So close. This game was so close to perfection.

So to the obvious out of the way; the models look absolutely awful, especially Clover. I really just wish they kept the art style of 999. There’s only really one other complaint I have aside from generic anime BS, but we’ll get to that later.

As it goes, this game is one of the most interesting narrative experiences I have ever had. I cannot state how much I adore the branching paths this game offers and how each one reveals a different mystery. What’s better yet is that each path can be experienced in largely any order. What I love about this is that it results in every player experiencing the story in a completely different order and solving mysteries at completely different points. For example I first got Tenmyouji’s ending. So this ending reveals information like what Zero looks like, Tenmyouji’s relation to Akane and the fact that Tenmyouji knew who Zero was the whole time. I then had this information stored in my mind for the rest of the game, trying to piece together information. But what’s amazing about this is that if I simply chose a different path I would be storing completely different knowledge. If anyone were to play this game for the first time, I would undoubtedly nudge them towards the Dio ending for the first time. That ending particularly revolves so much seemingly random information that it’s incredibly fun to just try and figure out how it relates to anything else in the game.

Moving away from the story, the gameplay is really well done. I felt with 999 that the puzzles were well made, however not necessarily too hard. VLR however is a whole other story. I found many rooms fairly challenging and this wasn’t because they were poorly designed (except that fucking dice puzzle) but instead because they were expertly made. The game does however tend to leave you in the dark with clues, meaning that you’ll be scratching your head for a long time with puzzles. However this is ignoring the difficulty options. Having an optional easy mode that reveals clues for you is a great feature that I wished carried over into ZTD. It allowed those who wanted as complex puzzles as possible to experience that with no hints. But also allows those who simply want to find a solution to finish quickly. A particular stand out between the puzzles is the GAULEM Bay. This room is easily my favourite in the series for a multitude of reasons and anyone who plays this game will see why.

Now we finally get to what ruined the game. The ending. Look I can tolerate bad endings, however when they ruin everything thus far I cannot ignore it. Sigma being an old man the entire time makes no sense at all. This reveals relies on the fact that conveniently nobody seems to mention the fact that you look like an old man. Sure is lucky that Sigma never even scratched his face an realised that he has wrinkles. Sure is lucky that Sigma never saw his reflection despite interacting with reflective surfaces numerous times. And it sure is damn fucking lucky that Sigma never noticed that HE IS MISSING AN EYE. How do you not notice you’re missing an eye almost immediately?

All in all, VLR is undeniably a post-modern masterpiece when it comes to its structure. Hell, I never even mentioned stuff like Schrödinger’s Cat and its role in the timelines. If you play this game, you do it purely for the unique structure and maybe because you enjoy puzzles. But be prepared for the literal worst ending to any game I have ever played.