Steins;Gate cover art

Steins;Gate

A time-travel mystery where finding the correct sequence of phone interventions is the puzzle.

On Steam ↗
Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION0 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE1 /10OPTIMIZATION4 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    0/10

    Pure reading; phone choices are the only input

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    0/10

    No opponent; timeline branches are fixed

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    1/10

    Phone trigger timing hides branch conditions until discovered

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    4/10

    Mapping exact phone responses to unlock the True End is solvable

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

Compare with

Similar games

see all →

Ranked by shared genre first, then by how closely the cheat-test profile matches - a cross-genre tag means a pick matched on skill profile alone.

VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action cover art

VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action

Light / Casual · bartender visual novel

E
R
V
O
VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
Everlasting Summer cover art

Everlasting Summer

Light / Casual · visual novel

E
R
V
O
Everlasting Summer
Doki Doki Literature Club! cover art

Doki Doki Literature Club!

Light / Casual · horror visual novel

E
R
V
O
Doki Doki Literature Club!
Valiant Hearts: The Great War cover artcross-genre

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Pure Optimization · narrative puzzle adventure

E
R
V
O
Valiant Hearts: The Great War
Animal Crossing: New Leaf cover artcross-genre

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Light / Casual · life simulation

E
R
V
O
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Grim Fandango Remastered cover artcross-genre

Grim Fandango Remastered

Light / Casual · point-and-click adventure

E
R
V
O
Grim Fandango Remastered

Game details

Released
2009
Developer
MAGES.
Franchise
Steins;Gate
Platforms
PS3, PS4, Android, PC, iOS, Vita, PSP, X360
Modes
Single player
IGDB critics
80/100
IGDB users
93/100
AdventureVisual NovelScience fictionSurvivalHistoricalMystery