Fans of Level-5, the legendary studio behind Dark Cloud, Ni no Kuni, and every Professor Layton game, are concerned that the once-beloved developer is now openly embracing \u201cAI slop\u201d following its latest presentation\u2014and the newly announced Professor Layton and the Curious Village remake is taking the brunt of the scrutiny.<\/p>\n
Roughly 24 hours after finally showing off the long-delayed Professor Layton And The New World of Steam<\/a> during the Nintendo Direct on September 9, Level-5 livestreamed its own presentation<\/a> titled \u201cLEVEL5 VISION 2026 II: Dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n While the presentation should have been a slam-dunk win for the studio as it featured the first full-length trailer for DecaPolice and the announcement of a remake of the very first Professor Layton game, it immediately drew the ire of Level-5\u2019s fanbase instead.<\/p>\n \u30ec\u30d9\u30eb\u30d5\u30a1\u30a4\u30d6AI\u4f7f\u3044\u3059\u304e\u3058\u3083\u306d\uff1f\uff1f\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d pic.twitter.com\/qmjEei3Tmi<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 \u307a\u3044\u307a\u3044 (@lol5ns) September 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The presentation\u2019s rather peculiar-looking animated recreation of CEO Akihiro Hino is only partially to blame for the \u201cAI slop<\/a>\u201d allegations, as fans pointed out several perceived telltale signs of AI use in\u2026well, every single game that was featured.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not an exaggeration, either. Yo-kai Watch 2: Haunted Domain is under fire for its background art and the main character\u2019s sudden face transplant<\/a>; Inazuma Eleven: Bold Revolution is being criticized for \u201cusing AI too much<\/a>\u201d due to its characters\u2019 stiff movements; the Professor Layton and the Curious Village remake is being accused<\/a> of featuring \u201cinconsistent\u201d AI-generated backgrounds; and DecaPolice is suspected of using AI for everything previously listed<\/a> and, somehow, more.<\/p>\n Ni 20 segundos he podido ver<\/p>\n El boli ni sigue lo que escribe<\/p>\n Fallos de iluminaci\u00f3n por todas partes<\/p>\n Se bajan del coche y las posiciones de los dos personajes cambian de lugar porque no tiene coherencia lo que les saca la IA<\/p>\n Es incre\u00edble como muestran esa basura y se la pelan https:\/\/t.co\/CBJ5vkQHzl<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Nyto est\u00e1 desarrollando Delirio \ud83e\udd8b\ud83d\udc9c (@Nyto_98) September 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Of course, none of this has actually been confirmed. In fact, I\u2019d honestly be very surprised if Level-5 was dumb enough to use gen-AI for a Professor Layton game, given that the hand-drawn backgrounds and characters are one of the series\u2019 main selling points.<\/p>\n However, the fanbase\u2019s obsession with putting all of Level-5\u2019s games under a microscope isn\u2019t entirely out of left field. As spotted by Famitsu<\/a> (and translated by Automaton<\/a>) last year, Level-5\u2019s CEO and president, Akihiro Hino, did make some rather worrying comments about AI use when addressing applicants for Japan\u2019s Top Game Creators Academy program.<\/p>\n \u201cCurrently, around 80~90% of codes are written by AI and then fixed up and finalized by human programmers,\u201d stated Hino. \u201cIn other words, it means that right now, around 80~90% of games are made by AI. And it does not just stop at programming \u2013 AI technology is encroaching on art, music and even game design on a large scale. Not to mention that it\u2019s already becoming common sense in the creative world to rely on the power of AI to boost work efficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n Oh, and in 2023, Level-5 outright admitted to using ChatGPT<\/a> to create character designs and to generate the background artwork in Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road. Yeesh. Hard to believe this studio once collaborated with Studio Ghibli.<\/p>\n