New Version, Same Organization

I’m not sure what’s more difficult: inventing time travel or displaying it in fiction in a way that makes any sense at all. Neither has ever been done successfully, after all. But that didn’t stop the writers of STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT from trying, and their risk is our reward.

Steins;Gate has an entire history I won’t get into, largely because I’d just be quoting Wikipedia. The series has been around since 2009 in game, anime, and manga form, and if you’re abreast of all that, you know more than I did going into STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT. This review is not for you, it’s for newbies such as myself, largely because I want to make sure they don’t make the mistake of looking beyond this visual novel from Spike Chunsoft.

The game follows self-proclaimed “mad scientist” Rintaro Okabe and a group of young eccentrics called The Future Gadget Lab. From what I can tell, they mostly just invent weird things and occasionally attend alternative science seminars while Rintaro hides from the probably fictitious “Organization.” Honestly, it all starts off very weird, then proceeds to get weirder as you follow along.

But it’s this weirdness that makes the game work. At an early seminar, a woman ends up dead, a satellite crashes into a building, and the entire population disappears. But why does only Rintaro remember some of these events? And why does the dead woman reappear with a distinct interest in The Future Gadget Labs’ work? Answers (some of them, anyway) are slowly revealed over the course of the game’s 25 to 30 hours, but not in the ways you might think.

For example, let’s take a quick look at the game’s time machine, or PhoneWave (name subject to change). That’s its actual name: PhoneWave (name subject to change).

Time travel is discovered here by placing a banana into the microwave and using a phone to activate it for a set amount of time. After doing so, the banana ends up back on the bunch, albeit as a green, gelatinous mass. STEINS;GATE throws tons of scientific terms and theories at you to learn as you progress (whether real or nonsensical, don’t know, don’t care), and this is their time travel mechanic? What a fantastic way to let us know we needn’t take any of this too seriously.

Not that we would, anyway, based on the game’s dialogue and acting. The characters involved are comically eccentric and fun to be around, especially Rintaro himself. He’s so over the top with his beliefs, reactions, and mannerisms that it’s hard to not love the guy. It’s also hard to not get into the story. Yes, it’s all pretty crazy, but it’s grounded in a way that keeps you connected and involved once you’re able to embrace the chaotic pacing. And that’s important, because the story and the characters are pretty much all there is.

STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT is a visual novel in the purest sense. You can occasionally pull up your phone to check messages or use the PhoneWave (name subject to change), but that’s it for interactivity. And, oddly, you can’t use the Switch’s touchscreen in handheld mode. It’s barely needed, but still an oversight.

The story, then, will likely be a problem for anyone who’s played the game before. There’s one new character route to follow, but beyond that, your sole reason for replaying is the visual and audio upgrades. Those are nice (I assume; as mentioned, this is my first time playing STEINS;GATE), but worth $60? Probably not. I will defend that price for first-time players and die-hard fans, though, as you will get a lot of screen time with STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT; more than you can expect from some action games and platformers.

More importantly, that time is very well spent. This is a great story that’s certainly deserving of its many successful iterations. Every time I thought I was figuring things out, they’d go off in some seemingly random direction that ultimately served an important purpose. And although its sense of humor may put off some players for various reasons, I found myself laughing at everything from the dialogue to the glossary entries.

STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT is a fun time. However, this release works better as an introduction to the series than as a reason to revisit it. It’s totally fair if the price tag seems steep to you. Add it to your eShop wish list, then wait for one of Spike Chunsoft’s wonderful sales, if that’s what it takes. Because this is time travel worth taking.