In fact, the game has been so impactful that Mages Inc. and Spike Chunsoft have taken the remaster of the game and reworked it for a modern Switch release along with the first game in the series, Never 7 (review here), and you can even buy both in a double pack if you so desire. Ever 17 – The Out of Infinity is however regarded as the best of the four games in the series, even though the story is directly related to the world-building established in Never 7 – The End of Infinity.
While Never 7 is a decent visual novel in its own right, it never really goes as far as it had the potential to. The science fiction is the real draw here and Never 7 was more of a romantic visual novel than a sci-fi story. Ever 17 shifts the focus to the sci-fi and balances that with the interactions of a traditional visual novel in a way that is noticeably more captivating, telling a story that has stayed engaging for almost a quarter century.
At first, everything about Ever 17 seems like it’s fairly normal for a visual novel, even if the setting is particularly advanced, a partially underwater theme park in the near future. You play Takeshi Kuranari, a student who has come to the LeMU theme park with friends to have some fun. Things take a turn for the worse for Takeshi though, and as you can imagine (or maybe don’t have to if you’ve seen at least part of the 2020 movie Underwater), things don’t go well for Takeshi for long.
The problem with reviewing visual novels is spoilers. Once you know exactly what’s going on, the impact the story might have had is ruined and it’s hard to enjoy the twists and turns. Unfortunately, as Ever 17 – The Out of Infinity has a spectacular story that you definitely won’t be expecting, there’s not much more we can say. As you can probably imagine, being underwater in a giant theme park isn’t the safest choice around and from there things spiral rapidly out of control. The magic of Ever 17 though is that the shift from simple action/romance story to complex high-concept science fiction happens gradually, drawing you in bit by bit.
Suffice it to say that when you finally do get to the meat of the story (and yes, you’ll need to make it to the true ending for everything to fully come together), the twists and turns of the plot are far more surprising than your average VN. Ever 17 is likely to get its hooks into you and not let go and that’s a good thing, so don’t go online and read about what happens…it’s worth the wait!
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the structure of Ever 17 which is quite similar to Never 7. Just like the first game, we’re looking at a branching visual novel with decision points. Unlike Never 7 however, Ever 17 has a major branch fairly early on, allowing you to choose between two separate protagonists, each with different pathways. That means that you’ll experience fairly substantial differences based on your choices and converging at the end depending on your choices. There are nine endings as well, but to get to them all, you’ll have to commit to multiple playthroughs, a tall order if you’re not a veteran VN player. Unlike other games in the genre however, Ever 17 – The Out of Infinity actually makes the story worth your time if you’re willing to wade through all the dialogue over and over again, a rare treat for dedicated players.
Mechanically, there are no real differences between Ever 17 and Never 7 however. These are fairly bare-bones releases with dialogue logs, the ability to skip dialogue with a variety of options, some auto-saving options, and not much else. The menus are clear and easy to use, but unfortunately there is no touch screen integration for the Switch. You can however use the left or right sticks to advance text which is fairly handy.
What is noticeably different in Ever 17 – The Out of Infinity is the visual design. Not only is the artwork significantly improved but there are 3D elements incorporated into some of the scenes to enhance their impact. Mages has based this version of Ever 17 on the remastered version of the game, so it’s not quite the same as the original release but the improvements are excellent and complement the story well. Unlike Never 7, Ever 17 feels far more modern for its age and the art direction adds to the immersion of the more complex story, perhaps this is due to the use of the 2011 remaster as the template for this new release.
Audio in Ever 17 is also well done, merging the updated visuals with a bevy of sound effects and powerful, ever changing music including some great synthesizer work. The music shifts and flows with the plot so don’t expect everything to stay static as you work your way through the routes and pathways of the game. While the track list isn’t huge, it does vary significantly, ebbing and flowing along with the plot and very effectively supporting key events. The compositions are quite catchy as well, creating a strong and varied soundtrack that perfectly complements the dual nature of Ever 17 as both science fiction adventure and romantic visual novel.
The game is fully voiced in Japanese too, and the voice actors are quite good, with depth and range that match the surreal nature of the story. The entire approach to audio is excellent here and as you can imagine, for people trapped in an underwater theme park, sound is integral to the experience. Sound effects recreate the omnipresent fear of potential explosive implosion from the underwater station and water drips and metallic background sounds add an isolating ambiance to the entire narrative.
Again much like Never 7, there are only a limited number of extras available in Ever 17 and the extras menu is actually entirely locked out until your first playthrough is complete. Once you’ve made it through your first experience with Ever 17 – The Out of Infinity, an endling list, a CG static image gallery, and a music jukebox all unlock. Much like the main game though, not everything is visible at once and to completely unlock all the extras, you’ll need to play through the game repeatedly.
All in all, Ever 17 – The Out of Infinity is a more mature visual novel that expands significantly on the world-building from Never 7 and creates a more immersive visual novel experience that makes you want to revisit the different branches of the story. Instilling value in replayability is an excellent approach for this fascinating VN that has held up extremely well over the last 20 years. At only $30, you’re getting a lot of content for your money as well, and a story that will stick with you long after the final ending is complete.
This review is based on a digital copy of Ever 17 – The Out of Infinity provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes and played equally well in both. Ever 17 – The Out of Infinity is also available on PS4 and for PC on Steam
Nate Van Lindt has been a gamer since the days of yore (aka Commodore 64), and has played a bit of virtually everything out there. He's also an avid comic book collector, both vintage and current, and reads a fair amount of sci-fi and fantasy. On top of that, he watches a fair number of movies and TV shows as well. Oh, and he has a family, a full-time job, and lives somewhere in the urban wilds of Southwestern Ontario, Canada, foraging for old video cables and forgotten game soundtracks.