Sunday, November 5, 2023
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.
 |
| Amadeus is an odd creature from a narrative point of view. |
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.
 |
| And the game will never let you forget that fact. |
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.
 |
| The phone remains an important narrative device within a new context. |
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.
 |
| The returning cast are as great as always. |
On
the other hand, the new cast members are a very mixed group. It does
have a few characters like Maho who are well fleshed out and have
justified reasons for being part of the narrative, but the majority
are confusingly implemented or feel like you could justify writing
them out of their own stories. These fall into the two groups, the
Kurisu likes, Amadeus and Kagari, and the villain characters. For the
Kurisu likes it is clear that their initial purpose is to shake
Okabe’s resolve by reminding him of Kurisu and in this purpose they
succeed by drawing out emotions Okabe wants to keep hidden. It is
when they are forced to develop past this starting point that the issues
arise as it becomes very clear the developers did to think beyond
this beginning. The result is a selection of characters who feel
redundant and are often tossed to the side in favour of the original
cast’s struggles. Since 0 is a more direct narrative than Steins
Gate there is a need for equally present villains and 0's attempts are
somewhat lacking. Each is far too obviously evil even before they
unveil their motivations and behave in a way no sane human would in
their position and they become far too obviously fictional
characters. This is far cry from the subtly and humanity of the
antagonists of Steins Gate and this drop in quality becomes
increasingly felt as the game goes along and the conflicts become
more overt. Thankful neither of these two groups manages to outshine
the better cast members, but they are a series of baffling choices
distracting from 0’s strong core.
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.
 |
| My thoughts exactly. |
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.
