AI The Somnium Files: Nirvana Initiative Review
“Taking murder mysteries to the Pachaka-MAX…” Written by: Hunter (ReaperHunter23)
AI: Somnium Files: Nirvana Initiative was first revealed in June of 2021. I find the first AI: Somnium Files to be one of the best mystery video games I’ve ever played so I was rather excited by this announcement. The short teaser showed that fan favorite Mizuki would be in the leading role this time around. Spike Chunsoft would go on to reveal more details as time went on such as the expanded cast and the fact that there would be two main characters among other odd ends. I was already sold from the beginning though so I did my best to go in knowing as little as possible. So let's take a look to see if the Nirvana Initiative was able to deliver on the kind of wild experience I was hoping for.
Image Credit: SpikeChunsoft
In a broad sense it would be reasonable to say that Nirvana Initiative has two main kinds of gameplay sections. One being the investigation segments, where you are going from place to place talking to people and examining environments for clues. And the other being the Somnium exploration where the player traverses the dreams of key characters to gather info that they can’t or won’t disclose under normal circumstances. There is also the occasional quick time event action sequence.
In general I think the gameplay is a health improvement from the first game. As far as the investigation sections go, one of the major additions they added to break up any potential monotony was the VR Reenactments. These segments involve you examining a given crime scene and retracing the steps of the culprit to figure out how the crime scene ended up in the state its in, usually leading to an “Aha” moment at the end to point you where to go next. Having a larger variety of environments to look around in also helped to prevent the general investigation segments from getting stale.
The Somniums also received a pretty major improvement as well. In the first game a lot of the time the wacky dream logic felt like it led to a lot of trial and error where I would just be picking the options with the lower time penalties in hopes that they would be the correct answer. Nirvana Initiative does a better job of establishing the internal logic of any given Somnium. As you examine things around a Somnium, you are given what are called Keys, which essentially gradually uncover hints to what the rules of the Somnium are.
I felt like this was a good compromise. The Somniums still maintain their trippy dreamlike nature while being substantially less tedious to traverse once you figure out what the rules are.
Image Credit: SpikeChunsoft
The story of Nirvana Initiative centers around solving what is called the Half Body serial killings. Much like the victims of this case, the story is split into two different sections. The past: which is just a few months after the end of the first game. This part of the story follows Kuruto Ryuki, a rookie investigator at Abis, and his initial investigation of the half-body killings. The other part of the game takes place six years later and follows Mizuki, a returning favorite from the first game as she investigates the case after the second half of the first victim is found.
I won’t go into anymore specifics but I do think the game did a good job at upping the ante from the first game and managed to avoid repeating any of the same tricks and twists that were present the first time around. The cast of this game is a delight. Returning favorites like the previously mentioned Mizuki, Aiba, and Boss are all present. And the new characters such as Ryuki, Kizuna, and Komeji are all great as well.
The way the game handles the two leading characters is done pretty well. Ryuki for the most part is a pretty straightforward, justice seeking moral compass kind of character. He does have his share of quirks that the game explores which keeps him from seeming bland. And Mizuki is a hot blooded and snarky as she was in the first game, if not more so since she seems to have gained a massive confidence boost as she got older.
Their respective dynamics with their AI companions are also unique from each other. With Mizuki and Aiba seeming more like bantering school friends and Ryuki and Tama seeming like an odd married couple at many points. So while it doesn’t affect the gameplay in anyway, the two of them being different personality wise does make it a refreshing change of pace when the perspective changes.
The way the story handles the rest of the cast is also handled pretty well. I think that the game does a good job at making each member of the core cast seem like they are relevant to the story throughout the entire game. The first game had this issue where once you started going down the route that focused on a specific character, the other cast members seemed to just kind of fade into the background. I don’t feel like that’s the case in Nirvana Initiative. The characters' moments to shine get to come at a more consistent rate and in a way that feels overall more cohesive.
Image Credit: SpikeChunsoft
Nirvana Initiative nails the Futuristic Noir setting it shoots for. It does a really good job of blending the surreal with other aspects that are played relatively straight. For example seeing characters that seem rather normal like Kizuna or Ryuki interact with characters like Komeji or Gen somehow doesn’t seem bizarre at all.
The music is a major contributor to how the game curates its atmosphere as well. I didn’t think that they were going to be able to match the title theme from the first game but as it turns out the main theme of Nirvana Initiative is just as good if not better. On top of that they have songs for seemingly every occasion. The music for the action sequences is an outright jam. The theme that plays in Tokiko’s office does a great job at getting the point of her character across and some of the Somnium themes are going to be sticking with me for awhile.
As with the first game, the voice acting in Nirvana initiative is top notch. Obviously returning characters like Mizuki, Aiba, and Boss all have equally great performances backing them up. But I think there were two stand outs to me. The first being : Brent Mukai as Andes who did a great job at portraying him as a very down on his luck guy who was just trying his best. You really feel the internal conflict that Komeji grapples with when he’s in focus. The second standout to me was: Laura Post as Tokiko Shigure: For a character who is stoic for most of the time that you interact with her. I feel like the performance did a great job at portraying the madness that lurks underneath the surface.
Image Credit: SpikeChunsoft
Summary
AI: Somnium Files Nirvana Initiative is a must play for anyone who is a fan of narrative mystery games. It is one of the best the genre has to offer. The gameplay meshes better this time around, the charming cast made the world fun to interact with, and the exceptional mystery writing had a number of twists and turns that kept me engaged the entire time I was playing.