“Hidden Bats” is a recently concluded Twitter-based alternate reality game (ARG) hosted by Spike Chunsoft to promote the release of its upcoming game:AI: The Somnium Files- nirvanA Initiative,which is debuting for PC and multiple consoles at the end of June. A series of mysterious Tweets from an organization called “Hidden Bats” allowed players to vote on the fates of various kidnaped subjects. To the surprise of participating players, it was hinted bySpike Chunsoftand developer Kotaro Uchikoshi that the results of the ARG might have some influence on the game itself.
Released in 2019,AI: The Somnium Filesis a mystery adventure video game centered around ABIS, an organization that uses futuristic technology to solve mysteries by entering the minds of subjects.nirvanA Initiativewill star returning character Mizuki, new ABIS operative Ryuki, and their AI partners Aiba and Tama as they investigate the bizarre case of a dead body found cut into two halves.
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Hidden Bats Was aSaw-Like Social Experiment
The Hidden Bats ARG, which premiered in mid-May, involved three pairs of characters being kidnaped by an unknown organization and forced to solve puzzles with the help of Twitter. Through the puzzles, the users of Twitter would learn more about the pasts and crimes of the captured characters, which ranged from lies to theft to even murder. Then, Twitter users would be presented with a task that, much like one of Jigsaw’s sadistic games in theSawfilm franchise, forced them to choose which of the kidnaped pair lived and which did not.
The first kidnaped pair were Aine Ichirai, a female thief, and Binato Sotobara, amale yandereand stalker. Both initially were friendly with Twitter until it was revealed that each had committed an accidental murder in the course of their other crimes. Users were challenged to balance likes and retweets on a pair of Tweets from the characters' accounts. Although attempts were made to tie the vote, so both could escape, with the hashtag #tAIthevote gaining traction on Twitter, ultimately Aine was saved and Binato was killed.
The second pair were Mariha Monzen and Lumina Rikujou, former friends who had drifted apart in recent years. Although they were initially able to cooperate over Twitter, a mistake by Lumina caused Mariha to fail a puzzle and led to the two arguing and calling each other a variety of names. This time,Twitterwas able to successfully tie the vote by balancing the number of followers each girl’s account had. Both Mariha and Lumina were set free, although they decided to go their separate ways and not continue their friendship.
A Returning Character’s Fate Was Changed
Fans were shocked when the final round of the game was announced and one of the kidnapped characters was Iris “A-set” Sagan, an internet idol and returning character fromthe originalAI: The Somnium Files.She was kidnapped alongside Kairo Goshiki, a former professional athlete who turned to a life of crime after an accident ended his career. Ultimately, the pair’s puzzles revealed that Iris had unwittingly been responsible for Kairo’s accident, while Kairo’s constant smoking at Iris’s place of work caused her to develop a fatal brain tumor. Iris was regretful and apologized, but Kairo was furious and demanded that his followers kill Iris.
The fates of the final pair were decided via a poll hosted on Twitter. Because the poll received over ten thousand votes, far more than either of the previous rounds, fans suspected that the purchase of voting bots was involved. Despite a vocal contingent of fans attempting to tie the vote again, ultimately, Kairo defeated Iris by over one thousand votes, resulting in the former skater being released and the idol being killed. Fans are concerned how this will affect the upcomingnirvanA initiative,as Iris has already appeared in trailers and other promotional materials for the game.
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Were the Events of Hidden Bats Real?
Following Twitter’s unexpected decision to save Kairo over Iris, the Hidden Bats account went silent for close to twelve hours, prompting fan speculation that Spike Chunsoft, a developer best known for theDanganronpaseries, was forced to scramble following the unexpected result. Eventually, a post was made on the official Hidden Bats Website consisting of a short video that claimed the events of the ARG were all a simulation. However, the video ended by encouraging fans to look for further clues in the full version ofnirvanA initiative,hinting that the events of the ARG will tie into the game after all.
Ultimately, Hidden Bats was a unique experiment that engaged fans by forcing them to choose which characters lived and died, introducing themes of judgment, the relative severity of different types of crime, and whether a mob of viewers can truly dispense justice. Similar “deadly game” stories have appeared in previous games by Kotaro Uchikoshi, including theZero Escapetrilogy, which also featured characters solving puzzles with a strict time limit in order to stay alive. Perhaps the Hidden Bats experience was ultimately best summarized by Uchikoshi himself in a single Tweet he released following the conclusion of the ARG: “What we learned: Curiosity killed the cat.”
AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiativewill release on May 14, 2025 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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