Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma

 3DS
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 124 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 98 out of 124
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 124
  3. Negative: 15 out of 124
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  1. Rtheom
    Jul 24, 2016
    7
    Enjoyable, but not quite the ending to the series we were hoping for. Unfortunately, it proves in the end to be another trilogy where the writer's came up with really cool ideas without actually figuring out how to flesh them out and connect them properly. A bit of a disappointment considering how well put together these games are otherwise.

    It was still fun, definitely a "must play" if    Enjoyable, but not quite the ending to the series we were hoping for. Unfortunately, it proves in the end to be another trilogy where the writer's came up with really cool ideas without actually figuring out how to flesh them out and connect them properly. A bit of a disappointment considering how well put together these games are otherwise.

    It was still fun, definitely a "must play" if you played and enjoyed the other two. But it's a definite pass for anyone not already a fan of the series. It just won't make much sense and you need to already have accepted several of the inherent rules of the game's universe to really grasp what's going on, which Virtue's Last Reward sets up much more effectively.    … Expand
  2. birdman3
    Mar 24, 2018
    7
    A good game, although less genius than the previous two. With 999, I was impressed with the complexity of the game's layout and premise, but a bit burned by the game's ending. Virtue's Last Reward was slightly less complicated, but it indulged itself far too much in the multiple paths and endings, which proved more tedious than exciting. That games ending itself was also a let-down, givenA good game, although less genius than the previous two. With 999, I was impressed with the complexity of the game's layout and premise, but a bit burned by the game's ending. Virtue's Last Reward was slightly less complicated, but it indulged itself far too much in the multiple paths and endings, which proved more tedious than exciting. That games ending itself was also a let-down, given that it led to an inexplicable cliffhanger. Finally, with this game, we get the most satisfying ending of them all, but at a cost. First, the cliffhanger ending of the previous entry is hardly mentioned. Second, the "good ending" that we get at the end comes at the expense of the whole moral discussion that was had previously, regarding the ethics of dimension shifting. Third, the game has the same faults as the previous one wherein it has way too many branching paths to remain interesting for the duration of a playthrough. Finally, the game's premise itself ("The Decision Game") is such a letdown compared to the games played in 999 and Virtue's Last Reward. The simple binary choices you make are far less complicated than the mathematical branching paths of 999 or the drama of allying/betraying in Virtue's Last Reward. Disappointing, to say the least.

    And again, it remains difficult to recommend this "game" because it's not really a game at all. At what point did I have fun playing this? It's fun in the same way that reading a book or watching a movie is fun. The puzzles within the game are more of just a speed bump to having the story actually progress. Luckily, I found the puzzles to be more straight-forward than in the previous entry. So, if you're a fan of the series, it's a must-have, but I don't expect it to be creating any new fans.    … Expand
  3. Bradaloop
    Jul 29, 2021
    7
    An underwhelming end to the series however some characters and lore reveals are interesting. The puzzles are generally obtuse in comparison to the ones in previous entries, visuals aren't exactly stellar, and the end to the overarching story is a bit disappointing - you can very much tell that this game was rushed - however I still enjoyed my time with it, just not to the same extent asAn underwhelming end to the series however some characters and lore reveals are interesting. The puzzles are generally obtuse in comparison to the ones in previous entries, visuals aren't exactly stellar, and the end to the overarching story is a bit disappointing - you can very much tell that this game was rushed - however I still enjoyed my time with it, just not to the same extent as the previous games.… Expand
  4. tukumalu
    Apr 18, 2020
    5
    Where Virtue Last Reward excelled in character building and story telling, ZTD failed.
  5. Sitheral
    Jun 23, 2020
    6
    The worst in the series, ZTD still has moments when it shines and charms you with its way of telling the story, but overall its rather disappointing. This time it went for full 3d and tried to be more cinematic in the cutscenes, it didn't work, probably a budget thing, but ZE was always a very static game anyway. The biggest problem is that there is just not enough clever ideas here andThe worst in the series, ZTD still has moments when it shines and charms you with its way of telling the story, but overall its rather disappointing. This time it went for full 3d and tried to be more cinematic in the cutscenes, it didn't work, probably a budget thing, but ZE was always a very static game anyway. The biggest problem is that there is just not enough clever ideas here and especially considering that this game ends the trilogy, it doesn't really have that punch to end it with a bang. But its cool that it was made at all because it wasn't obvious and fans probably should go for it anyway, it doesn't seem like there will be more ZE anytime soon.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

15
#15 Best 3DS Game of 2016
22
#22 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2016
23
#23 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Cubed3
    Jan 12, 2017
    60
    At the end of the day, it's hard to recommend to anyone but fans that want to know how the story ends, but they should keep their expectations in check in order to get to the good parts through the messy parts and still have a good time out of it. Indeed, it's tough, after two great games that ended in a cliff-hanger, to simply ignore the finale, despite its flaws.
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  2. Easy Allies
    Dec 1, 2016
    80
    Rough edges be damned, however. Such flaws don't prevent Zero Time Dilemma from being utterly enthralling. It's rare that a game's story captivates us so thoroughly that we lose sleep just to see what will happen next. Few other works have subverted expectations, toyed with our emotions, or simply shocked us the way the Zero Escape Series has. Zero Time Dilemma is a fitting end to a story we won't soon forget.
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  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Sep 14, 2016
    60
    The third and probably the craziest expansion to the Zero Escape series. Solving fun puzzles is just a pretext for the Japanese-style mad sci-fi story. [Issue#266]
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