AI: The Somnium Files - Nirvana Initiative is a certified Kotaro Uchikoshi classic.
This was, after playing the first entry in 2020 and the subsequently the entire Zero Escape trilogy, my highest anticipated game and I'm extremely proud to say that it delivered to every expectation and more. While I don't want to delve into story spoilers because Spike Chunsoft games are highly narrative driven and event based, I will speak on the other parts of the game that filled me with intrigue and joy.
Nirvana Initiative returns most of its cast from its predecessor, which was one of the best groupings of characters in contemporary gaming, and adds a whole new group of intricate and multi-faceted personas that greatly enhance the AI experience. Everyone has that funny quirk about them with a darker side underneath. The nature of everyone in the first game to be the butt of a joke in one second, and the focus of the plot in the next was something masterfully crafted by the writing team. This feature returns in the sequel, a gentle reminder that Uchikoshi is a phenom in character writing. The quirky anime cast that leaves you smiling from ear to ear with their jokes, gags, and unique brand of humor is a staple of AI, something I hope other writing teams in the industry can attempt to pick up on to enrich their experiences. Tama, Ryuki, Lien, Gen (Shoutout ProZD!,) and Kizuna (amongst others) were all great additions to the cast. This legitimately may be the funniest game ever written.
For those who played the original AI, it may not be a surprise to hear that the new environments and settings outside of the Somnium aren't anything too special, but they do offer more room for humor and character exposition. You travel to both old and new locations in your quest to solve the Half Body killings, meeting new people and exploring from top to bottom. This is enough to keep the gameplay loop fresh and appealing to nostalgia from the preceeding experience. One of the largest improvements from the first game to the second was the jump in involvement and logic required to complete Somnium's. In the first AI they were... very interesting and an overall great experience, but ultimately until the end, not too complex. Again, to not tread on spoilers I don't want to speak on how impressive these cases got or whose were the most captivating, but I will say that I found myself in awe many times at the settings, and actually having to think about logical solutions to the dream cases rather than randomly guessing to get what the game "wanted" me to pick. Honestly, the only critique I really have about these new Somnium's is there were a few that felt a little too "Zero-Escapey" in the amount of logic and number-bending they required. This might be alright if there was a feature for recording notes or important information like there was in the Zero Escape games.
Fans of the first AI will ultimately love its sequel, as I can say it was worth every single second of the wait I had for it. No arc felt like it lasted too long, no character had me frustrated or bored, the plot featured Uchikoshi's patented mind-melting twists and turns. There are two Japanese series that I have completed and smiled this much, Persona and AI, and I can't wait for the next step in both! I salute everyone at Spike-Chunsoft who made this game possible, as it is an ambitious title that succeeds at just about everything it attempts to accomplish. I strongly recommend AI: The Somnium Files - Nirvana Initiative to any fan of Danganronpa, Zero Escape, Visual Novels, or psychological thrillers.
And yes the ending got me to tear up.
This was, after playing the first entry in 2020 and the subsequently the entire Zero Escape trilogy, my highest anticipated game and I'm extremely proud to say that it delivered to every expectation and more. While I don't want to delve into story spoilers because Spike Chunsoft games are highly narrative driven and event based, I will speak on the other parts of the game that filled me with intrigue and joy.
Nirvana Initiative returns most of its cast from its predecessor, which was one of the best groupings of characters in contemporary gaming, and adds a whole new group of intricate and multi-faceted personas that greatly enhance the AI experience. Everyone has that funny quirk about them with a darker side underneath. The nature of everyone in the first game to be the butt of a joke in one second, and the focus of the plot in the next was something masterfully crafted by the writing team. This feature returns in the sequel, a gentle reminder that Uchikoshi is a phenom in character writing. The quirky anime cast that leaves you smiling from ear to ear with their jokes, gags, and unique brand of humor is a staple of AI, something I hope other writing teams in the industry can attempt to pick up on to enrich their experiences. Tama, Ryuki, Lien, Gen (Shoutout ProZD!,) and Kizuna (amongst others) were all great additions to the cast. This legitimately may be the funniest game ever written.
For those who played the original AI, it may not be a surprise to hear that the new environments and settings outside of the Somnium aren't anything too special, but they do offer more room for humor and character exposition. You travel to both old and new locations in your quest to solve the Half Body killings, meeting new people and exploring from top to bottom. This is enough to keep the gameplay loop fresh and appealing to nostalgia from the preceeding experience. One of the largest improvements from the first game to the second was the jump in involvement and logic required to complete Somnium's. In the first AI they were... very interesting and an overall great experience, but ultimately until the end, not too complex. Again, to not tread on spoilers I don't want to speak on how impressive these cases got or whose were the most captivating, but I will say that I found myself in awe many times at the settings, and actually having to think about logical solutions to the dream cases rather than randomly guessing to get what the game "wanted" me to pick. Honestly, the only critique I really have about these new Somnium's is there were a few that felt a little too "Zero-Escapey" in the amount of logic and number-bending they required. This might be alright if there was a feature for recording notes or important information like there was in the Zero Escape games.
Fans of the first AI will ultimately love its sequel, as I can say it was worth every single second of the wait I had for it. No arc felt like it lasted too long, no character had me frustrated or bored, the plot featured Uchikoshi's patented mind-melting twists and turns. There are two Japanese series that I have completed and smiled this much, Persona and AI, and I can't wait for the next step in both! I salute everyone at Spike-Chunsoft who made this game possible, as it is an ambitious title that succeeds at just about everything it attempts to accomplish. I strongly recommend AI: The Somnium Files - Nirvana Initiative to any fan of Danganronpa, Zero Escape, Visual Novels, or psychological thrillers.
And yes the ending got me to tear up.