AI: The Somnium Files[a] (/aɪ/ (
listen) EYE) is an adventure video game developed and published by Spike Chunsoft, which released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch in September 2019. It is set in Tokyo and follows detective Kaname Date, who investigates serial killings and enters suspects’ memories to extract information to help solve them. The game was directed and written by Kotaro Uchikoshi, with character designs by Yūsuke Kozaki.
AI: The Somnium Files is a mystery adventure game that is split into two types of sections: investigation and somnium parts.[1][2][3] The story progresses through branching paths leading to multiple different endings, based on choices the player makes;[4][5] the player only gets a full view of the story by playing through each route.[3] Rather than starting over from the beginning several times to see different paths, the player can skip directly to the branching points using an in-game flow chart.[5]
During the investigation parts, the player character, as detective Kaname Date, uses his artificial intelligence unit Aiba’s functions, such as X-ray vision and zooming, to further the investigation in the real world.[5][4][2][3] During the somnium parts, Date uses a machine called the Psync Machine[3] to enter the memories of suspects or key witnesses who do not want to share information with him, in the form of dreamscapes called ”somnium”, to find clues and extract the information by solving puzzles.[5][4][2][3] The puzzles involve examining objects and choosing an action to perform with it, and solving mental locks – obstacles standing in the way of clues – allowing the player to sink deeper into the character’s subconscious. There is a six-minute time limit before the dreamscape collapses, and as actions take time to perform, the player must be careful in deciding what to do. Within the somnium parts, Aiba takes on the form of a humanoid and acts as the player avatar.[3]
