6 indie games that look better than viral AI pixel art mush

We're always told that AI art can be great for brainstorming ideas and prototyping, but it seems it's sometimes leading people to think they've reinvented the wheel. That's the case of a short AI-generated clip of a game concept that's sparked a big debate over on X.

The AI-generated video shows a few seconds of a concept for a first-person pixel art fantasy game. The player holds a sword and torch as they trudge through a forest towards a village and a dark forbidding castle beyond. The post has racked up over 145K likes and over a thousand comments, many from people saying they wish the game were real. They should maybe see our piece on the best indie game devs.

The AI-generated video was posted on X by 'alchemical artist' Desimulate, who posted a call for 3D artists to help make the game a reality. Several people have described the concept's art style was 'AI-invented'. That sounds implausible since the AI output depends on its training data, and gamers have been quick to point out that there are lots of great pixel art games already out there with similar themes.

Some point out that the OP doesn't need a 3D artist and could start by looking into superscaler games from the late 80’s and early 90’s, used only superimposed sprites at different scales to achieve the look.

Others point to specific games that use pixel art styles with no need for AI, from Jason Smith's Cultic to Elder Scrolls mod Tamriel Rebuilt, retro fantasy FPS Wizordum, Jozef Pavelka and Vlado Ganaj's Felvidek, Jason O'Connell's upcoming Relics of the Oracle and Gemezl's Nox Mortalis.

These games might not be an exact match for the colours and art style, and they don't have the same fluidity of motion, but then they're video games that play in real time, not AI-generated animation. For all the advances in AI, it's still some way from being able to generate the consistency needed to make a playable video game that reacts in real time.

If you're working on making your own game, see our pick of the best laptops for game development and the best game development software.