The tragic fate of Dunamis15
Dunamis15 was a minor game, hidden in the shadow of the popular "science adventure series", which is known for gems like "Chaos;Head Noah" and "Steins;Gate". Meanwhile, the new franchise of the "suspense fiction adventure" series was canceled after the failed success of Disorder6. Another reason might be the bad marketing decisions for both visual novels as well. There are several nice twists within Dunamis15, but the original summary on the package contained major spoilers. However, it was later fixed for the PSP Version, which even got additional content. In my opinion, it's a big shame due to the wasted potential.
That said, back to my review of Dunamis 15:
Story:
Future Japan. A global nuclear disaster caused the world's population to decrease significantly and the decline of the birth rate wasn't any help either. In result, the japanese government built a school on an artificial island (called Dunamis Base) to raise and educate healthy children. After graduating, the students were supposed to go back to Japan and contribute for society. However, the main character (Togo Takatsuki) who was about to graduate in a half year, still had no real perspective of his future. As he meets a mysterious girl, a certain event occure to make his daily life collapse..
I tink the world view and themes of this visual novel are quite heavy. First of all, it's a "time loop/mystery" adventure which isn't an uncommon genre mix these days. However, in case of Dunamis15, the time loop gimmick took a backseat and the psychological depiction of the characters was focused instead.
I think it is important, whether the characters are attractive or not, that you can empathize with them. In this game, typical stereotypes are not exaggerated and the true nature of each character is carefully explored with a special system. You experience multiple viewpoints of the main cast, which is playable in each of the 5 chapters.
Because of that, I was able to see the true intentions of certain individuals and didn't get bored of the linear structure. Unlike other "time loop" visual novels, the plot doesn't have a lot of foreshadowing, but I was fascinated how the truth was gradually revealed from each point of view.
So..by the end of the story, I was able to develop an attachment to each character.
MAJOR SPOILER SECTION
Within the several time loops, the main cast learn about the true purpose of "Dunamis Base". In reality, the island was a big research facility for collecting "excellent genes". All the students are clones, and none of them are aware of it. In fact, the tragic of an artificial being (which is merely a copy of a real individual), came to my mind and I was even more drawn into the story. At the end of each chapter (loop), the entire clones mysteriously go out of control and kill each other. It's later reveaeld that every clone is influenced by a microchip, which is implanted in their necks and connected to the peripheral nervous system. The scientists at dunamis base want to get rid of the clones as quickly as possible, in order to extract their DNA and continue the whole process all over again. In other words: The students were never suppose to leave the island alive.
All members of the main cast can recall the Events of each time loop, but they're not the only ones. Some enemies got the same privilige, what makes the story even more exciting.
As I mentioned earlier, the psychological condition of the main characters have a major significance in the story. Two of them have a great character development, after reapting each loop.
Worth mentioning are the small romance sub-plots, even tho you're not able to influence the outcome by yourself.
As for the Worldbuilding, the existence of human clones is kept as a secret and the general public is completely unaware of it. All of the gruesome experiments, alongside the discrimination of human clones, are a serious topic within the story. Many of the experiments were responsible for the death of "real humans", which the clones were based on. However, some of them are still alive and play a major role (allie or foe) in the story.
My only complain is the rushed execution of the true ending. I mentioned earlier that the characters are trapped in a "time loop", but the reason for that is the occult. The thoughts of ghosts, who are worried about the fate of their clones, have become a mysterious force and created the loop in order to stop the experiments. The conclusion is fine because the existence of ghosts was already established previously and it also fits to the backstory of some characters. However, everything so far was explained by mere science, so it was a bit weird how the writers handled it.
SPOILER SECTION END
Gameplay(System):
Dunamis15 is a kinect novel for the most part. There are several options aviable, but they're limited to bad endings or something that doesn't heavily affect the story. For example, you can unlock hidden CGs and extra scenes.
The flow chart is relatively simple, because the main story progress is displayed as a single road in the middle. If you look at the branches, which are merging as trapezoid around the single road, it's easy to understand wethere it's a bad ending or just an Alternative scene.
Graphics:
The CGs, backgrounds and character models are gorgeous. Megumi Nagahama did a great Job and I wish we would have more visual novels with her Artwork..
Sound:
The opening and ending themes are great, but i especially enjoy the background music. All of them create a great atmosphere and some of them even remind me about chaos;head. Well..it's not a big surprise because it was recorded by 5pb, who were also responsible for the OST of the science adventure series.
One of my favorite Soundtracks is "in cold blood", which is simple but effective as hell to create a very uncomfortable atmosphere.
Another favorite would be "pain of salvation", which fits perfectly to the disturbing and violent moments of the story.
The acting of the main cast was also powerful and it really helped me to get more invested into the story. Moreover, I was surprised by some seiyuus like Sumi Shimamoto and Yui Shouji, because it's kinda rare for them to appear in a visual novel.
Conclusion:
Dunamis15 is a thought-provoking story that questions the views of life, death and ethics, with a relateable message on top of that. It's better to focus on your present life, rather than regretting past mistakes and wanting to start over. Sadly, the conclusion of the story is kinda rushed, but still a good experience nevertheless.
The first entry of the "suspense fiction adventure" series is hard to recommend, because it doesn't have any localisation and was never released on PC. If you get a legal copy of the psp Version, it's still possible to read the vn with a Translation tool (emulator)