If you’ve been around the Souls-like block for some time, you can’t help but draw comparisons between AI Limit and CODE VEIN. I have to admit that the cell-shaded anime art style is what drew my attention towards the title in the first place. But a deeper look into the mechanics reveals a few innovative ideas not seen in most other games in the genre. That might be all that’s needed for players to give this game a chance.
AI Limit is a Souls-Like ARPG set in a future Earth where humanity is on the brink of extinction following the demise of all plant and animal life. Players take control of Arrisa, a Blader who has lost her memory and must look for a reason to keep going in this doomed world. The world is in constant conflict with rising powers, namely the Church and Necros. Caught in between are the human survivors trying to make a living out of the remains of the old world.
Interestingly, we find out much later on that the entire cycle of conflict stems from a “disagreement” among the leaders of the factions. This stagnation caused a stalemate that threatens the lives of the last remaining humans alive. Bladers like Arrisa were given a singular purpose. Over time, however, weariness and boredom forced them to divert their attention towards other interests. Since Arrisa doesn’t remember who she is, she continues her vague mission of linking branches together. (This game’s equivalent to bonfires.)
“I’m just… doing what I can and helping whom I can help.” – Arrisa
When in combat, Arrisa has access to two weapons that she can freely switch between mid-combo. It doesn’t matter if it’s two of the heaviest weapons in the game; she can move around as though carrying a couple of knives. On the other hand, attack speed is something you will have to get used to. One of the things I love about the game is that every weapon has a unique set of animations attached to it. While there are some similarities between weapons in the same archetype, it is their special attacks that set them apart from one another. This makes exploration and discovery much more fulfilling than just looking at empty numbers on a stat sheet.
The Sync Rate meter is the thing that set this game apart from other Souls-likes. It also does away with the Stamina meter (something I really, really like), but it thematically makes sense on account of Bladers being non-human entities. The way the Sync Rate meter works is that the bar fills up after every successful hit to the enemy and reduces after using spells. You want to keep this meter up as high as possible, as you will deal more damage. Should your meter reach 0, you will become vulnerable to attacks for a short period. And in AI Limit, a second is all it takes for a one-way ticket back to the nearest branch. This system rewards skillful play and punishes reckless spam. Something that has cost me on more than one occasion.
As the game progresses, Arrisa gains access to powerful abilities that can quickly change the flow of combat in her favor. You can freely swap between the abilities as the situation demands or which stage you are in a multi-stage boss fight. For instance, the first stage of the fight might be best suited for the shield ability. Later on, when the boss’s attacks become more ferocious, you may be better off switching to the counterfield ability for that guaranteed punish. If you think that it could get too complicated – don’t. As soon as you unlock the Lightning Dodge ability, you can rely solely on that to carry you till the end of the game.
In totality, I say that the game’s emphasis on abilities and skillful play lands it firmly on that happy medium of the soul-crushing difficulty we’ve come to expect from Souls-like games.
The first enemy type you will face is the Void Beast. Simply put, human consciousness turned mad, taking out its rage towards anything that moves. They are followed shortly by killer robots that will equally destroy anything that moves but are more tanky to factor for extended missions. Eventually, you will come across the forces of the Church and the Necros. You don’t want to underestimate them for even a second. This is where the game fumbles a bit. The lack of enemy variety across human and monster enemies is certainly noticeable. It’s not a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination, but if you play long enough, you will definitely get bored of seeing the same enemies over and over again.
AI Limit has side quests similar to that of Elden Ring. That is to say that it has encounters and side objectives you can fulfill, and by doing these favors for the survivors, you will learn more about the world. Their implementation is a little janky, I have to admit. There were times when the NPC who was supposed to be in a certain location was not there. You can fix this by resetting the world after interacting with a branch. But this is something you shouldn’t be expected to do. I hope they fix this issue in future patches.
The one thing I don’t like about this game is the sudden difficulty spikes. This happened only 2-3 times in the whole game, but it was most prevalent in one particular stage. In one of the sections where I returned to the Sewers, I exhausted all of the map in a vain attempt at progression. Turns out I was supposed to beat a boss named the Hunter of Bladers, a fallen Blader. She was so tough that I mistakenly thought she was an optional boss I could return to at a later time. I assumed this because I previously encountered a few Corrupted Blader optional fights.
The fight itself was constantly on a razor’s edge. I initially used both the shield and counterfield, but the margin for error was so thin that one mistake could be the end. In the end, I was able to beat her through patience and lightning dodges. It felt good to beat her. Good thing battles last less than a couple of minutes, but my losses were mounting up like you wouldn’t believe. After that encounter, the game eased up so much that I felt like I had gotten over a skill barrier and was breezing through the rest of the game.
In terms of level design, AI Limit is every bit a Souls-like: from the hidden elevators to hidden paths behind destructible boxes to even the invisible bridges. There’s even a sequence of drop-downs along a deep shaft. It was annoying, to say the least. But most annoying of all is the Poison Swamp location that is the forest. The lingering status effect took so long to remove that I used up a good bit of healing items in between branches. Could I have saved myself the trouble by buying 100 antidotes? Most certainly. But I refuse to commit resources to one area and one area alone.
Now, I have talked about weapons in this review. What about the armor? Honestly, they are ok. Just ok. You have the option to change your main outfit and headgear. This is where the stat sheets went. There are not many armors to choose and your choice barely shows effects. Not that any of this matters once you’ve unlocked the endgame armor. Perhaps you can start changing suits again just for the fun of it. By that point, you will be closer to level 200, where armor stats mean very little.
Out of all things, I expected more from the Cores. They were unique because depending on your core, you could change the amount of crystals (aka Souls) you could absorb per enemy and how many crystals you lose should you die. Yes, in this game, dying doesn’t mean you go out on the map and retrieve your souls; you go back to the checkpoint and lose a percentage of your stash. It’s disappointing because there are only a handful of cores to choose from, and their styles aren’t too different from one another. Imagine getting one that allows for high risk, high reward. I suppose this was limited for balance purposes. What a bummer.
Bladers come in all sizes, I suppose.
Story completion can be done in around 20 hours without any detours. 30-40 hours, depending on whether or not you want to do the side character quests. Which are necessary to unlock the game’s three endings. Theoretically, you can get the true ending on the first playthrough, but you’ll still need to finish the game 2 more times to get 100% completion. I really don’t mind this at all.
New game+ is a staple for most good Soulslike games, and AI Limit does not disappoint in this regard. It was a pleasure getting items I previously missed on account of not wanting to die between checkpoints. With 100+ levels and my best weapons equipped, I can probably cut completion time to less than half. Well, that is if I don’t mess around and upgrade every single weapon in my collection first.
It’s not fair to call AI Limit beginner-friendly, although some aspects may appear to give that impression. It is actually a streamlined Souls-like experience with a clean cell-shaded anime art style and fast-paced combat. Everything you want in an Anime Souls-like game is present here and then some. All that requires is that you accept a little jank here and there. If you love games like CODE VEIN, you owe it to yourself to have this game in your library.
AI Limit Review
AI Limit is streamlined Souls-like experience with a clean cell-shaded anime art style and fast-paced combat. Everything you want in an Anime Souls-like is present here and then some. All that requires is that you accept a little jank here and there.
The Good
- Streamlined in all the right ways
- Top tier arsenal of weapons
- Intriguing story (if you decide to look into it)
- Clean cell-shaded graphics
- Sync Rate bar is what set this game apart
The Bad
- Boss intros on repeat on return
- Annoying lingering status effects
- Sudden difficulty spikes
- Lack of enemy variety
