No Sleep For Kaname Date: From Ai The Somnium Files Review
“Don’t Sleep on this one” Written by: Hunter (@ReaperHunter23)
It’s been three years since fans of AI: The Somnium Files unraveled the mysteries of the Nirvana Initiative. I was almost certain that we would see the series again. I was just unsure of when. I received my answer in the spring of this year when No Sleep For Kaname Date: From AI The Somnium Files was revealed at a Nintendo Partner showcase.Despite the fact that it was very clearly a side game, No Sleep For Kaname Date quickly jumped to being one of my most anticipated games for this year. I certainly wasn’t expecting to be blown away like the prior two games but I was still really excited to be in the world solving mysteries again. Well the game is out now, so let’s take a look and see how it turned out.
Image Credit: Spike Chunsoft
No Sleep For Kaname Date takes place in between the first Somnium Files game and Nirvana Initiative. The story of the game involves Date juggling two cases at once. The first case being: Iris has seemingly been abducted by aliens and is being made to partake in some bizarre escape room gauntlet in order to survive. Date and Aiba help her solve the puzzles while trying to figure out where she’s really being held. The second case is arguably even more bizarre. A mysterious pod is found in a warehouse with the only hint as to what it is being a note that says “Psync Me”.
The story of this game is a bit more straightforward than the other two. There’s only one narrative route to travel down this time, rather than the many you had to take in order to get the bigger picture in the other two games. I’m alright with this though, I feel like the branching structure of the other games would have really interfered with this one pacing wise.
Another reason I’m so agreeable to a simpler story is that when you have characters as fun to interact with as Date and Aiba, it's alright to just let the interplay between those two and the rest of the cast carry the story forward. The supporting cast was as entertaining as you would hope they would be. As always, I enjoyed when favorites such as Mizuki, Boss, and Moma were around but I also thought the new characters were nice additions. Akemi is enjoyable enough as the antagonistic Escape Game host, and Hina brings a flavor of nerdy energy that is pretty distinct from Pewter’s. The one thing I will say is that it seemed like the writing for some characters teetered on the edge of flanderization sometimes. For example: It felt like Date’s enthusiasm for adult magazines was a joke they tried to squeeze into every other scene in this game. It didn’t ruin the game, but I do hope that it gets toned down in any future games.
Despite the story being relatively self contained, I think the game had a couple of really solid moments of stellar character writing. The first two Somniums in this game took me on a ride I was unsure of at first but really came around to by the end.
Image Credit: Spike Chunsoft
The biggest feature that sets No Sleep for Kaname Date apart from the other games in the series is the escape room sections of gameplay. These sections are an interesting experiment. I enjoyed doing them for the most part. I do think that there was one that got pretty long in the tooth, but I don’t think it was anything too heinous. With that being said, I don’t think I would want these sections to be a core pillar of gameplay in a hypothetical Somnium Files 3. I do think that taking elements of the escape rooms and peppering it into the investigation segments would make for an interesting change of pace when you are outside of the Somniums.
Speaking of the Somniums, they are a touch paired down in this game. Luckily, they still follow the same rules as in Nirvana Initiative. So there is still a sense of cause and effect with your choices rather than just picking an option and hoping for the best. The Somniums do generally feel kind of like a flowchart in this game though. I never really felt like I had to sweat the time limit in this game. And that was all while still picking the obviously wrong options to see what kind of silliness would transpire. I do still think the Somniums accomplish their goal in this game. They work excellently as a melding of gameplay and story and still provided my favorite moments in the game.
The investigation segments are as straightforward as usual. You go from place to place and talk to people to uncover some more details about the case. There’s no crime scene reenactments like in Nirvana Initiative this time around so there’s not really anything to break up the dialogue and flavor text. I think it's for the best that the investigation segments stay simple since the escape rooms already serve to contrast the Somniums. One thing that you can find during the investigation segments is a boatload of gag endings. Since there are no branching paths this time, they just went full send on a bunch of goofy fake endings. These ranged from the classic “ask a lady on a date until the game gives in” to “Examine the fireworks enough times and Date will cause property damage.” All of the ones I found gave me a good laugh and I think this is a pretty acceptable substitute.
Image Credit: Spike Chunsoft
No Sleep For Kaname Date is one of those games that makes really judicious use of the pre existing assets from the series. With the exception of the Somniums and escape rooms, almost everywhere you go is a location that the series has already taken us to. This has the effect of making the world feel more lived in. However, there was a point towards the middle of the game where I was just sitting there thinking “Oh well I guess we’re going here now.”
The bulk of new visual flair comes from the Somniums and the escape rooms. I think they both had pretty good theming. The space station look for the first escape room was a decent tone setter. I also rather enjoyed the T.V themed escapades of the first Somnium.
The couple of new characters we meet in this game have solid designs. I think Akemi’s design really sells the alien conspiracy kind of angle they are going for with her. I think the design has a slight Egyptian flair that works pretty well for her. Hina’s design is also striking. The combination of white and blue on the outfit gets the scientist aspect of her character across while her whacky hairstyle gets across that she’s a space case outside of work.
The performances in the game are all very solid. Greg Chun, Erika Harlacher, and Allegra Clark all do an excellent job as Date, Aiba, and Boss respectively. There are few things I enjoy more than hearing banter back and forth between those three. Everyone else is backed by a good performance as well. It feels like the level of familiarity with the characters allows the cast of the game to really enjoy themselves when bringing these characters to life.
Image Credit: Spike Chunsoft
Summary
No Sleep For Kaname Date is pretty much what I expected it to be. It is a fun trip back into the world of AI: The Somnium Files. It's not anything too substantial, but I still recommend it if you are a fan of the series. The story is relatively self contained but I think they do a good job at making it interesting. The intriguing mystery combined with the fun world and enjoyable characters make this a case worth solving.