Zero Time Dilemma, much like the previous two Zero Escape games that came before it,
...loves to mess with your mind.
Just when you think you have a character or situation figured out,
...the game will turn everything upside down,
...forcing you to constantly question what's put in front of you.
Yet even with its most outlandish moments,
...Zero Time Dilemma goes out of its way to explain...
...and contextualize most of the various plot threads.
The game commits so hard to its elaborate theories...
...that it's difficult not to buy in and let it take you on a ride.
If you haven't played the prior two parts of the Zero Escape trilogy,
...999 and Virtue's Last Reward, you absolutely should not bother with Zero Time Dilemma.
This third chapter answers many important questions...
...and it portrays subtle moments between characters, which won't resonate...
...if you don't have the appropriate knowledge going in.
Zero Time Dilemma starts with nine unfortunate souls...
...who are held on an underground shelter against their will,
...forced to play the insidious "decision game".
Essentially, if six or more people are killed, the remaining participants...
...get to leave through the one and only exit.
You must decide who lives and dies,
...suffering the consequences of your actions.
Unlike Virtue's Last Reward, where the violence was notably turned down,
...Zero Time Dilemma uses blood and gore to great effect.
Character deaths are the grisliest in the series.
Thankfully, the violence never feels exploitative...
...and it's only really used to either drive home the dire nature of the situation...
...or to reveal something meaningful about a character.
While the idea of pinning characters against one another...
...in a life or death situation is nothing new, the narrative depth...
...of Zero Time Dilemma goes far beyond its back-of-the-box synopsis.
It's not really about the decision game at all.
The story is a grand culmination of something much bigger...
...that's been carefully built up through two other games.
One of the most effective elements of Zero Time Dilemma...
...and the Zero Escape series as a whole...
...is that the structure and mechanics aren't just tools...
...built to funnel through a narrative.
Instead, these components are worked into the story itself in extremely clever ways.
Because Zero Time Dilemma presents itself through a variety...
...of scenes that you can choose in any order, you get to see..
...dramatically different sides of characters.
Just when you think you've seen all there is to see...
...the game surprises you by revealing depth in a character...
...that you didn't think they were capable of.
Not all of the characters are equally strong, however.
Mira and Eric, two of the completely new faces...
...are particularly underwhelming.
Their one-dimensional nature is revealed fairly early on...
...and the various attempts at humanizing them...
...always come across as heavy-handed.
The puzzles in Zero Time Dilemma generally fall in line...
...with those found in 999 and Virtue's Last Reward...
...although they are a bit easier in general.
Each of the puzzles feels greatly distinct from one another...
...and it's because of this variety that they're never too tiring to complete.
One storage room puzzle asks the player to decipher clues...
...found on chained-up appendages, while another library puzzle...
...requires shooting different firearms at particular locations.
The inventory system is much simpler to deal with...
...than the one in Virtue's Last Reward.
Instead of awkwardly cycling through a large circle of items,
...everything you've acquired is placed in an easy-to-access grid.
There isn't a difficulty option this time around for those who get stuck...
...but there is a sort of hint system where the more you fail a puzzle,
...the more information other characters around you will divulge.
It's especially helpful during some of the obtuse problems you come across...
...but the implementation is a bit scattershot.
There are times when you wish your teammates would say anything useful...
...but instead they remain silent.
A bigger issue is that it can be difficult to tell what you can and can't interact with...
...leading to instances where you're completely stuck...
...just because you didn't notice a hard-to-see item.
The presentation in Zero Time Dilemma is jarringly inconsistent.
On one hand the soundtrack perfectly sets the mood.
Its sparse electronic pulses fill you with just the right amount of dread,
...building anticipation for the next ghastly reveal.
The voice acting also largely rises to the occasion.
Some lines fall flat and some characters are much stronger than others, but...
...Zero Time Dilemma features some of the most intense and emotional scenes of the series...
...and the cast is generally able to sell them,
..yet the animation is uniformly awful, with characters acting like awkward marionettes.
Making things worse is the clipping.
There are moments when a woman's hair noticeably clips into her back...
...or a man's hand clips inside of his arm.
The developer stated that the new cinematic style...
...is an attempt to grab the attention of more players...
...and, although that's easy to understand, it's a jump that just didn't work out as well as we hoped.
Rough edges be damned, however.
Such flaws don't prevent Zero Time Dilemma from being utterly enthralling.
It's rare that game's story captivates us so thoroughly...
...that we lose sleep just to see what will happen next.
Few other works have subverted expectations, toyed with our emotions...
...or simply shocked us the way the Zero Escape series has.
Zero Time Dilemma is a fitting end to a story we won't soon forget.