AI: The Somnium Files Day One Edition - Nintendo Switch

I binged on this game over the past few days and recently completed it after about 23 hours of gameplay. Holy crap, it was amazing! AI: The Somnium Files might very well be my favorite game of 2019.The writing and localization is among the very best I've ever experienced in a game. The story constantly left me on the edge of my seat. There are multiple endings that all tie together and culminate into one final ending. The characters are likable and unique. The dialogue is very witty and oftentimes hilarious. The only real gripe I have is that the game does stutter from time to time, but that could just be on the Switch?If you like narrative-focused games that are a bit slower paced, I highly recommend playing this game. It reminds me of Ace Attorney, but with action sequences.

This is one of the greatest switch games in it's library and is also now one of my personal favorites of all time. The story is very entertaining with an interesting plot which kept me wanting more. The main character is probably one of the funniest characters I've seen written in a long time, very fun to see him interact with the world around him. As for framerate on Switch, it can drop sometimes during more advance scenes but for the most part it really doesn't effect general gameplay. Overall, this is a must own switch game for anyone looking for an awesome story.

Game itself was fine, but the product arrived with a damaged case. Not sure if it's on the seller or the post, but it was still a pretty disappointing condition to receive the product in.

I recommend this game.This game was made by the director of the Zero Escape series, this should give you the scope of how the story is.I'm an avid fan of Ace Attorney for a long time. But in these past few years, I've been deprived of new Ace Attorney games, nothing can compete in my mind. I happened to stumble upon this game and and found their trailers to tease a outrageous and fun mystery murder story. So, I decided to buy it.MECHANICS:--*VOICE ACTING: One of the key strengths of the game. I'm kinda sad to admit but I bought this when the game was $30. Good deal...I guess. However, I found out that the game was actually ENTIRELY VOICE ACTED, which is very unique even for visual novels. The cost ($60) of this game is due to the effort and time put in from the cast of the game. I hope that this game sets a trend, because this characteristic of the game made the story all the more engaging! I've seen my fair share of anime English dubs, I feel like Tessa's voice was a tad bit high-pitch for my tastes but I can definitely say that the rest of the cast has done amazingly well. I believe there's also a Japanese audio if you would prefer, but I can't give you a proper rating on that.--PUZZLES: This may scare some, but the puzzles are actually timed but don't be scared. The game doesn't restart from the beginning, so you can mess up as many times as possible until you get somewhere. Basically, you are trying to escape a room using the tools available in each respective room. Maybe this is just the forte of the director of the Zero Escape series. I don't know about others, but I played this game with my family and friends. We made many fond memories yelling at the TV at what we were supposed to do. The intensity gets even worse when we just barely complete the puzzle in time. Sometimes there were ridiculous antics that went nowhere wasting time and sometimes those actually work to solve the puzzles. All in all the puzzles, of course, had a method, but it needs an unconventional mind.--ISSUES: I wish there weren't any but there are indeed issues with the game. Sometimes they use a line of dialogue that absolutely is uneeded. For example one set of dialogue can go like this: Character A says "Character B said 'This'" -> transitions to Character B saying "This" (The same exact line) -> transitions back to Character A. Now that necessarily isn't too big of a problem, but when the game starts to lag or loads slowly, the switch between these character statements can ruin the experience. Maybe Ai the Somnium Files needed more time in development, but near the latter end of the game is when the glitches appear more often.--ROUTES: Ai the Somnium Files is still a visual novel, so you can go through several routes of the game to not only get to know characters better but also get a better picture of what happened. A great feature of the game is the use of a tree diagram that helps guide the player where the plot is going and where it could diverge.STORY:The whole murder mystery is to find out who is the serial killer. I can't spoil much, but the game is very complex in terms of story and characters. It is set in Tokyo in the near future, where a serial killer terrorizes the city. You are Detective Date, an amnesiac main character (MC) with a rather comedic and narcissistic personality. And your partner Ai, is your playful and trusty digital companion who's purpose is to aid the MC in the murder investigation. You meet a wide cast of characters, suspecting some along the way. At most points of the story, game feels very grounded in reality, but at other points the game feels too ridiculous to even believe what is a dream and what is reality. But when it is grounded, the story gets really good when it comes to interrogations and investigations.CHARACTER:You get to spend time with every major character in the series and you get to understand their feelings better. This is where the ROUTE feature of the game shines. Instead of following one character throughout the game, you as Date get to meet them at a personal level. Knowing their family life, careers, and aspirations to achieve. Ai the Somnium Files knows how to tug at your heart-strings when needed to feel for the characters motivations. However, as stated earlier, sometimes the game can get really ridiculous that it's hard to relate with the characters.ART & MUSIC: Like I said earlier, the idol's high pitch kinda ticks me off (I'm a girl BTW sooooooooo), and she gets to sing a song made for her persona. Love it or hate it, there's that. I can't give a proper determination if the music was outstanding or not, maybe it's because I was so immersed in the experience that I didn't think about the soundtrack all that much. The characters designs are all awesome to look at and exudes a certain wackiness that is familiar in Ace Attorney, me and my cousins voted that Date and another unnamed character were HOT AF! LMAO XDThe only character I didn't like the design of was Ota's dad. He stood out amongst the many anime influenced characters and he looked weird, too. I didn't know if I was staring at his eyes, hair, or hat. His design is very off-putting.PACKAGING: I got the Day One package where I received 2 stickers as advertised. The decal feels durable, so if you want to put it on your laptop, bottle, skateboard, or anything of that calibre; it looks like they can withstand.CONCLUSIONS:The game is a great experience for those who enjoyed the Zero Escape, Danganronpa, and Ace Attorney series. Interactive features and voice acting made the game more immersive. Timed puzzles were like an escape room each with their own respective rules. Characters were well-developed. Story can get confusing, but it was a fun ride anyways. The levels of wacky things to do is expansive. References are everywhere!! I would give this a PERFECT, but due to glitches in playing the game and how ridiculous the game could get, I'm leaving the game with a score of 8.5/10. All in all, I can definitely say that Ai the Somnium Files went beyond and above any of my expectations. (BTW I'm not docking points from VOICE ACTING B/C I LOVE THE EFFORT!)POST THOUGHTS: Now I'm even more deprived than ever before. Please support the game and buy it! If you do, a sequel may actually be made.EXTRAS:I want to click more objects give me more maps to explore! Interrogations were honestly my favorite part of the game. The whole circling the characters and bamming them with evidence was soooo fun!

I played this game over the past several weeks and recently finished it. Without a doubt, this was one of the best mysteries that I have ever experienced in a work of fiction!The story begins with you playing as Detective Kaname Daté who is tasked with solving the mystery of a recent murder. Along the way, you'll investigate clues and meet other characters that help you solve the case. There is a nice mix of both serious and hilarious moments throughout the game. Additionally, the game integrates the science fiction genre very nicely into the story.The only two drawbacks I found (which are probably more due to the Switch itself) are that the game lagged a bit in certain dialogue transitions and that loading a save file in certain areas sometimes took a bit long. But these are pretty minor when you consider all of the positive aspects of the game.Overall, if you're a fan of Ace Attorney, Danganronpa or any of the Zero Escape games, then you'll definitely enjoy this game.

As a fan of the Zero Escape Trilogy, I was really interested in trying this game.If you have ever played Zero Escape… 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors… Virtue’s Last Reward… Zero Time Dilemma…This game plays exactly how you would expect. Its just like those games. Its the same developer.New to the series? Don’t know what its about? This is a choices matter game where you find a crime scene after the crime has been committed. Now you try to solve the mystery.But. You don’t play it how you would normally for other games. Play it, get bad ending, replay the entire game. No. Once you get to an ending, you are presented with a page where the story branches out. Now you can go back and try something different to see if it either solves the case or you can save someone in need.Again for those of you that are new to this series. If you like this game, you are in luck. There is a second game to this particular series. Not only that, but the Zero Escape Trilogy. It is not required that you play these games in any order. But the second game in the Zero Escape series explains why this branching storyline is necessary. I can’t say much more than that, because I want you to find out on your own.These games are a wild ride and you won’t ever know what is about to happen. Plot twists galore.