I played a few VNs from Uchikoshi and I can't say I ever been a big fan of his stories. The first Somnium game is probably my favorite, but even then, that game had left me with a lot of mixed feelings. I'm not much of a fan of the humor and some of the crazy story elements, but my time with it was good enough that I wanted to see how a sequel would fare especially with Mizuki as the main character along with the new one.
I went through most of the game wondering if I liked Nirvana any more than the first game. It felt more enjoyable, but whether it was notably more enjoyable was something I couldn't decide. At the end though, I can conclusively say that I enjoyed the game much more than the first game despite similar lingering issues.
The story started off with an intriguing murder mystery right at the start. Uchikoshi is known for a lot of misdirections and many seemingly unrelated plot points that converge together by the end. Nirvana isn't any different and I really enjoyed the game's handling of the matter. The misdirections are done quite well so when key plot twists are revealed, I honestly had a smile on my face. The story and many of the plot points wrapped up well. Uchikoshi's stories tend to be too crazy for me, but Nirvana managed to hit a happy medium for me where it's not too crazy, but interesting enough that keeps me invested on what's going to happen next.
Mizuki was one of my favorite characters in the first game so I was curious how she was going to handle being one of the two main characters in the game. As I hoped, she ended being a very solid lead. I enjoy her witty remarks at times, but I didn't wanted it so that it became too excessive where I couldn't take her seriously. My fears were unfounded fortunately as she handle the investigation portions just like a pro.
As the other half of the main duo, I wasn't quite as fond of Ryuki in comparison. Not to say I disliked him or anything. His more serious nature does contrast well with some of the other quirky characters in the game while he himself does have a few oddities. It's just that there isn't a lot to him that stood out for me and his one particular oddity just rubs me the wrong way. That said, I do liked his relationship with Tama. They have a different dynamic than what Date and Aiba had and even between Mizuki and Aiba.
Gameplay is probably the part I liked the most over the first game. As a whole, I just didn't like the Somniums there and felt like it relied too much on trial and error without much logic. Here, the vast majority of Somnium were straightforward and easier to progress without experimentation. The only one I needed a guide for was one Somnium that had a ton of puzzles that seemed to have come out of a Zero Escape game. Unless I'm misremembering about the first game, but Nirvana now has difficulty options for the Somnium. They mostly decrease the time loss inside the Somnium which made it more of a relaxing playthrough than before.
A new gameplay segment now includes a scene recreation of the murders. They aren't particularly difficult, but it was a nice additional touch to the gameplay.
Overall, I liked the main mystery and the new gameplay changes. Many of the returning characters take a back seat, but the new characters are pretty solid with decent character development. While I still can't say that I'm a big fan of the Somnium games, a third game would piqued my interest at least.
I went through most of the game wondering if I liked Nirvana any more than the first game. It felt more enjoyable, but whether it was notably more enjoyable was something I couldn't decide. At the end though, I can conclusively say that I enjoyed the game much more than the first game despite similar lingering issues.
The story started off with an intriguing murder mystery right at the start. Uchikoshi is known for a lot of misdirections and many seemingly unrelated plot points that converge together by the end. Nirvana isn't any different and I really enjoyed the game's handling of the matter. The misdirections are done quite well so when key plot twists are revealed, I honestly had a smile on my face. The story and many of the plot points wrapped up well. Uchikoshi's stories tend to be too crazy for me, but Nirvana managed to hit a happy medium for me where it's not too crazy, but interesting enough that keeps me invested on what's going to happen next.
Mizuki was one of my favorite characters in the first game so I was curious how she was going to handle being one of the two main characters in the game. As I hoped, she ended being a very solid lead. I enjoy her witty remarks at times, but I didn't wanted it so that it became too excessive where I couldn't take her seriously. My fears were unfounded fortunately as she handle the investigation portions just like a pro.
As the other half of the main duo, I wasn't quite as fond of Ryuki in comparison. Not to say I disliked him or anything. His more serious nature does contrast well with some of the other quirky characters in the game while he himself does have a few oddities. It's just that there isn't a lot to him that stood out for me and his one particular oddity just rubs me the wrong way. That said, I do liked his relationship with Tama. They have a different dynamic than what Date and Aiba had and even between Mizuki and Aiba.
Gameplay is probably the part I liked the most over the first game. As a whole, I just didn't like the Somniums there and felt like it relied too much on trial and error without much logic. Here, the vast majority of Somnium were straightforward and easier to progress without experimentation. The only one I needed a guide for was one Somnium that had a ton of puzzles that seemed to have come out of a Zero Escape game. Unless I'm misremembering about the first game, but Nirvana now has difficulty options for the Somnium. They mostly decrease the time loss inside the Somnium which made it more of a relaxing playthrough than before.
A new gameplay segment now includes a scene recreation of the murders. They aren't particularly difficult, but it was a nice additional touch to the gameplay.
Overall, I liked the main mystery and the new gameplay changes. Many of the returning characters take a back seat, but the new characters are pretty solid with decent character development. While I still can't say that I'm a big fan of the Somnium games, a third game would piqued my interest at least.