Ciconia When They Cry - Phase 1: For You, the Replaceable Ones
This is the first chapter in newest entry When They Cry visual novel series produced by Ryuukishi07. It features HD graphics, more detailed animations, and newly created songs by many of the composers from Umineko, as well as several new additions.
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428: Shibuya Scramble on Steam
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A kidnapping on the streets of Shibuya brings together a hot-blooded detective, hard-hitting journalist, former gang leader, the head researcher of a big pharma manufacturer and a part-timer stuck in cat costume for a series of events each more unexpected and outrageous than the last.
428: Shibuya Scramble is a visual novel, adventure and mystery game
developed by Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. and Abstraction Games
and published by Spike Chunsoft Co. and Ltd..
Released on September 04th 2018 is available on Windows, Steam Deck and Steam Machine.
It has received 2,942 reviews of which 2,797 were positive and 145 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.1 out of 10. 😍
The game is currently priced at 49.99€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified 428: Shibuya Scramble into these genres:
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System requirements
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Windows
- OS *: Windows 7
- Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3470 or better
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 3.2 or DirectX 9.0c compatible GPU with at least 1GB of VRAM
- Storage: 6 GB available space
- Sound Card: Version 9.0c
Steam Price & Best Deals
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Finally got 100% achievements, so here's my review. Overall, this is an incredibly solid text-based game with a surprisingly deep level of replayability. The gameplay design is genuinely impressive — even by today's standards, the mechanics still hold up extremely well. The story is tightly constructed, with one twist after another, and the pacing keeps you hooked from start to finish. The plot twists are also genuinely unexpected: Who would've guessed that Canaan was actually an impostor, and that she was Alphard all along? That being said, the biggest flaw is the character writing. A lot of the characters feel very formulaic and stereotypically "anime". This issue doesn't hurt the main story too much, but the extra Canaan anime-style chapters were honestly painful to sit through. The lack of realism was extremely noticeable — it felt like something written by people with zero real-world experience who had never left their own bubble. The writing was so awkward and disconnected from reality that it became unintentionally hilarious. The fact that the production team even hired voice actors specifically for this made the whole thing even more embarrassing. The Canaan chapter is the only part of the entire game where the flaws become impossible to ignore. If you're not into Japanese anime-style storytelling and you're not here for the 100% completion grind, I would recommend skipping the Canaan chapter, because it may give you a pretty rough experience. Aside from that, the problems in the other chapters are mostly minor. The game has its flaws, but they are absolutely outweighed by everything it does well. Overall, a fantastic experience that still holds up today.
After what felt like way more than 30 hours, I finally reached the normal ending of 428: Shibuya Scramble. Despite my few grievances with certain parts of the game, I am still happy to call 428: Shibuya Scramble a masterpiece. After all, it's no small feat to seamlessly intertwine so many parallel stories, each with their own captivating plots and protagonists blended with a veritable onslaught of emotional set pieces and flawless humour. From start to finish, the story was exceptional. The scenario and writing deserve equal praise. I was constantly being fed small pieces of information, forming my own theories, doing my own investigative work (so to speak), and absolutely revelling in the roller coaster of emotions brought forth by the bombshell of a plot and excellent delivery of dramatic moments, twists, and other important story beats. The gameplay, while basic, cannot really be compared to a traditional visual novel. It's the most interactive visual novel I have ever played, at the very least requiring the use of every single face button, and it really forces you to get your thinking cap on at times. For most of the game, the various hints do a good job of helping you determine the right path forwards, but sometimes the very gameplay systems you use to advance can lull you into a false sense of progression. The main example would be a KEEP OUT concealing nothing but a bad ending. Unsurprisingly, my favourite character pairings were Kajiwara with Osawa, and Yanagishita with Minorikawa. Their constant comedic scuffles were the product of what I can only describe as perfect humour, at least in my opinion. Never before has a game made me laugh hysterically quite like this one. This story could have been portrayed in an anime style, but actually the live action cinematography ended up being one of this game's biggest strengths. By virtue of being heavily stylised, all anime is purely fictional to a certain extent. You often require suspension of disbelief when things start getting crazy. Having human actors in a live action visual novel set in modern day Japan with accurate and realistic terminology central to the story's various storylines makes everything so much more believable. As someone who meddles in the realm of viruses for a living, the story has my seal of approval on that front. Now, I can get to discussing the ending. Truth be told, nothing in this game can really be considered difficult. It's all a matter of trial and error and paying attention to hints whether they're delivered explicitly through bad endings or more subtly through character dialogue. That being said, I genuinely got stuck at one point in the final time block because the game took advantage of my familiarity with the game systems and decided to throw a spanner in the works. The game systems sort of lose their meaning near the end of the game, being used a lot more brazenly to force a specific arrangement of choices in order to arrive at the conclusion. My bigger issue with the ending, albeit still not game ruining in the slightest, is the confusing momentum presented by the final time block. Just when all the stars have aligned in your head and you can smell the end of the story, is where the aforementioned inconsistencies pop up. Truth be told, I just didn't enjoy having to endure so much trial and error so close to the end. The amount of back and forth gets a bit fatiguing, and wrong choices lose the impact they had earlier in the game where you genuinely don't know the best way to advance. Imagine someone asks you what your favourite flavour of ice cream is, but instead of giving them a straight answer you respond with the name of an Italian gelateria and the flavour's position in their countertop display. Gameplay aside, the end of the story had a satisfying yet expected twist given my previous knowledge of Canaan. If the anime was anything remotely close to the quality of 428: Shibuya Scramble, it would be sensational. But it isn't.
I've been streaming this and for one game, I've been asked to do the following: -- scream manically about a soba tab -- beg detectives tearfully to save my daughter -- describe with a straight face pulling a chainsaw from one's pocket -- meow x 300 times. 100% would meow again A++++
Please give global players the option to play with Japanese text and voice-over. I was disappointed when I found that a Japanese game only supports English for its global release. Sadly, some context and nuance are always lost when a story-heavy game is translated from one language to another. I'm comfortable with Japanese, and I believe there are other players like me who wanted to enjoy the game in its original language, so please give players the choice.
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Frequently Asked Questions
428: Shibuya Scramble is currently priced at 49.99€ on Steam.
No, 428: Shibuya Scramble is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 49.99€ on Steam.
Yes, 428: Shibuya Scramble received 2,797 positive votes out of a total of 2,942 achieving an impressive rating of 9.10.
😍
428: Shibuya Scramble was developed by Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. and Abstraction Games and published by Spike Chunsoft Co. and Ltd..
Yes, 428: Shibuya Scramble is playable and fully supported on Windows.
No, 428: Shibuya Scramble is not playable on MacOS.
No, 428: Shibuya Scramble is not playable on Linux.
Yes, 428: Shibuya Scramble is playable on Steam Deck, though it might require a few minor tweaks. Make sure to check the Steam store page and community feedback on ProtonDB for exact compatibility details.
Yes, 428: Shibuya Scramble is playable on Steam Machine, though it might require a few minor tweaks. Make sure to check the Steam store page and community feedback on ProtonDB for exact compatibility details.
No, 428: Shibuya Scramble does not support VR.
428: Shibuya Scramble is a single-player game.
No, 428: Shibuya Scramble does not currently offer any DLC.
No, 428: Shibuya Scramble does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
No, 428: Shibuya Scramble does not support Steam Remote Play.
Yes, 428: Shibuya Scramble is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for 428: Shibuya Scramble.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 17 September 2026 21:16 UTC |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 10 October 2026 07:11 UTC |
| Steam price | 19 October 2026 18:59 UTC |
| Steam reviews | 15 October 2026 21:46 UTC |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about 428: Shibuya Scramble, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about 428: Shibuya Scramble
- SteamCharts - Analysis of 428: Shibuya Scramble concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck 428: Shibuya Scramble compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
5
Developer
Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.,
Abstraction Games
Publisher
Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Release
04 Sep 2018
Platforms