GamesHorrorFree horror game finds a rare good use for AI generation, takes 20 minutes to beat but will give you a lifetime of existential dread and AOL nostalgiaWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesHorrorFree horror game finds a rare good use for AI generation, takes 20 minutes to beat but will give you a lifetime of existential dread and AOL nostalgiaWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Sochin Studio)
Last Seen Online, a new free horror game I spotted from its greatreviews on Steam, has managed to pull off two unlikely victories: it actually makes good use of AI-generated content and it’s existentially scary on a level I’ve seldom experienced.
Usually, “AI-generated content disclosure” is the most efficient way to make me lose interest in a game, but two key distinctions persuaded me to give Last Seen Online a shot. For one, it’s an indie horror game prominently featuring AOL instant messenger, an irresistible appeal to my exact age and preferences. Secondly, the way it utilizes AI software to produce content seems relatively innocent and genuinely clever.
So, instead of using AI to write lame dialogue or auto-generated quests displacing human jobs, it just edits pictures of the developer to obscure and distort identities - reasonable! I still have questions about what other content that root AI may have scraped, but this seems like a pretty clean use of AI as a tool. Having taken 20 minutes to play through the game myself, I have to say the photographs are convincing enough that you’d never know they’re AI-created unless you’re looking very carefully, and that uncanniness kind of suits the atmosphere.
I can also wholeheartedly guarantee you that you will not be worried about AI-generated content. I won’t get into spoilers, but the story starts with the player character buying an old laptop at a garage sale and opening it to find evidence of the incredibly sad, disturbing backstory of its original owner. The ending in particular left me on the edge of a panic attack.
Seriously, the story is one big meditation on the tragedy of youth with heady themes including abandonment, suicide, and transhumanism. In short, it’s dark as all hell, and you’d be wise to exercise caution going in, particularly if your mental state is at all fragile. All that said, it packs a hell of a punch in a really short amount of time, and along with its clever, seemingly harmless use of AI, it deserves your time so long as you have the mental and emotional bandwidth for it.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
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1
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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
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5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams’ disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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1
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2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
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4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
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Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
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5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”