Games where the antagonist is an AI are not something that is a new concept. All kinds of science fiction media throughout the last decades have covered that, even leading to new genres such as cyberpunk.
But right now, in the modern age of overreliance on AI, media that criticize it is even more important. So here are a few games that you should check out, which antagonize the artificial intelligence, providing a discourse on how it may harm us in the future.
Best Games antagonizing AI
System Shock
Other than being one of the most influential games in the immersive sim genre, System Shock is also well known for having one of the most iconic AI antagonists in all of gaming. Originally developed by Origin Systems, this franchise has come a long way, under various developers trying their hands at different iterations.
System Shock, the original, follows the perspective of a notorious hacker who is poised to put an end to the plans of a malevolent AI named SHODAN, which is the acronym for Sentient Hyper Optimized Data Access Network. She was originally created for assistance with research, but eventually developed a god complex with the sole motive to end all lifeforms.
Doki Doki Literature Club
This one might come as a surprise to many, and sorry to ruin it before players get to play it, but yeah, the Doki Doki Literature Club deals with an AI who is actively trying to manipulate the game files.
Visual novels are well known for being a medium that can incite some memorable shock factor, and this game is a good example of that. Released in 2017 by Team Salvato for mobile phones and PC, DDLC took the world by storm.
Everyone wanted to check it out because of its dating sim style gameplay, but stayed behind to experience the utter theatrics of Monika.
Portal
The Portal series is a game franchise by Valve that is well remembered by fans for smartly utilizing hardware to develop the gameplay system around using portals. The company is well known for revolutionizing game development since the era of Half-Life.
But much like every other Valve series, we wish there were a third entry into the Portal franchise. The game deals with the player character having to deal with the puzzles that can be solved using the portal gun, and the mastermind behind all of this is GlaDOS an AI construct.
Atomic Heart
Artificial Intelligence and Robots taking over the world and turning it into a post-apocalyptic future is a very common trope in popular media, and Atomoic Heart is a game that is set around it. A first-person shooter developed by Mundfish Studio set in an alternate history Soviet Union during the 1950s.
The game depicts a fallen world from the time of World War II, where dependency on robots ultimately led to the downfall of humanity. The artificial intelligence known as Kollektiv is the main root that connects all the robots of this world now.
Lies of P
This game is a particularly curious case of debate over the age-old topic of media about robot uprising, and whether it can be considered as a medium that is anti-AI. The answer is yes, of course, robots are sentient artificial intelligence after all.
Despite the fantasy surrounding in-game resources known as Ergo, which fuels the automatons of the world into helping humanity, one grim moment in history turned all of them into murderous machines.
Interestingly enough, you play as a unique robot in the game yourself, but the rare thing about the player character is that he can lie and choose what to kill like ordinary humans.
Horizon
PlayStation’s Horizon franchise is not a game series that is everyone’s favorite. That is because it is the ultimate example of cinematic style of games that the company has been chasing, and a major part of the gaming community is not fans.
But that’s besides the point, Horizon is a game series that takes the idea of machines and rogue AI in a post-apocalyptic future to new heights. In a fictional sci-fi fantasy setting that goes back to the Stone Age, where machines now mirror prehistoric animals.
SOMA
This is a game entry on this list that most are going to be unfamiliar with, but it is something that we highly recommend you check out. SOMA is a linear progression-based horror game released back in 2015 by the indie developers Frictional Games.
If you are familiar with indie horror games that use a first-person perspective, such as the Amnesia franchise, then you will feel right at home with SOMA. Except, the game takes us players to a sci-fi setting where a deranged AI has unleashed human and machine hybrids. Now players have to navigate through puzzles and levels and avoid encounters with these threats.
