AI: The Somnium Files

An AI for an Eye
It's been a while since I was this hooked on a game and this one hooked me right from the start and didn't let go. I was supposed to just test it to see if it works on my potato laptop, but I couldn't put it down. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me experience a whiplash of emotions.
AI: The Somnium Files is a game by Uchikoshi Kotaro, the creator of the famous Zero Escape trilogy, and developed by Spike Chunsoft so you should expect high production values. It's an adventure/visual novel hybrid similar to Zero Escape, but this time the two segments are completely intertwined every step of the way. It gave me that same feeling of a larger looming mystery you gradually reveal in a non-linear way the previous trilogy had. It's also quite different at the same time.
Genre wise, it's a sci-fi murder mystery set in the near future where you play as the detective Date Kaname as he investigates a series of bizarre murders. Victims are set up in theatrical ways and all are missing a left eye. Incidentally (or not) our protagonist has an artificial left eye, equipped with a super advanced AI - Aiba (eyeball...yeah, puns) which serves as his partner and companion. The relationship and banter between these two is the highlight of the game. Date is a Psyncer who uses the Psync machine to enter the dreams of suspects or witnesses as part of investigation.
GAMEPLAY
Whereas Zero Escape had separate puzzle and VN/narrative sections, Somnium Files has a more varied and interwoven gameplay although it doesn't have traditional logic puzzles. The bulk of the game is investigation, going to locations, talking to characters and clicking, lots of clicking (from a fixed position). Every location has numerous hotspots that a point'n'click fan in me couldn't help but click on...everything. And I'm glad I did as that way you get lots of funny comments. Actually that optional side banter is so much fun and it contributes greatly to characters and the world to feel more alive and fleshed out. It's also needed for achievements. What's more, when you go back to the same location the hotspots are active again, but the comments, jokes and puns are different every time. It's amazing how much attention to detail went into this. The dialogue is prompted through this random clicking or actual talking to characters. You have numerous dialogue options and you get to use all of them like in most adventure games.
There are shootouts with QTE, but they're rather easy. They feature a hilarious running joke. Aiba has a way of motivating Date to increase his speed (up to 3.6 times) with the power of an elusive porno mag. There are also interrogations of suspects where you present the right evidence(s) similar to Danganronpa just not timed. And these lead to psyncing.* (more in comments)
Somnium aka the Dream World is the most challenging and interesting part of the game. You control Aiba in 3D and solve puzzles. The 'puzzle' is actually in deciding what hotspot to engage with and then making a choice of action. You only have 6 minutes but that's not a problem per se, because when you don't move and just observe, the time stands almost still. But every action costs a certain amount of seconds so there's quite a bit of time management involved. The other challenging thing is that, since this is a dream world, the logic is often twisted and vague, so there's a lot of trial and error and out of the box thinking. Actually, that wandering in the 'dark' and using intuition is part of the appeal and there are often more ways than one to solve a Somnium. If you make a mistake or run out of time you can retrieve steps to previous checkpoints or just restart the whole segment from a flowchart. Somnium is also the place where routes branch.
Let’s not forget this is a visual novel at its core so yes, there are routes and branches. Because of the nature of Somnia you’re not actually aware when you make a choice, exception being the first one. But there’s a flowchart that slowly shapes itself as you progress and you can jump around to any point you’ve unlocked like in Zero Escape.
STORY AND CHARACTERS
I’ve written more about gameplay than the story so far which is a first for me. That’s because it’s difficult to avoid accidentally spoiling something and that would be a great shame. It’s a murder mystery after all, structured in a way that by going through the routes and branches you slowly piece together the big picture. So the twist won’t hit you out of nowhere cause you’ll already have a lot of hunches if not the details and the mechanics. I strongly suggest going down the red path first and Mizuki’s route by choosing the left cage in her Somnium. Mizuki’s route is the most heartfelt and wholesome. The other major route, the right purple one, is more revealing and baffling, but also quite poignant. Playing the routes back to back and alternating between the two crucial branches will gradually form a mindblowing story full of twists and turns, but one that is also very emotional. It’s tightly woven with no threads hanging, more compact and less convoluted than Zero Escape. It manages to imbue the mystery with a touching personal story similar to 999.**
Characters infuse this smart puzzle with vibrant life. Most of them are fun and colourful, especially Date. He's hilarious, wacky, pervy and a bit of an idiot. Aiba is there to slap him out of his more eccentric moments and the two make a hilarious double act (she's the 'straight man' in this comedy duo) Date is a peculiar case of a protagonist, there to give us a straight male perspective (VN version at least), but is also quite an eye candy and a proper bishonen. So there's a bit of dissonance between the way he thinks like an average guy, but looks like Adonis. (Thanks for all the close-ups of his beautiful face) Although he's a 'perv' who makes a lot of stupid dirty jokes and starts glitching in presence of tiddies (standard behaviour I presume), I wouldn't call him a creep. But, Aiba would. Actually, he's often made fun of by the characters and the game itself.***
On a serious note, Date is a good, likeable character with a heart of gold.
The humour may not be everyone's cup of tea, but personally I loved it. The jokes are full of bad puns, pop culture references and sexual innuendo. It was so bad sometimes that it made it even more hilarious. Some people probably won't appreciate the stark contrast between serious crime scenes and stupid jokes. But I love a good whiplash. I must note that this is only the case at the beginning of routes while the investigation is slowly rolling. When stakes become high, jokes are toned down or absent altogether. In those moments clicking things won't give you any funny lines. I greatly appreciated the gradual tone shift. Furthermore, many random lines turned out to be not so random.
This attention to detail permeates everything and that is also true of visual presentation. Everything is dynamic, character models and avatars are animated with natural body movements and facial expressions even though still a bit stylised. Instead of CGs there are cut-scenes, cinematics like in Zero Time Dilemma. Somnium scenes are the most beautiful and full of creativity befitting the dream world. Music is also memorable. There's a haunting main theme waiting for you right on the title menu.
I wish I could play it again for the first time. Highly recommended!
Curated by: Otome Sekai

What makes a game good? Is it the story? The characters? Or perhaps, the graphics?
You see, to me, it's the combination of the writing, the characters, the soundtracks, and a strong voice acting performance. AI: The Somnium Files fills all the criteria, hence, making this a good game. Actually? Scratch that, it's better than "good", it's a wonderful game and i don't have to be a detective like, say, the protagonist of AI, Kaname Date to figure that much. But you might wonder, what is AI: The Somnium Files?
AI: The Somnium Files is Kotaro Uchikoshi's (Zero Escape) unique take on the serial killer mystery genre. You see the world through the lens of Kaname Date, a goofy (but also serious when the situation calls for it) Metropolitan Police Department detective and his partner, Aiba, which is a pun to AI, eyeball, and Aibou (meaning: partner in Japanese).
As Date, it's your job to investigate the murder and find the culprit behind the crime, bringing justice to the victim and their family. You can do so by asking questions to people and dive deep into their dreams, which really reminds me of the anime ID:Invaded. For reference, AI came out first.
Before, i mentioned the game's strong points. I'd like to elaborate that.
The writing for AI is excellent. It's a mystery game so it's obvious that you will understand little at the beginning and start to learn more over the course of the game. But, the writing makes you keep guessing, theorizing, only for it to be thrown out of the window. That makes it more rewarding when you correctly predict something. Learning the truth is such a mindblowing experience. And before you know it, the game is over, leaving you wanting more. AI makes me angry, happy, confused, anxious, even bawl in tears. From start to finish, i really enjoyed the feels trip.
The characters are charming and well-developed. They feel real, and every little bit of interactions will make you like them better. For example, Date and Aiba's banter and stupid puns, Date and Mizuki's silly conversation, the list goes on. This is where the strong voice acting performance comes in. Personally, i played through the game with Japanese dub, and it's truly great to see the way the voice actors bring their characters to life.
The gameplay is fairly simple. On one hand, you have the investigation where you just talk to people. On the other hand, you search for clues in their dreams by choosing the correct choice to unlock their "Mental Locks". You only have 6 minutes to clear all Mental Locks. Usually, every choice will be followed by a short interaction between Date and Aiba, and that is precisely why i ended up trying all the choices. To see them interact more, to get to know them better.
I can't end the review without singing my praises to the composer of this game, Keisuke Ito, notably known for his works on the DS and 3DS Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series (with my favorite being Explorers of Sky). He really knocked it out of the park with his musical pieces for AI, from downright silly, happy-go-lucky, serious, somber, and the ones that tug at your heartstrings and make you cry. If it was on Steam, i would definitely buy it.
Thank you Uchikoshi and Spike Chunsoft for creating AI: The Somnium Files. I hope more people will try this game, because honestly it's such a crime that AI is severely slept on. It needs more love. AI might not be that popular when compared to other Visual Novels available on the market but it sure is a masterpiece, and has a special place in my heart.

I recently finished AI: The Somnium Files and I loved it so much that I completed all Steam achievements (and even filled out the appendix). The storytelling in the game was masterful and the plot always kept me guessing. I remember gasping whenever a new twist came up and by the end, I was thoroughly convinced that it was one of the best visual novels I had ever played (and I've played many!) My favorite route was Mizuki's, it made me cry really hard along with Ota's route. The emotional impact that the game had was truly wonderful. I definitely recommend playing this game, you will probably remember it for a long time.
(Also Date is easily my favorite character--I love that despite his tough, sarcastic outer self, he cares deeply for his friends and would do anything to save them. Aiba is also an amazing character! She is really funny and sweet sometimes c:)

I recommend it to Zero Escape fans or anyone wanting a story with interesting characters that keeps you guessing. It's a bit of a slow start (like Zero Escape), but once you get into it and start guessing and theorising with each new revelation you'll be hooked. But I have quite a few warnings below.
Aibo is best girl.
It's buggy. The character model's faces often break and require you to save and reload. Or the game just crashes with an error message, so you lose progress. It also crashes on Windows 7, but there's a beta I played that is fully playable. Still crashes a lot though. Every time you load the game, you have to watch a quick recap sequence. It's useful after taking a break from the game, but a time waster if you need to reload.
The credits and a bonus mode have the English audio, even if you pick Japanese. It's fixable, but it's not quick to do. There's a Steam guide on how to do it. Ridiculous that it was never fixed.
The translation localisation is sometimes inaccurate or plain wrong. The worsts offenders that come to mind are changing a Japanese kids song to a western one and changing character names/nicknames. Nothing that will affect your understanding of characters or the story though.
The story repeats itself and recaps way too often. Most of the time it's just repeating easily understood information you just learned.
Like in Zero Escape, flowchart jumping can be a bit confusing. Fortunately there's not too much of it in this game.
Also like Zero Escape, we have puzzle rooms. Sort of. Unfortunately it adds a time limit and features around it, which means less time messing with Best Girl Aibo and more time getting frustrated with the timed puzzles. A lot of the puzzles are illogical guesswork, made worse by some random chance. Don't feel bad for using a walkthough.
The game also has at least one (missable) forced political rant by a 12 year old. I wouldn't have cared if it was only a short line or two, but it's long and out of place. There's other subtle and minimal lines that were written a lot better.
The game can be a bit ridiculous/unbelievable sometimes. Mostly fight scenes. A blend of seriousness and comedy can work really well, but not to the point that the comedy becomes more important and makes the scene unbelievable. The best comedy is either with Aibo or Mama's freezer.
There's also that one somnium with 3 stupidly long dancing scenes. Get's worse when the game crashes and you have to watch them even more.
It's not a bad game, just very buggy and flawed in some areas. I really did enjoy it most of the time.

I played this game for 3 days.
First day: Done everything right but everything went wrong.
Second day: Broken and cry myself to sleep.
Third day: Get the final ending, watch the final ending and cry some more.
Good game, Recommended.

This game, to my personal taste, is an absolute masterpiece. I miss it now that it's over. Totally recommend it to anyone who enjoys story heavy games.

Overview
AI: The Somnium Files is a murder mystery visual novel born from the mind of Zero Escape’s Creator Kotaro Uchikoshi. You slip into the role of Detective Date chasing the trails of a mysterious serial killer dubbed “The Cyclops Killer”. The game is a mix of serious, absurd, emotional and hilarious moments that somehow blend into a consistent, harmonious experience. While the story and characters are such a blast to experience, the puzzles are lacking especially compared to the fun escape room style Zero Escape offered. This doesn’t stop it being a game I adored much.
The Good
Compelling mystery filled with fun characters, well-written dialogue and master of tonal balance of serious moments and comedic scenes.
One of the best, if not outright the best english dub for japanese game i have ever played.
really great soundtrack
The Bad
The ‘puzzles’ aren’t that fun and rely too much on trials and errors.
Gameplay
The game is divided into main distinct sections: the point-and-click / visual novel part and the Somnium. In the visual novel part, you explore various locations in first person view where you can click on characters and objects to obtain clues and chat with your partner and friends. Aside from the function of gathering clues and advancing the story, exploring and clicking on every object on the screen is such a blast because Date and his friends will sometimes crack a joke about particular objects. These dialogues are always funny and give more insight to the characters.
Aside from point-and-clicking, the visual novel part has some “combat” scenes with QTEs-based gameplay. The QTEs aren’t intrusive and the fight scenes are always funny and entertaining to watch. Lastly , there are few times in the VN part where you confront a suspect with a list of gathered evidence and clues. These aren’t usually hard to figure out and serve as an additional gameplay instead of making it the main puzzle like in Ace Attorney or Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishment games.
The second major section of the game is the Somnium. You as Detective Date and his Artificial Intelligence partner Aiba have the ability to dive into people’s subconscious and extract information from them. These subconscious worlds appear to players as distorted, dreamlike locations where the rules of physics are unpredictable and stand by the whims of the mind of those you delve into. In the Somnium, the perspective changes into 3rd person as players control Aiba in her humanoid form. As aiba, your task in the Somnium is to unlock “Psycho-Locks”, the repressed or hidden memories of the subject that might be the key to solving the serial killings.
In this puzzle world, players are given 5 minutes to complete the level. The timer stops if players don’t move, but almost every action, including walking will take time. Aiba will interact with various different objects to solve puzzles. For example, there is a door. Clicking on the door, you will get several different choices like “knock, open or kick”. Each of the different actions cost some time. There are timepieces that serve as modifiers that can reduce the cost of time for each interaction.
What doesn’t work about the puzzle is there is only a vague logic behind them. I kinda get the aim of the developer. Zero Escape’s puzzles are based on logic and mind games. I guess with AI, Kotaro wanted to create the opposite of that, a puzzle room where physics is unpredictable and logic got thrown out of the window to convey chaotic, dreamlike state of mind. It’s just the interactions are so unpredictable, a good amount of time players will resort to trial and error. Piled up with the time limit, players will rewind a lot of time. There is still some “logic” to the puzzles but in a more abstract way. For example the somnium are usually locations that are memorable to the subject such as their house. If you pay attention to the characters’ dialogue and story they will give you clues to how to solve the puzzles.
The silver lining is failure isn't always frustrating. Some of the funniest jokes in the game are from failing to solve the puzzles. I think it’s quite a brilliant foil to the gameplay that relies on trial and error to hide some of the best dialogue behind some of the failure state. One of my favorite examples is having Aiba drinking from a mop bucket. These hilarious jokes dampens the frustration of trying over and over again.
Technical Issue and Performance
Specs: GTX 1080, Ryzen 3700x, 16 GB RAM, 1440p
The game ran constant 60 FPS, no bugs and crashes. Both controllers and mouse+keyboard control scheme works very well. There aren’t much graphical settings and customization, but overall a very solid port.
Story
There isn’t much I can say about the premise without spoiling it. You are Detective Date and with her AI partner, you are tasked to find The Cyclops Killer with the assistance of the Somnium. It allows Date to delve into the mind of suspects and witnesses to find clues regarding the murders.
AI: The Somnium Files is a typical serial killer story that’s very entertaining but not exactly the most sophisticated one. Guessing the killer on your own and making your own theory is doable and the game leaves clues to do this, which is in my opinion one of the most fun part of murder mystery stories. That said, what really shines in the game are the characters. I adore them. Their dialogues, interaction, and chemistry are very well done and it feels like you really are hanging out with a group of people. The game also masterfully steered its tone. Jokes are never forced or out of place, and emotional moments are well done. This is a game that will make players laugh and cry within the span of a session.
Visuals and Graphics
The graphics are nothing too impressive technically. I do like the character designs and the somnium levels have some really cool, trippy visuals. Overall if you like or tolerate anime art style, you won’t find much problem with it.
Audio and Music
This has to be said again. AI: The Somnium Files is one of the best if not the best English dub of Japanese media ever. The characters sound natural and most of the time and it doesn’t contain any cliche anime voice archetype that i find annoying. For example, the adolescent girl actually sounds like pre-teen girl instead of an annoying squeaky toy. This is the part why I adore the characters so much. The actors and actresses put effort to every bit of line that brings characters to life. The music is above average. There are some enjoyable tracks and 1 or 2 remarkable songs. Sound effects are fine too, but they never really stand out.
Conclusion
AI: The Somnium Files is a great visual novel filled with colorful cast of characters and well-written murder mystery plotline. Some gameplay elements can be annoying with puzzles that rely too much on trial and error, but mitigated by witty, funny jokes in some of the failure states. If you are a fan of Zero Escape or other Uchikoshi’s works, any visual novel and murder mystery stories in general, AI: The Somnium Files is a game that worth delving into.
Follow our curator page, OCG-Curations, if you like and want to see more reviews like this one.