Virtue's Last Reward is a visual novel puzzle game by Spike Chunsoft (also well known for their Danganronpa series). The gameplay is broken down into two distinct parts: visual novel and escape the room puzzles. The visual novel section is where the story is told. These sections comprise the majority of the game and are text-heavy with a complex story. The game boasts over 24 different endings but the endings cleverly interconnect with each other to create a cohesive and engaging story. However, it is due to this that it feels the game could have linked all the endings into one narrative instead of forcing you to branch off the storyline since certain paths are locked until you see another ending while others are a dead end giving you a "Game Over" screen.
These Game Over screens and locked storylines wastes time as you had to guess which path you should go down next after encountering one of these obstacles. Therefore, in order to minimize time wasted, it is recommended you use an optimal path guide, and there are plenty on the internet. The story focuses upon the scheming and betrayal of characters as it integrates the Prisoner's Dilemma into the player's choices. These choices are what causes the game's story to branch away. The completed narrative tree is complex and confusing to follow at first. You are able to open up the "Flow" screen and jump back to any point in time, which is handy. You're also able to skip text that you have read which is very useful.
Unfortunately, different branches can contain some very similar text with tiny variances and you end up not being able to skip the text as the game recognizes it as "different". The plot is about nine people who are kidnapped and forced to participate in something called the Nonary Game. These nine people are placed in six groups: three teams of pairs and three teams of solo members. The final aim of the game is to escape from the facility that they are currently trapped in. The general structure is that they go through doors into a locked room in which they find clues to escape. Then they return and play the "Ambidex Game" which is a variation of the Prisoner's Dilemma. Each player wears a bracelet which starts off with three points, to escape the facility, a player will require nine points.
If the number on the bracelet gets to zero, poison is pumped into their body via needles, killing the player. In the Ambidex Game, each team has two choices, they can Ally or Betray the other team. If both teams select Ally, they each get two points. If one Betrays while the other Ally, then the betraying team gets three points and the allying team loses two points. Finally, if both team Betray, then there is no effect to their points. Therefore, it would seem at first glance that the best choice in self-interest is to select Betray all the time, giving the biggest rewards and does not risk any loss of points. However, the optimal choice may surprise you (search the Wikipedia page on Prisoner's Dilemma). After the game, new teams are randomly formed and the process repeats.
Throughout the course of the story, you will learn about why the characters are at the facility, each character's motivations and play into the politics of furthering their own agendas through betrayal and lies. While the game does boast many endings, some of the branches feature extremely similar events which can feel dull and repetitive. These multiple endings can sometimes feel like they're cut short and more should have happened or elaborated. The game also loves to tease you will small tidbits but leave you remaining in the dark. The story is one huge mystery and even the final true ending doesn't provide all the answers. It leaves a huge cliffhanger that as at this point, doesn't look like will be answered as Zero Escape 3 is put on indefinite hiatus.
What can be said is that the story is complex and well written but can feel disjointed with the constant jumping between different points of the story. To unlock the true ending, you need to play through all the other endings. What's really cool is that the game incorporates theories from physics, such as Schrodinger's Cat, matter/antimatter annihilation and the different dimensions that we experience. The ending contains huge revelations, especially if you have played Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (henceforth referred to as 999) before. That said, it can take a while to get your head around all the plot devices. As mentioned, the storytelling is via text, with some backdrops rendered in 3D and rare pieces of 2D artwork. There are 3D character models with limited animations.
The voice acting in the European version is Japanese only but the subtitles and translations are top-notch. All the characters are a mystery at the start but by the time you're halfway into the game, you will empathize with them, which is a testament to the quality of the writing and storytelling. While the story is intense, it also feels as if there is a lot of time wasted. The aim of the game is to see the number nine door open (i.e. the escape door) but in most endings where someone opens it, you're forced to watch it slowly open, the voice over announcing it is open etc, and then watching it slowly closing. This happens with other animations too. The game also loves flashbacks to previous sections and dragging events outwith repetitive dialogue such as during the Ambidex Game by having the countdown to zero every single time.
Onto the actual gameplay, this is effectively ancillary to the story. These are the escape the room puzzles in which you are trapped in a room and investigate the surroundings to solve puzzles and obtain the password to open the safe, which contains the key to get out. In total, there are 18 puzzles. These puzzles are hard. Make no mistake; it will take you a while to solve each room puzzle. Some of them contain such obscure clues and solutions that it can get frustrating. You investigate each area of the room to see what you can interact with. You might get an object to place in your inventory or unlock some vital piece of dialogue. You'll eventually have to play minigame puzzles, which range widely in terms of content. They are all skill based such as figuring the combination of a lock, placing items in the correct order or working out the password.
What lets down this aspect of the game is that the controls can be clunky. You can either use the physical buttons to look around and interact, or you can use the touchscreen instead. The game is in first person view, swinging the camera around is awkward. It likes to stutter as it positions itself to show a particular area from a particular angle. For some areas, you need to touch it in that exact spot in order to zoom in, so unless you already know that area is interactive, you'll most likely miss it and be stuck at that puzzle. Aiming with the physical controls is slow and imprecise, while using the touch controls can cause you to overshoot and miss things too. You're also expected to memorize random letters as passwords for later endings, which is annoying as the game doesn't retain that for you.
If you use a guide for the puzzles and can read at a decent speed, the game can be finished in under 20 hours, which includes obtaining the Platinum Trophy. Solve the puzzles on your own though and it can easily take over 30 hours. Speaking of which, it would have been nice if the developers added in a text speed option as the rate was too slow for me. Overall, Virtue's Last Reward tests your wits with devlishly hard puzzles and a complex storyline. However, that is what makes the game so enjoyable. While it is recommended to have played 999 before to fully appreciate the twists and references, this is still a great standalone story and doesn't impede you from appreciating it.
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