Never 7: The End of Infinity Reviews
Never 7 – The End of Infinity had some conceptual issues that spilled into its construction. That doesn't make it a bad visual novel, even with limits on its visuals; in fact, enthusiasts might think it's great. But to get all its 18 endings without a "Choose your own Adventure" style approach or NG+ feels like it would take…well, an infinity. So can I score this higher than a "Good" 7? Never!
Never 7, in spite of its many differences from his later titles, is still distinctly a Kotaro Uchikoshi title. Rest assured, there is a scene where someone rambles about Schrodinger’s Cat. The game’s heavier focus on romance is not an indication that it isn’t worth your time, whether you’re a fan of his or not. While I may have preferred more variety in route structure and a cleaner script, Never 7 is still a worthwhile, albeit slow, read.
Once we overcame the grating nature of its romantic clichés, we found Never 7 - The End of Infinity to have an intriguing plot filled with stimulating themes that linger in our minds long after the credits roll. Combining thought-provoking concepts with a calmer and more detached setting than its successors, Never 7 retains a unique charm that keeps it captivating even 20 years later, despite being noticeably inferior in scope and memorability. However, this remaster should have featured a more refined English localization, deeper graphical improvements, and the exclusive TIPS entries from the PSP version.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
A relic of visual novel history, Never 7 offers a glimpse into Uchikoshi’s early work with its time-loop mechanic and sci-fi undertones. However, dated visuals, uneven writing, and a lackluster cast make it feel more like a curiosity than a must-play.
Never 7 - The End of Infinity is a complicated and uncomfortable reading that's only worth it for those who love visual novels (or Kotaro Uchikoshi's works) and has an interest in the genre's history: there are good things in the end of the horribly tiring line, but up to then, it's necessary to be very patient. The mistreatment of the remasterization and localization also doesn't do any favors to the material, which is already weak at many points from the start.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
It was never a masterpiece to begin with, not now, not 25 years ago, but Never7 deserved more love. It's the game that started the Infinity series and gave an identity to Uchikoshi's career, and despite its core flaws it's still a shame to see it being revived with little to no effort: what we get is a mixture of low-quality assets, localization issues and technical shortcomings.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Never 7 is often overshadowed by the praise heaped upon its successor, Ever 17, and is considered to be the lesser of the two. It's not amazing or earth-shattering, it's simply... fine. Nevertheless, it offers a charming visual novel experience and deserves time to shine. It might be a fairly straightforward romance visual novel despite its time loop premise, but it's a fine story in its own right.
A niche game for a very small audience that is further reduced by the language problem. While the story is interesting, if you don't find out you don't appreciate it.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Never 7: The End of Infinity still has some charm all these years later, but perhaps it hasn't aged so gracefully. Messy pacing makes what would be a relaxing experience an often tedious one. Fans of classic visual novels and anime who don't mind the older aesthetic and simplistic story could have a great time, however.
Never 7 – The End of Infinity is a classic that kickstarted the Infinity series and, despite some caveats, it's worth checking the game out in its first official English release. Though it's a shame that the translation could have been better, the story as a whole manages to stay intriguing.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review