AI: The Somnium Files Review – The Mysteries Of The Mind

Sunday, May 7, 2023

Genre – Mystery, Detective, Sci-fi Play Time – 30 hours Developer – Spike Chunsoft Steam

One Eye Lost And Another Gained

Found wandering in the street with a missing eye and no memories, Date is taken in by a woman calling herself Boss, given a new eye/partner Aibo and takes up the role of detective. Now years later he finds himself investigating the murder of a former friend and uncovering truths which will reshape how he sees himself and those around him. From the developers of the Zero Escape series, AI: The Somnium Files is a radical departure from their previous escape room style narratives and into the genre of murder mystery. Their unique fingerprints are still all over this game but they take new and interesting forms to better compliment the other changes in design. No longer being bound to the rigid escape room structure opens a great many possible spaces to explore for The Somnium Files but also presents many chances to slip up that were not present before. There are few games which bank on their plot and mystery more than The Somnium Files does and this is both a blessing and a curse as it highlights issues with other aspects of presentation and narrative. However, there is little doubt that this visual novel will leave a strong impression on you one way or another and this review will cover the reasons for this distinctive flair. Let’s team up with a sassy AI and solve this mystery.

A Dream Towards The Truth – Narrative and Themes

If there is one area above all else in which AI: The Somnium Files triumphs it is its plot and the way the entire narrative is shaped around it in a complete and engaging fashion. This is formed from the way it blends its mysteries with its core plot device, the Somnium, and makes the unknowns of each interweave in a way that keeps the player guessing. Alongside it is the use of a limited but effective presence of story branches that help the package feel like it is giving the player room to explore the mystery. However, not everything is up to this level of quality and most of it takes the shape of the game's many tonal issues.

At the core of any good detective story is a mystery which the player and the protagonist must solve to overcome the threat against them and bring the killer to justice. The medium that AI: The Somnium Files uses to immerse the player in this fantasy is the titular Somnium, the mental landscapes of the people Date dives into. These worlds are abstract in nature and provide fertile ground on which speculation can form about what the person is hiding and how they fit into the overarching plot. Each Somnium is distinct from one another with some being places the individual has been in the past while others are twisted representations of their current state of mind and these places are bursting with imagination that provide just enough information to engage the player but never enough that they feel satisfied. As such they are a perfect trail of breadcrumbs to lure them into continuing to play both for more knowledge and to see what strange place they will be able to experience next. Outside of the Somnium scenes themselves this plot device is not treated as an element isolated to those few moments, but as a feature which shapes everyone in the story and they grapple with the implications of the technology which makes this miracle possible. There are moments where Date is too eager to use the Somnium to solve his problems rather than deal with them through conventional means even when there will obviously be consequence to doing so. The Somnium occupies this gray space in the mystery and brings out the best and worst in people and acts a thematic bridge between their feelings and the reality of the situation by providing a tempting power which promises to give solutions to issues that seem insurmountable.

The Somnium are strange places

Unlike the developers’ previous games AI: The Somnium Files is not a sprawling web of story branches but instead a tight set of a few paths for the player to explore. The aim this time seems to have been to tell a more personal narrative while still retaining the freedom their games have been know for. These few directions of travel through the game go a long way to solving the almost paralysing level of choices that had become a staple of their titles and it is much better for it with a tighter focus on key characters with a clearer vision of how the plot will take place. These all tie nicely into Date’s relationships to the characters and do a lot to sell the state of mind he is in to make the choices that the player selected to set him this path. Complimenting this is the way the choices are merge into the Somnium sections in an organic way that allows for a smooth transition from one path to another in such a way that the player will not immediately notice until the distinctive tones of each route come to the forefront. This is a system that has been developed by people who understand the kind of story they want to tell and know when a more hands off approach is needed to help ease the player into the experience.

These are meant to be highly trained and dangerous mercenaries

The single largest problem within the narrative of AI: The Somnium Files is the tonal issues which plague it from beginning to end. This is a game with horrific murders and high stakes that demand a the player take it seriously but it cannot help but constantly put in stupid jokes and banter in moments where the stakes are meant to be high. We are not talking about the occasional bit of humour to prevent the mood from becoming too dark but rather a pervasive inability to maintain a straight face for any extend period of time. Often this manifests silly banter in situations that are otherwise dire or jokes about what a bunch of perverts the man in the story are. Having banter between characters is an important way to build and sell their relationships in a believable way but there is a time and place for it. Where The Somnium Files missteps is having these interactions in otherwise serious moment such as investigating the mind of a person they believe to be a murderer. Rather than being focused on the dangers in front of them and treating each with the severity the game has communicated them as having, they instead joke around and behave in a flippant manner not suitable for how the scene has been built up and as a result kill the tone. This plays into the regular jokes at the expense of the male cast which paints them as a bunch of dumb perverts. Perhaps the most egregious example is the treatment of a band of mercenaries who are introduced as a major threat to the lives of the cast but are defeated because they get distracted by a porn magazine thrown their way. It is not just one of them who falls for this obvious trick, they all do, at once. They all come over and abandon their attempt at murder because of a porn magazine. The issue here is the extreme clash between the seriousness of the plot and the sheer stupidity of so many moments within its narrative. Instead of being funny it is just confusing, does this game want me to take it seriously as people get brutally killed or is this a slapstick comedy where dumb things happen?

To Catch A Killer – Characters

In order to have a good murder mystery you need a good collection of characters with many among them having possible motives and means for the murder to create a soup of relationships to compel the player to engage with them. AI: The Somnium Files meets this need through a charismatic cast who have larger than life personalities and clashing dreams that are all the better to muddy the waters. Underpinning the narrative is the dynamic between the main duo of Date and Aibo as they banter backwards and forwards in a way that sells the closeness of their bond and their complementary strengths as detectives. Of course the ugly tonal issues rear their head here as well and alongside them are a selection of characters who are overemphasised despite being clearly minor to the overall story.

This duo are the heart and soul of the narrative

Front and centre of the narrative is the dynamic duo of Date and Aibo, they are rarely separated from one another especially since Aibo takes the form of Date’s eye just to drive home their intertwined lives. Their banter is a gold mine of fun interactions with neither one of them being assigned a set role in their relationship and instead being flexible depending on the needs of the scene. This means that Date can be the straight man in one section and then in the very next one Aibo switches around with Date to be the straight man. Rather than it feeling like they do not have a set personality, the result is a believable friendship where the two can play along with whatever nonsense the other comes up with and know how to have a good time as they are comfortable with each other. Having a relationship like this is an important part of a good detective story since the player will be spending a lot of time in the heads of this pair so making them empathise and feel like they are part of this small group is important for the later trails they will undergo. Without this bond the later revelations in the plot and the pair’s eventual triumph would not have the desired impact. The duo of Date and Aibo easily steal the limelight and serve as excellent point of view characters into this world and the mystery which threatens them.

Is she innocent or just pretending?

The rest of the cast are in many ways just as charismatic as the main duo but the emphasis is different for them. Rather than being solely people the player is meant to empathise with, they are instead a muddied mire of emotions and concealed intent that paint them simultaneously as innocent and guilty. Their actions leave enough potential for each of them to be the murder that you are encouraged to analyse every word that comes out of the mouth for some clue as to their motive and threat. Despite the possibility of them being a killer they all maintain a strong humanity that makes you want to believe in their innocence and helps ground them so you will never see them in a detached fashion. Iris is one of the strongest examples of this mixture, she is a cheerful internet idol who has boundless curiosity even if it often get her into more trouble than she bargained for and coupled with the loving friendships she has with many of the other cast members and the result is an instantly endearing character. However, throughout the game Iris behaves inconsistently in an almost mentally unstable manner and alongside the undeniable link between her and the murders which begins to form as more information is revealed, the seeds of doubt sprout in your mind no matter how hard you try and deny them.

Outa's role in the plot can be somewhat questionable at times

Once again the aspect of the game which brings it down is the tonal issues. They manifest here as characters who are used for most of their screen time as the butt of jokes suddenly being shifted into a major staring role. This highlights their lack of personality traits and motives forceing the game to give them some and they can feel out of place next to what we already know about them. Their role as joke characters does not help things as before they are pushed into the spotlight they often break up serious moments in ways that destroys the tension that has been building up and they have been involved in too many scenes for their joke to still be funny. They are background characters raised above their station and it is very obvious to the player they should have remained where they were. Perhaps the most noticeable example of this Outa who is painted as this pitiable Otaku type character who is the butt of many of the character’s jokes and generally says and does stupid things every time he is on screen. However, later on he is suddenly thrust into the limelight by the game’s narrative and standing in centre stage it becomes obvious how little there is to his character. This is not helped by the fact that the game continues to undermine Outa at every turn with his actions often appearing pathetic until the climax of his involvement in the story. Overall, if he had only been a secondary character then these issues would not have been so clear and he could have had a strong place among the characters as a palate cleanser, but instead the result is an undermining of tone and content.

Diving Into The World Of The Mind – Visuals, Audio and Gameplay

In terms of presentation the distinctive style of the Zero Escape games is very much alive in AI: The Somnium Files with stylised 3D graphics and a vibrant soundtrack carrying the game to greater heights. The actual Somnium worlds all have a distinct visual identities that are a treat to look at, but when it comes to the gameplay within them they are somewhat of a mixed bag.

Twist and beautiful a perfect balance

Utilising 3D space for effect is something that the game knows how to leverage and get the most out of each itch. Despite not existing on the 2D plain used by most visual novels it is still very much informed by visual novel design sensibilities in terms of scene framing, emphasis and composition. The 3D space is used as if it were an extension of the backgrounds and sprites found in other visual novels and it is presented with this in mind to capture both that familiar feeling while adding its own unique spin on these ideas. Each movement is composed in a way that makes it clear that it holds some importance and demands the player’s attention in the way only a visual novel is capable of achieving. Supporting all of this higher level design is a visual and musical identity that blends a familiar world with a futuristic method of investigating. Juxtaposition is AI: The Somnium Files’ favourite technique but it understands that there need to be gaps between its use in order that it never becomes too familiar so the futuristic elements are used sparing to keep the player stimulated and looking forward to more.

This choice is simple but later ones are not

When it comes to the Somnium the strong identity and narrative technique are maintained with their free-form nature allowing for more experimental and abstract forms of presentation. There are few spaces as memorable as the variety of Somnium the player will witness over the course of the game and each one has a distinct flare resulting in an impressive level of complexity to the feeling of being in one. They all sell their owner’s mental state in a way mere words could never be able to express and this is by far their greatest triumph. It is a shame then that they are such a mixed bag when it comes to the mechanics. Each Somnium has a time limited attached to it and the player is offered choices which deduct time from that pool and they must deduce the correct path through choices before they run out of time. One the surface this might seem perfectly harmless and for much of the early game it is, but once the later game Somnium hit things go down hill as the choices and correct outcomes become increasingly nonsensical with there being no way for the player to determine the correct path from the information they are given. What results is a tedious mire of trial and error which not only bores the player but takes away from the fantasy of being a clever detective figuring out the mystery by making the player feel as if they cannot possibly work out the solution. This weakness is not a deal breaker since no Somnium ever lasts long enough for this to completely shatter the experience but it does sour an otherwise outstanding visual novel.