Steins;Gate

Steins;Gate's gameplay requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent reading the text that appears on the screen, which represents either the dialogue between the various characters or the thoughts of the protagonist. Like many other visual novels, there are specific points in Steins;Gate where the user is given a choice to affect the direction of the game. For these decision points, Steins;Gate presents the user with the "phone trigger" (フォーントリガー, fōn torigā) system. When the player receives a phone call, the player can choose to answer or ignore the call.

Incoming text messages have specific words underlined and highlighted in blue, much like a hyperlink on a browser, which the player can select to reply to the text message. Most phone calls or text messages do not require a response, though there are certain points in the game where the player is required to take action. Depending on the player's choices of how to respond to these phone calls and text messages, the plot will progress in a specific direction.

Steins;Gate is set in the summer of 2010, approximately one year after the events that took place in Chaos;Head, in Akihabara. Physical locales of Akihabara like the Radio Kaikan building can be spotted in the game. According to Chiyomaru Shikura, who headed the planning of Steins;Gate, Akihabara was chosen because it is an easy place for acquiring hardware parts, which makes it the ideal place for people interested in inventing and tinkering with things. The notion of time and time traveling are the main themes of the game.

The concept of cause and effect is featured prominently in the game as the protagonist travels back in time numerous times to perform different actions in an attempt to alter what has happened in the future. Steins;Gate also features hard science fiction elements.

Steins;Gate is the second collaborative work between 5pb. and Nitroplus after Chaos;Head. The game was created with the concept of "99% science and 1% fantasy" in mind. The planning for Steins;Gate was headed by Chiyomaru Shikura of 5pb.

The characters were designed by Ryohei Fuke, also known as 'Huke' (one of the illustrators of the Metal Gear series, and the creator of the Black Rock Shooter franchise) whereas the gadgets were designed by Sh@rp. Naotaka Hayashi of 5pb. wrote the scenario with assistance from Vio Shimokura of Nitroplus. Tatsuya Matsuhara from 5pb.

In 2009, the Famitsu Awards gave Steins;Gate visual novel an annual Game of Excellence award. In 2011, it was voted #6 in Famitsu's poll of "most tear-inducing games" of all time. Steins;Gate was nominated for the 2015 Golden Joystick Award in the "Best Handheld / Mobile Game" category. In 2017, Famitsu readers voted it the best adventure game of all time.

Senji Ishii of Famitsu Xbox 360 praised the scenario for its detail and noted that events that were overlooked as insignificant later returned to affect events of the future. Due to the way the plot ties the many different events of the game together, Ishii believes it must have been a lot of work to write the scenarios. net commented that Steins;Gate is comparable to 428: Shibuya Scramble and felt that it is a gem that has not been seen in recent years. ITmedia Gamez noted that players should be attentive to all the details in the story as the twists will surprise the player in many different ways.