AI: The Somnium Files

 PC
User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 205 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 179 out of 205
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 205
  3. Negative: 21 out of 205

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. TianLong1
    Mar 31, 2023
    10
    Great detective story with an event tree which reminds me of the Zero Escape : Nonary games since you are living every branching possibility in the story in order to find out the truth behind the mysterious murders. The characters, dialogue and voice acting are great, the story is engaging and makes you want to get to the bottom of it. This game strikes a perfect balance between thriller,Great detective story with an event tree which reminds me of the Zero Escape : Nonary games since you are living every branching possibility in the story in order to find out the truth behind the mysterious murders. The characters, dialogue and voice acting are great, the story is engaging and makes you want to get to the bottom of it. This game strikes a perfect balance between thriller, drama and comedy.… Expand
  2. SplitMind
    Aug 27, 2022
    5
    Far too repetitive, Metacritic won't let me give full reviews for some reason.
  3. 7megumin7
    Aug 15, 2022
    8
    This is not really a review of the whole game but rather a rant about what this game calls the true route and how it treats one of the characters on said route.

    Upon finishing the game I already had mixed thoughts on it, but after knowing that you play with Mizuki on the sequel, it got worse. I think that between all possible branches, the Mizuki END is easy the best one for a lot of    This is not really a review of the whole game but rather a rant about what this game calls the true route and how it treats one of the characters on said route.

    Upon finishing the game I already had mixed thoughts on it, but after knowing that you play with Mizuki on the sequel, it got worse. I think that between all possible branches, the Mizuki END is easy the best one for a lot of reasons, but mostly about how Date really takes up the role of a parental figure and how his and Mizuki dynamic develop. Now, it's not like I didn't enjoy the true route, on the contrary, Iris and Hitomi, which are arguably the focus of the route are really interesting characters and I had a blast with the plot twist and the way this game slowly fed me information, bonus points for the annihilator route. My real grip with the revelation route being the true one is that in this branch Mizuki is neglected through all the 6 days, as is stated by most characters, the amazing Somnium she did to wake Date never happened and they basically didn't bond, also the game never really acknowledges that her dad who supposedly was just hiding in the last few days, is now dead. We instead get a epilogue where Date can't event commit to his promise of eating stew with Mizuki and they seem to have a deteriorating relationship.

    Again, my only problem with this route is that it's the "canon" end, I really liked the plot twist of Date being Iris "uncle" and how they met again. It's just wild that you play as Mizuki in the sequel even though if they had made a mix of revelation and Mizuki's, you would have a way stronger relationship formed.    … Expand
  4. Antohadance
    Jul 7, 2022
    9
    Детективная визуальная новелла с отличным сюжетом, справедливыми по отношению к игроку загадками и интересным геймплеем
  5. RevUBrah
    Apr 15, 2022
    9
    The tone's all over the place and it feels more like Zero Escape 4 than its own thing, but the writing and characters are fantastic. It's no Disco Elysium but if not for 999 it'd be Spike Chunsoft's best mystery game so far.
  6. Zer0TheHer0
    Oct 10, 2021
    0
    You can't change the keyboard binding. Are you kidding me? This is unacceptable.
  7. LorDofLegEnd
    Jul 7, 2021
    10
    My eyes have been opened........

    It was beautiful. They nailed it. I have recently played a lot of visual novels but never finished one because the dialogues aren't than fun to read and half way through I lost interest in the story( except for ace attorney its the best thing humanity ever achieved) but this was great I have played all the routes and unlock all endings it was worth it.    My eyes have been opened........

    It was beautiful. They nailed it. I have recently played a lot of visual novels but never finished one because the dialogues aren't than fun to read and half way through I lost interest in the story( except for ace attorney its the best thing humanity ever achieved) but this was great I have played all the routes and unlock all endings it was worth it. The gameplay was fun too. The somniums were enjoyable. I was playing this while they announced the sequel. I am excited for it    … Expand
  8. aditya1101
    Jul 16, 2020
    7
    At its core, I really enjoyed this game - the main mystery was compelling and satisfying, and i really liked the pacing of the story. However, there were a bunch of aspects of the gameplay that were annoying, and my game kept on crashing during certain parts. There were also quite a few deus ex machinas and plot holes, but they were mostly easy to ignore because the main mystery wasAt its core, I really enjoyed this game - the main mystery was compelling and satisfying, and i really liked the pacing of the story. However, there were a bunch of aspects of the gameplay that were annoying, and my game kept on crashing during certain parts. There were also quite a few deus ex machinas and plot holes, but they were mostly easy to ignore because the main mystery was wrapped up in a satisfying way.… Expand
  9. Sympfuhni
    May 12, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. AI: The Somnium Files is a great game all around that is kind of similar to the Danganronpa and Zero Escape series. All of them feature dark themes such as murder and gore but also have some hilarious moments in-between.
    Firstly, the graphics are absolutely amazing. Throughout the game, I could not help but admire the graphics, the animation was really well done. Nothing much to say there.
    Although the soundtrack didn't leave as deep an impression such as the ones from the Danganronpa series, I think they were pretty good as well.
    As for the story, it might seem extremely confusing at first but ties up all the loose ends really nicely at the end. However, the idea of parallel worlds and getting information from these parallel worlds seemed a bit... familiar. Not sure if this was intended as a nod towards AI: The Somnium FIles being in the same universe as the Zero Escape series but it was a bit disappointing. There were also times where a little girl with a pipe could run into 20+ armed men and not get shot once, which honestly kind of bothered me. However, that aside I loved everything else about the story.
    As for the gameplay, I must admit I was slightly disappointed when most of the challenges weren't really challenges at all, it was so easy the QTE got boring pretty quickly. As for the Psychin' the only real downside would be that in some Psyncs, you really can't tell what you need to do and it really just becomes a guessing game. So if you loved the puzzles from the Zero Escape series, you might be a little disappointed with this part.
    Next, the controls. I found it extremely weird that the keys to move the camera angle was on the arrow keys. If a player were to use the mouse and the arrow keys to navigate it would feel quite uncomfortable. Of course this would not be a problem if it were possible to configure these settings. I for one would really like the movements keys to be on WASD instead.
    Finally, the game ran smoothly the whole time and I never encountered any glitches or bugs.
    An overall great game even if you factor in the small little annoyances.    … Expand
  10. Jrson
    May 5, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is basically a visual novel. There is some interactive elements to this game like the puzzles in this game. The puzzles felt more like guessing rather than actual puzzles And the amount of dancing in this game is kind of awkward. Otherwise, this is a very enjoyable narrative keeping you engaged as it leads you towards the true ending of the game. The protagonist of the game Date, is one of the best visual novel protagonists out there and the supporting cast is pretty good. Some people may find some of the characters in this game to be unlikable. What happened to Aiba at the end of the game is a hit or miss depending on whether you liked her.… Expand
  11. Smeshy
    Feb 17, 2020
    10
    Just a great visual interactive novel mystery game all around with fun 3rd person escape the room puzzle types of portions in the game. Definitely recommend.
  12. Agnabright
    Feb 17, 2020
    10
    The absolute best characters I have ever seen in a video game along with the greatest story. Not too much gameplay in it, but it completely makes up for it.
  13. Jelal
    Feb 16, 2020
    10
    I'm honestly grateful I can express my rating of this game numerically because it was such an insane ride; I really can't gather my thoughts on this title to express in a formal review. Speechless. 10/10
  14. UberDad
    Feb 16, 2020
    10
    Great game, amazing voice acting, and an absolutely crazy story. I thoroughly enjoyed this game.
  15. SuperJotaro
    Feb 16, 2020
    10
    Here after a YongYea video pointed out the review bombing to me. I know it's been fixed, but I thought it prudent to give it a proper rating to help prevent asshats like Krvavi doing it as easily in future.

    Seriously bro, go back to retweeting anime ass like your discord handle suggests.
  16. Reaver_Daemon
    Feb 16, 2020
    10
    Here to support my **** Uchikoshi. **** these busta ass review bombing Ballas mutha****as.
  17. Nigel_Thornbery
    Feb 16, 2020
    10
    This game is simply smashing! And A-Set, what a woman! This game made me abandon my globe trotting adventures and become something more.
  18. Clairesse
    Feb 16, 2020
    10
    Must play for fans of story driven games or the mystery or psych thriller genres.
  19. cardgrey
    Feb 16, 2020
    0
    this game is a waste of money and lackluster at best. i don't even know were to start when tearing apart the creators crack induced dream of a game. i do wanna say if you like this sort of thing that's fine enjoy not hate bashing on fans as everyone has likes and dislikes. that said the crashing of it is unacceptable.
    as some people have said it needs a i7 and that that's the main cause    this game is a waste of money and lackluster at best. i don't even know were to start when tearing apart the creators crack induced dream of a game. i do wanna say if you like this sort of thing that's fine enjoy not hate bashing on fans as everyone has likes and dislikes. that said the crashing of it is unacceptable.
    as some people have said it needs a i7 and that that's the main cause well here's mine
    i have a intel core i9-9900kcpu@3.60ghz 32gb of ram and a nvidia 2080 super =p you telling me its my system requirements???    … Expand
  20. lazycomplife
    Feb 13, 2020
    10
    Wonderful story with great writing & excellent characters. Kotaro Uchikoshi is the best video game writer, hands down.
  21. maisofia
    Feb 12, 2020
    10
    The game is very character-focused, plot-heavy and it’s your familiar Kotaro Uchikoshi style gameplay which still shows you it’s own uniqueness!
  22. PrinceWulf
    Feb 11, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. How often do you see a visual novel with all characters constantly moving, expressions changing on a whim and (outside of inner thoughts) full voice acting even during exploration. Not to mention every character in game feels legetiment, thus making the story 10 times more engaging. Outside of few moments which were meant to be silly, this is 10/10 for sure.… Expand
  23. worm4real
    Feb 11, 2020
    5
    While it's true this game got unfairly review bombed the PC version should be lower than the other version. Not only does it have a bunch of crashing issues during the Somnium segments (the main gameplay aspect of the game) it also has ridiculous minimum requirements of needing an i7 processor, which the tech support is using as an excuse for the crashing.

    Beside the bugs the game is a    While it's true this game got unfairly review bombed the PC version should be lower than the other version. Not only does it have a bunch of crashing issues during the Somnium segments (the main gameplay aspect of the game) it also has ridiculous minimum requirements of needing an i7 processor, which the tech support is using as an excuse for the crashing.

    Beside the bugs the game is a pretty good visual novel and the little Somnium adventure segments are cute and fun to play through, However I'd definitely say you should avoid this on PC because it's been out for months and still has a crashing issue.    … Expand
  24. Georgesors
    Feb 11, 2020
    10
    Incredible game, your doing yourself a deserves if you miss out. If you enjoy ace attorney and dangonronpa
  25. decksid4
    Feb 11, 2020
    10
    Absolute favorite. Charming, engaging, visually and thematically interesting, with a great cast and story.
  26. JoueurCitoyen
    Feb 11, 2020
    10
    Thank you Mr. Uchikoshi! I subscribed to Metacritic to share nice words about your games. AI is incredible, it's beautiful, well-written and surprising too. Cheers!
  27. taterboi
    Feb 11, 2020
    10
    Play this and the zero escape series. Ignore the negative reviews, this game got review-bombed for some reason I don't know of
  28. Eightgutter
    Feb 11, 2020
    10
    Really great game, if you liked the Zero Escape Trilogy you'll like this game as well.
  29. WeedleSenpai
    Feb 11, 2020
    10
    Easily the best game released in 2019, if not the best game released in the past few years. An excellent find for any fans of the visual novel detective mystery genre. From the mind of the man who brought us the Zero Escape series, fans will see welcome returning elements such as the timeline flowchart, however it does depart from the zero escape formula at times, with pleasing results.Easily the best game released in 2019, if not the best game released in the past few years. An excellent find for any fans of the visual novel detective mystery genre. From the mind of the man who brought us the Zero Escape series, fans will see welcome returning elements such as the timeline flowchart, however it does depart from the zero escape formula at times, with pleasing results. This game is a lot more emotionally charged than zero escape titles ever were, focusing a lot on comedic dialogue, paralleled with some deep and often heart wrenching character development moments. Make no mistake, while this game does seem to focus on emotional impact there is no shortage of clever twists and turns in the narrative, as one would expect from the genre… Expand
  30. ParkerDk
    Feb 11, 2020
    10
    So good game.It's better than Zero Escape 999.And the The quality of the game performance has improved a lot.And a set is so sweet Ai that I love her.
prev
Page:

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
tbd

No score yet - based on 1 Critic Review

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Adventure Gamers
    Jan 28, 2022
    70
    Though its gameplay strains a bit under the weight of some cumbersome design decisions, Spike Chunsoft’s AI: The Somnium Files nonetheless succeeds in crafting a worthy spiritual successor to the Nonary Games, putting its own compelling spin on the visual novel-styled mystery thriller.
    Read full review