It would take a hundred M. Night Shyamalans to come up with a story like this. I was on the edge of my seat from the first minute to the last, and my jaw dropped several times. This game is a miracle. Even with probably over a thousand crime books, movies and games under my belt, I was still blown away by the twists and turns and the clever writing, presented in a flow chart, leading through multiple endings via deja vu (or not?). They say the best stories are born out of real life, but this story is not (yet) possible, it has some subtle sci-fi elements, completely made up by the writers, which makes it even more captivating. I have skipped the lore element in many games lately after realising how badly they are written, in Somnium Files I didn't skip a single dialogue or commentary, and I clicked on every interactive item every time. The humor is absolutely my taste, I laughed out loud several times during my playtime.

Besides the story, the presentation is also remarkable. The manga characters are masterfully animated and the soundtrack takes the experience up a notch. This is one of the few Japanese games where I recommend the English voiceovers, all the actors did a fantastic job. The user interface and design is clean and works very well. It's almost an insult to label this game a visual novel. All the gameplay elements are fun and engaging. This is certainly a fleshed out game that imposes a lot of ideas that are translated in a visually stunning way.

This is a massive recommendation for anyone looking for a good crime thriller with strong emotions. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be angry, you'll be sad, you'll be relieved, you'll be shocked, all mixed together in a carefully crafted way. I guarantee the characters will be etched in your mind forever and stay with you for the rest of your life. Upset! Regret! A-set!

Good. Tonally inconsistent and really stupid at times. Does the thing where information is withheld until they reveal it dramatically and let you put it together on your own. Lots of anime-isms. Uchikoshi my goat <3

I've only played it for an hour and a half but I'm already looking to refund this. I cannot stand the humor or the characters. I hear it gets good later on but I can't stomach even another hour of this garbage, much less another 22 hours just to beat the main story. If you like cringe anime humor and wacky gags then sure, go for it. If you were actually looking for a serious detective story that didn't pop a sexual innuendo or nonsensical joke every 10 minutes than look somewhere else. I figured this game could have an anime style and not be ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ but it appears I guessed wrong.

My main issue with the game is the character A-Set. She appears fairly early on and I cannot stand her. She's annoying and she does this thing early on that makes me dislike her so heavily that I was actively skipping through her lines. I could not stand to hear her talk for more than a second. To go further into depth I will have to delve into spoilers so be warned:
So she tells Ota to record her jumping onto Date and acting like, idk, his lover? Then she uses this video to blackmail him into letting her onto the murder scene where an ongoing investigation is still happening. Date, you're a police officer (or sort of one at least) so why are you not pointing out that blackmailing someone is illegal? Much less a police officer? Besides, the receptionist was right there and your boss would back you up. Show a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ spine for once. All of this combined just makes me hate her and that's not a good first impression you want to give your audience.
Another thing I hate is that in the car ride to the crime scene you have to exhaust every single dialogue option in order to move onto the next bit of the story. I don't want to talk to A-Set. I cannot stand her. Why are you making me do this?

I'd like to talk about Date last. Why is he such a sleazebag? Genuinely, why is he going on about how hot the woman on this beer ad is? Why is he only thinking about the receptionist's breasts? She could provide valuable information which is why I clicked on her and instead ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Date decides to focus only on how big her chest is. Be a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ professional for a minute Date and get your head in the game.

Now, for all I know the story could get really good after this first 1.5 hours but I'll never know since the beginning of this game is so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ that I don't even want to bother. I hear it gets serious and darker later on (which is what I was hoping to get based on the description) but if I have to suffer through A-Set and Ota then count me out. It's not worth it. Oh and I didn't even mention the fact that Deku's VA also voices Ota. That's another thing that just makes it cringe. Every time I hear him say something I can only think of the Deku memes. Anime games can be so good so why write the dialogue and jokes like this?