AI2U: With You ‘Til The End Review for Steam Early Access

Are you looking for something new? Are you ever afraid of what a human version of Chat GPT might do to you if you asked the wrong questions? Well, I have something to tell you about. AI2U: With You ‘Til The End, by developer and publisher AlterStaff Inc., is an escape room style game but you need to work with / navigate around NPCs that respond to you, your investigating, and your attentiveness to them.

I played through the Cat Girl’s apartment escape room scenario, and it was a great experience. You engage with the NPC’s and they respond to what you say to them. The content is dynamic, while the AI seems to be occasionally triggered by a scripted event. Also, the room may appear differently each time you play through it. I unfortunately got stabbed to death for ignoring the Cat Girl for too long.

I also enjoy the little things you can find around the rooms to build up the world around you. For Cat Girl’s apartment, you pick up on details by reading emails, seeing that the windows are boarded up, and that Cat Girl herself has some blood on her shirt. Eventually I opened a blind and saw the entire city was on fire. You can also learn so much just by having a semi-normal conversation with the AI NPC.

You can go about the situation in any way that you want. Playing just got better the more that I engaged with it. You can be antagonistic or friendly with the Cat Girl. You can manipulate her throughout the playthrough to distract her while you go through her apartment. You can befriend her and convince her to open the door, and then quickly run away. You can even have a bond with the Cat Girl and convince her to leave the apartment with you.

The whole thing is a puzzle, but in some cases, it is quite literally a puzzle. In the Cat Girl’s apartment, I searched for parts of a parrot statue and put it together. You can give characters items as gifts, or you can use items to perform tasks, such as cooking. Maybe you need to get a password, and it is a character’s favorite food item.

As I mentioned before, I got murdered in one playthrough. The NPCs can attack you when distressed. You can also accidentally shove them to cause friction. You can see that the NPCs have a level of favor with you, and you build upon that relationship by engaging with them and gifting them things. You can also buy items, like gifts, from the Blue Parrot in the main atrium/hub.

Sometimes the instructions, suggestions, or commands don’t register in the way that you want. I would try to get the Cat Girl to do a thing by saying “Okay, I will wait here.” For example, I needed her to leave the room. I told her I had a headache and wanted some water. It took some prompting to get her to actually leave the room.

The NPC also has a selective memory, but it certainly remembers the chat log. Cat Girl said she would leave with me, but when we got to the front door, she said that it was too dangerous for me to leave. She remembered agreeing before, but she went back on it. I thought it was interesting, but I did convince her to look for the key with me.

I had fun! I would vouch for this title. I think it would be a fun game to explore. I also like how the AI responds to me as the player. It makes me hopeful for what more can be created by developers. I also think that despite some repetition, the game can surprise you from time to time. The price is also nothing crazy to hold you back. I think a fair rating for this Early Access game is an 8.5 out of 10.

AI2U: With You ‘Til The End is available for PC via Steam Early Access.

Related: Reviews by John Pruitt