Steins;Gate: My Darling's Embrace Critic Reviews

Steins;Gate: My Darling’s Embrace puts a silly spin on the usually serious atmosphere of the series, providing a fun and breezy treat for fans of the franchise.

Steins;Gate Darling of Loving Vows is a charming VN that pleasantly surprised me with just how high quality it is. Its nothing groundbreaking, but if you go into it expecting a fun nostalgia trip with your favorite characters it’ll definitely deliver. The comedy made me smile, the translation is high quality, it felt great to revisit the original game with a different spin on the setting, and the characters were as just as enjoyable. Honestly, this is probably my favorite of the spin-off games, it captures the comedic spirit of Steins;Gate and doesn’t take itself too seriously. If you’re a fan, I recommend going through it. If you haven’t played Steins;Gate yet, you should definitely get on that (and then come back).

Animated cut-scenes and even more variety in terms of the on-screen visuals would help make this an easier recommendation, but as it is the audience might be limited. I prefer my visual novel type games to have more variety, like the Ace Attorney games, but those who fancy Steins;Gate will very likely enjoy My Darling's Embrace.

Because of the nature of the Steins;Gate series, the overarching plot points may result in a bit of tonal whiplash from the fairly lighthearted tone of this game, so while it might seem like the characters are not quite acting like they would in the main games, it's a fun distraction from the heavy themes of the original Steins;Gate games, and for fans looking for what it’s offering, you can’t really fault it. With high production values and the quality of writing that you’d see in a mainline Steins;Gate game, this one is definitely for the hardcore fans looking to see their favourite characters again and see them in silly situations.

Steins;Gate: My Darling's Embrace deserves credit for managing to retain a desire to spend more time with these characters, and runs with the humour and nerdiness in combination with the sexually natured and light-hearted narratives that Okabe ends up entwined in. It does the series justice by sticking to what makes everybody so appealing, but it is a very specific type of visual novel that doesn't get into any serious or dramatic situations. Understand what you're setting yourself up for and this is a fun alternate diversion to the original title.

How much you’ll get out of Steins;Gate: My Darling's Embrace really depends on what you enjoyed in the original game. If you’re looking for some humorous antics with a dash of romance, then this is the right place for you. Those that are more into time travel and the serious side of Steins;Gate should really look elsewhere.