Steins; Gate My Darling’s Embrace is a dating sim spin off from Steins Gate and it is not canon. It is not the first dating sim in the science adventure series, Chaos Child and Chaos Head have them.
(And the shippers gleed for joy)
Steins; Gate My Darling’s Embrace has been localized to western audiences while those 2 haven’t. The concept of Steins Gate having a romantic theme was made in mind with how Mages Inc. wanted to try out new ideas for the science adventure series after they noticed how romance visual novels were becoming quite popular in Japan. This also enabled more in-depth character exploration and this world line is focused on peace and fun instead of what happened in the original game.
(Touching scenes like this to balance out the lighthearted stuff)
My Darling’s Embrace takes place right after the events from the first game and it expects you to know what has happened previously as there are frequent callbacks from the first game. The story focuses on Rintaro Okabe who instead of fighting SERN, now works as a waiter to help pay the bills for experiments and for Mr.Braun’s rental fees to still use the Laboratory.
(Just a reminder to you simps this expression is how your e-girl feels about you outside of the cam)
The game still has its science fiction elements to keep things familiar and unlike the mainline games, this is focused on the day to day lives of the members and their romantic interactions.
(PLEASE DON"T SAY YOU WERE LAZY BECAUSE YOU WERE REALLY CRAZY!!!)
There is still an element of suspense but it is not heavy on the melodrama. SERN is a part of the committee of 300, but the organization has very little influence and it does not send its hit squad after the cast like in the original Steins Gate. The hard science fiction elements take a backseat most of the time.
( I AM NOT TSUN OR DERE AND MY NAME IS NOT CHRISTINA!!!)
This is where the Otaku humor really shines because it did not fit too well with the main games due to the serious nature but in the spin offs, it makes sense. There are no bad endings in the game as all routes lead to you being with any of the female cast members. The pacing, like the original game, takes its time setting things up and having Okabe get closer to the girls he hangs out with, rather than command them to help him carry out his experiments to destroy society in order to stop the committee of 300.
(Eating a gelbanna when i'm highly allergic to them is way better than her!!!!)
The voice actors return and do a good job reprising their respective roles. The characters stay the same but now Mayuri has role in the story as one of the love interests instead of being a wallflower who gets killed multiple times. The music is a mix of older songs and new songs and the new opening theme actually fits with the nature of the story.
(Just a reminder that is a dude that looks like a lady)
The controls are the same as it is on Steins Gate if you have it imported on the PS3 but still easy to learn. Like in the original Steins Gate, you can choose your ringtone, wallpaper and what kind of response you would like to send. The visuals are noticeably brighter due to the light hearted story. The artstyle is excellent and so are the character designs. There is new background art that goes along with some of the reused background art to keep things fresh and familiar at the same time.
(Everything is all wholesome and fitting.)
The menu is in English and just like in many 5pb/Mages Inc games, the user interface is really well designed. Like in many visual novels from Mages Inc, from time-to-time certain terms from either real world or in game pop up and highlighted, and it gives a very good explanation of what each term means and is well categorized.
(CELEB17 hard at work)
I noticed that while the science adventure series are known for their use of made-up pop culture brands, they added in sofmap, animate and k-books which are real life otaku goods and video game stores. There is a lot of extras like looking through the CG art, listening to the soundtrack. There is a good amount of replay value as well as you can look at the other endings of the girls you date depending on which text message you sent on your d-mail.
(Wonder if they'll actually make a fully explorable Science Adventure world in 3d instead of 3d backgrounds like in Robotics Notes)
It was a pretty fun game and I had a great time playing My Darling’s Embrace.
It gets 5 out of 5 upas.
This is for Science Adventure fans mainly and I am open to reviewing Chaos Head and Chaos Child’s romance visual novels.