Tokiko’s Psync in AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative is one of the first real challenging puzzles the game presents to players. Though it isn’t the first Psync that Ryuki has to complete in his quest to solve the Half Body Serial Killings, the challenge has certainly stepped up from earlier delves into suspects’ psyche. If you’re not sure how to proceed in the game once you reach this point, here is everything you need to know about how to complete Tokiko’s Psync.
Tokiko’s Psync in AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative and how to complete it
The biggest challenge in this section is the six-minute time limit that AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative imposes on you for these sections. There are plenty of parts of Tokiko’s Psync where it is easy to waste precious seconds trying to find the right path. As Tama first appears in Tokiko’s psyche, there is only one option; to read the book on the President of Naix’s desk. Run up and read it.
From there, turn to your left and approach the large white wall. That’s where you’ll find the other half of the notebook and the phrase Tokiko gave Ryuki earlier. A surreal cutscene will occur with some gruesome imagery, and you’ll unlock the first Mental Lock of Tokiko’s Psync. This will give you a new objective, which is to Decipher the book and find AI.
Much to Tama’s regret, the next step will be to dive into that flowing, red liquid that has suddenly appeared in the office. You’ll move painfully slow in the water, so just dive straight down to avoid wasting too much time. Tama will exit the water in an almost identical room to the one she left. Approach the book that has appeared near the door and read it. Doing so will advance time and cause a large collection of skulls to appear in the room.
You’re looking for a specific skull, but there isn’t a great set of instructions to tell you which skull you need. Since checking each skull costs you five seconds of your time in Tokiko’s Psync, you will need to be careful about which ones you pick up. Head to the skull is indicated in the image below. Tama will comment that it is “bigger and misshapen” than the others, which will cause our good friend Gen to appear.
Advance through the cutscene and the strange imagery that comes with it. Dive down with Tama and enter a third room that looks exactly like Tokiko’s office. This time, everything is submerged in water, so you’ll need to come to grips with the swimming mechanic a bit more. Read the book while avoiding the jet streams that fill the room. Those will become important in a moment, but for now, they’re just in the way of progress.
Three sets of hands will appear in the room, each performing that strange signal that Tokiko showed Ryuki earlier in the game. You need to interact with each of them in the correct order to advance Tokiko’s Psync in AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative, but, once again, there isn’t a great deal of information to help you find the correct order. Each mistake costs you precious time in the puzzle, so make sure you choose carefully. The key here is to ride the jet streams around the room, but you must ensure you approach them in the right order, or you will waste a lot of time.
Swim directly up after reading the book. You’ll get caught in a jet stream and taken to the hands directly above the door in the back of the room. Interact with them, which will cause a light to shine behind them. While facing the first set of hands you interacted with, turn to the right and swim into the next jet stream. This will take you to the second set of hands you need to interact with, which are located at the far end of the room, against the wall behind Tokiko’s desk. Interact with this set of hands and get more information about her plans.
To the right of this second set of hands, you’ll see another jet stream leading to the spot indicated on the map above. It is easy to slip into a second jet stream while riding this one, so make sure you head to the marked spot even if you end up somewhere else. Tama will make the same hand gesture, and another strange cutscene will play out. This will unlock the second Mental Lock and reveal a new objective: Decipher the book and find the truth.
Swim down into the new path until it opens up once again. Unsurprisingly, you’re back in Tokiko’s office, but this time it is laid out vertically. This is a dream world, after all, so anything is possible. Swim downward to the book and read it. It will give you the instruction, “When the eyes are met, death is born.” Aside from being a grim message, it is your best hint on how to complete the next section of Tokiko’s Psync in AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative.
Head to the statue marked at Point 1 on the above map of the room. Interact with it, and Tama will get the option to either Flip it or Poke it. As tempting as it is to poke an eyeball that big, it won’t help the situation and will just waste valuable time in Tokiko’s Psync, so flip it instead. Go to the eyeball marked Point 2 and do the same. This will cause a pair of red beams to show up in the room, crossing in the middle.
You’re not done messing with eyeballs just yet. Swim to the open red book in the room, marked as Point 3 on the above map. Choose to close it. Swim to the very bottom of the room and close the red book there. It will turn into a giant eyeball along with the red book nearest to it. It will create another set of giant eyes in the room, all of their gazes meeting at a single point. Read the book that appears at that point in the middle of the room. Choose to open it and watch yet another strange cutscene play out.
Send Tama falling into the glowing pit that has just appeared. You’ll end up in a white room with a black book. Read the book and watch the cutscene. Tama will need to swim a long way to get to the next objective, but you will have just enough time to read the book in front of the giant glowing symbol before your time in Tokiko’s subconscious runs out.
After that, you’ll be done with Tokiko’s Psync in AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative. The next challenging moment in the game will be finding the keypad code in Tokiko’s office when you next visit her there.
