Upcoming horror game AILA imagines a world where being a games tester is somehow even worse than it is in real life. You play as one of the poor souls tasked with testing a VR game run by an AI, which exists solely to to drag you through a series of nightmarish experiences spanning multiple genres.
Nothing is normal about the AILA trailer featuring a fake ad for the game that debuted in the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted today. In between distorted clips of promotional footage are shots of haunted forests and creatures snapping their heads toward the camera in a way that would make me tear the VR headset right off. A warning screen briefly appears that mentions side effects like "neural overload, memory fragmentation, perceptual shifts, and reality-induced neurosomatic disruptions."
AILA blends the fear of malicious AI and virtual reality that bleeds into reality reality by inserting you into different grotesque scenarios. The fake ad promises dental benefits and then cuts to a close-up view of someone getting their tooth yanked out, and later a man sitting at his desk takes an axe to the neck right after the announcer mentions work-from-home opportunities. I am guessing this job isn't going to be a good fit for anyone.
Developer Pulsatrix Studios promises to take you on a ride where moments of safety are crashed by monsters and other Saw-like death puzzles. There will also be a whole morality system that reflects what kind of dialogue choices you make in conversations. That part of the game is still a mystery, but Pulsatrix says your choices will impact what ending you get too.
You can wishlist AILA on Steam right now and mentally prepare yourself for when it arrives next year.
