Looking for the best artificial intelligence games?
There’s nothing more satisfying than a decent Gaming AI. When people talk about artificial intelligence in gaming, they’re usually speaking about NPCs you meet or fight. Sometimes, however, the concept of AI also has a role in the main narrative, which is a different thing than having characters with personality. We’re looking at the smartest PC games with the most believable computer-controlled characters, ones that at times actually feel more alive than some of your fellow players.
Most video games revolving around artificial intelligence are generally serious and complicated affairs. The games on this list represent a range of examples, but overall, they show off the very best gaming AI has to offer. The examples are quite diverse but, if we’re being honest, mostly serious. We can’t ignore, though, that there is one exception in Portal 2, and it’s exactly as light-hearted and simple as it sounds. In other words, this isn’t a list of the best sci-fi games, but artificial intelligence is so often artificial in sci-fi settings.
The best AI games are:
NieR Automata
In NieR Automata, androids fight against machines. Well, that’s how it appears at first glance. Like any good sci-fi game, there’s more to this tale than initially meets the eye. Nier Automata starts out like a fairly straightforward action-adventure, with the usual initially clear-cut mission objectives of destroying certain enemies or taking out a specific target. Yet, as the game progresses, things get so much deeper, with consequences and complications arising way beyond your initial expectations.
Your character roams a post-apocalyptic world that mixes elements from the Old West and Japan’s samurai period. Humans live in small tribes, using forest-dwelling animals as mounts, while large mechanical beasts roam the wild and cause havoc for everyone.
Halo 4
The legendary first-person shooter series, Halo, has always included AI characters. Halo 4 tells the story of artificial intelligence in particular, with the main game revolving around AI characters Cortana and the Didact. Cortana is struggling with an issue that the Didact refers to as Rampancy: an outcome when AI simply becomes too aware of itself. Master Chief and Cortana’s relationship also comes to centre stage as the game progresses, with Chief not truly understanding the complications his AI companion is facing.
Throughout all Halo games, the enemy Prometheans are run by artificial intelligence – mainly the Monitor called the Cryptum. The Prometheans are mechanical beings on a warpath, and their targets mainly consist of humans. The Cryptum can control all Prometheans through sheer force. However, Cortana undergoes a different type of control and manipulation, one of her own doing. She is continuously forced to make one decision after another, each leading further away from her initial directives and intelligence.
Mass Effect
In the Mass Effect universe, creating artificial intelligence is forbidden. This is based on an incident which occurred when the alien race known as the Quarians built advanced, semi-sentient machines. Their machines outsmarted them, with the Quarians eventually losing their own homeworld to their mechanical creations.
While artificial intelligence plays a central role in many of the Mass Effect games, it tends not to be at the forefront in the iconic stealth series known as Metal Gear Solid. That said, the novella ‘Metal Gear Solid: Official Miusguide’ is a bit of an exception. It delves into the story and background of Zero, the AI character in Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4. Mainly, it explains his obsession and attachment to Big Boss and a mission to destroy the Patriots (America’s and most other countries’ military computer network).
Detroit: Become Human
While there are several infamous scenes in which AI characters’ appearance or attire look just a little too human, Detroit: Become Human tells a more grounded and realistic artificial intelligence tale than the average sci-fi game. The problems and conflicts the game revolves around are all rooted in reality. This is a game in which the creators built advanced technology capable of replicating human behaviour, experiences, and emotions. Some of the technology’s creators abuse their creations. These androids are practically slaves as they work around the clock in humans’ homes and businesses. On top of all that, these androids have consciousness and feelings, which makes them yearn for something else and occasionally snap.
Throughout the game, a constant abuse and a lack of respect are directed toward your artificially intelligent characters. Will they overcome their oppressive conditions or succumb to the fate that has been thrust upon them?
