AI: The Somnium Files

 Switch
User Score
8.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 603 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 527 out of 603
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 603
  3. Negative: 56 out of 603
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  1. Awkylold
    Jul 25, 2020
    6
    Average.

    This game is not a 10/10. All the positive reviews are just there to balance out the negative reviews.
    I had high hopes for this game after Zero Time Dilemma. But the writing and characters fell short.
  2. Rtheom
    Aug 16, 2020
    7
    I agree with most of the actual reviewers on here. I'm a huge fan of the Zero Escape games. Those were an interesting (if a bit muddled) story broken up by a series of (mostly) interesting mini-puzzle games. AI, however, is much more akin to a visual novel.

    There aren't really "puzzles" in this game and even the few that are there don't make much logical sense, so it's hard to really    I agree with most of the actual reviewers on here. I'm a huge fan of the Zero Escape games. Those were an interesting (if a bit muddled) story broken up by a series of (mostly) interesting mini-puzzle games. AI, however, is much more akin to a visual novel.

    There aren't really "puzzles" in this game and even the few that are there don't make much logical sense, so it's hard to really call them puzzles in the truest sense. You have control over the order you ask questions or the places you visit, but that has absolutely no effect on anything. There are branching paths, but the split points are so obvious as to be silly.

    Story-wise, AI is comparable to ZE, but not nearly as good. It's pretty obvious the writer knew that the two series would be compared, so he tried to differentiate them a bit but also come up with some twists that were mostly telegraphed a little too much. And some of the humor is WAY over the top, which sometimes utterly destroys what should be really serious, emotional or tense moments.

    Overall, if you're a fan of the ZE games, then sure, pick this up, but at a discount. If you haven't played the ZE games yet, just go play those. If you're not a fan of ZE, there's nothing here for you.    … Expand
  3. yusep
    Jan 28, 2020
    7
    It is inferior to the zero escape saga. But still very good. Good story, average gameplay.
    History is pretty much ok at the start but it ramps up at the end where the twist makes it very interesting. Gameplay wise is short, the puzzle sections are mostly try and error and below zero escape saga.
    Recommended.
  4. keatto
    Nov 25, 2022
    7
    Fans of the zero escape series will get sprinkles of the series theyve come to love. Newcomers looking for an interesting take on interactive fiction will find this a great start. A large cast of characters with very detailed backgrounds. Soundtrack is very atmospheric, and voice acting is entertaining. Skipping text and scenes helps the impatient reader progress faster .

    Now psyncing    Fans of the zero escape series will get sprinkles of the series theyve come to love. Newcomers looking for an interesting take on interactive fiction will find this a great start. A large cast of characters with very detailed backgrounds. Soundtrack is very atmospheric, and voice acting is entertaining. Skipping text and scenes helps the impatient reader progress faster .

    Now psyncing is the other half of the game and it's a mixed bag . Part of this process is seemingly random, played by "dream logic". Its really hit or miss but keeps the experience fresh as every dream psync is a glance into another character's mind, like a soft take on psychonauts. Overall I enjoyed the experience and found myself scanning every background item for every nugget of flavored dialogue and humor. Theres even hidden endings if you persist with background options or the games certain points where you can refuse or accept ridiculous conditions. That all said, the 75% mark as you go fillin in the blanks can be confusing keeping track of what has or hasnt happened.about an hour of slugging through that could've been done a bit better by explaining briefly what happened in this path/point in the story. Overall a great game and a must play for fans of zero escape. It's as good as 999 but still not as good as the nonary games (a great start to the series)    … Expand
  5. ulundor
    Nov 16, 2022
    5
    The game story and characters are good, I really learned to like most of them, especially Moma.
    What's not so good in my opinion is the puzzles, pacing and dumb jokes. The game is really good when it's serious, but some parts are so cringy I wanted to just delete the game.
    The puzzles in the somniums are not very intuitive and they are annoying, since they're all within a dream. Also,    The game story and characters are good, I really learned to like most of them, especially Moma.
    What's not so good in my opinion is the puzzles, pacing and dumb jokes. The game is really good when it's serious, but some parts are so cringy I wanted to just delete the game.
    The puzzles in the somniums are not very intuitive and they are annoying, since they're all within a dream. Also, the somnium puzzles are timed, but even if you fail you can just retry as many times as you want, so what is even the point?
    Most of the investigation is just go to all places, click on everything, talk to everyone, and you progress. That's not a detective game, that's a VN. This is not even close to Nonary games or similar.    … Expand
  6. xiekaidream
    Sep 17, 2021
    7
    伊丽丝篇end戛然而止，貌似是打通的第一个AVG？ 有兴趣再玩别的结局， NS版时常掉帧，好在影响不大， 二次元味道很浓，各种恶搞低俗台词，但却不太反感，解谜部分天马行空，不过感觉第一关脑洞最大，后面逐渐不太行，有点虎头蛇尾
  7. junepei
    Oct 22, 2020
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Here's a plain old, honest review. AI:TSF is a good game by all means. It's not trash, and it's not brilliant. The game starts out really interesting but tends to fall flat by not being able to decide whether it's a dark, adult-oriented mystery, or a comedy for high schoolers due to the near constant sexual jokes. The story isn't very emotionally gripping and the characters, for the most part, are annoying as hell, the only one I enjoyed seeing was Mama. Some of the Somniums absolutely suck, with one of them having basically only a SINGLE way to beat it. Getting the true ending is HELL unless you're patient (and it's a letdown anyway), because you need to complete EVERY ROUTE before you can get it which took me roughly 50 hours, and maybe 3 routes at the most were worth it. It IS made by the same guy who made the Zero Escape series, and perhaps if you're not sure if that's for you, give this a shot. 999 alone is already much better, but that's only my opinion. It's still worth a playthrough, just not at full price.… Expand
  8. LTWasabi
    Jun 28, 2021
    7
    FBI Special Agent Sean Archer survives an assassination attempt by freelance terrorist and homicidal sociopath Castor Troy, but the bullet penetrates Archer's chest and strikes his son Michael, killing the boy.

    Six years later, Archer's vendetta against Troy culminates in his team's ambush of Troy and his younger brother and accomplice Pollux at a remote desert airstrip. Troy goads    FBI Special Agent Sean Archer survives an assassination attempt by freelance terrorist and homicidal sociopath Castor Troy, but the bullet penetrates Archer's chest and strikes his son Michael, killing the boy.

    Six years later, Archer's vendetta against Troy culminates in his team's ambush of Troy and his younger brother and accomplice Pollux at a remote desert airstrip. Troy goads Archer with knowledge of a bomb located somewhere in Los Angeles set to go off in a few days, but he is knocked into a coma before Archer can learn more. Pollux, in custody, affirms that the bomb is real, but refuses to reveal its location. At the suggestion of his partner Tito Biondi and Special Ops specialist Hollis Miller, Archer reluctantly secretly undergoes a highly experimental face transplant procedure by Dr. Malcolm Walsh to take on Troy's face, voice, and appearance. Archer is taken to the same high-security prison where Pollux is being held, and slowly convinces Pollux that he is Troy, gaining information on the bomb's location. Meanwhile, Troy unexpectedly awakens from his coma and discovers his face missing. He calls his gang, and they force Dr. Walsh to transplant Archer's face onto him. Troy then kills Dr. Walsh, Biondi, and Miller, the only three who knew of the transplant.

    At the prison, Archer prepares to tell Biondi of the location but is surprised when Troy appears instead, with Archer's face. Troy goads Archer that no one knows of the transplant, and that he will take over Archer's life. Pollux is freed when he willingly tells Troy-as-Archer of the bomb's location, and Troy disarms the bomb in a dramatic fashion. Troy-as-Archer earns admiration from the FBI office and becomes close to Archer's wife Eve and daughter Jamie, whom Archer had been neglecting while chasing down Troy.

    Meanwhile, Archer-as-Troy escapes after staging a riot and retreats to Troy's headquarters posing as Troy. There, he meets Sasha, the sister of Troy's primary drug kingpin, and her son Adam, who reminds Archer of Michael. Archer discovers that Adam is Troy's son. Troy learns of Archer's escape and hastily assembles a team to raid his headquarters. The raid quickly turns into a bloodbath, killing numerous FBI agents and several members of Troy's gang, including Pollux. During this, Archer, Sasha, and Adam are able to escape. Archer's supervisor, Director Victor Lazarro, blames Troy-as-Archer for the numerous slayings. Troy, furious over Pollux's death, kills Lazarro, making it look like a heart attack. Troy-as-Archer is promoted to acting director as plans are made for Lazarro's funeral. Archer finds safety for Sasha and Adam. He then approaches Eve, and convinces her to test Troy-as-Archer's blood to prove his identity. Convinced of her husband's identity, Eve tells Archer that Troy will be vulnerable at Lazarro's funeral.

    At the ceremony, Archer finds that Troy has anticipated his actions and takes Eve hostage. Sasha arrives, and a gunfight ensues; Sasha manages to save Eve after taking a bullet. Archer promises a dying Sasha to take care of Adam and raise him away from criminal life. Troy flees the church with Archer pursuing him. Before killing two more federal agents, Troy briefly takes Jamie hostage, but she escapes by stabbing him with a butterfly knife that Troy had given her for self-defense. A speedboat chase ensues in which Archer forces Troy to shore by collision, then bests Troy in a melee fight. Troy mutilates his own/Archer's face to taunt and distract him, but Archer instead gains the upper hand and impales Troy with a spear gun, killing him. Backup agents arrive and address Archer by name, having been convinced by Eve of Archer's true identity.

    After the face transplant surgery is reversed, Archer returns home, adopting Adam into his family and keeping his promise to Sasha.    … Expand
  9. nahobino5_
    Jun 22, 2021
    6
    A great game overall. Interesting story, good characters. The mechanics are fun. I didn't love it enough to want to replay it though. This is a game that you play once, appreciate it for what it is and that's it. One negative thing, it starts lagging A LOT during video calls. That's a reason why I would recommend playing the PS4 version over this.

Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best Switch Game of 2019
10
#10 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Multiplayer.it
    Oct 25, 2021
    83
    AI: The Somnium Files is another brilliant adventure from Kotaro Uchikoshi, that deepens its narrative structure at the price of loosening a bit of its puzzle design. All in all, it's a compelling interactive story that deserves to be played.
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  2. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Apr 30, 2020
    85
    After a comparatively slow couple of hours at the start, AI: The Somnium Files takes off and never slows down. [Issue #44 – January/February 2020, p. 74]
  3. GamingTrend
    Dec 31, 2019
    90
    With an endearing, violent, and engaging story, AI: The Somnium Files is an adventure game that fans of the visual novel genre should not miss. With a novel puzzle-solving mechanic and impressive voice performances, this game is a dream come true.
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