No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES Review – Fun Filler

No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES Review
No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES is the latest installment in the AI: The Somnium Files series. This visual novel/adventure game hybrid uses 3D graphics, its trademark dream exploration, and plenty of puzzle mechanics to tell a new story. The result doesn’t reach as high as its predecessors, but it is still an entertaining romp in its own right.

Kaname Date finds himself being chased through an abandoned train system with no memory of why. As soon as he finds his way out, he hears a voice, watches pop star Iris get abducted by a UFO, and then gets abducted himself. Then he wakes up. But while his abduction seems to have been a dream, Iris really is missing.

Meanwhile, Iris has been kidnapped by a mysterious girl who seems to be an alien, who declares her intent to start a New World Order. By gathering humanity’s most qualified members through a test known as The Third Eye Game. This test takes the form of escape rooms. A kidnapped Iris immediately uses her one phone call to consult Date to help her.

Between Date’s world-weary quirkiness and Iris’s enthusiastic conspiracy theories, the two of them might be able to solve the puzzles and save Iris. But it won’t be easy for them or the colorful cast of characters working to help or hinder their efforts.

Amnesia, Aliens, and Escape Rooms, Oh My
No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES switches between three different modes: Exploration sections, Escape sections, and Somnium sections. Exploration sections challenge Date to uncover clues and advance the narrative with challenging quick time events. Escape sections require Iris to solve puzzles and find a way out of an escape room. And Somnium sections go back to series basics with a timed mystery to solve in people’s dreams.

In a Somnium, you control Aiba in third-person and perform various actions to clear Mental Locks. Progressing through dream logic puzzles unlocks deeper levels of the subject’s consciousness. Escape sections work similarly, complete with a little gauge to show your progress. And the game’s quirky narrative, full of banter, tonal whiplash, and mystery, unfolds across the entire game.

As usual, there’s a treasure trove of optional dialog, hidden secrets, and alternate endings to uncover. However, the game’s limited runtime keeps its scope from growing too sprawling–for better and for worse. This does keep things focused, but half the appeal of creator Kotaro Uchikoshi’s work is the sprawling madness of it all.

There are a ton of tutorials in the early game. You can skip most of them, though. And while the puzzles can be quite complex, they should be doable with enough thought. If you’re just not getting it, there’s some room for trial by error even on the higher difficulties.

No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES is a Neat Little Filler Game
No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES is definitely a smaller-scale game, but it’s still a ton of fun. Date and Aiba’s banter is a joy to behold, and Iris is as fun and vaguely unsettling as ever. If you enjoyed the series’ colorful cast, wild plot twists, and surprisingly heartfelt narrative of previous games, you’ll enjoy this one. However, it is very much a sequel.

If you didn’t play the original AI: The Somnium Files game, you should play it before this title. Otherwise, the amount of callbacks could rapidly grow annoying as Date’s investigation leads him to revisit people and places from the first game.

As I said, there’s a lot of tone whiplash in this title. Fans of the series will probably expect its combination of goofy humor, weird sci-fi, absurd horror, and surprisingly somber drama. However, it can be hit or miss, especially outside the context of the other games.

On a positive note, the game provides many options to customize difficulty. For example, you may want the investigation QTEs to be easier, but be confident in your Somnium exploration skills. You can set only the QTEs to Easy or Story mode while keeping the rest of the game in Standard difficulty. You can even set the Escape difficulty to high if you want a real challenge.

Tone Whiplash
No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES is as stylish as the other games in the series. It features the same anime-style 3D graphics as previous titles. They’re delightfully expressive, particularly Aiba, and the mouth flaps are decent. The environments range from welcoming to off-putting to downright surreal. They’re all as colorful and full of life as ever.

The game features English and Japanese voice-acting. However, it’s set to Japanese by default. The English voices are still solid, though Iris’s high-pitched squeals can get irritating. Date and Aiba are a joy to listen to, though, and the supporting cast range from good to decent.

At only about 20 hours of content, this is a pretty short game. It has nowhere near the depth of gameplay and story that the previous games offered. That said, it’s still an entertaining little adventure in its own right. And it’s great to see Date, Aiba, and Iris in action again.

All in all, No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES is a fun return to the world of AI: The Somnium Files. I wish it were longer and had a little more substance. But it’s not too expensive and it sure is entertaining to play, so check it out if you’re already a fan.

***Switch code provided by the publisher***

The Good

Fun
Adjustable difficulty
Solid narrative
Well-balanced puzzles

77

The Bad

Short
Made for fans
QTEs