Steam Week in Review: A touch of AI is all it takes to trigger backlash, as a promising new indie falls afoul of slop skeptics
Korean developer Alive In’s Vapor World: Over The Mind, a Soulslike Metroidvania with distinctive painterly art style reminiscent of Lies of Pi and Playdead’s narrative platformers, faced immediate backlash following its August 19 early access launch on Steam. The title had accumulated 100,000 wishlists before launch, driven primarily by positive reception to a January 2025 demo that showcased the game’s evocative worldbuilding and parry-focused combat mechanics.
The celebratory launch quickly deteriorated when players discovered extensive use of generative AI in the game’s cutscenes—content that was absent from the widely-praised demo. This revelation triggered significant player backlash, with discussion shifting entirely away from the game’s technical and artistic merits toward concerns about AI-generated content quality and the studio’s handling of the feature. The contrast between the demo’s hand-crafted presentation and the AI-assisted launch build highlighted growing skepticism among gaming communities regarding AI integration in indie titles.