No Sleep for Kaname Date Visual Novel Review (Spoiler‑Free)

Synopsis

Taking place between the first and second AI: The Somnium Files (ATSF) games, No Sleep for Kaname Date (No Sleep) begins with Iris suddenly disappearing. She wakes up in a room she doesn’t recognize, only to be told by a mysterious woman that Iris has been selected to join a new world order after a great reset is made upon the earth—but only after solving the Third Eye Game to prove her worthiness. It’s a lot to take in, but with help from Date—who is meanwhile trying to figure out what happened to Iris and who kidnapped her—Iris must seek a way out!

The Good

Many ATSF fans—including myself—first became interested in the series upon hearing that it was led by Kotaro Uchikoshi, who previously developed the cult classic Zero Escape trilogy. Without derailing this into an overview and review of Zero Escape, suffice to say, they are visual novels with escape room puzzles. While ATSF has referenced Zero Escape before, the series has never done so as obviously as it has in No Sleep. In addition to the psyncs found in other ATSF games, the game also features escape rooms (which sport the quintessential Zero Escape “SEEK A WAY OUT!”) The escape room puzzles themselves do feel very Zero Escape-ian, albeit shorter and simpler by comparison. All the same, it’s a fresh, fun direction for No Sleep to take, that still fits naturally within the ATSF world.

As for the story, it’s not a showstopper the likes of which we’ve seen in other ATSF games, but it also doesn’t come off as though it’s trying to be. This is a much more compact, bite-sized ATSF experience—and the story, more than anything else, reflects that. Still, despite its shorter length, the mystery is somewhat layered and gives you just enough to chew on for the game’s reduced duration. The few new characters you meet as well are charming enough.

Also, the bonus side stories you unlock in postgame have some of the funniest moments we’ve yet seen in an ATSF game, and shouldn’t be overlooked. Given that this isn’t as big of a game as the earlier two ATSF entries, I think most players would have forgiven No Sleep for not having any postgame content—let alone something substantial. Not only is there a good amount of it, but it’s among the better postgame offerings we’ve yet seen in ATSF.

The Bad

It’s easy to tell that Uchikoshi wasn’t helming the writing of this game. Rather, it was Kazuya Yamada, who was previously involved in the original ATSF (planning) and nirvanA Initiative (sub-director). Per MobyGames, these aren’t just Yamada’s only credits within the ATSF-universe—these (and No Sleep) are his only game credits, full stop. Now, to be clear: Just because Uchikoshi’s not the driving force of this game, doesn’t inherently make it worse. In fact, as previously mentioned, there’s some hilarious content in No Sleep’s postgame. In an interview with Anime News Network, Yamada said that he thinks he’s funnier than Uchikoshi—and if Yamada is chiefly responsible for writing the aforementioned postgame content, I don’t necessarily think he’s out of line in thinking that (though I’m not 100% sure I’d agree—after all, few things in gaming have given me the tremendous laugh that the C End in Zero Time Dilemma have, but I digress). That being said, comedy chops aside, it’s easy to see that Yamada is nowhere near as experienced a writer as Uchikoshi, and he doesn’t seem terribly comfortable writing as Uchikoshi’s characters.

Oftentimes, characters feel like watered-down versions of themselves, making jokes or references about things they’ve said or done in other games, or instead falling back on their particular personality quirks or interests. To be fair, No Sleep never ventures into full-blown flanderization territory, but it definitely takes steps in that direction. It’s especially the case with Date, although that might be in large part because he’s our main protagonist, and by far the character with the most dialogue in this game. This sense that Yamada doesn’t really “get” the characters gives this whole game a fog of uncertainty—as though it’s nervously trying to pass time between all the escape rooms.

Verdict

This isn’t the fully fledged AI: The Somnium Files experience, and it’s not trying to be. As lighter ATSF fare, it’s still a satisfying enough experience that fans are sure to enjoy. The escape rooms are a fun shake-up as well as a cute nod back to Zero Escape. But alas, the writing struggles to speak believably in the voices of each character. The whole game relies too much on hoping that the players will be distracted by references to other things they liked—say, fun moments from other ATSF or the Zero Escape games. For that reason, I doubt prospective new fans considering using this as an entrypoint to ATSF will get much out of this game. But, to No Sleep’s credit, I don’t mind being reminded of Zero Escape, especially in the context of an ATSF game.

Thank you to Spike Chunsoft for providing a game key. Receiving this reader’s copy did not affect the reviewer’s opinions.

Article edited by: Adam Wescott

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