Steins;Gate Re:Boot
Developer: Mages.
Publisher: Spike Chunsoft
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox Series X/S (Reviewed), PC
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $59.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
Sometimes a story is so nice it must be told thrice, or at least that is the approach that Mages is taking with Steins;Gate. After finally making the original visual novel available in English for PC back in 2014 fans were treated to easily the best title in the entire Science Adventure series, despite it being the second entry in the generally disconnected series with the first being Chaos;Head, which was released in English only four years ago.. Then, after the popularity spike from the anime adaptation, Mages revisited the story and trimmed the fat while placing in the anime’s visuals instead in the form of Steins;Gate Elite back in 2019.
Now, seven years later, it is time to go back to that classic once more and take the best of both worlds by creating Steins;Gate Re:Boot. With updated graphics including Live2D/E-Mote system, the entire cast reprising their roles to re-record the dialogue, a new route, and some of the previously removed scenes from Elite worked back into the game, is Steins;Gate Re:Boot the definitive experience?
Story
While Steins;Gate Re:Boot doesn’t break from the original story much, for those who have yet to tap into the franchise ever before the story follows an eccentric student named Rintaro Okabe who has an alter ego of an insane mad scientist named Kyouma Houuin. Despite attending university Okabe is still in his full blown “chuunibyou” phase where he constantly has delusions of grandeur and fantasizes about a mysterious “Organization” hunting him down at every step. He also happens to be the lead member of the Future Gadget Laboratory as its primary inventor, seeking to create “future gadgets” that will change the world for his eventual domination.
The other starting “Lab Mems” as they are called, are his best friend Daru who happens to be an incredibly skilled hacker and a massive pervert when it comes to anime and otaku things, as well as Okabe’s childhood friend Mayuri Shiina who is as carefree as they come, usually using the room to create cosplay outfits that she’s too shy to wear. Looking to attend a conference about “time travel” that is meant to be held by a renowned scientist, Okabe and Mayuri head to downtown Akihabara to attend the seminar only to find themselves arriving far too early. While they wait, Okabe hears a loud crash that rumbles the building and upon investigating he finds a strange satellite looking object is sitting neatly on the rooftop.
After being ushered away by a female staff member, he returns to find that the lecture is underway and is an entire rip-off of everything Okabe already has learned about time-travel theory from a “so-called time traveler” John Titor. After raising a fuss, Okabe attracts the attention of none other than the young genius Kurisu Makise who is incredibly interested in his own theories. In an effort to avoid attention, Okabe utilizes his chuuni act to run away from Kurisu and meet with Mayuri again, only to hear a loud scream above them. Rushing to the scene, Okabe finds none other than Kurisu dead in a puddle of blood, apparently stabbed to death by an unknown assailant. Okabe quickly flees the location with Mayuri and texts Daru that he has found Kurisu stabbed, only for a splitting migraine to shoot through his head, the bustling streets to empty, and the same satellite object that appeared fine earlier, now crashed into the side of the building.
After some investigation, the group slowly begins to realize that not only have they managed to stumble upon something far beyond anything Okabe’s chuunibyou mind could have imagined, but also one that will put those near and dear to him at risk, as not only is Kurisu now alive, but she has taken a keen interest in Okabe’s strange reactions to her and the fact that the PhoneWave (Name Subject to Change) seems capable of doing the unthinkable. Sending data back to the past while turning any object inside of it into a jellified mess.
Now it must be said that Steins;Gate Re:Boot feels like probably the best way to experience this story for a number of reasons. While it does feature the same slimmed down dialogue that Elite had, most of that was simply padding from Okabe’s delusional mind or repeating thoughts. While this does mean that players will have a somewhat diminished experience compared to the original visual novel’s storytelling, it does mean that the pacing is tightened up and far more enjoyable as a result. It also helps that the game does an absolutely fantastic job in the writing department, especially with the new translation efforts by the publisher. As players make their way through the game it feels like every joke lands perfectly and every dramatic moment also has its own sense of flair. This is also helped by the fact that the character portraits are more detailed as we will go over later.
Now as funny as Steins;Gate Re:Boot is at times, it isn’t afraid to get as dark as can be, especially once it throws players in for the biggest twist of all and sends them scrambling to try and fix what they’ve done. This twist is the same as the original for longtime fans but is still a gut punch, especially now with the reworked systems and presentation, and going through the countless changes in the story and trying to navigate through to a possible “true end” remains as challenging as ever. It is interesting to note that all of the original alternate endings are included in the game as well as a brand new route called the “Gamma” route. This one gives a certain blonde character an ending route of her own, which is rather notable since she was the only female character lacking an ending route in the original game minus. While this route isn’t nearly as long or as in-depth as some would hope for being the big “new” addition, it is a vastly different experience, especially since some elements and new scenes even references some elements of Steins;Gate 0 for the first time in the game’s history.
Gameplay
As complex as the storyline of Steins;Gate Re:Boot might be, it is still a visual novel at its heart which means that the actual gameplay elements are kept rather basic. Players will be able to read and tap along when they want to advance the text or set the game to “Auto” mode which will allow them to simply sit back and read the story as it unfolds for the most part. It is worth noting that players might want to adjust the auto speed slightly as non-verbal lines can go by rather quickly at their default setting. There is also the option, of course, to skip previously read dialogue for players who are reloading an old save to try and see how a choice may have played out differently, something that is essential given the numerous endings in Steins;Gate and how complicated it can be to unlock the true route for those who are uninformed, let alone the brand new route.
Steins;Gate Re:Boot does bring back the Phone Trigger mechanic that was removed in Elite, giving players the chance to answer various texts from other characters by selecting different terms to reply to, often dictating slightly what route they may go down, especially in the latter half. Some of these phone triggers can be entirely ignored too, though there are also some random bonuses for replying in certain ways to some characters. Given the high number of scientific terms, as well as various other internet slang, jargon, and otaku terms thrown around in the game, even for those familiar with them, Steins;Gate Re:Boot retains the glossary of “tips” to basically describe in layman’s terms all of the various bits of slang and technical terms thrown around by the cast.
One element that has also been added to the game is the Observer function. This gives players a chance to look at the timeline and the various adjustments that have been made, which can become quite important after a certain point in the title, giving players plenty of ways to make sure they make extra saves in specific locations in the story so they can backtrack if needed. There is one strange element to the game’s dialogue boxes which, while minor, is noticeable since it happens often enough. Anytime there is a specifically lengthy string of dialogue the game will noticeably compress the way the dialogue looks, stretching it to fit the box properly rather than simply using an extra text box. While this is likely a localization limitation, it is noticeable and rough looking every time.
Audio & Visual
Perhaps the biggest upgrade might also be one of the most controversial ones depending on how die-hard fans were of the original Huke artwork. Steins;Gate Re:Boot does away with the anime scenes of Elite to return the game’s graphics back to a visual novel presentation only enhanced and redrawn from scratch, mimicking the original style as close as possible while also presenting their own flare as not only are there a number of brand new CGs throughout the game but the general appearances of all the characters have undergone a significant update.
While the original artwork’s more stylistic approaches may be lost in translation, the shift to the modern clean looking character models is incredible looking. It also helps that not only are the characters vibrant, thanks to the E-Mote system they will also have matching mouth-flaps to the game’s dialogue and various reactions on their faces, however subtle at times, to various events in the story, whether it is blushing due to a perverted joke or admonishing someone for being overzealous. This brings a lot of extra life to these characters that was never present before, especially in some of the more dramatic scenes and routes that play out in the second half of the game.
As mentioned before, Mages has done a shockingly great job gathering every single original voice actor and actress to reprise their roles and re-record the dialogue for the game from scratch. This means not only is the new route fully voiced, all of the other adjustments have been re-recorded as well giving players the crispest presentation possible. It also must be said how impressive it is that, even seventeen years after the original Japanese release, these voice actors still pull these characters off perfectly. The game also sports an absolutely stellar soundtrack featuring tunes that vary not only by scene but also how dramatic a moment might be, and considering the speed that the story can whiplash from goofy to dread, that is quite the feat.
Overall
When the original visual novel was already seen as one of the best of its time, it’s hard to go from there, but considering that was when it launched in Japan in 2009 and it is now generally only accessible on PC, Steins;Gate Re:Boot makes this the easiest way for anyone to jump into this fascinating and engaging sci-fi story. To top that off, not only does it feature improved E-Mote based character portraits that helps bring even small moments to life and it also retains the same level of pacing changes that tightens the up to be an incredibly enjoyable story that balances humor, drama, and existential dread, all in equal parts, making it a must for anyone who hasn’t touched the story yet and even worth a look for longtime fans.
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