Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma

Zero Time Dilemma is a masterpiece that provides the perfect closure for one of, if not, the best video game trilogies I've played.

Despite the minor complaint, Zero Time Dilemma is a triumph in storytelling and world building with some of the most complex and yet satisfying narrative ever to grace a videogame. Whether this is the final entry to the Zero Escape series or not, the developers can rest easy knowing that they’ve managed to craft one of the finest visual novel series of all time.

I encourage everyone else to give Zero Time Dilemma a try -- just make sure you play the first two games in the series before you do.

Time travel trilogy closes its last loops and leaves us wanting more. In a surprising move, visual novel style gives way for a more western The Walking Dead aesthetics. You should definitely be playing this game but remember, once you start, there is no escape. [Sept 2016]

This final chapter brings the beloved Zero Escape trilogy to a gratifying end, featuring beautiful character moments, elaborate puzzles, and a mind-bending plot. Not many games will keep me glued to the screen like Zero Time Dilemma did.

Spike Chunsoft does it again, combining intuitive, puzzle-based gameplay with one of video gaming’s best narratives in the wonderful Zero Time Dilemma.

Zero Time Dilemma is an amazing game of equivalent overall caliber to its predecessors, and its ridiculous, complicated take on scientific theories and horror thrillers is a must-witness.

Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma is a game everyone absolutely must play. If you haven’t played the previous games in the series, drop everything and experience them.

Addictive, clever and surprising, this is one of those games that if you're slightly interested in puzzles and mystery you don't want to miss.

Both on its own and as a piece of the cumulative ZE puzzle, this easily has the best narrative I’ve seen in a game so far this year and should go down as one of the all-time greatest stories told through the medium.

Zero Time Dilemma has the best plot of the Zero Escape series, but the changes of the art direction are a little disappointing.

Once again, Zero Time Dilemma tells a compelling story that can only be conveyed through a video game, and it’s a wonderful sendoff to a fantastic visual novel series that might not have existed in a darker timeline, where it didn’t receive the fan support it deserved.

As the final chapter of the Zero Escape trilogy, Zero Time Dilemma is a dramatic journey through the strengths and weaknesses of the human spirit, one that longtime fans and newcomers can both enjoy and appreciate.

Zero Time Dilemma takes some bold strides to tell the series’ final chapters, but even when it falters, it’s never slow to catch back up and deliver. Through well-designed escape rooms, brilliant writing and narrative decisions, and a more relatable cast than ever, Zero Time Dilemma puts the most deserving and exceptional final touches on this excellent trilogy.

A fantastically outrageous conclusion to a remarkable story, albeit one that doesn't quote recapture the highs of Virtue's Last Reward. Don't even contemplate playing until you've finished VLR. [Sept 2016, p.104]

A game of contrasts and challenges, the greatest irony of all is that there’s no dilemma to be had here. Your own Decision Game is simple: Virtue’s Last Reward fans must buy it, no question. [October 2016, p74]

Even if it doesn’t reach the fascination of the other parts of the series, this still is a solid and entertaining mystery adventure and a bucketload of moral decisions and consequences.

Kotaro Uchikoshi thanked his fans for helping him get the third game in the Zero Escape series completed, and in return he has brought a memorable conclusion for his final act.

Overall, Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma is a great game with a fantastic narrative that feels immersive, unique and genuinely compelling.

There are some inconsistent puzzles, a lot of spoilers on major plot points of the two previous entries and the 3D graphics are at best forgettable, but Zero Escape Zero Time Dilemma excels at what the fanbase wanted: telling a gripping story in an original and brilliant way. Not to be missed if you loved the first couple of episodes, which you should absolutely play before this one.

I absolutely have frustrations and disappointments in different aspects of the game, but they all come from a place of investment in this series. Is ZTD completely satisfying? No, but it’s still very, very good.

A successful conclusion to one of the most underrated storytelling franchises in gaming, even if some of the presentational changes are too ambitious for their own good.

If you’ve already bought into the Zero Escape series’ charming kind of malice, there’s simply no question that you’ll enjoy this, too. If you find yourself curious about rescuing people from certain doom by solving puzzles, I strongly encourage you to at least start with Virtue’s Last Reward, and preferably go back to 999 and enjoy the entire blood-soaked journey.

While it ends up feeling a bit like the weakest game in the series so far, even a weak Zero Escape game is still an absolute delight, and Zero Time Dilemma is no exception. Between the magnificent and bizarre mystery that keeps you captivated, the colorful cast of characters and the nicely perplexing puzzles, this is one for visual novel, puzzle and adventure game fans alike.

Zero Time Dilemma is the weakest entry in the series but still worth a gander to find out how it all ends/begins/continues.

A great conclusion to the Zero Escape series. Its incredible storytelling through fragmented scenes fittingly structures the entire plot as a puzzle that the player pieces together one at a time. Several characters we've come to hate and love throughout the series now have a conclusive explanation to the situations they faced in the other games. While some of its flaws may leave some areas feeling half-baked, Zero Time Dilemma will be something that won't be leaving our minds anytime soon.

I hope that we haven’t heard the last of the Zero Escape team, but I also hope that their future projects rein themselves in and they produce something more coherent and personal.

As a story, Zero Time Dilemma matches up to the ambition of its predecessors, with some missteps. As a game, it’s significantly less polished, with ideas and changes that nearly always step backward.

Final chapter in intriguing narrative adventure series brings back favourite characters, but fails to go out with a bang.