No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: The Somnium Files (S2) Review
Summary: Conspiracy abounds in this charming Somnium side story replete with perplexing puzzles.
3.8
Ancient Aliens
No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: The Somnium Files is an entertaining spin-off of Spike Chunsoft’s mind-bending mystery series, which acts as a decent bridge between the two Somnium Files games, while adding some exciting new twists to the series’ formula.
Picking up after AI: The Somnium Files, players are reintroduced to sleazy detective Kaname Date, who is searching for his friend Iris, an internet idol whose been abducted by aliens and forced to work through a series of deadly escape rooms by her seemingly extra-terrestrial captors.
These form the bulk of the action, and see Iris solve a series of increasingly devious puzzles and riddles, while each area unfolds slowly like a Japanese puzzle box (One does literally) that culminate in a tense, timed head scratcher that will put your logic skills, and at times patience, to the limit. It took me far too long to figure out the first one, which had you figure out a code that would stop Iris from suffocating. (Hint: flipping the flag flips the numbers, and a backwards five is a two, apparently.)
It’s this kind of esoteric puzzle design that could easily see some throw their controller down in bewilderment and never return. But trust me, if you stick with it, when the penny drops, you’ll feel like an absolute genius.
Thankfully, you can tailor how many hints you get or the solution if you’re completely stumped. But it’s like solving a crossword by flicking to the answers in the back; a hollow victory.
Once again, players are presented with a tale full of weird conspiracy theories, futuristic tech, and a cast of incredibly likeable oddballs. No Sleep for Kaname Date may not be the best place for those new to the series to start if you want to get the most out of it. However, it does a good job of introducing the world to newcomers, even if the finer details may be lost on them.
On the plus side, though, now is an excellent time to get caught up, as both of the Somnium Files games are 80% off on the eshop (at time of writing).
The rest of the game focuses on Date’s search for Iris and follows the same basic structure as the other two Somnium games, with Date, doing some good old fashioned detective work by hitting up contacts, pounding the pavement and uh, using his sassy robotic eye to dive into the subconscious of suspects and witnesses to bust open mental locks in their minds to reveal new clues and leads.
It’s a simple system that has you interact with objects in the environment and answer basic questions based on available evidence and character testimony to unpick the subject’s mind and reveal what deep psychological trauma they’re hiding. It’s engaging enough, and the six-minute time limit adds a little extra tension (even if you rarely rub up against it) and a fun way to deliver that all-important plot.
The upgrades for the Switch 2 version are fairly light; there are some minor graphical improvements and faster load times. Also, if you take a trip to the options, you’ll find the ability to play the game like a traditional point and click adventure with mouse controls. If using two Joy-Cons is too much, you can happily laze on the couch and play one-handed, look around while holding ZR, and click on objects in the environment with R. It’s a decent alternative control scheme, though I’m not sure whether i prefer it to the default since it makes such great use of the joy cons and places pretty much everything you would wan a single button press away.
Final Thoughts
No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: The Somnium Files is a charming and often chucklesome mystery, with a cast of endearing characters and some truly devious puzzles.
Though narratively it may not be the best place for newcomers of the Somnium Files to start their journey into the mind-melding world of Kane Date and co. Puzzle and adventure fans will find a lot to love unravelling Dates’ devilish escape room, regardless.
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