Review: STEINS;GATE ELITE (PlayStation 4)

Rating: 9
Author: Jim Smale

by Jim Smale · Published February 19, 2019 · Updated February 19, 2019

STEINS; GATE ELITE follows a rag-tag band of tech-savvy young students who discover the means of changing the past via e-mail using a modified microwave. Their experiments in pushing the boundaries of time to begin to spiral out of control as they become entangled in a conspiracy surrounding SERN, the organization behind the Large Hadron Collider, and John Titor, who claims to be from a dystopian future.

Pros:

Anime style graphics.
Two games in one: STEINS; GATE ELITE and the standalone DLC Steins Gate Linear Bounded Phenogram. (code in box)
Download sizes-
- STEINS; GATE ELITE 14.94GB
- Steins Gate Linear Bounded Phenogram (DLC) 3.26GB.
Platinum trophy.
Visual novel gameplay.
Steins; Gate: Linear Bounded Phenogram is a collection of situations from various periods during and after the events of the original Steins; Gate. With 11 stories in total amounting to around 20 hours for full completion, LBP is far from being just an afterthought of extra content.
Text settings- Auto mode delay/message speed/skip mode/Text size/voiced text during auto mode.
Auto quick save on/off. To use you just click right stick.
Tips list- Unlocks as you play.
STEINS; GATE ELITE supports and uses the DS4 touchpad.
Quick save/load along with hard save and hard load options in the game.
Japanese voice.
Strong impactful soundtrack.
Keywords in conversations are highlighted and get added to tips for a more in-depth explanation.
Backlog- Way to re-read or listen back to previous conversations.
Auto mode- Goes through text without any input from you.
STEINS; GATE ELITE has many multiple endings.
The story is narrated by your character and in a lot of it is done in a way like he’s retelling his story to you.
Really cool visual effects.
The game is split into 10 chapters.
Multiple choice interactions which help determine which path you take and what content you see.
All new sequences and animations for even more different endings.
STEINS; GATE ELITE is really simple to get into.
Envokes a chilled out like experience.
Looks really good up on the big screen.

Cons:

STEINS; GATE ELITE has no English voice option.
Slow pace.
Very little interaction.
STEINS; GATE ELITE is a lot of reading. This is obvious but sometimes you need to spell it out.
No trophies for Steins Gate Linear Bounded Phenogram.

9/10

Graphics - 9/10
9/10

Sound - 9/10
9/10

Accessability - 9/10
9/10

Length - 9/10
9/10

Fun Factor - 9/10

9/10

Summary

Originally released across various home and handheld formats in Japan, Steins Gate Linear Bounded Phenograms inclusion with Steins; Gate Elite marks the first ever appearance of an official English translation release. While the stories can feel somewhat random in isolation, for fans of the diverse cast from the original visual novel it offers a great chance to live in the (alternate) world(lines) of Okabe and friends that little bit longer. That said the amount of gaming goodness you get from just the base game is incredible. I am in no way a huge fan of visual novel games but Steins Gate has opened my eyes, Lying back on the couch reading what is essentially a book with moving pictures, I found myself completely absorbed into the wondrous world.