The untold story of what it took to reach Steins Gate is quite the divisive one indeed. While it in some ways carries on the strengths of its parent material, in others it drops the ball even harder. I would argue Steins;Gate 0 stands a couple notches below. Which is to say, it is also mid.
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A glimpse at what could have been, both behind and beyond the fourth wall- Steins;Gate 0 is missed potential incarnate
> Living should mean no do-overs. This is for the best.
Plot: 5/10
I'll be blunt again. This story's a fucking mess lmao
There are so many points in S;G0 that just get glossed over in disgusting fashion. Spoiler, click to view
What's the connection between encephalitis and Reading Steiner? Why does Kagari go apeshit over her Upa? Why does Fubuki have Reading Steiner almost on par with Okabe? Why does the worldline seem to just change sometimes?Spoiler, click to view
Why don't they make more use of d-rine? Why does Leskinen just want to watch the world burn for no reason?
Despite all of this, however, Steins;Gate 0 improves upon the pacing and delivers higher emotional peaks than the original. This comes naturally, considering most of the story takes place on the brink of a ruined future, and it also greatly benefits from doing away with the original's stupid "the second half undoes the first half" structure.
> Feelings are memories that transcend time.
Characters: 5/10
Having done away with the dumb structure, Steins;Gate 0 allows its cast a chance to properly develop- and you know what? It doesn't do half bad. Spoiler, click to view
I very much enjoyed Mayuri here; her learning that she has agency and not resigning herself to being the stupid airhead anymore felt like a natural arc for her. Daru was alright on occasion as well, seeing his more serious side come out had some real impact and really made him feel like more than just a perv. Maho rules in the visual novel, but I thought the anime did her a bit dirty; she's reduced to "funny loli with crush on okabe lol" which is disappointing. The highlight, though, is Okabe. This more depressed and traumatized Okabe is incredibly engaging, and the anime in particular does a lot more for him than the visual novel. I enjoyed seeing him struggle with wanting Amadeus to replace Kurisu, and regaining his resolve after seeing how bleak the future really is. Great stuff all around and honestly, I like him more here than I do in og. Sadly, the rest of the cast gets completely left out to dry. While they were entirely purposeless in Steins;Gate, here in Steins;Gate 0 Luka and Faris have evolved into the "oh shit we need to hide someone somewhere can we do it at your place" bitches. It's nice that they at least have a reason to exist now, but it's a cheap and shitty reason, so that's not much better. The vast majority of the new characters are plot devices; Kagari exists for Leskinen to use, Leskinen exists so that the show has a bad guy (he has no motivation to speak of), Reyes is a part of DURPA but the anime never mentions this because lol, not like she matters anyway, Yuki exists to be confusing and nothing else, Fubuki is uhhhhh she has Reading Steiner for some reason and that's, like, it???? It's so fucking weird
> You were the true Amadeus.
Themes: 6/10
Where the original felt very incomplete in its delivery, 0 feels more cohesive and meaningful. While it still doesn't deliver its message in a particularly powerful way, it at least has one that it speaks loud and clear. Spoiler, click to view
That success is built upon a foundation of failure.
> This world is a formula. It exists for humans to solve it.
Visuals & Sound: 4/10
Animation looks just as below average as it does in the parent show. The directing is a step down as well, but the soundtrack got a mild upgrade. I particularly love the OP, Fatima. Unfortunately the sound design is quite lacking as well; guns and the like sound particularly non-threatening.
> I hear... the voice of God.
Conclusion:
Steins;Gate 0 has me wondering what could have been. If its parent material had provided a more solid foundation I see the potential for genuine peak here but as is it's a mess; an entertaining mess, but a mess all the same. It's difficult to come up with anything else to say about it that I didn't already say about it's parent. It is exactly what you would expect from a sidestory/sequel/whatever-the-fuck-it-is to Steins;Gate.
SciADV reading order:
Chaos;Head Noah -> Steins;Gate -> Robotics;Notes Elite -> Chaos;Child -> Steins;Gate 0 -> Anonymous;Code
Read the visual novels, do not watch the anime adaptations of anything that doesn't have Steins; in the name. Both the VN and anime of S;G0 are canon. 
