AI: The Somnium Files

AI: The Somnium Files is a 2019 adventure game with visual novel elements, developed and published by Spike Chunsoft. The story takes place in a near-future Tokyo and follows detective Kaname Date, who investigates a series of murders by diving into the memories of suspects. Gameplay alternates between first-person investigation segments and third-person exploration of dream worlds called Somnia. The plot branches based on player choices, leading to multiple endings, and players must complete all routes to fully understand the mystery. A flowchart allows skipping directly to different chapters after finishing a route.

The game was written and directed by Kotaro Uchikoshi, known for the Zero Escape series. Unlike his earlier work, Uchikoshi aimed for a broader audience, simplifying gameplay, reducing dialogue, and hiring manga artist Yūsuke Kozaki as lead character designer. First teased in 2017 under the working title Project: Psync, it was formally announced at the 2018 Anime Expo. It launched for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Windows in September 2019, with an Xbox One version following in September 2021.

AI: The Somnium Files received positive reviews, praised for its story, art direction, and characters, though some criticized its tone and trial-and-error puzzle mechanics. A sequel, AI: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative, came out in 2022.

In the investigation sections, players view the world from a first-person perspective, using a cursor to interact with the environment like a point-and-click game. Date’s AI assistant, Aiba, lives in his cybernetic left eye and helps analyze crime scenes, access databases, and take calls. Aiba also provides enhanced vision modes like magnification, X-ray, and thermography. Players gather information by questioning non-player characters in a visual novel style, and during action sequences, quick time events may appear for evading danger or scripted fights.

Somnium exploration is third-person. Date uses the Psync Machine to enter the dreams of subjects who withhold information. Inside a Somnium, Aiba takes a humanoid form as Date’s avatar. Players control Aiba, solving puzzles by examining objects and choosing actions. Each interaction subtracts time from a six-minute limit. Finding the correct sequence of objects opens a Mental Lock, allowing deeper access into the subject’s subconscious.