Soulslike game AI Limit is the maiden title from developer SenseGames, and it throws players into a vast post-apocalyptic world full of loot to find and monsters to slay. Fans of the Soulslike genre will immediately feel at home with the game’s mechanics. However, its approach to world-building and sense of atmosphere are where it attempts to set itself apart from others.
Game Rant recently spoke with AI Limit producer Yang Bin, who discussed what players can expect from the game’s narrative and how it tries to do things slightly differently from its contemporaries. He also mentioned how side quests in AI Limit are connected to the overarching story.
AI Limit’s Narrative Explained
The narrative element of a Soulslike game is often not the focus, typically being woven into environmental storytelling or as a secondary element, to focus on the most robust, polished gameplay mechanics possible. This is not the case for AI Limit’s story though. The game’s immersive futuristic world, which is brought to life by a cel-shaded art style, attempts to draw players in right from the off. Bin explained that the game’s main character, an immortal being called Arrisa, does not strive for the same things as most human protagonists do. This means the developers had to find a different motivation for Arrisa, with Bin explaining,
”Traditional games often center their storylines around family bonds, such as searching for children, parents, or lovers. However, since our protagonist is a non-human being, it inherently lacks such motivations. That’s why, instead of setting a traditional clearly-defined main storyline, we’ve used “making contact with humans and searching for Branches” as a thread.”
AI Limit’s Characters Are Connected Through Sub-Plots
All of this means that Arrisa will clearly need to find her motivations from other sources throughout AI Limit‘s world. Bin explained that the idea is for players to encounter NPCs throughout the game, and in these conversations, players can decide whether to help or simply ignore them. He explained that a lot of these NPCs have side stories that are all interconnected, weaving into the tapestry of the overarching narrative. He said,
”We hope that through their encounters with the characters, players will develop the motivation to help them. Or players can simply ignore everyone and focus on challenging powerful enemies. In addition, we’ve designed numerous interconnected plots for the characters. Players can experience that the side quests of each character are strongly connected, rather than being independent stories.”
Bin’s comments indicate that AI Limit attempts to put its side content on equal footing with the main campaign, coming together to tell one big story. The hope is that this encourages players who would normally ignore side content to engage with it, as failing to do so means that they may only get part of the picture that AI Limit is trying to paint. Striking the right balance between narrative and gameplay is a difficult task, particularly for a Soulslike, and SenseGames’ refusal to compromise on either is commendable.
- Released
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March 27, 2025
- Developer(s)
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Sense Games
- Publisher(s)
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CE-Asia