Review of STEINS;GATE

Subject	STEINS;GATE Steins;Gate - Download Edition
By	Helpfulness: 2 Vote: 10genuineparts on 2021-09-28 last updated on 2023-02-01
Review	One of the first commercial VNs I've played. Not gonna lie at this point I'm somewhat jaded with the Sci. Adventure series. So I'm going to say it's good, it's real good, just as a lot of the Series is. This stands out as the prime title of a good VN that does mostly everything right once you caught on to it's weird choice system. The big issue and something I'll fault the entire Science Adventure Series (here begins the spoilers) is that at the beginning every single Protag is an unlikeable demonspawn. Between writing the Main Character as an absolutely unlikeable Jerk and the often unintuitive choice system present in every single one of the games in the beginning, you'll grow to love (and hate) the Characters for their actions. If you can get past that, a great VN awaits. But I was very close of putting it down (and all their other Games) in the first hour. I'll give it 10/10, with the caveat that the game makes it really hard to like it in the beginning, but if you persevere you'll get an experience like very little else on the market. A recommendation with a caution that you'll have to be a bit forgiving for the MC or you'll not overcome the barrier to finish this.
	2 points

#1 by plisken 2021-09-29 at 01:46	< report >I didn't mind the MC being unlikable in the beginning, because Steins;Gate made sure to give him a character arc. He grows, changes and matures throughout the story and becomes a much better man for it. Far too often in VNs we're given an unlikable asshole for a MC, and they go nowhere with it, either because they think making him an obnoxious jerk is the height of comedy, or they're trying to be "edgy". Both cases disgust me equally. At the end of the day, the protagonist of Steins;Gate is neither, becoming a hero that you end up rooting for, and when the dust finally settled, I got to the true ending, and he got the girl, I cheered.
#2 by dchsflii 2021-09-29 at 16:52	< report >To add to #1, I think that Okarin's stupid bullshit becomes something he uses to push himself forward when he would otherwise falter because what he has to do is incredibly difficult. Okarin can't give the order to delete the first D-mail, but Kyouma can. Kyouma is a mad scientist whose actions need no justification. Eventually, he doesn't need Kyouma any longer, but I think it's woven into the story and his journey effectively.
#3 by genuineparts 2021-10-02 at 19:24	< report >#1 #2 Yeah that's why I said you grow to love them. You#ll still get thrown into their personality without warning or explanation, the growth and explanations come much later, in hindsight it's great, but it's offputting at the start.