Six years ago, the right half of a corpse was discovered under mysterious circumstances. The left half was never found...until six years later, when it was discovered completely fresh with no signs of decay, as though the victim was alive until just recently.

Now, Special Agents Mizuki and Ryuki, along with their AI partners Aiba and Tama, are tasked to solve the bizarre Half Body serial killings while unveiling the mysterious plot known only as the Nirvana Initiative…

Two is one. Two opposites is the main theme of the game. For example, Yin and Yang, man and woman, double helix... Love and hate could also be one of them. The title "AI" also means "love" in Japanese. Similar to the previous work, this game will involve various types of love. Familial love, love for the opposite sex, and love that is not bound by any framework. In addition, this work will dive into the opposite of love, hatred. A love-hate mystery that begins with half of a corpse. I hope you enjoy.

From the above-mentioned theme, it was decided in the early stages that the game would have dual protagonists, and Mizuki would be one of them... She was the most popular character from the previous title, and personally, I wanted to write about her growth...

Well, what about the other protagonist? Obviously, at first, I thought of Date, the protagonist of the previous game. However, if the story was about Date and Mizuki, the flavor lingering from the last title would become too strong, and it might be too hard for new players to follow... So, by interweaving an existing character and a new character, anyone can enter this fictional world.

Kaname Date will of course appear. Not as a minor appearance, but as a character who plays an important role... So, Date fans, never fear! This sequel will feature an even cooler (or less cool) Date, so please look forward to that.

Spike Chunsoft released details on new elements added to the game system forAI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative.

Moving between Dreams and Reality to Get to the Truth

In AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative, the two main protagonists Mizuki and Ryuki are members of ABIS, a special investigation team inside the Metropolitan Police Department. Along with their AI-Ball partners Aiba and Tama they are tasked with solving the bizarre Half Body serial killings. The game consists of two parts. The "Investigation" part takes place in the real world. Here players will examine crime scenes and listen to testimonies. In the "Somnium" part, players enter the dream worlds of suspects and key witnesses. Moving back and forth between the two parts, players can obtain the clues that can help them solve the case.

Investigation Part: AI-Ball's New Capabilities

During Investigation, the story unfolds as players navigate the real world, examine crime scenes, and conduct interviews with suspects and witnesses. The main protagonists Mizuki and Ryuki each have a prosthesis in their left eye socket. This prosthesis or “AI-Ball” is equipped with advanced artificial intelligence, as well as visual functions such as X-ray and thermal imaging that can help them uncover clues.

For the sequel, AI-Ball’s features will be expanded. New capabilities include “Virtual Reality” in which special visual functions are applied to an entire space, while “Truth Reconstruction” reproduces an incident as if it were a scene from a television drama. The new “Wink Psyc'' function will let players easily read the thoughts of others. Recognizing the lies and concerns of other parties will help move the investigation forward.

Somnium Part: Who hasn’t dreamt of flying?

During a Somnium, players can uncover new clues. Agents or “Psyncers” use Psync machine to enter the dreams of suspects and key witnesses. In the dream world, Mizuki’s AI-Ball Aiba or Ryuki’s AI-Ball Tama appear as women and assist their agents by conducting investigations on their behalf. The Psyncer can stay in the subject’s dream for only six minutes. The dream world’s structure is based on the subject’s personality and memories, and each world has its own rules. The object of a Somnium is to enter the deep consciousness of a subject, and unlock “Mental Locks” that hinder the investigation, all within the time limit.

The Somnium parts of this game will introduce new aerial and underwater dream worlds. In the original title, players could only move about on land, but with the introduction of upwards and downwards movement, players will experience a much richer variety of dream worlds.

Players can pre-order AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative now.

The Collector's Edition ($119.99) includes:

• AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative
• Exclusive Good Smile Company POP UP PARADE ~170mm PVC figure of the beautiful AI-Ball "Aiba"
• SECRET OF THE WORLD: THE DEFIniTIVE ART BOOK featuring concept art and illustrations by Yusuke Kozaki
• HARMOniOUS DISCORD official soundtrack by returning composer Keisuke Ito

AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative is coming to Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC (Steam) on June 24, 2022 for $59.99. The physical version of the title will be published in Europe by Numskull Games.