The Star Fox-style roguelite whose dev refused to use AI voices to cut costs is adding an entire "anti-capitalist revenge" campaign about a cat-girl destroying AI

News
By published

Whisker Squadron: Survivor "feels like a whole new game"

Catgirl
(Image credit: Flippfly)

The Star Fox-esque roguelite Whisker Squadron: Survivor has taken the fight against AI displacement in-game with a whole new campaign about the titular feline pilot getting revenge on some AI-powered robots.

For some context, Whisker Squadron: Survivor made waves not only because it's a kickass on-rails roguelite, but also because of the developer's outspoken, explicit hatred of AI in game development, particularly AI voice acting. Director Aaron San Filippo proclaimed back in January, "we're not going to use fucking AI to do it, I will find the money to pay humans" in reference to Whisker Squadron: Survivor's voiced dialogue. A few months before that, Filippo hit back at players inexplicably upset about the game's accessibility update by saying simply, "sorry, not sorry." Basically, this guy's standing on business and I can't get enough.

"The game is starting to feel like... FTL meets Starfox?? We're all super excited about the direction it's going," Filippo said of a new update that adds a story and map-based campaign to Whisker Squadron: Survivor on June 19. The campaign focuses on the titular feline pilot and her "anti-capitalist revenge story" following the destruction of her house at the hands of menacing AI robots. Developer Flippfly promises "more enemies! More world lore! More fun!"

Meanwhile, Filippo said this is "the biggest update to the game so far! It feels like a whole new game, with some major changes."

I really admire how Flippfly is using Whisker Squadron: Survivor's story as a platform to make a statement about such a topical and increasingly pervasive issue in the industry, especially as a growing list of big developers are gradually cozying up to AI in game development. Even if it's just cats blasting robots at the end of the day, the message is clear: cats always win.

On the contrary, the owner of Rockstar Games is predicting AI, which has already impacted jobs, won't steal any jobs: "It's actually crazy. It's not going to make people irrelevant".

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.