AI Roguelite
- October 25, 2023
- Max Loh
- 6h median play time
Get on SteamAI Roguelite is a turn-based strategy game where players must build and optimize their own AI to fight enemies in procedurally generated dungeons. With over 100 skills and abilities to choose from, players can customize their AI to fit their preferred playstyle. The game features a unique "AI vs AI" mechanic, where players can pit their AI creations against each other in asynchronous multiplayer matches.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a unique and surreal experience, allowing players to create their own stories with AI-generated content.
- Frequent updates from the developer show commitment to improving the game, enhancing both gameplay and AI performance.
- The integration of AI for both text and image generation provides a fresh take on RPG mechanics, making for unpredictable and entertaining adventures.
- The game suffers from long loading times and performance issues, often requiring a powerful GPU to run smoothly.
- AI-generated narratives can be incoherent and nonsensical, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences where actions may not align with expectations.
- Lack of clear tutorials or guidance can make it difficult for new players to understand the mechanics and fully enjoy the game.
- story109 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 83 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story is highly variable, often lacking cohesion and coherence, with quests and events feeling random and disconnected. While players can create their own narratives and enjoy a sandbox experience, the AI's storytelling capabilities can lead to nonsensical outcomes and a lack of meaningful progression. Despite these issues, some users appreciate the creative potential and the ability to steer the narrative, making it a unique, albeit flawed, storytelling tool.
“If you know how to manipulate the AI into giving you the story you want, then this is better than any anime or movie.”
“Surprisingly coherent and functional game where you make your own story.”
“You can actually have a running story if you know how to steer the AI a bit and are willing to accept it will still go awry sometimes.”
“The story has no cohesion, with each event, action, or quest completed generating another seemingly random quest or task so that the story never really moves forward.”
“The limitations of the model spoil the experience of deep story, since the context size is very small.”
“It will wow you if you've never seen a computer generate a story before, but it really isn't advanced enough to actually generate a cohesive, satisfying story.”
- gameplay40 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 83 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its innovative integration of AI and roguelike mechanics, while others criticize the AI's poor functionality and incoherent mechanics that detract from the experience. While the game offers a unique, personalized RPG experience with elements like stats and crafting, many users find the combat and overall mechanics underdeveloped and frustratingly random. Overall, it showcases the potential of AI in gaming but requires further refinement to enhance gameplay coherence and enjoyment.
“At its core, this title blends the unpredictable excitement of roguelike mechanics with cutting-edge AI integration, creating a gameplay experience that is fresh with each run.”
“What sets AI Roguelite apart isn't just its innovative use of artificial intelligence to generate levels, enemies, and items; it's how seamlessly these elements are woven into the fabric of traditional roguelike gameplay.”
“The gameplay is a lot like D&D, where you have stats, rolls that test stats, and skills that your character can either start with and/or develop over time.”
“The AI doesn't play well with the mechanics, so if I have ice armor, it doesn't function properly.”
“The problem is your game sessions can be very random at times, completely taking you away from your quest mechanics and sending the story or the RPG into completely random encounters which you don't have control over, making it feel more like a dream state.”
“The combat in the game is also meaningless; there are no simple and understandable damage-type mechanics in it.”
- humor32 mentions
- 97 % positive mentions
- -6 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its absurdity and randomness, often leading to hilarious and unexpected scenarios, such as bizarre item combinations and nonsensical interactions. While many players find the initial novelty and chaotic humor entertaining, some note that the novelty can wear off, and the incoherence may detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game is described as a "playable fever dream" that can elicit genuine laughter, especially for those who appreciate its janky, unpredictable nature.
“However, if you are looking for a delirious, frequently hilarious fever dream with endless possibilities, this is for you.”
“Like every other modern AI toy, the AI in this game is in a hilarious state of 'almost gets it, but not quite.' The mechanics often don't make sense, and I am not quite sure how Darth Vader ended up with an anime girl t-shirt in his inventory after asking multiple people for his lightsaber.”
“The interactions are weird, and you may sometimes try to put 2 and 2 together and the result will come out as something unexpected and wild, which may be funny, but less so when your interaction is supposedly 'I hug my wife' and the result is 'her head explodes and everyone dies.'”
“I defeated so many level 25 enemies while being level 14 that it's just not funny anymore.”
“The jokes fell flat and felt forced, making the game more cringeworthy than entertaining.”
“I expected a lot of humor, but most of the attempts at comedy just missed the mark.”
- graphics23 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's graphics have been widely criticized for being janky, primitive, and aesthetically unpleasing, often resembling early 80s DOS games. Users report that the AI-generated visuals can produce bizarre and nonsensical results, leading to a surreal experience that some find entertaining despite its shortcomings. A strong graphics card is recommended for optimal performance, as the game struggles on lower-end systems.
“This is an amazing experiment and shows an AI is capable of generating stories and graphics based on players' input on the fly.”
“Half fever-dream, half science experiment, and entirely computer-generated, this AI roguelite is unlike any game that I've played before - the somewhat primitive aesthetic evokes early 80s DOS computer games.”
“If the surreal makes you laugh, and you have a decent graphics card (works fine on my 1080ti), this game is a must-buy.”
“It is by far the ugliest, jankiest, and most aesthetically abhorrent game that I have had a lot of fun with to date.”
“The interface and graphics are about as abhorrent as they get; Wombo AI and some of the other AI art options available result in the grossest surreal messes ever seen.”
“The artwork looks like something a man who has never seen anything with eyes trying to paint something described to you.”
- music23 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate its atmospheric quality and emotional resonance, others find it repetitive and poorly matched to the game's diverse environments. Many suggest that the soundtrack could benefit from more dynamic changes to better reflect the game's themes and situations. Overall, the music is seen as a highlight for some, but it also leaves room for improvement.
“The soundtrack and sound effects complement the gameplay, enhancing the overall experience without overwhelming the senses.”
“The music is the highlight of this game, creating a great sense of atmosphere and adding to the new locations and characters you meet along the way.”
“The music is also genuinely nice to listen to — it always reminds me of the Fable soundtrack.”
“The music is ok, but you would do better to pop in your own CD of atmospheric music and pretend the music in the game doesn't exist.”
“Music is repetitive and doesn't change well enough based on situation or mood.”
“It would be nice if the soundtrack changed based on the theme of the environment (e.g., I was in a rundown, apocalyptic Vegas casino and medieval music was still playing, so that was kind of odd).”
- stability9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is notably problematic, with numerous bugs, glitches, and performance issues reported by users. Many players experience slowdowns and inconsistencies, particularly with text-to-speech features and AI behavior, which can detract from the overall experience. While some find the game's absurdity entertaining despite these flaws, the consensus is that it requires patience and troubleshooting to enjoy fully.
“The game itself is very buggy and you will have to get used to how the AI works to progress through the game.”
“The idea of the game is very good, parts of the execution are well thought-out, but unfortunately it is a buggy mess.”
“It's pretty buggy in that it's honestly too easy to manipulate, or may repeat the same line of spoken audio 5 times and never read the actual narration.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized for severe memory leaks and performance issues, requiring frequent resets to maintain smooth gameplay. Users report significant stuttering and loading delays, with concerns about system stability during play. However, there is optimism regarding the developer's commitment to improving optimization, as some progress has already been noted.
“The dev is both incredibly hard and fast working; however, I have no doubts the memory leaks and other performance issues caused by the client will eventually be remedied.”
“The absolute chief concerns needed to be focused on in development are the optimization of this game's resource usage and the AI's discernment/generation speed.”
“Edit 2: The dev's optimization progress was helpful.”
“Loading the model makes my computer freeze for a minute at random, which isn't too bad, but it did crash it once, so that does make me worried regarding performance and how safe the program itself is.”
“The game was chugging along, stuttering and loading between every action.”
“The absolute chief concerns that need to be focused on in development are the optimization of this game's resource usage and the AI's discernment/generation speed.”
- replayability7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game is highly praised for its exceptional replayability, with users highlighting its endless possibilities and unpredictability as key features. Many reviewers emphasize that the creative freedom and engaging storylines contribute to a compelling experience that encourages repeated playthroughs. Overall, it is regarded as a game designed specifically for replay value, earning top ratings in this aspect.
“The only limit to settings, actions and goals is your imagination, making for a very replayable game.”
“It's coherent, endless, and extremely replayable; now that is if you're able to pull yourself away from a story that you've gotten neck deep into.”
“This unpredictability is the game's hallmark, offering endless replayability.”
“This game is all about replayability and creativity, and it was made for it.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while the introduction of new factions and a farming system adds interest, it can quickly become tedious and frustrating. Despite some rough edges, particularly in UI design, the overall dynamic and engaging nature of the text adventure is appreciated, making the grinding more forgivable.
“It becomes tedious and frustrating very quickly.”
“There are still notable rough edges — the very basic UI design, especially — but in a solo project which uniquely (and now very successfully) turns any arbitrary premise into a dynamic, high-quality text adventure, including pictures, quests, companions, farming, building, exploration, and more, I can easily forgive them.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is a mixed bag; while some players find the music to be a highlight that enhances the sense of immersion, others feel it falls short and recommend using their own music for a better experience. Overall, the game's sound design contributes positively to the exploration of new locations and characters.
“The music is the highlight of this game, creating a great sense of atmosphere and adding to the new locations and characters you meet along the way.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is criticized for lacking innovative features like NFTs and microtransactions, suggesting that players desire more engaging and modern financial elements within the game.
