This time around, Zero has added a new wrinkle to the classic Nonary Game, rechristening it as “the Decision Game” in the process. The big stuff comes courtesy of the decisions you make after completing each puzzle. That is to say: don't sweat using a guide on the small stuff. I've long maintained that there's no shame in forcing your way past these barriers to get to the many storyline twists and turns that form the meat of the game. Some players may have a much harder time with the puzzles, of course, depending on their familiarity with puzzles in general and the twisted logic of Zero Escape's designers. More than a few puzzles had me pulling out a pen and paper to track my progress. Actually solving the puzzles is as satisfying as it's meant to be, and I found only one that felt like a cheap matter of trial and error. Obstacles run the gamut from effortless sliding tile tricks to true brainteasers that will keep you locked up for a good while. I'm of course referring to the "escape" quarter of Zero Escape.Įach team is forced into absurd life-or-death puzzles, as usual for the series. Unlike many visual novels, there is actually something to do between exposition and the timeline-splitting decisions. Like its predecessors, Zero Time Dilemma is a game in which phrases like "quantum superposition" and "the morphogenetic field" feature as common mechanics. Zero Time Dilemma can be incredibly plodding, weighed down not just by its own hefty plot but by dense explanations of its psychic time travel powers. If it sounds like I'm spending a lot of time on setup, trust me when I say that this is the short version. The vast majority of these timelines lead to bad and bloody ends for whichever team you control. The game truly begins when Zero forces the three teams to vote for which of the others will die, kicking off six diverging timelines based on the vote results. True to the Zero Escape games of yore, circumstance and Zero's rules split the nine characters into three teams, each of which seems to vaguely represent a different point in the franchise.Īkane and a much-changed Junpei return from 999 Phi and Sigma from VLR and a trio of entirely new cast members makes up the third team. A cast of new and returning 20-somethings who are very good at puzzles have been locked inside by Zero, the Jigsaw-like tormentor whose identity changes between games. This time, the "where" is a seemingly abandoned nuclear bunker. The plot of Zero Time Dilemma’s visual-novel-meets-adventure-game sees our nine heroes jumping from one untimely end to another-searching for out-of-order clues about why they are where they are. As in the previous two games, the mystery is structured as a series of interlocking timelines: branching decision paths that can be accessed and then escaped through the convenient metaphysical explanation of psychological time travel. In fact, "spoilers" are integral to Zero Time Dilemma. If you're not familiar with the Nonary Game - or the odd-sounding titles I just mentioned-prepare for some spoilers for Zero Time Dilemma’s predecessors in the Zero Escape franchise. Links: Steam | Official website The Nonary Game is back for the third (and supposedly final) time, bringing the familiar structure and tropes of previous games 999 and Virtue's Last Reward.
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