AI: The Somnium Files
This game is very tonedeaf, it oscillates between comedic and dramatic moments almost feeling as if the game is having an identity crisis, it can't DECIDE whether it wants to be over the top goofy or tell a compelling sci-fi murder mystery, or rather the game wants to be over the top goofy all the time but has a murder crime that's so sinister in nature that it doesn't fit well
(Except for Iris's route) the Psyncs are the highlight of this game, and they are also the only time the goofy-over-the-top nature blends well with the dreamlike logic, sometimes it's frustrating when you perform a meaningless action and get a time penalty but the factor of "Timies" makes it very interesting,
Also branching routes by how you engage within a Psync is a very solid idea, Aibo herself is a pretty damn likable character so it's fun to play as her in these segments
Where the Psyncs perhaps fail is that it's entirely trial and error sometimes, which given it's a dream I can't complain much about, but even something such as performing the same action twice (for example to a hole in a tree then in a different hole in a tree) you could trigger wildly different outcomes for progression, but as aforementioned the Timies reduce this frustration because they allow you to cutdown on the time for the main thing you're supposed to do in the Psync
Also to be fair there's only ever so much you can do in a Psync and you usually end up getting it right before it gets frustrating
Uchikoshi's biggest weakness has always been characters and even though there are some truly despicable garbage ones here, I enjoyed that he stepped out of his comfort zone on more than one occasion, besides Iris and Ota (or Mizuki when she's acting up) the cast is actually not subpar, there's some unique interactions you can have by clicking around the environment that got a smile out of me every now and then, but those moments can be counted on one hand
3/5 routes are utter nonsense garbage, but the final 2 routes are actually pretty cool, I enjoyed the final murderer reveal (and the Psync to get to him was also decently challenging albeit the factory itself was not that pleasing to look at)
The infodump is there, but it's broken up into small doses so you're ever only bored occasionally (and it's very easy to speed through these)
Extras:
-I liked the Mayumi final Psync in Ota's route, it's not much of anything and it's easy to find it melodramatic but seeing a mother struggle in a world that confuses her and trying the best for her family is surprisingly good to me, also the OST that plays in that segment ++
-OSTs in general are fine
-Dialogues options are bloated, sometimes you have to click the same option multiple times to continue the same thought for the character which seemed pointless, at one point I would look for the story relevant dialogue option so I could trigger the conversation ending option and didn't have to talk to the character anymore
-Presentation is good, but it's unpolished in many areas, still I can't be ungrateful atleast it doesnt look like VLR
-Despite the fact that both me and Fahim guessed the twist pretty early, the reveal was still fresh, solid and creatively executed with a compelling antagonist
-Sometimes there are cutscenes that play in their entirety, like everytime you go somewhere you have to sit through this shitty car cutscene which I just ctrl'd on instinct, other times Ota will be fed omelette rice and you have to watch the whole thing like, thrice in the entire game, there's also this cutscene where {a person gets killed near the warehouse in the past} and they show the entire video of the stabbing again and again,
These happen rarely but you really can't give the ctrl button a break in this game for a sensible experience
-The Yakuza were cringe
Do I recommend it? I can't say really, the first route is bad to the point where I expected nothing but a letdown, Iris is a horrible character and brings the quality of the experience WAAAAAAY down, but if you can stick with it and burn through the first 3 routes then I can say the reveal feels like all the effort you put in was worth it,
What you're getting is a lighthearted mystery VN so walk in with manageable expectations and you won't be extra disappointed, also for a Uchikoshi VN it's actually surprisingly small in it's scope and ends before it drags
A review on steam captures in a few sentences what the fundamental drawback of the game is:
"In the middle of incredibly climactic and dramatic moments, the tension will be dissolved immediately by bizzare antics, often with played-out "power of friendship" moments."
This game is very tonedeaf, it oscillates between comedic and dramatic moments almost feeling as if the game is having an identity crisis, it can't DECIDE whether it wants to be over the top goofy or tell a compelling sci-fi murder mystery, or rather the game wants to be over the top goofy all the time but has a murder crime that's so sinister in nature that it doesn't fit well
(Except for Iris's route) the Psyncs are the highlight of this game, and they are also the only time the goofy-over-the-top nature blends well with the dreamlike logic, sometimes it's frustrating when you perform a meaningless action and get a time penalty but the factor of "Timies" makes it very interesting,
Also branching routes by how you engage within a Psync is a very solid idea, Aibo herself is a pretty damn likable character so it's fun to play as her in these segments
Where the Psyncs perhaps fail is that it's entirely trial and error sometimes, which given it's a dream I can't complain much about, but even something such as performing the same action twice (for example to a hole in a tree then in a different hole in a tree) you could trigger wildly different outcomes for progression, but as aforementioned the Timies reduce this frustration because they allow you to cutdown on the time for the main thing you're supposed to do in the Psync
Also to be fair there's only ever so much you can do in a Psync and you usually end up getting it right before it gets frustrating
Uchikoshi's biggest weakness has always been characters and even though there are some truly despicable garbage ones here, I enjoyed that he stepped out of his comfort zone on more than one occasion, besides Iris and Ota (or Mizuki when she's acting up) the cast is actually not subpar, there's some unique interactions you can have by clicking around the environment that got a smile out of me every now and then, but those moments can be counted on one hand
3/5 routes are utter nonsense garbage, but the final 2 routes are actually pretty cool, I enjoyed the final murderer reveal (and the Psync to get to him was also decently challenging albeit the factory itself was not that pleasing to look at)
The infodump is there, but it's broken up into small doses so you're ever only bored occasionally (and it's very easy to speed through these)
Extras:
-I liked the Mayumi final Psync in Ota's route, it's not much of anything and it's easy to find it melodramatic but seeing a mother struggle in a world that confuses her and trying the best for her family is surprisingly good to me, also the OST that plays in that segment ++
-OSTs in general are fine
-Dialogues options are bloated, sometimes you have to click the same option multiple times to continue the same thought for the character which seemed pointless, at one point I would look for the story relevant dialogue option so I could trigger the conversation ending option and didn't have to talk to the character anymore
-Presentation is good, but it's unpolished in many areas, still I can't be ungrateful atleast it doesnt look like VLR
-Despite the fact that both me and Fahim guessed the twist pretty early, the reveal was still fresh, solid and creatively executed with a compelling antagonist
-Sometimes there are cutscenes that play in their entirety, like everytime you go somewhere you have to sit through this shitty car cutscene which I just ctrl'd on instinct, other times Ota will be fed omelette rice and you have to watch the whole thing like, thrice in the entire game, there's also this cutscene where {a person gets killed near the warehouse in the past} and they show the entire video of the stabbing again and again,
These happen rarely but you really can't give the ctrl button a break in this game for a sensible experience
-The Yakuza were cringe
Do I recommend it? I can't say really, the first route is bad to the point where I expected nothing but a letdown, Iris is a horrible character and brings the quality of the experience WAAAAAAY down, but if you can stick with it and burn through the first 3 routes then I can say the reveal feels like all the effort you put in was worth it,
What you're getting is a lighthearted mystery VN so walk in with manageable expectations and you won't be extra disappointed, also for a Uchikoshi VN it's actually surprisingly small in it's scope and ends before it drags
A review on steam captures in a few sentences what the fundamental drawback of the game is:
"In the middle of incredibly climactic and dramatic moments, the tension will be dissolved immediately by bizzare antics, often with played-out "power of friendship" moments."
mxdnt
1 year ago