You truly don't know how much you appreciate something until it's missing, and I think that's what I felt most about this game's ending. I loved the gameplay with the escape rooms being the true highlight of the game but compared to the original and nirvana initiative it didn't have the mind-breaking plot twists or confusing timeline screwery that made the other game's experiences really intriguing. It felt a lot like they were filling the gap between the first and second game to uphold continuity while also bombarding fans with fanservice left and right. This is also why I felt like this game made itself intended to be played before nirvana initative. (Spoilers: one of the best parts are where they revisit Pewter as a character and introduce Ryuki as a rookie, and I'm all for yaoi and yuri being driving forces for the plot, but what they overdo in terms of fanservice is the reoccuring bits). Some of the bits are subtle one (or two) liners that are funny and fine, but others are literally all the writers can think of to try and add to the flavor text which gets repetitive and worn out by the time you get to the bonus section where that is all they talk about. The bonus section adding extra scenes and absurd fanfic like side stories was pretty fun though, it somewhat makes up for the lack of other extra game mechanics (like the aiba tomogachi or tama and aiba wardrobe). My only wish is that they committed to making the game just as long as the other two by adding another somnium and escape room, maybe even a couple more. This game felt like a condensed yet incomplete mix of the elements from the other games. For instance, the sprinkle of horror that pops up with the Iris fakeout in the elevator but is never elaborated on or continued teases us with the reminder that the other games had multiple horror elements that were executed better. I'd say this game does really well at panicking the player with it's timed 3rd eye aspect but the deeper plot and horror falls flat. In the end this is really just nostalgia baiting me into wanting to replay the first two games.

As a huge fan of this series, I genuinely enjoyed this game. This is mainly due to nostalgia, because I played the first game at a young age and grew to love the characters. However, I cannot say in good faith that I would enjoy this series as much if I had discovered it in adulthood, largely due to the main character being a huge pervert, which can be more annoying than endearing at times.

I really enjoyed the escape rooms added to this game, reminding me of the Zero Escape series. . However, I was a bit disappointed by how easy the game felt overall. Both the escape room puzzles and the Somniums were noticeably simpler than in previous AI titles, which took away some of the satisfaction of solving them. There were also less somniums due to the escape rooms replacing them.

I finished the main game in about 12 to 13 hours. While I enjoyed the experience, it left me wanting more.

Overall, I love this game because I love the series and its characters. It is a fun and nostalgic experience, and if you are already a fan of the series, I would recommend picking it up. Else, I do not think it's worth it.

by all means a good game. good characters, writing, story, acting, comedy, puzzles, music, and art. its just also the worst one in the series