The following article may contain spoilers for Steins;Gate.
Disclaimer: The following review was made with an incomplete experience of the game.
Steins;Gate: 8-BIT ADV is a brand new retro-styled spinoff game that was initially released alongside Nintendo Switch copies of Steins;Gate Elite in Japan. This pixel-filled adventure introduces a brand new Steins;Gate side story, and accurately captures the presentation style of most traditional NES games.
8-BIT ADV will release in English on February 19, 2019, and will be included with all purchases of Steins;Gate Elite on the Nintendo Switch. The game’s English publishers, Spike Chunsoft, were gracious enough to provide us with a copy of the game to review ahead of this date.
Two members of our staff will be covering their thoughts on the game in the following review, and each member will give the game a score out of 10 at the end of the article. This score will be added together and divided by 2 to provide a collective, final score out of 10. The members reviewing this game are Martin and DaSH.
STORY
DaSH:
The story loosely follows the events of the original Steins;Gate, taking place in the Alpha Attractor Field. Compared to previous iterations, this game does have a unique spin on the original story.
The game also features locations that were first introduced in Linear Bounded Phenogram and Steins;Gate 0, such as Daru’s hideout. 4°C makes a reappearance in 8-BIT ADV, which is a bit jarring considering the minimization of his role in the base game, Steins;Gate Elite.
Martin:
8-BIT ADV’s story is relatively simple. Suzuha needs the player’s help in order to repair her time machine, and the player must complete various tasks around Akihabara to do so. While on the journey, the player will encounter various Steins;Gate characters on the streets of Akihabara.
PRESENTATION
Martin:
The entire game was designed with an 8-bit style in mind, and it looks just like a retro game from the 80s. Visuals aren’t the only aspect that it borrows from the 1980s—8-BIT ADV also sounds like a game from that era. The game’s unique design is complemented by chiptune demixes of the original Steins;Gate soundtrack, which gives the player a great sense of immersion in the retro style of the game.
DaSH:
By far, the best aspect of 8-BIT ADV is its soundtrack. As mentioned by Martin, the original game’s soundtrack has been demade into an 8-bit, chiptune style. The soundtrack, whether listened to standalone or alongside the gameplay, is a joy to listen to. I’ve personally spent quite a bit of time on the game’s title screen just listening to the Gate of Steiner demix.
GAMEPLAY
DaSH:
To stay true to the NES style that it’s trying to recreate, the game doesn’t allow the player to save. This does unfortunately become a pain to deal with later on—the game doesn’t do much to tell the player where to go next, and the player is seemingly expected to know the layout of Akihabara when playing. 8-BIT ADV also has game overs, which doesn’t mesh well with the lack of saves. Granted, it’s evident to the player that a game over will occur when they go to certain places or perform certain actions, and the player is given plenty of time to turn back. This is ultimately what led me to the decision of focusing more on Steins;Gate Elite and prioritizing finishing this lower.
Martin:
8-BIT ADV’s gameplay, as mentioned earlier, is reminiscent of the classic 8-bit games from the 80s. The player can explore a pixelated version of Akihabara and visit various places of interests to meet up with and talk to other Steins;Gate characters. There are other actions available as well—the player can use items, investigate locations, or let out a Hououin Kyouma-esque laugh.
One of the main issues with the gameplay is the inability to save one’s progress. While that’s certainly accurate to other 80s NES games, it makes playing the game in the current era quite frustrating.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Martin:
While 8-BIT ADV is interesting in concept, it ultimately does not have much to offer in terms of story, and can be frustrating to play at times due to the lack of the ability to save. 8-BIT ADV is exclusively offered as a bonus game with Nintendo Switch copies of Elite, but I would find it difficult to recommend it over the PlayStation 4/Steam bonus, Linear Bounded Phenogram. Linear Bounded Phenogram is a full-fledged visual novel that will probably give players 20 or more hours of content, while 8-BIT ADV is more of a gimmick-based side game that will last no more than six hours for most players.
DaSH:
Overall, I’m quite disappointed with Steins;Gate: 8-BIT ADV. The soundtrack is my favorite part of the game, and it’s the factor that carried my score as high as it is. Generally, the game hasn’t been all that fun to play—in MMO terms, the game feels like one big fetch quest chain, with no save states or systems (for example, combat) to make it interesting. I find it extremely hard, if not impossible, to recommend the Nintendo Switch version of Steins;Gate Elite over the PlayStation 4 or Steam versions of the game for this reason. The Linear Bounded Phenogram bonus game included in the latter two versions is almost objectively superior to 8-BIT ADV, what with the greater amount of content that it provides.
Unless you’re absolutely invested in the portability of Steins;Gate Elite, it’s hard to recommend buying Steins;Gate Elite’s Nintendo Switch version at this point—one would be forfeiting a much better pack-in game by doing so. If you’re buying Steins;Gate Elite on the Switch solely for the bonus game, keep your expectations low.
Final Score:
5/10
DaSH: 4/10
Martin: 6/10
Steins;Gate 8-BIT ADV has a unique concept to it, but it ultimately failed to meet our expectations. While the game has its own audiovisual charm, the gameplay quickly becomes uninteresting. The lack of the ability to save is accurate, but is also an annoyance. When compared to the more fulfilling Phenogram pack-in on the PlayStation 4 and Steam, 8-BIT ADV fails to impress.
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