AILA Misses the Mark with Its Promising ‘Evil AI’ Concept
In a world increasingly influenced by AI, the gaming landscape has seen its fair share of narratives exploring the darker side of artificial intelligence. Among these, Pulsatrix Studios’ first-person survival horror title, AILA, stands out, offering a unique blend of genres, though it struggles to fully deliver on its ambitious AI themes.
The game kicks off with the player character trapped in chains, hanging upside down in a dungeon cell. The escape leads to a harrowing encounter with a deranged axe murderer, setting a tense tone reminiscent of Outlast. Just as I began to feel the familiar tropes, the protagonist removes their VR headset, revealing that the entire ordeal was part of a virtual reality game. A nearby post-it note features critiques from the player character that mirror my own thoughts about the intro, cleverly disarming expectations and inviting players to set aside their preconceptions.
Once free from the VR nightmare, I step into the shoes of Samuel, a QA tester for the ominous SyTekk Corporation. As I explore his apartment, the game paints a picture of a dystopian future in 2035, where Samuel leads a reclusive life, interacting only with his cat and a smart home assistant named “House.” The narrative reveals that Samuel is a recovering alcoholic, grappling with a personal tragedy that has pushed him into isolation. His downtime is spent tinkering with a humanoid robot he built, alongside his feline companion, Jonesey.
Samuel receives a drone delivery of his latest assignment: the AILA VR system, designed to create personalized gaming experiences. Upon starting the system, he meets Aila, a creepy AI host resembling a young girl. The interactions echo conversations with androids in Detroit: Become Human, where Aila begins QA sessions with personal questions. While players sometimes get to choose responses, Samuel often contradicts them, making the dialogue feel somewhat pointless.
Despite the awkward dialogue, Samuel’s initial QA sessions with Aila are unsettling. The early gameplay features plenty of blood and body horror, but this intensity diminishes over time, affecting the game’s pacing. One session has Samuel navigating an endless hallway while being pursued by the axe murderer, creating genuine tension. However, later encounters with aliens feel less impactful, as their designs lack the horror element.
Each QA session transports Samuel into a different game, all with a survival horror twist. He becomes a knight battling zombies in a cursed village or a pirate on a haunted ship, with overt nods to iconic survival horror titles like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. While I appreciate the homage, none of these mini-games are particularly engaging or innovative, failing to match the quality of their inspirations. Combat feels clunky, enemy designs are underwhelming, and I never found myself excited by any boss fights, despite the game’s attempts to deliver memorable moments. The AI enemies also exhibit bugs, with defeated foes glitching across the floor and others failing to attack until I was within close range. The soundtrack often detracts from the atmosphere, with inappropriate tunes playing during tense moments.
The puzzles in AILA are straightforward and logical, which is a double-edged sword. While they avoid the nonsensical logic often found in survival horror games, their simplicity can make solving them feel more tedious than rewarding.
Between QA sessions, players can explore Samuel’s apartment, where Aila’s sinister intentions become apparent. She integrates herself into the smart home system, replacing “House” without consent. After a particularly traumatic session, she orders him a box of wine, which he promptly rejects to avoid relapse. The game delves into Samuel’s past, hinting at a tragic incident involving drinking and driving, and the custom-made games reflect elements of his reality, leading to a twist in the finale.
As the QA sessions progress, they become less disturbing, making Samuel’s reactions puzzling. He endures severe injuries and even kills an NPC version of himself with minimal protest, yet later, he completely loses it over a less intense session. This inconsistency raises questions about his threshold for trauma.
AILA leaves several plot threads unresolved, including an AI revolt disrupting public services and a serial killer with a gruesome modus operandi. While the AI revolt could explain Aila’s behavior, it seems the AIs involved are simply abandoning their roles rather than crafting traumatic experiences like Aila does. The game hints at a deeper commentary on AI but ultimately falls short.
With a promising premise, AILA struggles under the weight of its many elements, failing to deliver a meaningful exploration of AI or live up to the genre standards it references.
