The latest chapter in the ongoing AI apocalypse that we are inevitably headed towards is so terrible that I had to write about it.
A TikTok ad for free-to-play The First Descendant has been making the rounds on social media today, and I’m kind of shocked by it. The ad in question was spotted and re-posted by @MoxsyOG on Twitter/X, and it’s honestly so awful that it needs to be seen to be believed.
The ad features a totally fake, horrendously-animated AI “content creator” pitching the game’s latest update to their nonexistent followers, laid over the top of some gameplay. Thankfully, the ad has been deleted off of TikTok since it started going viral, but one has to wonder how it even got posted in the first place.
“Hey guys, the massive F2P update of the F2P looter shooter masterpiece The First Descendant has launched spectacularly,” the digital nightmare says, not even trying to hide the farce that it is. “In it, you play as a Descendant, ride a hover bike to explore the brand new area of Axiom Plans, and can also team up with teammates to fight against the boss Wall Crasher side by side.”
As if this wasn’t bad enough, the ad is promoting the game’s collab with Nier Automata, so Platinum Games is being dragged into this disaster as well. The whole thing is pretty disgusting and nonsensical.
At no point in the video is any of it convincing or interesting. The robo-voice struggles with its speaking cadence in attempting to recreate the vibe of any number of those paid ads you see with actual people in it. But no, publisher Nexon couldn’t bother with that, so it plugged its script into an AI to create an abomination.
I’ve seen plenty of AI ads before, and many other paid ads featuring gamers acting enthusiastic about it, but none have been this bad nor have I seen one from a publisher as well-known as Nexon. Unfortunately, this garbage is likely only going to get worse, so buckle up. At least we can get some joy out of laughing at this trash and hope that other companies don’t follow suit.
The First Descendant has a Mixed rating on Steam after launching last June, with many players lambasting the title for its grind and over-priced cosmetics.
