Steins Gate 0 Review – In The Shadow Of A Giant
Entry posted by Pallas_Raven in Review
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This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.
Genre – Sci-fi, Thriller, Action Play Time – 30 hours Developer – Mages VNDB Steam
A Future That Could Not Be Saved
Struggling long and hard against fate only to find out you are the person who killed the one you love is enough to break a man and break Okabe Rintarou it did. Now he drifts through life in a world he knows is doomed to a hellish end. However, fate is not done with Okabe as the ghost of the Kurisu has found him in the form of an AI named Amadeus. Such is the set up for the game which aims to be a strange mix of sequel and bridging story that is torn between the tale it wants to tell and the legacy of the original Steins Gate. Taking the loosely defined dystopian future Amane Suzuha comes from and making it the focus, gives 0 a more direct thriller feel when compared to the original and it plays into a simpler sense of drama and tension. Put this alongside a colourful new cast and improved visuals and the result must live up to the original, right? Unfortunately, as we will soon discuss the reality is far more mixed with the game struggling to even handle its own new ideas and characters properly. Let’s fight against the conspiracy and find out what Steins Gate 0 has to offer.
The Worst Timeline – Narrative and Themes
Steins Gate was a fairly complete experience with a closed ending that left no room for a direct sequel, try as the anime movie might to change that truth. So 0’s developers had to find another angle of approach in order to create a game which would not feel unnecessary in the face of the original. What they decided upon was an exploration of the poorly defined dystopian future present in the last part of the original through the experiences of Suzuha. In many ways this was a stroke of brilliance since it creates a sense of suspense in the player from the knowledge they have about how doomed this timeline really is for the characters. On top of this it allows the narrative to be far more explicit than the original when it comes to its thriller nature. A world spiralling towards its damnation has far less a need for subtly and its villains can act more openly when they feel assured of their victory. This provides a clear contrast to the original’s much more subdued thriller elements where the threat was implied and rarely shown in order to keep the mystery thick. By abandoning this 0 can engage directly with its subject matter and present a fast paced story with less of the downtime of the original while still being able to leverage the existing ideas and themes as a source of nostalgia or subversion. The overall result is not quite as strong as Steins Gate, but 0 could never have just copied it and despite this change the game still holds its own in some elements when compared to that first title.
Okabe is at the heart of 0 in a far greater way than the original game and 0 shows an interest in picking apart exactly what makes him who he is and why people follow him. To do this the game strips everything from him and pushes him to breaking point. It takes the person he loves away from him and makes him responsible for her death in order to wipe away his delusion of being in control. The resulting shell of a man becomes the game’s focal point and it presents him with a series of trials which bring up the pain he is attempting to run away from. Kurisu haunts him in the form of Amadeus and then later Kagari who force him to examine what he believes in. We are treated to front row seats of this internal and external drama while events spiral towards their inevitable destination with no regards to Okabe’s feelings. Doing this gives the game a sense of purpose and points out to the player why the empathised with Okabe in Steins Gate and makes them further invested in seeing his new journey to its conclusion. It is surprising just how much more Okabe has to his own character development even after being in his head for the entire of the original game and this is a testament to how well thought through he is in both titles.
In the end, despite its best efforts, 0 can never escape the shadow cast by Steins Gate. Throughout the entire game one question hangs over it, why does this title exist? The part of the original game it chooses to expand upon its not all that important in the grand scheme of the narrative and only has a few scenes focused around it. As such 0 had to work hard to convince the audience that if offered something necessary to Steins Gate. The game does a good job of setting itself apart for that first tile through its more overt themes and tone, but this is not the same as a providing the itself with greater meaning. This becomes even more of an issue when it introduces new characters and world elements not mentioned before and it makes no sense for them to have not been mentioned in the original game such as that fact Kurisu was working on AI or that she had a rival/friend named Maho. Together they contribute to a sense of lacking direction where 0 meanders between aspects it thinks were cool about Steins Gate without any real sense of what most of it is meant to mean.
Conspirators, AI And Old Friends – Characters
0 inherits a majority of its core cast members from the original Steins Gate and they remain some of the strongest characters around. The strengths of having Okabe as the protagonist and the way the game focuses around examining his personality and motivations still shine brightly, but this passion for the original cast extends to every last returning member. Each is given something to do and some way to grow over the course of the game. Suzuha has to deal with Okabe’s unwillingness to cooperate and the sudden appearance of her future mother, Mayuri has to deal with Okabe’s current mind set as well as her own future adopted child and Itaru has to somehow court his future wife or else Suzuha will never be born. As you can imagine this mixing pot of motivations and directions leads to the game’s fun moments as well as its most emotional ones. There is a real sense that the developers love and care deeply about Steins Gate and wanted to do it justice through these recurring characters. While Okabe outshines all the rest, the overall picture painted by this cast is still a colourful and lively one that is by far the most entertaining element of 0.
Striking Visions Of Catastrophe- Visual, Audio and Technical
From an audio and visual perspective 0 is a noticeable step up in terms of quality. Gone are many of the stiffer character portraits for the original and these have been replaced by higher quality and seasonally appropriate designs. Each one still embodies the core identity of the character at a glance while giving them a look which makes it clear that things have changed for them in the time between the original and 0. The CGs and backgrounds have been given a similar face lift and the improvements strike you immediately as you start the game and continue to impress throughout the entire duration. They lean into the more overt thriller elements of the narrative and deliver visions of a doomed world perfectly matching the tone of the narrative. Just like the original the new soundtrack captures this sense of the magical qualities of time travel and technology alongside an undertone of danger. However, 0 adds a twist by inject a good sense of dread into the music leading to some distinctive tracks completely its own.
On the technical front 0 is a bit disappointing due its lack of technical improvements over Steins Gate which leaves it feeling trapped in the past. Unlike the original there is no need for 0 to obscure the nature of the game’s structure since everything is more overt and yet there is still no built-in flowchart. This feature would have gone a long way in alleviating potential confusion about where the player stands within the overall game and where they might want to explore next. While its absence is not enough to ruin the title, it is confusing that such an obvious inclusion was overlooked in a series priding itself on time travel. This lack of technical additions extends to most of the other systems which are mostly the same as the original Steins Gate that was released six years prior. A lack of polish in these areas does bring down the overall package and make for navigation filled with unnecessary road blocks.
Conclusion
Being a pseudo sequel to one of the most highly regarded visual novels around is not an easy task and you can regularly feel 0 struggle with its legacy. Despite these troubles, 0 has enough of its own identity to stand apart with a more overt focus on the thriller elements of the narrative and a strong understanding of what made the original cast so endearing. However, it stumbles when it comes to many of its own additions such as characters who lack purpose within the narrative as well as failing to properly account for why these aspects were not mentioned in the original game. Standing on its own 0 is an impressive experience that leans well into its strengths and it is only when the inevitable comparisons to Steins Gate pop up that it falls somewhat flat.
Verdict – A fabulous thriller which uses the less explored elements of Steins Gate to achieve an experience distinct from the original. However, it can never escape the shadow of that original nor does it seem to know what to do with many of its new ideas and cast members.
Pros
+ The more direct thriller elements make for a more immediately engaging experience for the player.
+ Okabe is put through through a series of trails that perfectly showcase the kind of person he is and why he makes for such an interesting protagonist.
+ The returning cast are still fun to interact with and steal the show.
+ There has been a clear upgrade to the visual presentation and the new soundtrack captures the same quality.
Cons
- Being in the shadow of the original game restricts what this game can do and you can regularly feel it rubbing up against those limits.
- The new cast members are a mixed bag with some of them feeling like filler or plot contrivances and others being so obviously evil that it makes you wonder why the heroes fall for their lies.
- Not having a flowchart is a missed opportunity to avoid player confusion and adds to sense of the stagnant technical state of the game.
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