28.0 hours played
Written 27 days ago
Initially, I gave AI LIMIT a pass since it came out on the same day as The First Berserker: Khazan, and to be honest, the trailers and previews looked kind of generic. Two months later, I stumbled onto AI LIMIT's store page and saw that it actually got an amazing reception from players. I decided to give it a shot, especially since it's not a fully priced game, and I was starting to get that soulslike itch coming on. Man, I'm so glad I did.
AI LIMIT surprised me with the amount of polish, the quality of gameplay, and the sheer amount of content, especially considering its double-A pricing. I expected another mediocre romp like CODE VEIN, but instead, it delivered a fully realized 28-hour journey through the post-apocalyptic ruins of the world.
You could say that AI LIMIT is a bit simpler compared to Elden Ring or Dark Souls, since it doesn't utilize a stamina system or weight thresholds, and the build variety is more limited. However, it does some interesting things with how parrying, blocking, dashing, and buffs are implemented. Our character can use all of these abilities, but you have to switch between them using the Frame Ability wheel. I mostly focused on parrying, since it was extremely satisfying to pull off, but with some practice and quick fingers, you could quickly switch between Frame Abilities mid-fight. Basically you get a choice between playing AI LIMIT like Sekiro or Dark Souls, which is a neat choice to have.
Spells and weapon abilities will feel familiar to anyone who has played FromSoftware titles, but there's an interesting twist to them. Casting spells, using weapon abilities, or even parrying consumes the Sync Meter—a replenishable resource that can regenerate passively to a certain point or much more effectively through hitting and killing enemies. The way it's implemented rewards aggressive play but, at the same time, punishes recklessness, since you lose Sync Meter when taking damage. It's a constant balancing act—the lower your Sync Meter gets, the less damage you do, and at its lowest bar, you can't cast spells anymore. It may sound a bit overcomplicated, but in practice, balancing it becomes second nature after a while, and I loved the tug-of-war it introduces to the combat.
As for the main course of any soulslike game—the bosses—they weren't frustratingly hard. I found them to be a decent challenge, and some were quite a spectacle (holy smokes, Persephone!). Duels against other Bladers (our character is a Blader) were especially exciting since those enemies utilized the Sync Meter just as we do. Meaning that with enough aggression and/or parrying, you could stun them and deliver a devastating blow.
Itemization is quite good—nothing mind-blowing. You only get two slots for armor (head and body), so there's no potential for Fashion-Souls, but some Fashion-Limit is definitely there. There's a good selection of weapons and spells available, some of them quite well hidden in the world or requiring the completion of specific quests.
Quests are very much in the Dark Souls style, where you simply exhaust dialogue with a character, do their bidding, and meet them somewhere else. I did check out a guide at some points since I had trouble locating an NPC or understanding what I needed to do to proceed with their quest. Thankfully, the characters and their stories are well told and well voice-acted, so I felt motivated to explore the world and reconnect with them.
One thing that slightly bothered me in NPC interactions was the lip sync—or even the way their lips move. It looks very odd, and the way their noses shift with every word can lead to unintentional comedy moments. It wasn't very noticeable from a distance though, so no biggie.
The weakest aspect of AI LIMIT for me was the music and sound effects. The music lacks character and mostly boils down to droning ambience that doesn't really add anything to the scene. The sound effects were a bit off too—for example, slashing sounds don't have that satisfying, meaty impact you'd expect. Instead, all attacks produce a kind of 'thud,' as if hitting a punching bag.
Overall, despite some flaws—likely due to budget restraints—I can wholeheartedly recommend AI LIMIT to any soulslike fan. Unless you despise the idea of anime-souls, there's a great experience to be had in AI LIMIT. It's a fairly priced and polished game that looked and ran beautifully for me. I was super happy to learn that the developers are already working on a DLC to expand the game—I can't wait to jump back into AI LIMIT once that DLC drops!