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Test Chamber - Zero Escape Virtue's Last Reward

As I professed in my review, Zero Escape Virtue's Last Reward is one of my favorite games this year. Naturally, I did a Test Chamber so people could get a feel for the intensity of the puzzles and story.  For those who are in the dark, Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward is the sequel to the underground hit Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (999); both games alternate from visual novel sections to heart-pumping escape puzzles. 

Watch below as I discuss some of Virtue's Last Reward's greater strengths with Jeff Cork, while Bryan Vore takes a stab at solving the game's first puzzle. Added bonus: reactions to Phi's sassy banter as we puzzle-solve.

Watch every episode of Test Chamber in our hub by clicking here.

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Comments
  • I love Test Chamber.

  • isnt this a bit late for this game?
  • My GOTY. And probably #2 overall.
  • I love this game; It's my personal Game of the Year, so far! ^_^
    I'm glad to see there's Test Chamber for it because I would like to see it get the attention that it deserves. Also, I love Phi. :3
  • I absolutely loved this game! It could be my favorite game of all time!
  • I haven't finished Virtue's Last Reward yet, but its super awesome! I can't wait for Winter Break so I can finish it.

  • I kidnap everybody! They'll tell you black is really white, the moon is just the sun at night...
  • woohoo~ nice.

  • Has anyone heard about/encountered the save corruption glitch on the 3DS version? I really want to play this game, but I think I'm going to have to get it for the Vita.
  • Everytime Kim said "999," Herman Cain kept coming to mind.

  • WOOHOO finally. Glad to see this game get some love in Test Chamber. Great game can't wait for the next one. I wish you guys would've kept playing for another couple minutes when you hit some great dialogue and meet everybody.  

  • Totally loved this game the first two times I played through the story. I LOVE that it branches and truly lets the player guide the story. But eventually, things started bugging me.

    For one, having to sit through the same cutscenes every time. Even with Fast Forward turned on, it's a waste of time. I wish it was like Radiant Historia, and you could just hop onto "nodes" along a timeline.

    Secondly, the puzzles are great when they work, but I kept getting stuck. Not because of logic, but because of mechanics that were unclear. I was playing with the stylus a lot initially, but it's almost impossible to look down or up consistently that way; the view keeps snapping back to center. But in some rooms (like with the Gaulems), you need to look down at drawers. Getting stuck in a room for an hour or more because you didn't know, mechanically, you could do something is beyond frustrating.

    Finally, it just stinks how little the Ambidex Game matters ultimately. People die anyway, or don't die. It's really driven mostly by the story, and the path you go down. The BP points are just really devalued, at the end of the days. Which also sort of devalues the characters. Why go through the trouble of fleshing them out, giving them personalities, when it doesn't matter how well you read them really?

    Beyond that though, the game is pretty awesome. A really, really intriguing story anchors the whole thing. But the puzzles are great (when you're not confused at mechanics), and the dialog superb. I'm still shocked whenever I play a Japanese-made game and the characters are actually good. So many games from that country this generation just spit out obnoxious, shallow anime stereotypes. So games like this and Radiant Historia, where the characters have unique voices, flaws, strengths, natural dialog... it's just so frickin' welcome! And that the main character ISN'T A KID! Holy eff! THANK YOU Spike Chunsoft!

    This game's not perfect, but it's really cool and I'm glad I fell for the hype and took a chance on it. Well, hype if you've been following Siliconera :) I'm glad more people - like GameInformer here - are looking at it too! It's a cool series.

    Now, I just gotta give Etrian Odyssey a shot. I'm glad EO4 is coming to 3DS early next year.

  • First: the threading on the screws is backwards. Second: this game looks really fun except for one thing. The best ending seems to be one where everyone survives and you can go back in time to perfect it, but what if I don't want someone to survive? It's kind of a deal breaker for me. I'd much prefer to have a game where I make my choices and live with the consequences like Heavy Rain or Mass Effect.
  • This game is easily the most engrossing and addicting game I have played this year. This game, and 999, are truly unique and interesting. The dialogue and text is exceptionally well written, too. A lot of people would be bored by a game full of text. That's basically why I couldn't get into Morrowind. That's not the case here, though. This is a game where I start playing, and when I look up at the clock, it's 3:00AM. More often than not, it's hard for me to stick with a game to the end. With Zero Escape and 999, I absolutely cannot stop until I see every ending, find every gold file, and even earn every trophy.
  • Yes! I asked Reiner and Ben Hanson to do a test Chamber of this. I'm glad that it did get done. I've had the game since launch day and been thoroughly enjoying it on 3DS. I think it's fantastic and a huge boost since 999 in design, story, and puzzles. Also Kimberly you have such good tastes in games. Such good taste.
  • This looks great, makes me wish I kept my Vita instead of selling it to pay my bills. What sort of witch craft is this that you are using for 3DS videos? Is it available online or is it a special Dev unit that allows this feature.

  • Kim Wallace has a lovely voice. Very pleasant to listen to.

  • 24 different endings...Yeah, I'm going to be with this game for awhile.

  • Looks pretty awesome. Too bad I don't have a current gen handheld system...

  • cool

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