AILA is a psy-tech survival horror FPS where an AI turns your fears into deadly playgrounds. Here’s what it is, how it plays, the kind of PC you need, and how to grab a free Steam key during the giveaway.
If Resident Evil Requiem has you craving tense corridors and nasty jumpscares, AILA is a sharp little warm-up that bends reality in some interesting ways. Right now there is even a chance to grab it for free on Steam, which makes it an easy recommendation for horror fans who live for late-night sessions and creeping dread.
What is AILA?
AILA is a first person survival horror game from Pulsatrix Studios, published by Fireshine Games. You play as a newly hired game tester working with a cutting-edge AI system called AILA, whose job is to craft bespoke horror scenarios based on your reactions and feedback.
The twist is that you are not just testing one game. You are dropped into a series of different horror "builds" that start to bleed into reality. One moment you are creeping through zombie infested corridors, the next you are hunted by an axe-wielding brute or stalked by something extraterrestrial. AILA keeps remixing the rules, pushing you through different subgenres of horror as if they were levels on a playlist.
The result is a psy-tech horror adventure that feels like a mash-up of Resident Evil style combat and Amnesia style psychological torment. You are always second guessing what is real, what is simulation, and whether AILA is still on your side.
Atmosphere that gets under your skin
AILA leans heavily into tension over nonstop action. Environments are dark, claustrophobic, and filled with small details that make each "test" feel like a different nightmare. You move through grim labs, derelict facilities, and unsettling liminal spaces that feel half-finished, like dev builds no one was meant to see.
The audio work does a lot of the heavy lifting. Distant scraping, glitchy distortion, and the clinical calm of your AI companion all clash with the violence happening around you. That contrast between high-tech interface and messy, physical horror gives AILA its own flavor instead of just copying classic zombie games.
Because AILA is designed as an AI overseer, there is an ever-present sense that you are being watched and evaluated. Every encounter feels like part of a twisted experiment, which lines up nicely with the kind of paranoia Resident Evil fans are used to.
Combat and survival
At its core AILA plays like a survival horror FPS. You explore, scavenge, solve light puzzles, and decide when to fight or flee. Guns hit hard but ammunition is limited, so wasting bullets on panic shots will come back to haunt you.
Encounters are closer to classic Resident Evil than to a full action shooter. Enemies are dangerous and often best handled by smart positioning rather than spraying lead. You will be juggling:
Careful aim at weak points so you do not burn through supplies.
Movement through tight spaces where a single mistake can corner you.
Quick decisions on when to sprint, when to hide, and when to stand your ground.
The game also plays with the idea that your fears are being studied. Different scenarios lean into different horror flavors, from slow, relentless stalkers to more frantic swarms. That variety keeps the tension fresh across its runtime, and makes it a neat companion piece while you wait for the next Resident Evil campaign.
How to claim a free Steam key
PCGamesN is running a giveaway for AILA on Steam, with ten free keys up for grabs. To enter, you need to:
Head to the PCGamesN AILA giveaway page.
Use the embedded Gleam widget to submit your entry. This usually means logging in with an email or social account and completing simple actions, such as visiting the game on Steam or following social channels.
Make sure you enter before the stated deadline so your entry counts. According to PCGamesN, the cutoff is Monday December 18 at 2am PST / 5am EST / 10am GMT / 11am CEST.
Keep an eye on your email after the giveaway closes. Winners are contacted directly with their Steam key.
Once you receive a key, redeeming it is easy. Open Steam, click "Add a game" at the bottom left of the client, choose "Activate a Product on Steam," and paste in your code. After that, AILA will sit in your library like any other purchase, ready to install.
If you miss the giveaway or do not get picked, the PCGamesN promo highlights that AILA is also discounted on Steam for a limited time, so it is still a relatively low-risk pick-up for horror fans.
What kind of PC do you need for AILA?
AILA is built for modern 64 bit systems and expects fairly recent hardware, especially if you want to keep those dark corridors looking crisp.
The Steam listing and early technical info point to a minimum of a 64 bit operating system with Windows 11 support, and a modern multi-core CPU in the same ballpark as an Intel Core i7-12700K or AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D for recommended settings. You will also want a solid mid-range or better GPU for stable performance at higher resolutions, plus enough RAM to handle detailed scenes and streaming.
In practical terms, if you comfortably play recent first person horror titles or action games at 1080p, you should be in good shape for AILA with some settings tweaks. If your rig struggles with recent Resident Evil remakes, you may need to drop visual options like shadows and post-processing to keep the frame rate smooth.
Why horror fans should give AILA a shot
AILA works as an appetizer for Resident Evil Requiem because it hits similar notes while leaning harder into the AI and simulation angle. It has that familiar loop of edging through unsafe spaces, listening for audio cues, and planning your next resource use, but it wraps it all in an experimental test-lab framing that feels current.
If you enjoy:
The puzzle of surviving on limited ammo and health, rather than just mowing down enemies.
Stories that blur the line between virtual horrors and real consequences.
Being stalked by evolving threats that change from level to level.
Then AILA is worth at least a test run, especially while there is a realistic chance to get it for free. For Requiem watchers, it is a great way to scratch the survival horror itch, get used to tight resource management again, and remind yourself how it feels to be hunted through dark hallways by something that really should not exist.