Zero Escape: The Nonary Games
Genres: Puzzle, Escape Room, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Point & Click, Story Rich, Atmospheric, Adventure
Play modes: singleplayer
Release Date: 24-3-2017
Developer: Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Our verdict
9/10
- Difficulty: Hard
- Players: 1
- Playtime: 40+ h
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games bundles two escape-room visual novels: 999 (Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors), remastered from the Nintendo DS with voice acting, and its sequel Virtue's Last Reward. Nine kidnapped strangers are forced into a deadly game by someone called Zero, and you alternate between long story scenes and locked rooms full of puzzles. It suits solo players who like reading a twisty story as much as solving puzzles.
Steam reviews are very positive (4,092 of 4,323), and many reviewers call it a favourite. They praise the puzzles as hard but fair, with ciphers and maths, and say the second game is tougher. The branching routes and multiple endings are part of the mystery, and players stress going in blind: avoid spoilers and even the community pages.
The complaints are about convenience. 999 has dated quality of life features, and Virtue's Last Reward has many unskippable animations you will see again and again, plus weaker 3D models. There is a lot of reading and some violence. Expect 40+ hours for both games. For escape room fans who enjoy visual novels, it is an easy buy.
Pros
- Two full games: 999 remastered plus Virtue's Last Reward
- Locked-room puzzles with ciphers and maths that reviewers call fair
- Branching routes and multiple endings tie into the mystery
Cons
- Dated quality of life in 999
- Unskippable animations repeat often in Virtue's Last Reward
- Very long reading sessions between puzzles
About
Kidnapped and taken to an unfamiliar location, nine people find themselves forced to participate in a diabolical Nonary Game by an enigmatic mastermind called Zero. Why were they there? Why were they chosen to put their lives on the line as part of a dangerous life and death game? Who can be trusted? Tensions rise as the situation becomes more and more dire, and the nine strangers must figure out how to escape before they wind up dead.
- Two spine-tingling Nonary Games
Zero welcomes you to take part in both the Nonary Game and the Nonary Game: Ambidex Edition as the award-winning escape-the-room visual novels Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (999) and its sequel, Virtue’s Last Reward (VLR), are together for the first time.- A remastered and revamped Nine Hours
The well-received classic Nintendo DS game 999 has been updated with hi-res graphics and a variety of new features including both Japanese and English voice acting!- Seek a way out
Search for clues within numerous locked rooms and solve mind-bending puzzles in order to escape. VLR even has two difficulty settings for more of a challenge.- Fascinating theories and pseudo science ideas abound along the twisting, turning journey to uncover who Zero is, why everyone was kidnapped, and the shocking connection between the Nonary Games.
