Vapor World: Over The Mind is a Soulslike Metroidvania with an evocative, painterly art style reminiscent of Lies of P and the narrative platformers of Playdead. According to Korean studio Alive Inc, the game had 100,000 wishlists just before its early access launch on August 19, mostly on the strength of a demo available since January 2025.
But what should have been a triumphant early access launch went pear shaped very quickly. At launch, few talked about the quite distinctive worldbuilding or the parry-heavy combat. Instead, all focus was trained entirely on something absent from the popular demo: very obvious AI use.
There is a game that is upcoming that I was interested in that clearly used generative AI in a gameplay trailer. I should say I’m not pro/anti generative AI. I’m right down the middle, I see the issues and the potential, so the presence of AI itself for me isn’t a deal killer (Crimson Desert for example).
But, the issue is that this game falsely represented what is going to be in the game. The lighting isn’t planned to be that good. The model rigging isn’t meant to be that fluid. Etc, etc. The problem is a matter of dishonesty.
If a developer uses generative AI for test assets and placeholders, I don’t see that as an issue (especially if they admit to and own that fact). If they use that material for trailers to showcase their work when that will not be part of the work, then that is a different story as that introduces that dishonesty.