I finished this game a while ago and didn't know what to write as I had mixed feelings about it. It is a step down from the first game, but still a good one to play. Six years after the first game ended, Mizuki became a special agent, along with a quiet young man named Ryuki, who has an artificial eye named Tama. Surprisingly, after an incident six years ago, Mizuki now has Aiba as her artificial eye and partner. The primary investigation will be after finding a half-corpse in the middle of a stadium, the same person they found his other half six years ago. The game will keep jumping for six years in the past and six years in the present. This might confuse you initially, but you'll get the hang of it. The artwork and character design are excellent; I've played the game in Japanese and watched someone playing it in English, and I found both versions are perfect. There are some returning characters like Mizuki, Ammame, and, of course, Date, who I don't understand why he still looks like that; perhaps they didn't want to spoil the first game, which is understandable. Speaking of spoilers, when you start the game, they'll ask you a couple of questions about the previous game; if you answer them correctly, they'll let you proceed to play while they mention things about the previous game; if you don't answer them, they'll keep the game spoiler free. I found this genius move from them. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3123247910 The soundtracks and music are as good as the first game. The gameplay felt a little bit lacking. There are few interrogations and lots of moving around trying to find clues. I was not too fond of the QTE, of course; I should have disabled them to enjoy the game more; the random buttons they are promoting are tricky to mash on time. Unlike the previous game, the Somnium locations require lots of logic; you will not lose time while standing, but you'll have to be careful about what to interact with. There is also another mini-game in each investigation location, called VR, where you locate the evidence and try to recreate the murder scene. The film reel and director/actor scene were very corny as they kept repeating them in each location. They also added a side mini-game called Eyeballie, where you answer a question every 20 minutes to create a character; each answer will add points to Brave, loving, Impish, or Crazy. This mini-game doesn't impact the story; it only gives you an achievement. Tama/Aiba's room is also a mini-game, where you dress them up and answer questions. There is a paid DLC for the outfits, but you can also purchase them in-game with the eyeballs you collect throughout Somnium levels. What I disliked the most in this game was the adult and sexual jokes; they were too much and unnecessary; they made the characters look bad and even forced them into some of the conversations. I didn't find joy in them. Also, some of the characters' relationships felt weird and forced, as well as what was written in their profiles. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3145012943 I didn't expect some of the twists we had in the game; it made me speechless in a good way. There are five endings, and one of them is a good ending. The good ending is locked until you finish the other endings, which you can choose from the flowchart to continue from where you've stopped. The sad part is that you only have one manual save file, meaning you must reset the section where you want to choose different questions or responses. As much as I liked some of the characters, I disliked at least four characters in this game, mainly Mama. They also didn't explain some things for a couple of the characters, such as why their personalities are like that and why Hitomi is still living 'alone' after what happened in the previous game. I also don't know why they decided to have a weird character design sometimes. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3123249157 Pros: +Interesting story with multiple twists. +Excellent writing. +Fully voiced (Choice between Japanese and English voice acting) +Interesting characters. +Good soundtracks. +Chellenging puzzles in Psync. +Multiple endings and routes. +Two side mini-game (Eyeballie, Tama/Aiba Room) +Good game length. +Steam achievements. Cons: -One manual save file. -QTE is tricky if you use a keyboard and mouse. A controller is highly recommended for the game. -A LOT of adult humor. I understand what they meant by the extra ending, but I don't comprehend the whole thing those 'evil' corporate are after. The game is a bit confusing, but I can't say I haven't enjoyed parts of it. I still prefer the first one better. Other Reviews: [url=https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198071375554/recommended/948740?snr=1_5_9__402]AI: The Somnium Files Review πΉππ ππππ πππ£πππ€π ππ©πππ ππ¦ ππ’πππ‘ππ ππππ [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/32399565/]πΉππππ'π πΆπ©ππππ [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/] Follow IndieGems for more reviews like this one.
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