First thing I wanna note with AITSF is that I played the switch version. This is quite possibly the only switch port I've played to date that is genuinely bad (instead of just the usual "portable console has compression" complaints I've often seen). Area and new day transitions grind the frame rate to a halt, and both Aiba's AI sight images and flashback scenes in dialogue take several seconds to load at almost every occurrence beyond midgame. This is tolerable up until endgame where there's... a LOT of flashbacks and AI sight usage to recite the entire case and half of its backstory, which unfortunately did lead to some frustration as I was playing.

That being said... AITSF is still a great game, and I really enjoyed my time with it! I wasn't big on the QTEs, I felt the porn jokes got a bit repetitive (I'm fine with them, some are genuinely funny, but the same ones get used a little too much imo) and I definitely started with the wrong ending for good narrative progression, but it didn't prevent this from being a blast. The somniums are weird and wonderful, the characters shine through with their absurdist yet endearing attitudes, and the mystery itself was as grisly as it was compelling! I thought a couple of plot points could've used more exploration but it didn't have a significant impact on my enjoyment or anything. Soundtrack is also a hell of a banger, really nails the atmosphere every time. I also wanna mention that despite sharing certain staples, AITSF moves away from some of Kotaro Uchikoshi's commonly known tropes, which I personally liked as it freed up the narrative for him to test some new ideas (and even make a lighthearted parody of his old ones!)

So yeah, love this game, and tbh I'd say if the switch is your only option, it's still playable and most content runs fine, especially the somniums which are the most important due to time sensitive navigation. Just... if you have any other console or a PC that can run it, please play it on literally anything else.

Reviewed on Mar 16, 2024


Comments