AI: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative review: the best detective puzzle game this year

AI: Nirvana Initiative – The Somnium FilesIt is a time-consuming, riveting murder mystery which will have you hooked from its beginning to the end. Kotaro Umikoshi wrote it, as well as the Zero Escape trilogy. Nirvana Initiative is just as effective as a singular story as it is a compelling sequel to 2019’s AI: The Somnium Files. It’s a well-paced visual novel wrapped in detective conceits and packed with surprises at every corner.

This game features two characters: Mizuki Okiura (returning character) and Ryuki Kuruto (new guy). They’re both Special Agents of ABIS, the Advanced Brain Investigation Squad. The members in this unit within the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department “psync” with suspects using a large machine in order to dive into their subconscious and uncover their secrets.

Six years apart, the game switches between two time periods. When the right half of a corpse is discovered in the earlier timeline, Ryuki and Mizuki are both sent down a bizarre rabbit hole — their search for the other half comes up fruitless until six years later, back in the present day. Ryuki and Mizuki each have AI-Balls in their left eyes, designated Aiba or Tama. They can assist in complex calculations and x-ray vision investigations.

Nirvana InitiativeThis is an essentially visual novel. Ryuki and Mizuki go to various locations in Tokyo to look into crime scenes. The player can toggle between thermal vision and xray to interact with the evidence once they arrive at each location. Ryuki, Mizuki and their AI-Ball friends pretend that they are recording the incident like it is a television show. Players will have to place and select the evidence in a given timeline.

Spike Chunsoft

At certain points, Aiba and Tama plunge into “Somnium” dungeons, which are manifestations of a character’s psyche. Somnium puzzles that reveal their past life help you learn about characters. For example, an egotistical maniac who’s obsessed with genetics (bordering on eugenics) has an entire dungeon dedicated to creating perfect human specimens.

All of the Somniums are wildly creative, even when the story necessitates going into the same character’s Somnium more than once. One particular dungeon is called “Kusemon Go” that pays homage to the ever popular Pokémon Go. Its aesthetic and mechanics match the monster collecting game, too — you have to “catch” some of the main cast and use them to “battle” gym leader-like NPCs. Even the dungeon’s music sounds as if it were composed using the chiptune route songs you’d hear in mainline Pokémon games.

Nirvana Initiative’s script is laden with references to real-world conspiracy theories (the primary one being that the world is merely a simulation). Their fascination lies in the fact that they actually use science to help explain these theories, such as the double-slit experiments and the holographic principal. In this way, the story is equal parts grounded and farfetched — a tantalizing mixture of logic and mystery. It is fascinating to see how the characters justify such bizarre, conspiratorial beliefs.

The narrative builds to a stunning climax, which comes in the way of a revelation that recontextualizes everything that’s come before. I was already glued to the screen, obsessed with trying to figure out the motives and identity of the killer behind the half-body murders — but the plot twist made me change the way I interpreted events going forward. In the game’s final act, I was all but sure that another curveball was coming my way. I won’t spoil whether it was.

Spike Chunsoft

This also makes it easier to keep your eyes open for new opportunities. Nirvana Initiative’s cast of characters is delightful. Ryuki is a new recruit to the task force and wants nothing more than impressing his supervisors. He stands in stark contrast to the first game’s protagonist, Kaname Date. Date’s pervertedness turned some players off, as it sometimes clashed with the game’s darker moments.

Ryuki is much tamer, but he’s surrounded by a mysterious air. Throughout the game, you get the sense, through his dialogue, that something’s not quite right about him. To compensate for Ryuki’s reticence, Tama, his voluptuous AI-Ball, often makes sex jokes. While AI: The Somnium Files’ frequent use of innuendo could throw off tense scenes, Nirvana Initiative It is much more creative in how it uses its humor. It is more adept at deciding when it should rely on humor and when its horrific murders can propel the action forward. In the first game, Mizuki was incredibly defiant of authority, and I’m glad they dialed up her rebellious personality even more in Nirvana Initiative. Her lines are sarcastic and funny, often balancing out Ryuki’s more by-the-books attitude.

Corina Boltger and Erika Harlacher provide excellent English voices acting, which supports the dialog throughout. Newcomers Stephen Fu and Anairis Quiñones do a fantastic job as Ryuki and Tama as well.

Spike Chunsoft

Structure Nirvana InitiativeThis is because it’s very constricting and linear. Uchikoshi provided captivating narrative flowcharts for the Zero Escape series and the first game. Nirvana Initiative’s flowchart doesn’t have as many opportunities to explore events on your own terms. Instead, you’re almost entirely railroaded into playing Ryuki’s part of the story the entire way through first, and then Mizuki’s. All in all, it’s a more tailored storyline, and it may feel more manageable for players new to Uchikoshi’s scripts — but I found myself missing that overwhelming web of plot paths to wander.

The loading times for the PlayStation 4 version can take a while, even if you use backward compatibility via PlayStation 5. The main menu is a bit unresponsive, too, as it takes a few clicks before I’m able to get to the save game button. But none of these issues were detrimental to my overall experience, and I didn’t encounter crashes or anything game-breaking.

AI: Nirvana Initiative – The Somnium FilesThe story is compelling and there are some interesting plot twists. They caught me off guard. Its mysteries are interesting, and the Somnium dungeons of it are both fascinating and foreboding. Nirvana InitiativeThis is an extremely eccentric game. It’s full of quirky characters and mind-bending puzzles. There are also a lot of sci-fi side-trips. And once it builds momentum, it doesn’t let up. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say I love it.

AI: Nirvana Initiative – The Somnium Files On June 24, the game was made available for Windows PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 as well Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One. Spike Chunsoft gave us a PS4 download code to review the game. Vox Media is an affiliate partner. They do not affect editorial content. However, Vox Media might earn commissions for products bought via affiliate links. Here are some links to help you find. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.