Two of the games that make up part of the Infinity trilogy (or quadrilogy if counting spiritual successors) were released on Nintendo Switch. This trilogy comes from the brains of KID, a now-defunct gaming company, and has landed in the lap of Spike Chunsoft. Spike has a long history with visual novel titles, including some of the best out there. How do Never 7: The End of Infinity and Ever 17: The Out of Infinity hold up in 2026, available together in a double pack? Can they still charm their player base?
Both games are markedly similar in concept and execution, and feature the same primary writer, Uchikoshi Kotaro, known for his work on the more recent Zero Escape series and AI: The Somnium Files. They are directed by Nakazawa Takumi, who also continued working with Uchikoshi over the years, so this team knew, and still knows, its stuff, with the badges to prove it.
Never 7 follows a college student, Ishihara Makoto, as he encounters unique and interesting characters, one of whom something happens to on day six, sending players into a time loop to use their power of choice to change the outcome. It’s a fun time and quite an interesting plot.
Ever 17, on the other hand, is a bonkers time-bending and sci-fi story set under the ocean. Following one of two protagonists determined by playthrough and choices, players will encounter a world of bizarre tension, birth and rebirth, romance, and general intrigue. When something goes bang at the underwater theme park, the player will have to work out what’s happening and try to escape.
Both games spin an intriguing tale with some definite bumps and parts that may not have aged so well, but the characters are well written with some great personalities. It’s hard not to get on side with what the protagonists are experiencing, even if it’s a little hamfisted in its execution, especially with regards to romance.
When it comes to gameplay, these are the basic visual novel setup: read lots of text, enjoy nice art as a reward, and make the occasional choices that have varied importance to the plot. It’s a solid archetype to follow, and it allows for saving anytime, so go ham on the save files around choices in case something goes wrong (though some might consider that cheating).
The art on display is cool. Ever 17 ditches the Xbox 360-era 3D models in favour of the original drawings; a good move, as it makes both games feel more related. All the characters have that 90s art style where they look really good, but have a sort of nostalgic quality to them. The colours are quite subdued, but the way that shading is done and the occasional CGI element is used for illustrative purposes leaves both games with a really unique style that stands out in a world of flat and AI-generated art. Naturally, Never 7 is older and therefore sports an art style more of its era, but they both hold up incredibly well.
There is also some stellar music composed by Abo Takeshi, most well known for his contributions to Steins;Gate and more recently to Emio: The Smiling Man. The soundtracks in both titles are a fantastic mix of the normal bloompy happy tunes that permeate the genre, interspersed with some absolute bangers and sci-fi bops that really make the exciting scenes pop. The voice acting is also a highlight; the actors really go for it when it matters, which makes them much more believable.
Hopefully, this is the start of a KID-developed visual novel revival. It would be awesome to see the last of the “trilogy” get ported as well!
