// KOTAKU — GAMING
Professor Layton Fans Are In Full Panic Mode After Studio Presentation They Worry Is Full Of ‘AI Slop’
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 “AI slop” following its latest presentation—and the newly announced Professor Layton and the Curious Village remake is taking the brunt of the scrutiny.
Roughly 24 hours after finally showing off the long-delayed Professor Layton And The New World of Steam during the Nintendo Direct on September 9, Level-5 livestreamed its own presentation titled “LEVEL5 VISION 2026 II: Dreams.”
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’s fanbase instead.
レベルファイブAI使いすぎじゃね？？😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/qmjEei3Tmi
The presentation’s rather peculiar-looking animated recreation of CEO Akihiro Hino is only partially to blame for the “AI slop” allegations, as fans pointed out several perceived telltale signs of AI use in…well, every single game that was featured.
That’s not an exaggeration, either. Yo-kai Watch 2: Haunted Domain is under fire for its background art and the main character’s sudden face transplant; Inazuma Eleven: Bold Revolution is being criticized for “using AI too much” due to its characters’ stiff movements; the Professor Layton and the Curious Village remake is being accused of featuring “inconsistent” AI-generated backgrounds; and DecaPolice is suspected of using AI for everything previously listed and, somehow, more.
Se bajan del coche y las posiciones de los dos personajes cambian de lugar porque no tiene coherencia lo que les saca la IA
Es increíble como muestran esa basura y se la pelan https://t.co/CBJ5vkQHzl
— Nyto está desarrollando Delirio 🦋💜 (@Nyto_98) September 10, 2026
Of course, none of this has actually been confirmed. In fact, I’d 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’ main selling points.