Never 7: The End of Infinity by developer MAGES. and publisher Spike Chunsoft US—Nintendo Switch review written by Natasha with a copy provided by the publisher.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
You ever get the sense that you've experienced an event before in your life and can't seem to remember, but your body does? Or perhaps you've happened upon something that hasn't occurred yet, but you know exactly what's going to happen? (Walks across a sturdy bridge)
Are you saying, you can see the future? (Wooden boards creek beneath our feet)
Hard to say. More like I'm given these visions of events that are about to hap--- (Falls through a weak board on the bridge)
(Kneels down close to the open gap) Didn't see that one coming, did you? (Pulls out a pen and paper) DON'T WORRY, I'LL WRITE THAT YOU SURVIVE THE FALL!
~
A Sense of Deja-vu
Never 7 brings us on a trip up in cottage country, with a handful of students that are participating in a school activity where individuals get to know each other better. No one is connected, which allows everyone to form a fresh new bond. While they enjoy each others company for the next seven days, strange happenings seem to occur. Even weirder, you have the ability to stop it. Flashes and/or glimpses of future events spark through your mind. Is it possible that you're psychic? If so, perhaps you can stop a horrible death from coming true...
If the Cast of Baywatch was Stuck in a Time Paradox
What's a school trip without our stereotypical cast? Throw in a group of gullible teens and a handful of nearby local strangers and you have yourself a menagerie of trouble makers. Now, rise for attendance...
Makoto Ishihara
Our main, faceless, protagonist. He is very much a slacker, but makes up for it in how much he cares about those around him. He is also blessed (or cursed) with the ability to see the future, or rather, briefly see an event that's about to happen. With this kind of power you have the opportunity to possibly stop events from playing out as they should.
Yuka Kawashima
If you ever heard of teen spirit, then this girl is the definition of that. She is the lead counsellor of this school event and does her very best to get everyone to join in on cooperative activities. But this goody two-shoes comes with some bad habits. She's a terrible drunk and an even more terrible cook. Better watch out because she will corner you.
Haruka Higuchi
What most people would call the “Silent Type”. She really only seems to show interest in one individual and that's the main character... as long as you choose to chat her up, otherwise she's mostly quiet with the odd word here and there.
Okuhiko Iida
The superstar of the group and only other guy, Okuhiko has the attitude of a high-strung noble. He often teases the main character and tends to shove him off on almost anything they talk about. This guy tends to wear his feelings on his sleeve and this is noticeable for his affection towards Haruka, almost always tailing her around everywhere he goes.
Kurumi Morino
The Genki Girl of the group. Her playful and child-like attitude puts her as the youngest, but she ends up being the most mature in the darkest of moments. Her favourite past-time is pulling pranks on others and sometimes her antics could place her, or others, in hot water.
Izumi Morino
Kurumi's older sister, she is the picture perfect example of “Looks sweet on the outside, but crazy on the inside”. Unlike Yuka, Izumi is a master chef, which makes sense since she's the proud owner of her restaurant near the beach. On a side note... she's a terrible driver.
Saki Asakura
Our rich girl who lives nearby in a villa. She comes storming into Izumi's restaurant demanding why she never got her pizza order. (Hint: Okuhiko stole it) Then totally decides to forget the whole thing and befriends everyone instead over a home-cooked meal. She does continue to be the most prideful individual in the group which tends to put her in most people's bad graces throughout the game.
A Slow Precognition
Never 7 takes the meaning of “Slow-burn” and cranks it up to an 11. It is a snails pace for anything really exciting to happen and tends to leave me behind in that aspect. For a gal like me to play through a Visual Novel in full, you have to really start off strong in the story telling to keep me interested. However, I find this game falls short on delivering a compelling story, only to hold all the cards until the last hour of the game. Perhaps an audience with more patience could truly appreciate this game's story.
Time Waits for no One
To conclude, there is an intricate story about time and retrying intertwined within the game. In order to get the full picture you'll have to play multiple playthroughs to hopefully get the good ending you're searching for. It may not be my cup of tea, but people looking to bide their time to unwind the mystery that is Never 7: The End of Infinity, could have a better experience. This game gets my rating of 6.5 out of 10.
(A strange light flashes from behind as I put away my hammer and hardware) Woah! I feel like I've been here before? (I casually walk over to my friend)
You don't say? How bout you tell me all about it as we walk over this very sturdy looking bridge!
Score: 6.5 / 10
