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AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative New Somnium Elements and Characters Revealed

Spike Chunsoft, Inc. today introduced new Somnium gameplay elements and three additional characters who will appear in the upcoming AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative. The sequel to the 2019 hit adventure game arrives on Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®4, Xbox One, Windows 10, and Steam® on June 24, 2022, in North America and July 8, 2022, in Europe and Oceania.

A Closer Look at Somnium: Searching for Clues in the Dream World
The game system consists of "Investigation" and "Somnium". The "Investigation" part takes place in the real world. Here players will examine crime scenes and listen to testimonies. In the "Somnium" part, players enter the dream worlds of suspects and key witnesses.

During a Somnium, players have a limited amount of time to search for the truth deep in the subject's memories. Aiba and Tama appear in human form and assist their agents by exploring the dream world and uncovering new clues.



At ABIS headquarters an Agent or “Psyncer” uses the Psync machine to enter a witness’s dream world. The device can only be used by Agents with the ability to adapt to the dream world.

A Somnium is uniquely based on the memories of the Psync subject, so each dream landscape is completely different. The sequel introduces new underwater and aerial Somnia, allowing players to experience more varied worlds. Somnia are comprised of multiple levels, and "mental locks" that must be unlocked in order to advance to the next level. Depending on the Somnium, there are multiple ways to remove mental locks, so the story may diverge depending on what method was used.


To remove a mental lock, players must examine and act on various objects, but every action consumes its own set amount of time. With only six minutes to complete a Somnium, players must take into account the remaining time and choose each action carefully. While taking action time flows at a normal speed. Remaining stationary causes time to pass more slowly.


Somnium "Keys" and "Conscious Antibodies"

Keys

In a Somnium, common sense and laws of the real world do not apply, but there are "Keys," or rules based on the Psync subject's consciousness and memories. Once Keys are revealed, it becomes easier to narrow down the actions and choices to be taken in that Somnium. Initially, most of the Keys are hidden, but as you explore and begin to understand the Somnium, Keys will be revealed.




Conscious Antibodies
A Conscious Antibody is the alertness of the Psync subject embodied in the Somnium. Conscious Antibodies block access to important information and, when touched, greatly reduce the amount of time one can safely remain in a Somnium.


If a Conscious Antibody is blocking the way, find a way to eliminate it and move on..
New Characters: Introducing the Masked Restaurant Owner

Gen

VA: SungWon Cho
Japanese VA: Yasumichi Kushida

Owner of Brahman World Cuisine
He runs a restaurant called Brahman in Golden Yokocho. Always wears a mask for some reason. His cooking is excellent. The restaurant is frequented by members of ABIS.




Amame
VA: Faye Mata
Japanese VA: Risa Kubota

Made Cafe Maid
A Sekiba High Senior and "Mermaid" at Sunfish Pocket. She has a sharp tongue, but is never really malicious. She's in the school dance club with Iris and Kizuna. A regular at Brahman and close with Gen.




Shoma
VA: Greg Vinciguerra
Japanese VA: Hiromi Igarashi

6th Grader
Komeji’s son. His parents are divorced. He lives with his poor comedian dad, but despises him. In the same grade as Mizuki, but doesn't seem to have much contact with her.




About AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative
Six years ago, the right half of a corpse was discovered. The left half was never found…until six years later, completely fresh with no signs of decay. Now, Special Agents Mizuki and Ryuki, along with their AI partners Aiba and Tama, are tasked to solve the bizarre Half Body serial killings while unveiling the mysterious plot known only as the Nirvana Initiative…

AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative will be available for Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®4, Xbox One, Windows 10, and Steam® on June 24, 2022, in North America and July 8, 2022 in Europe and Oceania.

Players can pre-order AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative now. For details visit: https://www.spike-chunsoft.co.jp/ai-nirvana/en/

Physical versions published in European regions by Numskull Games.

Spike Chunsoft has dropped some new details and screenshots for the fast approaching AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative (less than a month to go!) New characters are introduced and there's two big details concerning the Somnium sections. A new "Keys" system which seems to be a way to give more context to your actions in Somnium, no doubt a response to criticisms of the first game's puzzles being too trial-and-error based. Also the first actual look at "conscious antibodies," a new element of Somnium that drains your time drastically if you're not careful.

Personally, my ideal would be that the story is simply told in such a way that it's feasible to understand the Somnium logic by paying close enough attention. I stand by the opinion that a good number of Somniums from the first game worked for that very reason. But at the end of the day this new Keys system will likely improve the Somnium parts overall, and I'm sure most people will appreciate the inclusion.
 
Would be prefect as VR game. Small areas with dens detail. Exploration based gameplay. Imagine the Batman VR game.
You may want to check out this upcoming game if you havent heard of it:


It's a Japanese mystery adventure game like AI (or maybe a bit closer to Ace Attorney gameplay wise) about a city where crime has been wiped out due to new technology the preempts criminal inclinations in people's dreams. Despite this, the inventor of the new technology is murdered so you have to investigate the case, and prove your reasoning in a battle of wits against the city planning A.I.

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It's coming out episodically on PC with VR this summer and there's a non-VR version for Switch coming out in the winter.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
You may want to check out this upcoming game if you havent heard of it:


It's a Japanese mystery adventure game like AI (or maybe a bit closer to Ace Attorney gameplay wise) about a city where crime has been wiped out due to new technology the preempts criminal inclinations in people's dreams. Despite this, the inventor of the new technology is murdered so you have to investigate the case, and prove your reasoning in a battle of wits against the city planning A.I.

FR36OUIXMAAg5I4
FR36OUyWYAA_Cj6


It's coming out episodically on PC with VR this summer and there's a non-VR version for Switch coming out in the winter.

This little bit reminds me of ID: Invaded, which the show also similar to AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES without the humour.
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The marketing for this game has been perfect IMO especially for fans of the first game. Been loving all the YT shorts.



Little bit of bad news, though. Apparently some people have been experiencing some issues with Amazon pre-orders of Nirvana Initiative. So if that applies to anyone reading definitely double check your order.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
The marketing for this game has been perfect IMO especially for fans of the first game. Been loving all the YT shorts.
Same, these YT shots as been soooo good!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ezZLM7WvQzI

Edit: Good thing I preordered CE version early because currently in my local EBgames they are completely sold out. I didn't think it would be this popular or maybe they made less of them.
 
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There's a new Nintendo Life interview with Kotaro Uchikoshi asking some general questions about this new cast and Uchikoshi's writing process. As always, the man is a fountain of amazing quotes.

Did you always intend for the sequel to have two playable protagonists?

First, "two is one" and "two opposites" are the main themes of the entire game. For example, yin and yang, man and woman, double helix... Love and hate could also be one of them. The fact that the main case in the game is the "Half Body serial killings" is also related to this. This naturally led me to the conclusion that the main characters should be two people. It would have been nice if I could have had two wives at the same time, but alas, such an opportunity will never come.
Did the two time periods in the game give you any flexibility in writing and developing the cast a bit more?

The two scenarios are chronologically connected as serial. In this sense, the two scenarios were not so much flexible as they were rigidly fixed, and I felt as if they were in danger of collapsing no matter where I poked at them. It was as if I was writing the scenarios while being bound in tortoise shell bondage by a dominatrix. I remember that while I was writing, the director, Okada-kun, would hit me with a whip. I still cannot forget the melting pleasure I felt at that time.
If AI's characters are exceptional, it's because our staff was focused on bringing out the best in them, in addition to the elements above. If you like them, we couldn't be happier. At the same time, I am mildly jealous of AI's characters. Even I myself want to be a character in AI.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
https://www.gematsu.com/2022/06/ai-...-details-tokiko-chikara-lien-and-masked-woman

Spike Chunsoft has released new information and screenshots for AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative introducing new characters Tokiko, Chikara, Lien, and the Masked Woman.
■ New Character Profiles
Tokiko
(voiced by Laura Post in English, Yoko Soumi in Japanese)
President of Naixatloz Japan Branch
AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative
The president of Naix Japan. A believer in Simulation Theory, she sincerely believes that the world she lives in is fake and was created by someone.
According to her, the purpose of Naix is to find a “seam” that should exist somewhere in this world, to bring down the false world, and to lead people to liberation.
AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA InitiativeAI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative
Chikara (voiced by Frank Todaro in English, Mitsuru Ogata in Japanese)
Director of Horadori Institute of Genetics
AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative
A brilliant scientist who established the Horadori Institute of Genetics at a young age. The institute mainly researches DNA treatment and gene therapy.
As the investigation of the Half Body serial killings progresses, the Institute’s involvement with the mysterious “Bats490” video, suspected to be related to the case, emerges. As the director of the institute Horadori also becomes a target of ABIS’s investigation.
AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA InitiativeAI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative
Lien (voiced by Y. Chang in English, Hidenori Takahashi in Japanese)
Unemployed
AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative
A young man who frequents Matsushita Diner, Lien was there when Ryuki went to the diner as part of his investigation.
He had recently lost his job, and was alone at the diner, mourning his loss, but found love at first sight with Kizuna and proposed to her on the spot.
AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA InitiativeAI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative
Masked Woman
AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative
A mysterious person. Appears to be female based on body shape.
AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative
 
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