The AI: The Somnium Files delayed launch dates have been announced by Spike Chunsoft. The game was originally slated for release worldwide on July 25. That has since been pushed back to September 17 in North America, September 19 in Japan, and an as-yet-unknown date in Europe.
Spike Chunsoft apologized in a press release, assuring disappointed fans that the delay was “necessary to ensure the best product possible.” The game is highly anticipated by players in no small part due to the man behind the game. This is the newest work of Kotaro Uchikoshi, notable director of the Zero Escape series. Considering the tone of the Zero Escape games, the “neo-noir detective adventure” is sure to play to Uchikoshi’s storytelling strengths.
AI: The Somnium Files was announced at Anime Expo 2018. The visual novel follows detective Kaname Date through Tokyo as he works to solve the case of a mysterious serial killer. Date must investigate traditional crime scenes and dreams to glean clues and catch the killer. The synopsis on Spike Chunsoft’s website immediately sets the tone for a more-than-meets-the-eye mystery:
“One rainy night in November, a woman’s body is found at an abandoned theme park, mounted on a merry-go-round horse. She had been stabbed repeatedly, and her left eye was gouged out.
Kaname Date of the Metropolitan Police Department arrives on the scene. He recognizes the woman. Suddenly, he hears a noise from inside the merry-go-round.
He breaks into the merry-go-round’s central column to find a young girl. And in her hands, she grips a bloody ice pick…”
If there’s anything to learn from Zero Escape, it’s that there is always more to a story. Much, much more. And any trailer that opens with a bipedal polar bear lowering a buzzsaw onto what appears to be a dead woman already has me asking enough questions to want to play the game… and subsequently not be able to sleep for a few nights.
AI: The Somnium Files standard edition will be available for $59.99, and the Special Agent Edition for $89.99.
