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feel free to add me on discord (@aspofsnakes)
Personal Ratings
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5★

Badges


Shreked

Found the secret ogre page

Liked

Gained 10+ total review likes

GOTY '22

Participated in the 2022 Game of the Year Event

N00b

Played 100+ games

Best Friends

Become mutual friends with at least 3 others

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Gained 3+ followers

2 Years of Service

Being part of the Backloggd community for 2 years

Favorite Games

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Onikakushi-hen
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Onikakushi-hen
Witch's Heart
Witch's Heart
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
The World Ends with You
The World Ends with You
Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

164

Total Games Played

005

Played in 2024

083

Games Backloggd


Recently Played See More

Class of '09: The Re-Up
Class of '09: The Re-Up

Mar 20

Class of '09
Class of '09

Mar 18

Yakuza 0
Yakuza 0

Mar 17

Omori
Omori

Jan 21

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment

Jan 07

Recently Reviewed See More

MINOR SPOILERS FOR AITSF AND THE ZERO ESCAPE SERIES

After putting it off for over a year, I've finally come around to completing this game. And gosh was this so much fun. There's a crazy overwhelming amount of things this game does well, and very few things it does bad.

The mystery this game presents is absolutely stellar. From how it starts out, to how it ends, to what factors are at play here, and most importantly, how everything ties in together is just nothing short of spectacular. A lot of mystery games that I've played tend to lose sight of the mystery itself and focus more on the characters, or setting, or something, but AI manages to keep the mystery wholly relevant while also managing to set up the characters and other factors at play super well.

AI features branching routes, which feel similar to Zero Escape's at first. But it's only similar in a gameplay sense. There are no crazy time loop stuff here, and I can seriously appreciate how simpler that is, even if it doesn't feel so. The bad ends are also sort of hard to obtain, and I'm not sure if I like that. The right choice is always super obvious. I love that there's not a lot of endings because that makes each individual ending stand out so much more. Less really is more.

More about the gameplay, AI features some of the best game design I've seen in ages. The somniums are so, so fun to play through. They're all so amazingly done stylistically and the symbolic choices are also so neat to look back on. Each somnium is an experience of its own, and none of it ever feels repetitive. The gameplay is so seamless and engaging, and I like that it's never hard to figure out while also having a ton of gameplay and discoverable content. cue flashbacks to how dummy hard VLR is for no reason

Date and Aiba's banter is also done so organically and really makes me want to engage with every possible dialogue choice.
I also love that EVERYTHING in this game is voiced, a first time for a VN (or I guess hybrid VN?) for me. All the VAs put everything into their roles and the villain's tone, depending on where they're at, goes crazy hard.

The characters are also written amazingly. Writing a much smaller tight knit main cast focusing on a seemingly small event worked out extremely well for Uchi, unlike his other games that are a bit more grandiose. Not a single one of them is weak or anything, and everyone contributes to the story in some way.
Kaname Date is our protagonist, and the game chooses to go through the "amnesia" route, making it super easy for the player and him to learn info at the same time. This is done kinda well because Date has been an amnesiac for 6 years, so it's not a COMPLETE fish out of water scenario. It gives him an actual character and personality still making him malleable for the story.
Date also serves as a central character as WELL as the protagonist, as all the characters involved in this story are connected to him in some way.

There's only a few issues I have with this game: notably the horny jokes. For me, they're easy to ignore but I imagine a lot of people would get turned off by them pretty easily. There's an excessive amount of them. It is so much worse compared to ZE in this aspect, and I thought Sigma was bad already.
The other, more big issue is how the villain is sort of written? They have mental illness, and while that works as a motivation, it felt more one note. It's not the worst thing ever but it's sort of a recurring pattern with Uchi, considering 999 and its villain's motivation. It feels trivializing, especially for the same game that treats Mizuki's problems with dignity and respect.

Overall, this was a fun game, and one I really wish I played a LOT sooner. There's very little I have to criticize about it and I could even go as far as saying that this was the best game I played in 2022. Easiest 4/5 ever.

Much, much better than Steins;Gate, imo. This is kinda where the franchise has its highest highs for me and feels so much more memorable to me than Steins;Gate did, after 2 years since I've played these games.
It explores characters better and they honestly feel so much more likeable instead of simply just tropes to me as opposed to the original where everyone feels one dimensional. Maho is the best character in the franchise.
Having multiple POVs is also a really nice inclusion and that also helps in fleshing out the characters more. Okabe wasn't a protag I cared for in the first game and viewing him in a different light in every single way made me appreciate him a lot more. His growth and him getting his entire spark back made this beautiful, confusing mess so worth it because he truly feels explored here.
As I mentioned before, it is confusing compared to the original which makes the S;G 0 anime supplementary material to better understand the story. Selecting a route isn't as linear as it is in the last game and you can play the entire game without getting most of it, which is kinda the low point of this entry. But I just think that makes it more charming.
Did this game need to exist? Nope. Not at all. But am I glad it does? Yes, 100%. This game is something I definitely have to replay eventually.

better than the original steins;gate but that is not a very high bar