I do think that, like the last one, the ending shits the bed somewhat, and gets caught up in whatever dumb narrative it had created for itself, but importantly VLR understands that what is most interesting about it is how the following of different routes is integral to the narrative, and not simply different little things to collect, as is the case with many VNs. THe slow drip feed of the plot was excellent, until the end when it all sort of comes crashing down.

Regardless, I have seen few games that actively interrogate the player's role in a narrative and their ability to shape it. It improves on 999 tenfold by making the puzzles significantly harder, the art style better, and the plot actually make sense. I am sure that I will eventually get around to Zero Time Dilemma.