You better believe I used a walkthrough.
Like, which side of the screen is really real, man?
As I sit down to write this review, I already realize how difficult it is to write about what is, for most purposes, a novel. The pleasure is in the reading, after all. I don't want to write a synopsis; I don't want to break down plot points, or talk about my favorite parts. That would spoil the game, and defeat the point. But...the story is the game. So yes, there will be spoilers, but I'll try to keep them light.
Steins; Gate is a visual novel, light on interactivity and heavy on text. It's told from the perspective of Rintarō Okabe (AKA Kyouma Hououin, his protective alias), self-proclaimed mad scientist and unrepentant chuunibyou. Okabe is a college student who spends most of his time in his lab, a stuffy apartment over an anachronistic CRT television shop, joined by his friends, the innocent Mayuri Shiina (Mayushii) and the super hacker Itaru Hashida (Daru). Together the three laze around, discuss dark conspiracies (all of which are focused on Okabe and his delusions of grandeur), and work to invent a variety of what they call Future Gadgets...most of which either fail spectacularly or never worked in the first place.
Until the Phonewave (Name Subject to Change), that is. Originally an attempt to remotely start microwaving a meal for Mayushii by combining a cell phone and a microwave, the Phonewave is basically...well...a cell phone strapped to a microwave. The good new is, it works! The bad news is that when they accidentally dial in the time incorrectly, the Phonewave (Name Subject to Change) somehow freezes Mayushii's Juicy Chicken Number One instead of cooking it. Other objects placed in the Phonewave behave even more bizarrely, convincing Okabe that he's on the brink of a scientific breakthrough that will solidify his mad-scientist status once and for all.
He's more right than he knows.
Yes, Mayushii ate the bananas anyway. Also the chicken.
Okabe draws others to the project, often unintentionally. Foremost among them is Kurisu Makise, a young prodigy who finds Okabe and his delusions intriguing and irritating in turn, and is happy to berate him about them either way. Despite her irritation, she acknowledges that he has created something worth researching in the Phonewave (Name Subject to Change), and together they begin experimenting in earnest.
What they discover has the potential to change the world, and to destroy their peaceful lives: Okabe and his lab members have created is a rudimentary time machine. And that's where things get complicated.
A good start, but let's step away from the plot for a moment and talk about the mechanics: Steins Gate is barely what you would consider a game. At most, you might think of it a choose-your-own-adventure, but with only a few important choices to make. It's a novel-length story with pictures and a few expository movies, and if you aren't interesting in reading a story on your computer or Playstation, then this isn't for you. It's long. The brief synopsis of the setup above took several hours to read through. (Admittedly, I left a lot out.) And that's just getting started. More on that later.
Still in? Okay, next question: what are the good points? Well, it all depends.
I can only assume that this means the Upa knows how to ROCK.
I'm a sucker for sci-fi schlock, and time travel can be either great or filled with holes big enough to drive a Delorian through. Although a few of the rules put forth by the game raised eyebrows, Steins; Gate holds up pretty well. For one thing (without spoiling it), it's not a traditional take on time travel, which is a bit refreshing. It's also at least grounded in current theory, even if they're playing fast and loose with their explanations. For those who are in the know (I was not), it references real-world events; John Titor makes an appearance, and, of course, everybody's favorite quantum cat is discussed. Plenty of psuedo-science babble, but to be fair I love that junk. As long as you don't have a degree in quantum physics, Steins; Gate talks a good enough game to let you suspend your disbelief.
As mentioned, the gameplay itself doesn't hold up so well. The entire story is told from Okabe's point of view, and the only interaction you have with the world is through his cell phone. This is limited to two types of events: replying to e-mails from your friends, which are frequent and entertaining enough to give you a little ping of enjoyment every time you hear the ringtone, but (with one big exception) have no real bearing on the story; and making critical, obvious plot choices at specific (and heavily projected) points in the game. That's all there is to it. Oh, you can browse old messages, look up terms in phone's encyclopedia, and save the game, but none of those things are going to help you fix a busted space-time continuum. There are multiple endings, but most of them are tied to obvious choices; the requirements for the true ending are so convoluted that I required a guide to unlock it. In fact, I highly recommend using a guide, but only after at least one guide-free playthrough; your mileage may vary.
Suzuha and Kurisu engage in a heated debate over the perfect van decal.
A story like this is built around its characters, and while the characters in Steins; Gate are certainly likable, they are also anime cliché right down the line. The main character is, as mentioned, a mad-scientist conspiracy theorist chuunibyou. Mayushii is innocent and naïve to the point of suspected brain damage, and refers to herself in the third person. Daru is a perverted hacker otaku, obsessed with the owner of a cat themed maid cafe. (Who is also one of the main ensemble). Kurisu is the young prodigy, and a classic tsundere. Luka Urushibara is so shy and effeminate that he is often mistaken for a girl. The list goes on.
There is more to each character than first meets the eye, though, and the complexities of their personalities are revealed are time goes by. When disaster strikes—and I don't count that as a spoiler, it's a story about time travel, of course something goes wrong—the shock and anguish suffered by the characters hits home. Okabe isn't nearly as deluded as he appears, Kirusu isn't a cardboard-cutout tsundere, Mayushii is not a total scatterbrain, and...well, you get the idea. You have to peer pretty deeply into each character to see past the stereotype, but there is more to see. Only a little, in some cases, but still.
Perhaps it is typical in a visual novel format, but many of the scenes between these characters are not plot relevant; they exist to give a sense of the day-to-day experiences of the cast, like episodes of an after-school drama. More importantly, they're there to create a sense of empathy for the characters when things inevitably go sideways. For the most part, it works out...if you can make it through the first few hours of the game.
A bit more difficult is getting past the (again) clichéd anime settings. Daru is full of perverted otaku jokes, usually at Mayushii's expense; Okabe mistakenly, and with the best of intentions, bursts into a room in which two girls are showering; one section of the game takes place at a fictional version of Comiket, a Japanese convention for selling self-published manga and showing off cosplay. Some scenes are painfully predictable, and it adds up. I can take it or leave it, but if it's not your thing, then it's a strike against.
Still, it's all lighthearted fun! At least to start. Aside from one traumatic moment near the beginning of the game, things are pleasant for quite a while.
Sorry, I don't speak crazy or cat.
When disaster strikes, though, it strikes hard. Once the plot starts moving, it gets dark and it stays there. The writing is gruesome, characters show brutal sides that hadn't even been hinted at, and Okabe faces impossible choices with his own soul at stake. There is no straight path to redemption; every step forward appears to be one of crooked, brutal necessity, and when faced with those choices the narrative turns graphic. The question becomes not what needs to be done, but what is Okabe willing to do to set things right. There is more than just his own soul at stake; his experiment has touched every one of his friends, for better or worse, and the consequences impact the entire world. Okabe does not always bear the weight well, and his suffering comes through loud and clear. There is a long, painful road ahead of him, and the consequences of a single misstep are dire.
This is also when the plot takes off, though, and when it does it moves. Get past the slow opening and Steins; Gate becomes a virtual page turner. I liked the characters enough to care about their plight, and enjoyed the twists and turns of the narrative enough to follow it through. Admittedly, I'm an easy sell when it comes to a fast-paced sci-fi story, but Steins; Gate delivers on the premise. What starts as a slow journey becomes a desperate sprint, and it's a literal race against time to the ending.
So, is it a journey worth taking? The short answer is: yes, absolutely. The longer answer is actually another question: do you like sci-fi, time travel, graphic horror, Japanese culture, a hint of mystery, a lot of text and a loooot of techno-babble? If so, great! The short answer is for you. If not, then you may want to skip this one. Or hey, just cut to the chase and watch the anime.
(Screenshot from the anime) You hold the fate of the world in your hands, Okabe. Stop taking selfies.