Zero Escape: The Nonary Games

Zero Escape: The Nonary Games mixes escape-room puzzles with a branching visual-novel structure, so the player spends as much time reading, choosing, and reopening routes as solving locks. By our assessment, that combination is the point: it is strong at suspense, route structure, and the sense that every room is a small test with consequences hanging over it. The downside is also part of the package, because the story runs on long stretches of text and the puzzle flow can feel stop-start if someone wants a clean action rhythm. In practice it is a very particular kind of game, closer to a mystery novel with hands-on puzzle rooms than to an action adventure. The Nonary Games edition bundles the pair together, which makes the package feel substantial and complete. It sits well above simple escape-room fare if the goal is story and structure, but it is not for anyone who wants fast play or minimal reading.