dilemma is my disappointment of the year. The game fucking suuuuuuuucked. It's a sequel I was begging for for so long but after I played it I genuinely wish it never existed. Not only was the game bad. It retroactively made Virtues Last Reward worse. Fuck Zero Time Dilemma.

I need to calm down. That game still gets me riled up just thinking about it.