428: Shibuya Scramble Reviews
Overall, I really enjoyed 428: Shibuya Scramble. The story is excellent; incredibly engaging, getting my very emotionally invested in all the characters especially as things ramped up in the later hours. The writing style perfectly combines seriousness and occasional lighthearted jokes when appropriate, making it enjoyable even during relative downtime. None of the main characters stand out as particularly weaker than the others, and each of their stories carries the same weight and quality all the way throughout the game. That’s a long way, too; completing everything took me just shy of 50 hours, with just playing through until the end of the epilogue taking just over 40 hours. Even though it’s on the longer side, it still kept me fully engaged through all of it, and is definitely worth the $49.99 USD, having easily earned the respect it has among visual novels. If you’re at all interested in visual novels, mystery and detective stories, or you just want something exciting and different (there’s even a demo on PS4 if you don’t want to take the full plunge right away), I can’t recommend 428: Shibuya Scramble highly enough.
In the end, 428: Shibuya Scramble is yet another top notch Visual Novel, a genre that has exploded onto the console scene seemingly overnight and shows no signs of slowing down.
Never before have I played an interactive novel that kept me so compelled to the very end, and once it was wrapped up all neatly, 428: Shibuya Scramble continued to surprise me with more and more story than I could've ever asked for.
428: Shibuya Scramble is a classic nonlinear visual novel that requires you to be attentive. More than 50 hours of delight are guaranteed to the fans of good detective stories.
Review in Russian | Read full review
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After a wait of ten years, finally 428: Shibuya Scramble has also landed in our area. With a fantastic setting like Japan surrounding a compelling and intriguing story, the game deserves to be widely promoted with few reservations. Absolutely recommended both to those who appreciate visual novels, and to those who are entering the genre for the first time even if for the latter the impact may not be immediately the best. If you do not let yourself be discouraged by the presence of the English language alone, you can therefore prepare yourself for a story made up of many, many paths to follow to trace your destiny.
Review in Italian | Read full review
What can we talk about, then? Well, even without giving spoilers, quite a few things. Let's start with the most standout of the gimmicks and tricks 428 has, and one you probably already noticed. The graphics. They're not 3D rendered, they're photographs and video clips. Even at a glance, this makes the game stand out sharply in an era where this hasn't been done unironically in years.
428: Shibuya Scramble is storytelling via video games at its finest. The multiple parallel stories, the twists and turns, the characters, each is reason enough to pick up this title despite the initial release being a decade ago. It plays with ease, allowing you to completely lose yourself if the story of Maria's abduction and the ten most important hours spent trying to save her.
428: Shibuya Scramble is clearly the child of Spike Chunsoft as it brings together some of the best features from Zero Escape and Danganronpa into a new title.
428 Shibuya Scramble has its realistic atmosphere and a well-written and non-linear story which keeps the player in suspense and great characters . The fanatics of special visual nouvels should really enjoy the game. But this genre adresses to a niche audience, especially beacause there is no animations and the story remained in english.
Review in French | Read full review
428: Shibuya Scramble may be a ten-year-old game, but it's such a unique experience that it feels like a slightly flawed, modern classic even today. If you have any love for the genre, don't skip this one.
428 : Shibuya Scramble is clearly a game worthy of its Japanese reputation. Spike Chunsoft's Visual Novel tells a riveting story and makes a really clever use of its multiple bad endings system. The game gives you a tour of the real Shibuya and introduces you to a cast of characters that grows on you very fast. It grows on you so much in fact, that once the game ends, you're sad that you'll never see them again.
Review in French | Read full review
Despite some minor issues, 428: Shibuya Scramble is one of the most unique visual novel ever seen.
Review in Italian | Read full review
It won't satisfy those who like a lot of action in their games, but anyone who likes to take their time and devour a good book will be in their element, that's for sure.
As a visual novel, 428 Shibuya Scramble is ambitious and makes a great combination of five different storylines. It suffers from the limitations of its own genre, such as poor visuals or little interaction.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
428: Shibuya Scramble may have taken ten years to arrive in the West, but it tellls its engaging story like no other game in all these years.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
428: Shibuya Scramble's Western release is a miracle. Don't sleep on it.
428: Shibuya Scramble takes some time to get into but once you start uncovering the mystery of its overarching plot, its unique story-telling and a well-developed cast are more than enough to recommend it for fans of Japanese visual novels.
428: Shibuya Scramble is a fun addition to the PS4's growing visual novel stable. Solve a kidnapping, thwart a viral conspiracy, and assist a hapless salesperson in taking off her giant cat costume: Spike Chunsoft's zany story has charm to spare and is both funny and thrilling while it lasts.
The unique presentation and excellent storytelling of 428: Shibuya Scramble make it a great visual novel experience.