If that’s appealing to you, you’re probably as much of a sucker for punishment as we are, and are going to love the ones that are on this list. Each one of them is going to test you in its own way, but the journey is certainly worth it as they are experiences you’d not want to miss.

Let’s dive in, and let the battles begin.

1. Bionic Bay

If you’re raising your eyebrows at the thought of a 2D platformer being among the hardest games of the year, allow us to warn you that this one comes with a lot of moments where you’re going to be feeling despair at the seemingly impossible challenge in front of you. That’s a sentiment that never fully leaves you as you try to navigate the complex pathways to your character’s ultimate escape that serves as the narrative framing for this adventure.

It takes a determined player to get to the end of this one, and if that’s you, strap in for a hell of a good time.

2. Elden Ring: Nightreign

Although I’d personally recommend you bring a couple of friends along to Limveld, playing with complete strangers might just be a natural part of the challenge on offer in this roguelike debut from FromSoftware. From planning the perfect route and being as efficient as possible when you take on the many threats you’re going to find along the way, this one is a rush through risky lands that can get quite addictive.

Of course, the bosses at the end of each run are going to be absolute walls that require multiple runs before you can even begin to formulate a strategy to take them down that can work with different combinations of weapons. We could go on, but you get the point.

3. Haste

While its premise, gameplay loop, and control scheme are deceptively simple, Haste is so unpredictable and reliant on precision for the best rewards that it becomes quite challenging to play it the way it wants you to. For a game that’s about running as fast as you can before you try to stick a perfect landing to preserve your momentum, it sure brings a myriad of ways to bring you to a sudden halt.

But if you’re the type to keep getting back up and trying again, you’re going to have a lot of fun (and digital concussions) with this one.

4. Escape From Tarkov

No matter the mode you pick on this extraction shooter, things are going to be challenging as you begin to trade damage with enemies and pick up a few injuries along the way. That’s thanks to the game’s emphasis on being a realistic tactical shooter, requiring you to be very cognizant of your presence in the world, and ever on the lookout for signs of life from your enemies, too.

Things can get tense with this one, especially against players who know what they’re doing with it. Approach it with caution and pay attention to its mechanics, as they could mean the difference between life and death.

5. Wuchang Fallen Feathers

This fantasy, based on the end of the Ming Dynasty, is a great example of a game that encourages you to try different approaches to insurmountable challenges until you find one that works. Its combat mechanics are sublime, with each of its weapon types coming with distinct mechanics that make them very special.

Its enemies and bosses are all excellent adversaries, while some of its harder enemies had us grinding our teeth in frustration at the errors they forced us to make. For a visually stunning world teeming with difficult fights to pick, this one is a no-brainer.

6. AI Limit

Life as a Blader isn’t easy, and Arissa is no stranger to the challenges that come her way in this sci-fi ARPG. But she’s only as good as the player guiding her actions, and the combat loop on offer makes things quite challenging to stay on top of. This game’s Soulslike trappings are proudly on display, and its enemy types make it quite hard to predict potential attacks and form strategies.

The result is an experience that needs you to think on your feet, and comes off all the more rewarding as a result.

7. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

Henry’s adventure in this sequel can get quite challenging if you don’t make good use of its excellent combat mechanics. While you can make things easy for yourself by exploring as much as you can, things are designed to remain a challenge throughout the experience in this title.

Its Hardcore mode takes the realism it presents to a whole other level, removing a lot of important assists that you might otherwise rely on. You’re going to want to master the basics of this game’s combat system and practice as much as you can to make the most of it.

8. Hollow Knight Silksong

As a worthy sequel to the original game, this one’s expanded size and scope make both exploration and combat work very well together to present a gameplay loop that constantly has you on the back foot if you’re prone to making errors in combat. Hornet’s improved agility and new moveset are a valuable addition to a game that brings a very troublesome rogues’ gallery to its levels.

You’re going to want to be precise and attack with intent if you want to survive this one’s toughest battles. To hesitate is to die, and this game does not let you forget that.

9. Blue Prince

This one is a great test of your wits for those among you who prefer that kind of a challenge. Finding the hidden 46th room in a mansion whose layout is ever-changing is going to have you thinking about potential solutions even while you’re at work. It’s maddeningly simple and yet quite hard to nail down.

When considered alongside a gameplay loop that’s designed to keep you bamboozled, this is a game that can send you in circles before you find that a solution was right in front of you all along.

10. The First Berserker: Khazan

For an exhilarating combat system backed up by a great story and some very unique visuals, Khazan’s battle is going to hit all the right notes and then some. The combat system gives you all the tools you need to face down any threats standing in your way, but makes each of those threats so memorable and challenging that you can’t help but get up and try again when they take you down.

This one’s so good that giving up on it isn’t an option, as you’re going to find out when you dive in.

11. DOOM: The Dark Ages

The Slayer might be feared by the forces of Hell, but he’s only as good as the one who wields his mighty arsenal of weapons. This prequel can get overwhelming if you don’t take full advantage of its new mechanics, and even that might not save you on its harder difficulties.

This is a game that needs you to be quite tactical as you take on enemies, planning a bloody path through their ranks with the brutal efficiency that only Earth’s mightiest defender can wield against the forces that threaten his world. The Slayer’s latest adventure is a deadly one, but it’s totally worth it if you’re up for the challenge.

12. Warriors: Abyss

Although the massive roster and a great combat system are the main draws of this one, it can get quite difficult to take on the armies it throws at you in the heat of battle. You’re going to have to master your moves to get the most out of your build, and the game’s enemies are no pushovers, ready to slice and dice you into oblivion if you allow the momentum of a battle to slip away.

While the story could have been better, it does manage to give you a reason to take on as many enemies as you like with almost reckless abandon, provided you earn your mastery through practice and perfection.

13. Ninja Gaiden 4

The new Ninja Gaiden does very well to preserve the franchise’s trademark challenge, with both Ryu and Yakumo having their abilities pushed to their limits over the course of the story. Taking on enemies with its combat system might be familiar if you’re a returning veteran, but it can get a tad challenging to master for a newcomer.

Either way, this is a game where you need to use all of the skills you learn in order to stay on top of everything it throws at you. Oh, and of course, you have to do it all with style. Otherwise, what’s the point?

14. Hell Is Us

While this game’s combat might not be too much of a challenge, it’s in how the game’s very design is aimed at making it all as opaque as possible that gets you. Hell is Us can get quite complicated if you’re not paying attention, with so much of its content hidden away behind a veil of obscurity that seems to cover its world.

Uncovering it all is going to require the best of your sleuthing skills, and of course, a bit of talent with your blades whenever the need arises. Even that might not be enough to see all it has to offer in a single playthrough. Approach this one with a suitable notepad in hand.

15. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

Joe Musashi’s fight against the ENE is a great action-platformer that can have you retrying portions of it more often than you’d like to admit. While you do enjoy Musashi’s agility and a solid arsenal of skills and tools to make fights easier as the adventure goes on, its enemies ensure that you’re always kept on your toes and that no victory feels cheap.

It’s a deadly dance of attacks and dodges that can have you spending hours just enjoying its balance between simplicity and depth.

And that’s a wrap on the hardest games of 2025 that caught our attention. We can only wonder what the year ahead has in store for us, but no matter what, know that we’re going to be there for it all alongside you!

But first, does the game control well? It absolutely does. I don’t know if it ranks among my favorite controlling soulslikes, but it’s certainly up there among the most elastic and intuitive ones to play regarding movement. The turning radius of Arrisa’s movement is very tight and snappy and she’s a quick runner with lightning-fast attacks. There’s hardly any ‘clunk’ at all to speak of here. The camera is very well behaved during fights, though it does require manual adjustments here and there.

There are a lot of things to discuss about AI Limit, but one particular element of combat deserves frontloaded attention. That system is the Sync bar, which effectively replaces the stamina found in other titles. Unlike any other Soulslikes that I’ve encountered, AI Limit doesn’t actually have any stamina. Instead of patiently waiting for a green meter to fill back up again before sprinting, you can just sprint eternally without a care.

"AI Limit doesn’t actually have any stamina. Instead of patiently waiting for a green meter to fill back up again before sprinting, you can just sprint eternally without a care."

You can also attack and dodge without a single thought paid to stamina. This is because AI Limit doesn’t burden basic actions behind any energy requirements; instead, advanced actions like magic and special attacks consume stamina… I mean Sync energy. I cannot emphasize enough how freeing it is just running around swinging without a single thought paid to stamina, but let’s continue.

The Sync bar itself is rather ingenious. It’s divided into tiered sections which affect your combat prowess based on what tier the bar is at. The game has nuanced terms for all these mechanics, but in general, sync rate is how fast or slow the sync energy accumulates or depletes when fighting. This kind of system encourages either type of approach: an aggressive offensive approach where you’re continually boosting sync rate akin, or a defensive one that stabilizes sync rate by avoiding hits.

There’s more packed into AI Limit’s combat that we’ll get into shortly, but let’s take a breath of fresh air and explore the multi-layered world of Havenswell. First off, no, AI Limit is not open world in any way. It’s not strictly on-rails either. The game map is structured based on district zones containing a dozen or so ‘levels’.

Each level has a handful of shortcuts that loop back to the starting Branch (your typical ‘bonfire’ in souls parlance). The map design manages to guide the player from branch to branch with a urgency while allowing some exploration with the branching paths and optional dead end areas. The level pacing hits a nice sweet spot. And those optional diversions are worthwhile most of the time, containing hidden items or quests occasionally.

Overall, the map structure is somewhat similar to Dark Souls 2, except with no dedicated hub area. Instead of a hub, the game has multiple vendors and NPCs scattered about the different districts. Thankfully, fast travel between Branches is available as soon as you reach your second Branch. Load times between warps aren’t long either, so if you find yourself returning to a grind spot to sell materials to a trader halfway across Havenswell, the process isn’t too bothersome.

The branch system is more forgiving than other soulslikes due to your currency not being lost upon death. Not all of it anyway. Only a marginal number of Crystals (your currency and experience) is lost upon death, and that amount can be adjusted based on equipment. There’s also no retrieving of lost Crystals, so that cuts down on all the backtracking to our last death that so many similar games have, and I’m thankful for that.

On the graphical front, AI Limit isn’t overtly impressive. The graphics are clearly budgeted, which shows when viewing far distant areas or objects up close – the draw distance and texture detail just aren’t that great here. There’s also not a ton of environmental props or ornamental stuff to examine, but it’s serviceable and more than makes up for it in its level design. The modest graphics don’t really translate into amazing performance either. Framerate can dip when many enemies are on screen. Turning vsync off can help with stutter and occasional input lag, but results in consistent screen tearing. It’s not a very well optimized game, but I found it perfectly manageable, but maybe that’s because I gleefully went through Blighttown on the Xbox 360 and thought that was acceptable.

"AI Limit has its fair share of bugs."

My bigger problems had to do with some of the glitches and bugs throughout the experience. The most persistent bug I encountered made enemies invisible except the weapon they were holding. Desperately running through a street filled with floating guns to reach the next Branch wasn’t exactly a highlight of the game for me, but my bug woes don’t end there. Elements of clothing or body parts would disappear from enemies, to the point where Rayman-like heads and legs with no torso star swinging at me as if from a low budget horror game. This wasn’t game-breaking for me, but the invisible enemies did make it difficult and annoying to trudge through, despite the game’s excellent controls and combat.

Despite the lower graphical detail of AI Limit, what is graphically presented is varied. Each level is distinct, looking and feeling different from the last. The districts within Havenswell have their own challenges, giving the world an interconnection that feels lived-in.

The plot itself will be hit or miss, and it certainly isn’t cinematic in the slightest. Oh yeah, and NPCs have their own set arcs and quests. These inhabitants show up in different locations throughout your adventure and the voice acting behind most of them is surprisingly impressive. What’s more, how you interact with these characters, along with certain key decisions you make, determine one of a couple different endings.

Now let’s return to the bread and butter of AI Limit: combat. Each weapon type has a unique normal attack pattern, light Special Attack, Heavy Special Attack, and Weapon Skill. That kind of toolkit is nothing to sneeze at and it allows for some nice build variety and experimentation. But there’s something especially satisfying about the Special Attacks in particular. Special Attacks are performed with the shoulder buttons with the heavy ones requiring a windup hold. I’ve never felt as swift and ninja-like in a Soulslike quite like I do with the Dashing Slash Special Attack on the Blader Swords here. Dashing Slash performs a breezy pop-in/pop-out stab which positions your character just perfectly out of range of the enemy’s close attacks. Spamming this special attack with carefree aggression is just something you can’t do in other games, thanks to the unlimited stamina.

There’s also a ton of really cool weapon items in AI Limit. Weapon items consume a portion of the Sync Bar, dealing significant damage, occasionally with flames or poison applied. Further opening up your combat arsenal are spells. Spells really diversify the offensive toolkit with everything from a railgun projectile to homing missiles and more. But what about your defensive options? Well, defensive tactics are open to you within the Frame Abilities. Frame Abilities determine whether you want to emphasize blocking, parrying, a risk/reward berserker mode, and more. Switching between Frame modes is rather intuitive with its hotkey activation and it even shows visually with Arrisa’s arm activating.

Seals add even more tools to your arsenal with Sync bar customization. Want an ‘all or nothing’ approach to Sync Rate? Well, there’s Seals that allow that. And then there’s other ones that chop up the Sync Bar into many small energy levels to create a far more fluid and linear sync rate. Weapons and Seals can be enhanced to further their output, so it’s entirely possible to beat the game with the first seal and weapon you obtain.

The enemies you use your weapons on are no less impressive than the toolkit afforded to you. Enemies are spaced out and paced in a satisfying way. You never feel too overwhelmed by large mobs and yet always have enough stuff to fight around every corner. Early on, I got the impression that enemy variety would be lacking. I mean, how many varieties of the ghoul-like enemies can the game have? Turns out a decent amount. The game’s different factions have good variety and you’ll even stumble upon them fighting each other. Some of these faction battles allowed me to run past them on my way to the next Branch. You’ll fight poisoned flying bugs and robot drones, among many other abominations throughout the duration of the game.

"Each boss has unique attack patterns and AI behavior, as expected, but some encounters feel like a genuine test of the game’s systems."

Oh, and the boss fights. I didn’t think I would get impressed by more soulslike boss fights, but the game even managed to surprise me there. Each boss has unique attack patterns and AI behavior, as expected, but some encounters feel like a genuine test of the game’s systems. I won’t spoil it, but a certain encounter finally made me cave in and explore a side area in hopes of obtaining better gear. After exploring multiple zones and defeating a side boss, I returned and found myself in lock-step with this tank of a robot with a giant grin on my face with tons of confidence. AI Limit’s bosses are up to the genre’s lofty standards, and I’m looking forward to fighting them with all the weapons I ignored on my first playthrough.

So is AI Limit a traditional soulslike? Yes. It’s got your post-apocalyptic setting and of course, the bonfire system is an almost 1-to-1 adaptation here. If there was any debate if this was really a soulslike, there’s even the same exact run jump from Dark Souls 1 (with no dedicated jump button, or course). But there’s a special ingredient here that makes it feel so much more fluid and freeing than all the other soulslikes, and that’s the unrestricted stamina. Having basic actions not being burdened by an energy resource is wonderful, and the game’s difficulty curve isn’t too badly affected by it, all things considered. Whether you’re a soulslike action newcomer looking for something with less friction, or are a longtime fan seeking out the next great challenge, AI Limit comes highly recommended despite its modest budget.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

FragPunk

Bad Guitar Studio’s free-to-play competitive shooter Fragpunk finally arrives on March 6th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC and caters to the Valorant crowd. That is if Valorant had an even more bombastic art style and cards that introduce modifiers, from larger heads to flipping the level upside down. As far-fetched as it seems, Fragpunk’s mix of abilities and cards is endearing – here’s hoping it’s also long-lasting.

Split Fiction

Better than It Takes Two (according to director Josef Fares) and promising to blow people away (again, according to Fares). Regardless of the signature hyperbole, Hazelight’s latest co-op adventure looks quite good. As Mio and Zoe, two writers stuck in a simulation, players venture across sci-fi and fantasy worlds with a ridiculous number of gameplay mechanics. Mechs, gravity changes, dragon-riding, spacewalks, even sausage making (turned terrifying) – it’s all here and out on March 6th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. And only one person needs to own a copy to play with a friend, thanks to the Friend’s Pass.

Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster

Launching on March 6th for all platforms, Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster is exactly what it says – a remastered compilation of Konami’s first two award-winning role-playing games with updated effects and HD backgrounds. Quality-of-life features like a conversation log, auto-save and Fast Forward for combat should make the journeys to gather all 108 Stars of Destiny much smoother. If you enjoyed Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes and always wanted to experience its inspiration, now’s the time.

WWE 2K25

With Cody Rhodes finishing his story, the past year or so of WWE has focused heavily on the Bloodline. So it should come as no surprise that the new Showcase in WWE 2K25, out on March 14th, is all about the faction, incorporating past and present Samoan wrestlers while debuting a new social space called The Island for players to hang out. With over 300 wrestlers, a new unified MyRISE mode, online multiplayer for MyGM and new match types, there’s quite a lot on the card.

MLB The Show 25

The show never truly ends for Sony San Diego Studio. and this year, it’s looking to implement major improvements based on fan feedback. Road to Show is revamped, offering eight licensed teams while still following the Path to 99 progression. Diamond Dynasty dabbles with rogue-like mechanics, Storylines continue, and the gameplay has seen numerous improvements. MLB The Show 25 launches on March 18th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch, though unfortunately, not for Game Pass.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

After months of delays, rumors, and extensive gameplay showings, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is poised for release on March 20th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Ubisoft is mixing up quite a bit with its dual protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke, but also returning to its stealth action roots while revamping the parkour and adding seasons. Between the base-building, scouting, loot, and late Sengoku era intrigue, there’s tons to unpack, but can it revive the publisher’s fortunes? That’s the million-dollar question.

Rise of the Rōnin (PC)

Insert a joke about playing a better open-world action RPG set in Japan. But in all seriousness, Rise of the Ronin’s PC version is worth looking forward to. It not only features ray tracing, up to 8K, 120 FPS, support for various upscalers and more, but it comes packed with all the post-launch updates, including more challenging missions and new loot. It arrives on March 11th via Steam.

Killing Floor 3

Killing Zeds in 2091, where Horzine has spliced the undead with cybernetic technology to craft new horrors. As a Specialist of Nightfall, it’s your job to resist, undertaking missions with up to five other players. All the tenets of Killing Floor are present, from highly customizable weapons and wave-based combat to modifiers on higher difficulties and Grindhouse levels of gore. The far future premise may turn some off, but after playing the closed beta, the full game may be the bloodiest of good times when it launches on March 25th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Atomfall

Survival sandbox post-Windscale fire disaster set in and around an isolated village. A somewhat despotic military, cults, bandits, mysterious bunkers, mutants, and naturally, a voice in a telephone booth telling you to kill someone. Rebellion Developments’ Atomfall is certainly something, to the extent that even its lead designer is intrigued at how it may or may not work out. It launches on March 27th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, and PC, so it won’t take long for us to find out.

The First Berserker: Khazan

When the Les Pollos Empire – and the world at large – faced disaster at the hands of the Berserk Dragon, it turned to one legendary general to save it. However, after being forsaken by his king, Khazan would be badly wounded and exiled…that is, until the Blade Phantom took up residence in his body, offering a path to revenge. Regardless of your connection to the Dungeon and Fighter lore, there’s no denying the brutal yet responsive combat or the stunning world design. The First Berserker: Khazan arrives on March 27th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC.

Two Point Museum

If managing a hospital and a university wasn’t enough, Two Point Studios is dooming human culture further by placing you in charge of a museum. Organize exhibits and tours, manage guests, decorate the floor, and even send expeditions to garner artifacts. With five museum locations and a sandbox mode, there’s plenty of room – and challenges – to become the perfect curator. Two Point Museum arrives on March 4th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

AI Limit

Another Souls-like anime-style action RPG, this one offers a post-apocalyptic world not unlike that of Code Vein (minus the vampires). As a Blader arriving in mankind’s last standing city, Havenswell, it’s your job to repair the Branches. Be careful, as massive beasts, ravenous warriors, and terrifying monsters roam the city, seeking your end. Launching on March 27th, AI Limit will be available for PS5 and PC.

Wreckfest 2

Through various trials and tribulations, Flatout’s spiritual successor Wreckfest underwent four years of early access before releasing to strong critical praise. It’s finally getting a sequel in the form of Wreckfest 2, which is also going the early access route on March 20th. Overhauled physics, more “intense” crashes – Bugbear promises it all and then some, including a forthcoming revamp of career mode. There’s a lot of content coming later, but at launch, it should be yet another smash hit.

Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone

If you had to order someone to dimension-hop and steal the precious MacGuffin-like Chernobylite, who else to send but Cole Grey, even if he does get stranded? Though the sequel embraces more action RPG-esque combat and multiple classes, you’ll still have to gather materials and survive across irradiated landscapes, with or without companions. With about 30 percent of the full game, Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone will launch on March 6th for PC via early access.

Elden Ring: Nightreign

“New” might sound like a misnomer for Nightreign, a spin-off of FromSoftware’s massive open-world action RPG into a co-op experience. Nevertheless, it’s something truly unprecedented from the studio – one or three players survive through multiple days, nights and bosses (including some from Dark Souls) to take on the Night Lord. Select a class, scope out areas with valuable loot, face the night, and try to survive. It’s out later this year for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, and PC, and we’re intrigued to see how it fares.

"The game has approximately 20-30 types of weapons in total, covering a wide variety. The variety of weapons provides different combat styles and pacing, making combat experiences more diverse."

AI Limit’s blend of realistic visuals and an anime aesthetic make for quite an eye-catching art style. How did you land on this look for the game?

The theme of the AI LIMIT is post-apocalyptic. When it comes to this style, some works can’t be ignored: Fallout, The Last of Us, Borderlands, Resident Evil, Horizon Zero Dawn… Civilization declines, abandoned cities are overrun by rejuvenated plants, desolate streets are wandering with zombies, bio-mutants, mechanical beasts, and even alien creatures. The causes of the wasteland are also no more than familiar elements such as global nuclear war, bio-viruses (fungal technology!), or mad robots. Although we wanted to create a wasteland degraded from an artificial intelligence crisis, it wasn’t a particularly new idea. So, what we can do to make it unique?

One day, a concept art held my attention: plants burst out from pavement, the green chewed out steel and concrete. Nature takes over the world again when people have vanished.

This has enlightened me: why can we do the opposite? What would happen if plants went extinct?

In a classic post-apocalyptic world setting: humans often lost the ability to transform ecology (otherwise they wouldn’t be in such a situation). The extinction of plants means that the atmospheric environment and food sources that humans rely on would no longer exist. Most post-apocalyptic themes tend to focus on their own subjects and don’t mind sharing the end-of-the-world scenario with plants – so we decided to challenge this notion.

After deciding to remove the element of plants, constructing a post-apocalyptic world would inevitably require an explanation of what is supporting the atmospheric environment and food sources – this explanation can naturally return to the theme of artificial intelligence. Starting from this point, a plethora of ideas emerged: out-of-control technology, plant extinction, organic life forms, urban megastructures, the legend of Elysium… We abandoned the popular elements like mecha science fiction, zombies, and alien invasions, and ultimately constructed a post-apocalyptic world that only belongs to AI LIMIT.

It looks like AI Limit is going to place quite a bit of emphasis on build diversity. What can you tell us about the range of options the game will offer in terms of its weapons and abilities and the different play styles they will encourage?

The game has approximately 20-30 types of weapons in total, covering a wide variety. The variety of weapons provides different combat styles and pacing, making combat experiences more diverse.

Another highlight is the Sync Rate system. It replaced Stamina in souls-like games. This change encouraged players to focus more on their quick thinking and adaptability in combat.

"Because Arrisa, the protagonist, has relatively strong combat abilities compared to other Souls-like games, we have also designed equally capable enemies."

How much of an emphasis will the game place on exploration? Should players expect a large and open-ended map, or will the game feature a more condensed and prescribed design style?

About the exploration: we admire the highly interconnected design in the Dark Souls, where all areas built around the Firelink Shrine within a space of several hundred meters. However, for a post-apocalyptic city that pursues a realistic scale and has a radius of over ten kilometers, this is difficult to achieve. Due to the size of the levels and technical limitations, we did not present this world in a seamless form.

The level-based design is what we are doing. Naturally it has advantages: to highlight stronger thematic elements and to focus more on exploration. During actual gameplay, to eliminate the psychological gap between the size of the playable area and the actual size of the city, the player’s journey will interweave between various environments on the surface and underground of the city. Through a “scene-changing-as-you-move” approach, players will cross the city without realizing it. Such an arrangement also showcases the richness of the city’s scenery. Players are not just constantly shuttling back and forth through the streets of ruins; instead, they experience a variety of wonders on a more three-dimensional, gigantic urban structure.

Boss and enemy design is always key in action games such as AI Limit. What should players expect from the game in this area?

Because Arrisa, the protagonist, has relatively strong combat abilities compared to other Souls-like games, we have also designed equally capable enemies.

Take the Necros, one of the enemy factions in the game, as an example. Necro is a general term for a type of monster that wreaks havoc throughout the city. Their signatures include spikes, blades, tentacles, silver shells, and insect-like wings, symbolizing chaos and slaughter.

The Necros possess overwhelming strength. Some move with swift and eerie agility, making them elusive and hard to predict. Others have sharp claws and blades that not only deal damage but also inflict very troublesome status effects. Some can harness extremely dense energy to create explosions and rays… Even with enhanced mobility, the onslaught of Necros is by no means easy for players to withstand. Only by leveraging all resources and mastering every aspect of the combat system can one hope to survive this rebellious wasteland.

How is AI Limit approaching difficulty? Will the game feature difficulty options?

Our idea is to make AI LIMIT more accessible than Dark Souls while still challenging. The game does not demand perfect execution. Players can utilize leveling up, items, and special skills to deal with difficult enemies when they are struggling.

Regarding difficulty options, no, the game does not have difficulty options, but we are making the game more accessible based on feedback from playtests.

As a developer, what are your thoughts on the PS5 Pro? How does boost in GPU help in developing your game compared to the base PS5?  

It’s been 4 years since the PS5 was released. Its hardware is outdated for gamers. The PS5 Pro solves this problem. For developers, the improved GPU will help with rendering and frame rate performance. But right now, our priority is to optimize the PS5 version.

"Regarding difficulty options, no, the game does not have difficulty options, but we are making the game more accessible based on feedback from playtests."

What are your thoughts on PSSR? What kind of opportunities will this open for the game?   

I think PSSR is icing on the cake for the platform.

What resolution and frame rate will the game target on the PS5 and on the PS5 Pro? 

For PS5, the target resolution is at least 2K60FPS. For PS5 PRO, the target is 4K60FPS.