A recent Australian game rating suggests that a new Steins;Gate game may be heading to the West. A rating for a game titled Steins;Gate: My Lover’s Embrace appeared on The Australian Classification Board under game publisher Spike Chunsoft. Though Spike Chunsoft has not made an official announcement regarding this title, the rating appears to list a localized version of the popular game Steins;Gate: Hiyoku Renri no Darling, a Steins;Gate spinoff released in Japan in 2011. If this turns out to be a localization, we could be seeing an English version of Hiyoku Renri no Darling soon.
Though Hiyoku Renri no Darling was released in Japan in 2011, an English version has never been released. All other titles in the Steins;Gate franchise have received localizations, and with the release of My Darling’s Embrace, the series would be complete.
Steins;Gate: Hiyoku Renri no Darling was released for the Xbox 360 in June 2011, where it rose to popularity as the fourth-highest selling game in Japan during its debut week. It was later released for the PSP in April 2012, the Playstation 3 in May 2012, the PS Vita in March 2013, and for iOS in October 2013. It was also included in the Steins;Gate: Divergencies Assort collection for the Nintendo Switch, which was released this past March in Japan. Overall, the game has received praise for its writing and art.
Steins;Gate: Hiyoku Renri no Darling is a Steins;Gate spinoff romance visual novel game that takes place in a slightly different universe than the one of its parent game. Though time-traveling elements like the D-mails still exist, there is no threat of SERN and their forces hunting the main characters. As in the original game, players assume the role of scientist Rintaro Okabe, whose new conflict is figuring out how to pay his electrical bills to keep his laboratory running. In each route, Okabe falls in love with a different female member of the Steins;Gate cast and eventually pursues a romantic relationship with her.
Though this news is exciting to Western Steins;Gate fans who are awaiting that final game to complete their collection, it’s important to remember that nothing has been confirmed yet. However, this Australian rating gives a bit of hope that we may be seeing Steins;Gate: My Darling’s Embrace very soon.
Source: Anime News Network