Zero Time Dilemma Reviews
While it ends up feeling a bit like the weakest game in the series so far, even a weak Zero Escape game is still an absolute delight, and Zero Time Dilemma is no exception.
Zero Time Dilemma is an immensely satisfying conclusion to what might be one of the best, best told stories in the history of the medium.
Zero Time Dilemma is a satisfying conclusion to the Zero Escape series, but I feel it’s missing a final challenge room to test my wits.
Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma will not be to everyone’s tastes; that much is obvious. An eclectic mix of puzzle solving and non-linear visual novel narrative, Zero Time Dilemma’s inconsistent conundrum quality and distinctly no-frills presentation aren’t enough to seriously detract from the impressive calibre of its numerous idiosyncrasies.
Following in the footsteps of its brilliant predecessors, Zero Time Dilemma continues to bring a thrilling form of storytelling that can only be done with the interaction of the video game medium.
Zero Time Dilemma is a more than fitting end to a series already known for its gripping narrative and compelling characters. Director/writer Kotaro Uchikoshi has outdone himself here and delivered, most assuredly, his magnum opus. This is narrative risk-taking and some of the best storytelling available in the medium that manages to overcome its presentational flaws to offer a must-play experience.
If you’re a fan of the Zero Escape games, I don’t need to convince you to buy it, since you probably were already going to do so anyway. If you’re a newcomer and want to get into the Zero Escape series, play the first two games before you even consider playing Zero Time Dilemma, as it offers a much more rewarding experience if you have.
Although the ending might not be one that fans expected, Zero Time Dilemma is a great game, with a lot of shocking twists and turns within its story. And being able to even have a finale to the Zero Escape series proves that we’re all in the best possible timeline.
Zero Time Dilemma carries some deep themes of morality, mortality, and identity, making for an intelligent, worthy story.
I'm glad that I got to see the series through to the end. Though it answered some of the questions I had while replaying the prior games, the execution of Zero Time Dilemma itself has some rough patches and relying on our message boards/GameFAQs/other places of ill repute is going to cause a lot of problems for those playing it day one. If you haven't played the two prequels, at least play Virtue's Last Reward first.
Once you do open up the puzzle routes, Zero Time Dilemma becomes a well-blended avalanche of slick cinematics and brain-teasing escapes for the next 20 hours
Zero Time Dilemma is a masterpiece and a must play game for Vita owners. I would love to see more from the series, but think this might be swansong on it, but we shall see. As stated earlier this game is awesome, and you should be playing it. People will be talking about this game for years to come. If this Zero Time Dilemma review hasn’t made it extremely clear, you should rush out to buy this game.
Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma is a game everyone absolutely must play. If you haven’t played the previous games in the series, drop everything and experience them. Even though the artistic direction is a misfire, ultimately you’re looking to a game like this for the narrative, and it absolutley delivers something intelligent and meaningful there.
Despite having dozens of questions early on, by the end of the long twisted journey, I found everything to be resolved—or even left unresolved—in an extremely satisfying way.
Sadly, despite an attempt to include in-depth story threads and bring in intriguing puzzles, Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma falls down on too many occasions. Be it the convoluted yarns that do not tie things together well enough, puzzles that fluctuate in difficulty and interest levels far too much, as well as a poorly thought out flowchart system that leads players into numerous dead ends, either requiring sheer guesswork and random replaying of certain scenarios, or caving in and using online guides.
A cinematic, rollercoaster ride of high drama with twists and turns at every step. Structural flaws and a story perhaps not on-par with previous outings aren't enough to stop Zero Time Dilemma from being an excellent interactive experience.
Fans of Zero Escape, you're in the right timeline: the one where the series gets the spectacular ending it deserves. Violent, tense, and thought-provoking, this is a game that will keep you up for days while you finish it, than days more while you process what you just saw. If you haven't picked it up yet, you owe it to yourself to do so now.
Make no mistake about it, Zero Time Dilemma is a disappointment, but it's mainly because fans of the franchise are such devoted ones. Taken on its own merits, without looking back to how the series was, it is certainly not a bad game, and has some excellent qualities that leave it an overall good experience, and definitely not a bad one.
Zero Time Dilemma is the weakest game in the trilogy, yet it's an unmissable piece of the puzzle that every Zero Escape fan needs to play. It isn't the satisfying conclusion hoped for, it has some uninteresting characters, and the pacing is off, but even with the unanswered questions, there is still a story here that warrants playing through, especially as it develops and wraps up the arcs of the familiar, better and more important characters in the overall narrative.
As the third entry in the series, Zero Time Dilemma takes a lot of inspiration from the past games while lacking anything innovative to move the series forward. It is arguably a great game but it often feels less polished compared to its predecessors and the presentations suffers as a result.