AI: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative Review: The best detective puzzle game of this year

AI: The Dream Files – Nirvana Initiative is a gripping, time-jumping crime thriller from the minute it begins to its closing moments. Written by Kotaro Uchikoshi, who also wrote the excellent Zero Escape trilogy, Nirvana Initiative is as effective as a unique story as it is as a compelling sequel to the 2019s AI: The Dream Files. It’s a fast-paced visual novel steeped in detective whimsy and full of surprises around every corner.

The game follows two protagonists: returning character Mizuki Okiura and new guy Ryuki Kuruto. They are both special agents for ABIS, the Advanced Brain Investigation Squad. Members of this unit within the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department “psync” with suspects, using a large machine to delve into their subconscious and uncover their secrets.

The game jumps between two different time periods six years apart. When the right half of a corpse is discovered in the earlier timeline, Ryuki and Mizuki are both sent down a bizarre rabbit hole – their search for the other half remains fruitless until six years later, in the present. Mizuki and Ryuki each have AI balls in their left eye sockets named Aiba and Tama, respectively. They are autonomous AI that support investigations with X-ray vision or complex calculations.

Nirvana Initiative is primarily a visual novel in which Ryuki or Mizuki travel to various locations throughout Tokyo to investigate crime scenes. Once at these locations, the player can switch between x-ray and thermal imaging to interact with pieces of evidence. After gathering all the evidence, Ryuki and Mizuki act out the crime while their AI Ball partners comedicly pretend to tape them like a TV show. During these segments, players must correctly select and place evidence within a timeline.

Image: Spike Chunsoft

At certain points, Aiba and Tama delve into “Somnium” dungeons, which are manifestations of a character’s psyche. You’ll learn more about the characters and their backstories by solving Somnium puzzles about their past lives. For example, a selfish lunatic obsessed with genetics (bordering on eugenics) has an entire dungeon dedicated to creating perfect human specimens.

All somniums are extremely creative, even if the story requires going into the same character’s somnium more than once. A special dungeon is called “Kusemon Go” and is an homage to the well-loved Pokémon Go. Its aesthetics and mechanics fit the monster-collecting game too – you have to “catch” some of the main cast and use them to “fight” against gym boss-like NPCs. Even the dungeon’s music sounds like it was composed using the chiptune route songs you’d hear in the main Pokémon games.

Nirvana InitiativeThe script of is full of references to real-world conspiracy theories (the main one being that the world is just a simulation). What makes them fascinating is that they use real scientific theories to explain how the holographic principle and the double slit experiment. In this way, the story is equal parts grounded and far-fetched – an enticing mix of logic and mystery. How the characters justify such outlandish, conspiratorial beliefs is incredibly interesting and makes you wonder if maybe, just maybe, they could be right.

The narrative builds to an overwhelming climax that stands in the way of a revelation that recontextualizes everything that has come before it. I was already glued to the screen and obsessed with finding out the motives and identity of the killer behind the half-body murders – but the twist in the plot caused me to change the way I interpreted future events. In the last act of the game, I was almost certain that another curveball was coming my way. I won’t reveal if that was the case.

Image: Spike Chunsoft

That helps too Nirvana Initiativee’s cast of characters is delightful. As a newcomer to the task force, Ryuki wants nothing more than to impress his superiors. He is in stark contrast to the first game’s protagonist, Kaname Date. Date perversity eliminated some playersas it sometimes clashed with the game’s darker moments.

Ryuki is much more tame, but he is surrounded by an air of mystery. Throughout the game, his dialogue makes you feel like something is wrong with him. To compensate for Ryuki’s reluctance, Tama, his luscious AI ball, often makes sex jokes. Whereas AI: The Dream Files‘ frequent use of innuendos could throw off tense scenes, Nirvana Initiative is wiser when it’s displaying its comic relief. It knows when to resort to recklessness and when to let its gruesome murders advance the plot. In the first game, Mizuki was incredibly defiant of authority, and I’m glad they brought her rebellious personality even more into play Nirvana Initiative. Her lines are sarcastic and funny, often balancing out Ryuki’s more literal attitude.

Finally, all of the dialogue, whether in its somber moments or lighthearted bits, is supported by the fantastic English voice acting by Corina Boettger and Erika Harlacher, who reprise their roles as Mizuki and Aiba. Newcomers Stephen Fu and Anairis Quiñones also do a fantastic job as Ryuki and Tama.

Image: Spike Chunsoft

Regarding the structure, Nirvana Initiative is extremely linear and therefore restrictive. In the first game and in the Zero Escape series, Uchikoshi and his teams provided compelling narrative flowcharts. Nirvana InitiativeThe flowchart of doesn’t have that many opportunities to explore events on your own terms. Instead, you’re almost exclusively made to play Ryuki’s part of the story first, and then Mizuki’s. All in all, it’s a tailored storyline, and it might feel more manageable for players new to Uchikoshi’s scripts – but I found I missed that overwhelming web of story paths to roam.

Another minor gripe is that load times can be unusually long, even when playing the PlayStation 4 version on PlayStation 5 via backwards compatibility. The main menu is also a bit unresponsive as it takes a few clicks before I can reach the save game button. But none of these issues detracted from my overall experience, and I didn’t encounter any crashes or anything groundbreaking.

AI: The Dream Files – Nirvana Initiative offers an engaging story, along with some great plot twists that caught me completely off guard. His investigations are intriguing, and his Somnium dungeons are both colorful and dark. Nirvana Initiative is an incredibly eccentric game brimming with lively characters, mind-bending puzzles, and a plethora of weird sci-fi detours. And once it gets going, it doesn’t let up. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I love it.

AI: The Dream Files – Nirvana Initiative was released on June 24th on Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch. The game has been verified on PS5 using a PS4 pre-release download code provided by Spike Chunsoft. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not affect editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions on products purchased through affiliate links. You can find For more information on Polygon’s Ethics Policy, click here.