Where can I reread previous text in game?

[Dudedafool]

This game really feels like the kind of game you need to play straight through multiple days in a row, but since I purchased the game I basically play a couple hours then take weeks off leaving me mad confused.

Do I just need to quit my current save file and start over again sometime down the road when I actually have the drive/time to finish it straight through or is there some way that I'm not seeing in game to re-read previous text?

I know you can look back on all text you saw during your current session but when I close the game why can I not see the same thing?

[tricosahedron]

This is most likely a technical limitation.

To show a log after loading, the visual novel would either ...

a) need to save a text log for each save file. This could result in a lot of unwanted additional disk space with such a large script and so many save files (matters particularly for older PCs with smaller HDDs). And it'd make it easier for anyone to access the script of the game, which is probably not desired by the developers.

...or...

b) save enough information s.th. the game can move to the correct branches when moving backwards in the script. Particularly for Steins;Gate, that'd mean a lot of additional data, since there are some points where the time when you make a call can vary a lot, and the game would need to know the exact line for each call to correctly determine the log for a loaded save state. While this might be technically possible, it might have been something that wasn't considered when game development started, and likely would have been a lot of work to implement later.

This behavior is also rather common for a lot of visual novels, and it's not Steins;Gate in particular. I appreciate it when visual novels offer a message log after loading a save state, but it's not something I expect, particularly for more complex visual novels, like this one.

[Dudedafool]

Not the answer I was hoping to hear, but it makes sense to me. I appreciate you taking the time to type all this out. So, thank you.

This is only my 3rd VN overall so I'm not all that used to the genre of games as they come. As a newer person I hear VN and I think of it as a book where I can go back a few pages and read a bit to jog my memory. But, your point about people being able to access the script of the game and potentially sharing it makes sense.

I was only at the part where the jelly bananas were finally able to teleport out or whatever, I think I just need to make some time and spend a few days in a row to go through the entirety of the game.

Anyways, thank you!

[✨Nutkun7993✨]

It's possible something like that. Some VN has a previous text saved even after you close a game but only limited to certain number of line because it they keep every single bit those throughout session, the file can be huge.

It might be technical limitation at the time Steins;Gate was developed. But VN like Root Double is even more complicated than Steins;Gate but still have previous text log convenient, as well as jump backward feature where you can jump to that exact scene with destination text even there's complex choice system similar to phone trigger on the way. To more surprised all save files are stored only on one single bin file and only take less than 1MB. It's possible some trick varied by developer, many other VNs have more feature than other for some reason.