Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
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  1. ZTGD
    Aug 24, 2017
    90
    Zero Time Dilemma is a nice bow on top of the Zero Escape trilogy, and one that I think many will enjoy if they liked the previous games. It can get a bit complicated both in puzzles and in story, but the mystery and discovery that is involved is what really brings the player back to the game. This one has it in spades. There’s a few choice decisions here and there that made me scratch my head, but those were few and far between, and never took away from the overall experience. This is a must have for fans of the series, and only if you have fully played through the first two games. When you do that, you’ll enjoy your time with Zero Time Dilemma.
  2. Digital Chumps
    Sep 1, 2017
    85
    Zero Time Dilemma is a great game and a must-play for those that escaped 999 and VLR. Like many third acts in trilogies across all kinds of media, it’s not as strong as the first or second act, but it’s still solid and I recommend it.
  3. PlayStation Universe
    Aug 31, 2017
    85
    After completing Zero Time Dilemma all I want to do is go back through all three games with the knowledge I’ve gained through the series, and see how far back everything is foreshadowed and set up. This isn’t just an impressive game in its own right, but a fantastic trilogy that should be experienced by anyone looking for a good sci-fi puzzle thriller.
  5. GameSpew
    Sep 7, 2017
    80
    For the most part, Zero Time Dilemma is a challenging, fantastical ride. Its puzzles are perfectly pitched, and while it may take you a while to wrap your head around the game’s story, you’ll delight in slowly piecing together its winding narrative.
  6. God is a Geek
    Aug 21, 2017
    80
    Zero Time Dilemma is a great but flawed end to the Zero Escape trilogy with a very good PS4 port.
  7. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Aug 18, 2017
    75
    While it’s arguably the weakest in the trilogy, Zero Time Dilemma is still a must for fans that need to know what’ll happen at the end of Junpei and Akane’s journey, and is still a great game in its own right.
  8. Video Chums
    Sep 5, 2017
    71
    Fans of escape rooms and puzzle-solving games that don't mind a more adult and dark tone will have a lot of fun with Zero Time Dilemma. It may have dated graphics and sound but that shouldn't stop you from playing it through to see all of its endings.
  9. Digitally Downloaded
    Oct 5, 2017
    70
    It lacks the charm and wit of Danganronpa, but Zero Time Dilemma, like its prequels, is still valuable, smart, and stimulating. Its presentation really badly hurts it, but once you push past that distaste, what you’re left with is an intense, engaging and intelligent narrative with some thoughtful and well-designed puzzle rooms to sort through.

Awards & Rankings

66
#66 Best PS4 Game of 2017

User Reviews

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User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 62 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 62
  3. Negative: 10 out of 62
  1. tomvs123
    Nov 5, 2018
    3
    It's almost inconceivable to me that this was written and directed by the same person who did the last two games. He must have been in aIt's almost inconceivable to me that this was written and directed by the same person who did the last two games. He must have been in a completely different state of mind or the new studio pushed him down a different path.

    I like good writing, but everyone's understanding of what "good" is is different, so let me rephrase by saying that I like intelligently written stories with no major plot holes or inconsistencies. This is coming from a 40-year old who studies particle physics and astrophysics in his spare time.

    The prior two games have some of the best writing I've ever experienced. Even though they were overly-complex to almost unbelievable levels, their plots remained solid and intelligent. However, this game is like a fan fiction that packs in as many references to the previous games as possible. By doing so, it fails to make its own compelling story with a solid plot.

    Without spoiling anything, here's what it does poorly:

    - Returning characters. There's too many in this game. Considering that the previous game happens in the future, this is a bad thing. And the game makes up far-fetched reasons as to why these characters remember what they do, while also making the characters act very differently than you'd expect.

    - Unreasonable blood lust. People to go into murderous rampages. Even established characters who we know are highly intelligent. They always had a good reason in the previous game, but not this one.

    - The villan's motivations are very weak and overly complex for no reason. There's plenty of ways he/she could have achieved his/her goals without doing what was done. There's also major conflicts in relation to the villain, timeline, and established lore in the previous game.

    - Everyone has special powers. There's even new special powers that didn't exist before. There's no new science to back this up. It just magically happens. I miss the established scientific theory that was intertwined within the story for the last games.

    - No worldbuilding. In the last game, you learned more about the world and your dilemma through the puzzles, documents, and character interactions. Each new piece was a profound twist that you didn't see coming, which made complete sense once it was revealed. In this new installment, the puzzles are completely separate from the story. There's no worthwhile world-building, and each new twist just adds to the plot holes.

    - Fragmented storytelling. Shortly after starting the game, you instantly have access to dozens of different story lines that take place in different timelines. You'll have no idea whether the fragment you're choosing is in the same timeline, at the end of the game, or the beginning of the game. This makes most of your big decisions meaningless, since you don't see the direct effect of your decisions by continuing in that story line - you have no idea where you'll end up.

    - Decisions have no impact. In the previous game, I dreaded choosing to betray someone because I knew that I had to face that person or the full group immediately after I made my choice. There's no such thing in this game. Your decisions are done privately. You don't interact with the people who are affected by them. And your own team members don't care too much if you make a bad decision.

    - No profound and touching moments. You know that one character's scene in the last game. Yeah, you know the one. Nothing like that here. Well, they tried to emulate something like that, but it fell flat due to plot holes.

    - Power of friendship. There are sections in certain games or kids shows where everyone works together through "the power of friendship," and they point out to the bad guy that they have this "power of friendship" so they can't lose? Yeah, that happens here.

    I could go on, but I don't have time to deconstruct each plot point, and that would involve spoilers. In summary, the writing is horrid. There are a few good moments, but they're normally completely invalidated by later plot holes.

    The game is shorter than its predecessor by at least 10 hours. That was a good thing for me, at least.

    The puzzles are good, but there's less of them than there was in the last game. And it recycles puzzles a few times. It used the jigsaw-type puzzle and cube-rotating puzzle about 3 times each. After you do this once, the others are incredibly easy.

    You'll spend the last ~4 hours in cut scenes. There is no final master puzzle room like there was in the previous game.

    To conclude, If you were expecting intelligent storytelling that matched the previous game, you won't find it here. If that's important to you, I'd skip this game and make up your own conclusion to the cliffhanger to the previous game. It will likely be better than what happened here.    … Full Review »
  2. AceAscendus
    Mar 22, 2020
    0
    Every decade, one might experience the rare phenomena that a game in a franchise comes out that is so disgustingly bad that it kills theEvery decade, one might experience the rare phenomena that a game in a franchise comes out that is so disgustingly bad that it kills the franchise and ruins the memories of the previous games. I could type out all the flaws with this garbage game, but it would be a waste of time. All you need to know is that Zero Time Dilemma is one of the worst games ever made in the history of gaming. Just play the first two game and pretend this game doesn't exist, that is the best way to enjoy this franchise if you are interested.… Full Review »
  3. aditya1101
    Dec 1, 2018
    2
    This game was by far my least favorite in the trilogy - the story was full of plot holes and felt poorly thought through (I think they triedThis game was by far my least favorite in the trilogy - the story was full of plot holes and felt poorly thought through (I think they tried way too hard to include tons of references to the previous games and ended up going pretty off the rails), the animations were pretty low quality and often were really janky, and even the escape rooms, while still good, were in general easier and less interesting than in the previous games. I definitely appreciate everything they tried to do with this game, but at the end of the day I think they just tried to do too much, both in terms of the production and the story, and ended up with a half-baked final product.… Full Review »
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