Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
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  1. Mar 4, 2019
    5pb's 2009 visual novel gets a sizeable makeover - but don't expect it to make new fans for the genre.
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 74 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 59 out of 74
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 74
  3. Negative: 15 out of 74
  1. Mar 26, 2019
    10
    great game kurisu best girl. definitely would recommend to any weeb out there. get it now
  2. May 8, 2019
    9
    Great visual novel reboot using animated scenes from the anime. That's right, it's not just still images like most of the visual novels outGreat visual novel reboot using animated scenes from the anime. That's right, it's not just still images like most of the visual novels out there today -- I think this just set a new standard despite some of the shortcomings. This story starts off quite slow and it takes quite a few chapters for things to get serious... but when it does, it even gets dark. It was good enough to hook me into watching the anime and I'm compelled now to try the original visual novels to get the full experience.

    Without spoilers, I noticed that there are some scenes from the anime that did not make it into the game. I'm a bit confused as to why they did this, considering that I felt those little scenes would've added a lot more definition to some of the characters. You can also tell from some very minor details that, since this game is inspired by the anime (which was a compressed version of the VN), re-stretching it out to the original VN's intent will leave some minor issues that I wish they would've worked to polish out. For instance, the anime scene might have shown a guy eating ramen and watching tv but the text says he's reading the paper. As such, I cannot give it a perfect score.

    There are also some issues it suffers that other visual novels have solved years ago. This game has multiple endings, and if you don't save often, then you'll likely be doing a lot of skipping through chapters you've already been through. This game should've taken a timeline path that VLR used to help the user figure out where they need to make a different decision that will affect their ending path. I'd imagine some people get the earliest ending and don't feel compelled to keep going because they'll think "oh, that's it? This sucks!"

    Not quite sure why there are so many negative user scores. My guess is either 1) they didn't stick to it until it got interesting, and/or 2) they never played a VN before and expected more interaction. My suggestion is if you've never played a VN before, then please go check out some videos of gameplay (at your own risk of spoilers, of course) before committing. It is a pricey game especially for anyone who's already seen the anime and played the original; however, from the standpoint of someone who has never experienced the content before, I felt like I got my money's worth.
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  3. Jul 16, 2022
    10
    If I could rate it above 10 I honestly would. Words alone can't describe this pure masterpiece. But I will try my best.

    First of all,
    If I could rate it above 10 I honestly would. Words alone can't describe this pure masterpiece. But I will try my best.

    First of all, Steins Gate uses butterfly effect and time travel styled plot most efficiently and incredibly than every other Movie, TV show, game, or whatever.. of those I have watched, and since I am a huge fan of this genre there aren't many that have slipped my grasp . It's thought perfectly well with so many details you can't even imagine. The story is a little bit composed at the beginning (that's not a bad thing) and serves as an introduction, but of course it's very mysterious that you love it if you are into time travel stuff. That helps so you can appreciate the ordeal of the main character later on, which a huge twist happens that changes completely the genre and turns into a thriller, with perfect development of the story with no thrill stopping moments and some of the most dramatic as well. The characters are incredibly well written and memorable, especially the main one which is one of my favorites of all time. The VN makes you overwhelmed with so many feelings and emotions (and it does that perfectly) and that makes it unforgettable and memorable for ever, and stuck in your mind for weeks later.

    The dialogue is awesome, with seemingly great monologue of the main character, amazing voice acting and lots of humor, drama, despair.. You will feel everything.

    The soundtrack is so good with the main theme being one of my favourite themes in general and the animations are great as well although they could be a little bit more polished here and there.

    Also, the accessibility is really good with variety of options, imformation about stuff, and 50 save files!

    As of the gameplay, it practically doesn't exist(except that you reply to some messages) because you only watch and read but since this is a VN, you can expect much of gameplay to begin with. The only VNs I have played before this are the Ace Attorney games (which I loved) and I never really read books in general, but after playing this one I am going to give this genre more attention since it deserves it. The game took me 50 hours to finish 100% and I loved every minute of it. I never got bored reading through it even though I am not used at reading in general. This masterpiece is a must play, best story in a video game, TV show or movie for me, that I have ever experienced and definitely one of my favorite video games of all time.
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