AI Limit is a new Soulslike adventure that borrows from some of the best games in the genre but struggles to stand out.
The Soulslike genre is becoming crowded, but while games like Stellar Blade and Lords of the Fallen, strove to incorporate some original ideas, such as the latter having a parallel spirit world to explore, others take a much safer and traditional route. AI Limit is one of these.
The first outing by the Chinese developer SenseGames, AI Limit is a traditional Soulslike game, something that both helps and hinders it. For example, while AI Limit never really blazes its own trail, it does deliver a hard-as-nails experience that hardcore Souls players will relish.
This is very much a game where you “git gud” or die trying.
AI Limit screenshots
What is AI Limit about?
Playing as Arrisa, an artificial human known as a Blader, you have been tasked with repairing the world after some creepy monsters called Necros brought an end to civilization. To do this, you need to find and repair Branches, which are checkpoints that work a lot like Bonfires from Dark Souls.
After waking up in a sewer where people are hiding in fear, Arrisa can’t remember how she got there, but she does recall her mission. She’s also not the only Blader stalking the tunnels, and it soon becomes clear that the other artificial humans have turned into zombies that attack humans on sight.
While the story isn’t groundbreaking, featuring a similar apocalyptic setting to the one we’ve seen in dozens of other games – such as Stellar Blade, fans of this, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne will feel right at home. It’s just not going to win any points for originality.
Anime Dark Souls
AI Limit uses an anime style similar to Code Vein, and while it never reaches the dizzying heights of games like Elden Ring, it still looks good on PS5. Animations are silky smooth and Arrisa is a joy to control. While the environments are a little drab in the early hours of the game, once you emerge from the sewer, AI Limit gets to show off its apocalyptic playground in all its glory.
AI Limit initially feels a lot like Stellar Blade as both use a similar art style with Soulslike mechanics and like that game, much of AI Limit’s fun comes from being able to dress Arrisa in a range of costumes and accessories. However, unlike Stellar Blade, these costumes actually do something and are not just cosmetics.
These garments also act as armor. So, if you find a piece of gear you like, be prepared to switch it out later for something more useful in combat. As an experienced Souls player since 2009, I appreciated this. I don’t want to play dress-up, I want to know how this gear benefits me in battle.
Branches work a lot like Bonfires from Dark Souls or Sites of Grace from Elden Ring.
Brutal but rewarding combat
The combat system encourages an aggressive fighting style, not unlike Bloodborne. While you can’t regain health by attacking, the lack of a stamina bar means you can keep whaling on enemies until they either die or find a way to counter you.
There’s a brief moment of vulnerability once your combo ends, so knowing how to capitalize on this is crucial to your survival. After playing games that rely on the stamina meter to teach you when to stop attacking, this was jarring, at least initially.
I felt a temptation to get greedy with my attacks – and ended up paying the price. But in time, I learned how to use this pause to my advantage. For example, no stamina also means you can dodge as much as you like. So this system works nicely and helps encourage both relentless attacking and restraint.
Adding to this aggressive playstyle is the inability to block attacks. Instead, you are given a special power that allows you to parry and riposte incoming moves. Mastering this made the game’s bosses much easier to take down, and it’s incredibly satisfying to pull off. A successful parry can stagger enemies and lead to a devastating counter-attack that shreds their health and can turn the tide of a boss battle.
For example, the first boss, Lore, the Lost Lancer is incredibly intimidating and can kill you in just a couple of hits. However, knowing when to parry with precision allowed me to take him down without taking a hit – eventually. While parrying attacks isn’t exactly new, AI Limit made it feel fresh.
SenseGamesThe Lost Lancer is no joke, but he can be parried.
Staying in Sync
AI Limit’s bosses aren’t playing around, and even experienced Souls veterans will learn to respect them. Button mashing and luck won’t save you here – you’ll need to master the game’s mechanics and learn enemy attack patterns. While there are no difficulty options, AI Limit is always fair, so even new players can carve out a path to victory.
What sets AI Limit apart from other games is its Sync Rate mechanic. This essentially replaces what would be stamina in games like Dark Souls, and governs not only how powerful you are, but which special moves you can perform.
The Sync Rate bar is set to 100 and to remain powerful, you need to keep the number as high as possible. Special moves and spells cause it to decrease, which makes Arissa more vulnerable. This creates a perpetual risk versus reward system, which is especially felt during boss encounters, where you’ll want to use all the tools at your disposal.
Just be careful not to over-indulge. The good news, though, is that your Sync can be regained by fighting, once again encouraging players to be aggressive. While the Sync feature adds a tactical element to the combat and works well, it isn’t enough to make AI Limit stand out from other games in the genre.
SenseGamesAI Limit has various NPCs, some even have quests you can follow.
The verdict
AI Limit is a decent addition to Sony’s China Hero Project, something that provides independent Chinese developers with the opportunity to develop games for the PS5.
While the adventure borrows heavily from Bloodborne, Dark Souls, and Stellar Blade, it never quite manages to match them. This is because it feels like more of a tribute act rather than a game that drives the genre forward. As fun as AI Limit is, we’ve seen it all before.
However, if you’re craving more of that classic Soulslike gameplay in a slick anime art style that’s always rewarding to play, then there’s still lots of fun to be had in AI Limit.
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