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AI: The Somnium Files now has a demo on PS4/Switch!
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Don't sleep on this one folks! You would be depriving yourself of a great game that's going to fly under many radars.
I finished Iris's route and for now... I'm surprised that there are a lot of things I don't like about this game.
OP
OP
I checked to make sure, but they haven't mentioned that anywhere :/ Judging by what point in the game it's at, you can skip through all the scenes and probably get there within ~10 minutes or so if it doesn't.
It's the first investigation and somnium, so presumably the first hour or so of the game. It plays out in a vaguely Ace Attorney-ish way for the investigation stuff, and then a bizarro interactive logic puzzle sort of thing for the somnium (where you dive into another persons mind for info).
Really great game filled with fun characters. Not perfect by any means, and the more you think about it the more disappointed you might get at the end. I kinda, sorta waffled on buying it before the pre-purchase discount and a bunch of free time and a want to play something weird combined with glowing review period praise got me to get it. I was glad I did.
Top notch English dub as well for those that are interested in that sort of thing. One of my favorites of any VN or adventure game.
Top notch English dub as well for those that are interested in that sort of thing. One of my favorites of any VN or adventure game.
BUY/SUPPORT THIS GAME!
It's legitimately one of the greatest videogame experiences I've ever had. I can't stop thinking about it since I finished it.
It's got an amazing cast of loveable characters, such good music, some of the greatest English voice acting ever heard, and of course, a clever, consistently engaging, extremely moving, mind blowing story.
Considering just how truly deep/connected and complex the story is, the way everything comes together and makes sense in the end is insane! This is right up there with 999 and Virtue's Last Reward people!
It's legitimately one of the greatest videogame experiences I've ever had. I can't stop thinking about it since I finished it.
It's got an amazing cast of loveable characters, such good music, some of the greatest English voice acting ever heard, and of course, a clever, consistently engaging, extremely moving, mind blowing story.
Considering just how truly deep/connected and complex the story is, the way everything comes together and makes sense in the end is insane! This is right up there with 999 and Virtue's Last Reward people!
Hate to do this, but gotta offer a counterpoint here.
I was deeply disappointed by this game, despite loving 999 and VLR, and even thinking ZTD wasn't that bad. The Somnium, the only vestige of gameplay in the title, are nonsense trial-and-error snore-fests that deeply test your patience. And while the overall plot has its moments and there are some well-written characters, there's so much cringe-y juvenile bullshit that it undercuts dramatic stakes throughout most of the game.
If you haven't played 999, VLR, Ghost Trick, Ever 17, Danganronpa, or the Ace Attorney series....go there first. This game costs *SIXTY DOLLARS*.
I was deeply disappointed by this game, despite loving 999 and VLR, and even thinking ZTD wasn't that bad. The Somnium, the only vestige of gameplay in the title, are nonsense trial-and-error snore-fests that deeply test your patience. And while the overall plot has its moments and there are some well-written characters, there's so much cringe-y juvenile bullshit that it undercuts dramatic stakes throughout most of the game.
If you haven't played 999, VLR, Ghost Trick, Ever 17, Danganronpa, or the Ace Attorney series....go there first. This game costs *SIXTY DOLLARS*.
I guess I'll try out the demo eventually. Some of the screencaps I've seen seem absolutely dreadful in terms of cringe-y weeaboo jokes, and I say this as someone who watches a decent amount of anime. I didn't really care for the script/prose of 999, either. I also think 428 is a lousy game. Ace Attorney remains the only visual novel series that I've truly enjoyed.
I had a grin on my face playing this from beginning to the finish. Only complaints would be the frustrating trial and error Somniums and overused juvenile. You will hear the same dick and boob jokes over and over again but when they make a good joke or reference you might bust out in laughter because of the great delivery of the voice actors. Just a warning but this game takes itself way less serious than the Zero Escape games, almost to it's detriment because it hurts the serious drama they are also trying to tell. Even so, I would say this is probably my GOTY so far.
I never feel comfortable coming into topics like this with contrary takes lol, but yea, it'd probably help some people to know that some of us really didn't like it. The narrative itself is pretty good imo and certainly a step up from ZTD but you really need a high tolerance for wacky anime/pervy hijinks. It can get pretty obnoxious at points.
iirc that stuff really isn't front and centre in the opening hours of the game so the demo likely isn't completely reflective of the type of experience you're in for (though it is as far as the gameplay dynamic is concerned if that's what you care about). Just be wary of the sort of content and tone you're in for with this, clearly with how well received it is it isn't a downside for too many but imo it's still worth mentioning because if you don't take to it it really is kind of game ruining.
I was actually thinking of 428 when I made my post lol, which suffers much of the same problems to a lesser degree, that one feels very "J-Drama" in its silliness and writing which brought it down, Somnium is the same way in how "anime" it is. You probably wouldn't like it.
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Seems a lot of people slept on this game and it's too bad.... because it is probably going to be my GOTY..
The first hour completely turn me off from this game and I am someone who even enjoyed Zero time dilemma
Honestly it should have included the first two days. The first day isn't indicative of the quality of the game, neither the somnium segment is interesting.
I would totally buy this game, but it's 84 bucks on the eShop and I can't find it anywhere physically on websites.
It has jaggies and framerate tank sometimes. But honestly who cares, it's a visual novel...
Personnally I love it, the story gets better the more you drown into it, somnium parts are meh (not fan of the time limits, and often the things to do aren't really logical, as it's a dream, but it results in many trials and error and Let's begin again).
But the story is really worth it, I strongly recommend this game to any person interested in the genre.
Myeah, the aesthetics look quite good and I think they matter.
This is where I'm at. It's definitely not Uchikoshi's best game, by a long shot. It's still good but my god does it have so much silliness in it (and hey I enjoy humour and all but the tone is all over the place). Still need to finish it but my general assessment so far is that it is a good game but rather disappointing in some areas with regards to the writing. Doesn't help that I am finding practically none of the humour...funny, like, at all. And the central plotline seems kind of...weak? Like it can't make its mind up what kind of mystery storyline it's going for, just seems so wishy washy and underbaked.
It's just a mish mash with no real direction and the characters are just okay? I generally like the main characters but the side characters are really meh and forgettable so far. It feels like every other line of dialogue is a sexual innuendo. The "puzzle rooms" are also incredibly easy, some are aesthetically interesting but the gameplay is far more basic than the Zero Escape series and there's far less tension in the actions/choices.
It's definitely fighting between this and Zero Time Dilemma which is my least favourite Uchikoshi game so far. Maybe the true ending will steer things?!
Character models are nice, but don't expect a beautiful game. Environments are quite empty and geometry is really simple.
The story is what matters. Voice acting is good, music too.
But some action scenes are a technical mess, with bad direction and awful pacing.
Still an awesome game though.
This is my #GOTY (check my avatar for the BEST character <3). After I finished it several weeks ago and I still think constantly about it.
I really hope it finds success - it deserves it, and I'd love to see a follow up title exploring these characters more.
I really hope it finds success - it deserves it, and I'd love to see a follow up title exploring these characters more.
This is neat. There are too many Switch games I want this Fall/Winter that this game got pushed off my list. Trying the demo might change my mind.
I really hope it finds success too.
I haven't cared about how a game sells in a long time, but like you said, this game deserves it for so many reasons!
Was excited about it but man this is one of the worst demos I've ever played. It is ridiculously short, badly edited (they removed some scenes between the investigation portion and the somnium section, right? Because if it's like that in the game, oof).
I was debating between getting this and Control this Xmas, since I absolutely love Uchikoshi's stuff but the demo completely turned me away from Somnium Files.
I was debating between getting this and Control this Xmas, since I absolutely love Uchikoshi's stuff but the demo completely turned me away from Somnium Files.
True ending's really good. IMO more satisfying than any of the Zero Escape games.
Regarding the common criticisms of the game being too silly and the somnium sections being too easy, honestly I think those are more a matter of expectations.
I was initially offput by the incredibly dumb action sequences too, but I learned to accept them eventually. The game certainly doesn't make it easy to suspend your disbelief, but I think that's partially by design. And sense of humor depending, you might actually find yourself enjoying the absurdity of them by the end... I know I did. Though I also found all the dumb dad jokes and innuendo to be hilarious, so YMMV.
Regarding the somniums, if you go into 'em expecting them to basically be Zero Escape-style escape rooms but just with a surreal dream logic angle to 'em, yeah you're gonna be disappointed. They're all pretty easy, and ultimately boil down to trial and error. Picking up on the dream logic can sometimes aid in reducing error, but it's not required since you are rarely overwhelmed with options and they're all clearly spelled out for you. Their appeal is just fundamentally different.... they're more setpiece than puzzle. And judging them as setpieces, personally I thought they were all pretty great.
Played the Switch demo and while it's serviceable, lack of touch screen support and abundance of jaggies make this a definitive PS4 purchase for me. Now I just gotta try the PS4 demo to see how much better it runs.
Also, what the fuck with that font for conversations? Why would they do that?
Also, what the fuck with that font for conversations? Why would they do that?
Great game. Definitely a bit sillier than the zero escape games but it has some great moments and some wonderful characters. Liked it way more than ZTD. Hope the game is selling decently as I'd be interested in a follow up someday.
It does? I read it didn't and I played the Switch demo on docked mode, so I didn't notice lol. Guess it's time to fire up that demo once more, this time in handheld mode.