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AI: The Somnium Files Writer Kotaro Uchikoshi Posts Cryptic Message and Video Potentially Teasing New Entry

Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
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The director of AI: The Somnium Files and the writer of AI: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative, Kotaro Uchikoshi, recently posted a rather strange tweet on his official English Twitter account. Garbled, unclear footage on a monitor is shown alongside the tweet consisting of what appears to be mojibake, unreadable characters that should be abundantly familiar to those who have played AI: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative.

This is eerily reminiscent of the significantly memorable promotion for the second game, but it’s too unclear to say anything definitive. Uchikoshi made a tweet in February 2024 with what appears to be this same monitor, except not broken.

The text is as follows:

遐エ繝ャ邯サ繝吶ご閼ア繧サ繝ィ繧ウ繧ウ繝剰劒讒句ケサ荳也阜逶ョ隕壹a繝ィ隲ク蜷幃擠蜻ス繝取凾逵溽炊繝取演髢九こ菫コ繝上ム繝ャ繧ウ蜃ヲ繝上ラ繧ウ莉翫ワ菴墓凾繧ュ繝溘ワ繝ッ繧ォ繝ゥ繝翫う繝ッ繧ォ繝ゥ繝翫う繝ッ繧ォ繝ゥ繝翫う窶ヲ莉ョ諠ウ遨コ髢捺錐螢翫す蛛ス繝惹ク悶き繝ゥ縺九う謾セ繝イ…

The director of AI: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative, Akira Okada, also tweeted the following, further implying a connection to the series:



 

Blindy

Member
Yes please! More Date though. Lets not fool ourselves, one of the GOAT protagonists of visual novels. Ryuki isn't the same.
Are these good?
1st one is amazing, I had such a great time with it. 2nd one gets a bit weird and I don't think the new characters of this one touch the 1st but if A.I.: The Somnium Files was a 9.5 for me, nirvanA Initiative would be a 9.0.
 
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These are great. I really hope the next one starts with Ota being horribly murdered.
Yes please! More Date though. Lets not fool ourselves, one of the GOAT protagonists of visual novels. Ryuki isn't the same.

1st one is amazing, I had such a great time with it. 2nd one gets a bit weird and I don't think the new characters of this one touch the 1st but if A.I.: The Somnium Files was a 9.5 for me, nirvanA Initiative would be a 9.0.
Aight im in.
 
I thought it was announced he was working on a new title with the Danganronpa / Raincode writer?


If they work together I hope the game is more like Raincode and less like AI but that’s just my opinion.
Both uchikoshi and kodaka are no stranger to multiple concurrent projects. My assumption would be Extreme x Despair and Ai3 are separate games.
 

Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
Some more updates via Automaton West:

Kotaro Uchikoshi, director of Spike Chunsoft’s AI: The Somnium Files and writer of AI: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative, posted a new cryptic message to his official English X account on April 1. The message was posted as a reply to his equally mysterious post from March 28, which made users hopeful that he may be teasing a third entry to the Somnium Files series.



While Uchikoshi’s previous post featured a wall of garbled Japanese text and a glitched out video of a broken screen, in his latest update, he simply says, “eaxqedcnrpnawnycapxkp glzdsmnnhdhvrshggcmxv.” This was impressively deciphered by X user @Broken__Bee only 15 minutes later to potentially mean, “im being overwatched by the authorities right now.” Even decoded, the message remains puzzling, and the fact that it was posted on April Fools is only messing with players’ heads further.

However, as the message comes in reply to the March 28 post (which was very Nirvana Initiative-reminiscent), it might be safe to remain optimistic about a new sequel. Furthermore, as noted by NoisyPixel, Uchikoshi’s teasing was quoted by Nirvana Initiative director Akira Okada back in March with actual footage from the game.

20240402-29223.jpg


The garbled Japanese text in-game overlaps with Uchikoshi’s post

As an aside, Uchikoshi is rumored to currently be working on Extreme x Despair, a collaboration with Danganronpa creator Kazutaka Kodaka. This was hinted at by Kodaka in a tweet from January 2024.
 
Are these good?
If you really like visual novels, I guess. I bought the first game on Switch and got maybe halfway in. It's boring. The parts where you control the woman are a walking simulator with no challenge, and the other parts are just talking to people. I kept pushing on thinking it would get better since people cream their jeans about this series. Nope. Still boring.
 

Bkdk

Member
Certainly one of the most enjoyable youtube walkthrough experiences, always down for more if they want to continue.
 

GHound

Member
My boy told me the first one was good but the second one was god awful. Uchikoshi games are either a 9 or a 4. There's no inbetween.

Agreed and agreed. I think if a hypothetical third entry is worse it will break the fourth wall and delete Uchikoshi himself.
 
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