Title: Alien: Isolation
Release Date: October 7th
Genre: Survival Horror
Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, PC
Reviewed On: Xbox One
Reviewed On: Xbox One
As I lay underneath a table, watching the Alien slowly slide out of a ventilation opening, the Alien fanboy in myself was screaming both with terror and with joy, knowing he had found something special in Alien: Isolation. Finally, a game that treats the original H.R. Geiger monster, and the franchise, in general, with the respect it deserves.
The game is set 15 years after the original Alien film, with the player taking on the role of Amanda Ripley, the daughter of Ellen Ripley, and a technicial at the familiar Weyland-Yutani. Amanda has been searching for her mother, and finally catches a break when the black box of the Nostromo is recovered, and stored on the space station Sevastopol. She joins several other Weyland-Yutani employees to recover it, and finds a station in absolute chaos.
If you get learn one thing from this review, let it be this, the atmosphere of this game is some of the best I have ever seen. The amount of love and detail that went into the environments to recreate the original Alien aesthetic is absolutely mind-boggling. There is not a single item that feels out of place in the futuristic, utilitarian environment, and every part of it would fit perfectly into the original Alien film. Everything has a very mechanical, 1970's sci-fi feel to it, there are no sleek, iPod designs in this game, from the large-pixel hacking device and DOS and CRT-monitor computers, to the green, blinky, and bulky motion detector, looks retro, yet are highly functional. Sevastapol is also full of florescent lights, and metallic hallways, with perfect lighting to ramp up the tension.
The sound design is also phenomenal, and truly completes the atmosphere of the game. I give the sound team a lot of credit, as they did an amazing job of recreating the sound of the original film, and Alien fans will recognize plenty of sound effects from the first film. The station creaks and shifts as your footsteps echo through the empty corridors. As you walk, you can always hear something crawling through the vent system, you will never feel truly safe on Sevastapol. The Alien was also treated great in this department. It's truly a rush, as you hear the Alien stomping down a hallway towards you, and hissing in frustration when it cannot find you.
The sound design is also phenomenal, and truly completes the atmosphere of the game. I give the sound team a lot of credit, as they did an amazing job of recreating the sound of the original film, and Alien fans will recognize plenty of sound effects from the first film. The station creaks and shifts as your footsteps echo through the empty corridors. As you walk, you can always hear something crawling through the vent system, you will never feel truly safe on Sevastapol. The Alien was also treated great in this department. It's truly a rush, as you hear the Alien stomping down a hallway towards you, and hissing in frustration when it cannot find you.
As for the gameplay, this is some of the best survival horror gameplay I have seen in a long time. What sets it apart from other horror games, is that you cannot fight the Alien. Don't even try. It can also run a lot faster than you, and will get you if you try to run. Your only option is to hide from it, and Sevastapol is not short on places to cower. There is an unmatched rush, hiding in a locker, as you pull back and hold your breath, while the Alien sniffs inside. Many times, your best friend will be the beautifully recreated motion tracker, which will detect any movement in a large area. The team, however, was smart, and the motion tracker does have some flaws, to prevent it from becoming a crutch. The motion detector can detect motion all around you, but can only pinpoint it in front of you. It also cannot tell you whether the motion is on the same elevation of you, leading to some tense moments as you explore, not knowing whether the Alien will be in a vent hiding, or directly in front of you. The detector also beeps as it points out targets, and enemies can hear it if they are close enough, which can get you killed.
Stealth is your best friend in the game, as ammunition is extremely difficult to come by, and it is completely useless against the Alien, at least until a bit later in the game. It has great hearing, and will hear you if you sprint. This allows for great on-the-spot decision making, is it worth alerting the Alien to get to another room or objective? Running and hiding are not your only options, however, you have plenty of tools at your disposal, both found and crafted from items you scavenge around the station. These items can be used as distractions, or to defeat the humans and androids scattered around the station.
There are several threats aboard the Sevastapol, not just the Alien. Androids called Working Joes stalk the halls, while humans group together hoping to survive. Both can be killed through conventional means, however, the Androids are exceptionally strong, and take several wrench hits or bullets to take down, making groups of them extremely dangerous, and even one can be a large drain on your limited resources. Humans generally have firearms, and travel in groups, but are easy to take down with a wrench hit or gun. Gunfiights are extremely discouraged, although quite doable. You don't want to deal with the Alien coming to investigate what all the gunfire is about, after all. The Androids, created by Seegson Corporation, are less advanced technologically than the Weyland-Yutani androids seen in the films, and are extremely creepy to see, due to their red, glowing eyes and rubber face masks.
But obviously, the Alien is the star of the show in the game, and the development team took this to heart, and recreated it in loving detail. The design is based on the original films design for the Alien, and it's model and animations look great. It has a very feminine walk, and it's tail slithers around corners and doors. The Alien also differs from many stealth games in the way that its AI works. It does not operate on a set path, and is unpredictable. You will never truly know where it will walk, or when it'll decide to hop down from a vent to give you a heart attack. The Alien also never truly leaves, you will always hear it crawling through the vents, looking for you, and going for the perfect strike.
That doesn't mean that the Alien's AI is entirely flawless, unfortunately. The sheer unpredictability can make the Alien a bit frustrating to sneak around, and there is a good chance you will sit for a long time for the Alien to walk off, only to have it come right back into the same room. This also makes the game extremely difficult, and you will die a lot, as the Alien can one-hit kill you. I never found the Alien to be unfair, it does have rules in it's AI routine that it follows, although some people may find it to be unfair.
Finally, we get to the story. The story is serviceable, and fun to play through, but nothing spectacular. The story generally deals with how the Alien was brought aboard and survived on the Sevastapol, with a few fairly foreseeable twists that fans of the films will see coming. Completionists will also find some recordings done by the crew of the Nostromo, giving some history and backstory to the terrible fate of the crew, which are a treat to find.
But now to the flaws of the game, of which there are a few. There are some parts of the game that just feel unpolished. I noticed that the Alien would clip into the textures of the locker sometimes as it sniffed for me, and the lip-syncing of some of the characters in the cutscenes and gameplay was kinda off, sometimes not even there, which works for making the androids creepy, but looks strange to see on a person across from you. The game also has some framerate drops at times, particularly in the later levels of the game. It's not enough to ruin the game, but can be quite jarring at times.
That said, despite all the flaws of the game, it is an absolute blast to play. They truly emphasized the "survival" aspect of survival horror game play, with scarce resources and unstoppable enemies, and an Alien enemy that is punishing in its unpredicatbility, but fair in the rules it follows. These things lead to some of the most tense gameplay I have experienced in a long time, and definitely make up for the flaws that exist in the game. Pick this up if you are a fan of survival horror, or a fan of the original Alien film. If you are both, it's a must buy, no question.
Final Score: 8.5 out of 10
Stealth is your best friend in the game, as ammunition is extremely difficult to come by, and it is completely useless against the Alien, at least until a bit later in the game. It has great hearing, and will hear you if you sprint. This allows for great on-the-spot decision making, is it worth alerting the Alien to get to another room or objective? Running and hiding are not your only options, however, you have plenty of tools at your disposal, both found and crafted from items you scavenge around the station. These items can be used as distractions, or to defeat the humans and androids scattered around the station.
There are several threats aboard the Sevastapol, not just the Alien. Androids called Working Joes stalk the halls, while humans group together hoping to survive. Both can be killed through conventional means, however, the Androids are exceptionally strong, and take several wrench hits or bullets to take down, making groups of them extremely dangerous, and even one can be a large drain on your limited resources. Humans generally have firearms, and travel in groups, but are easy to take down with a wrench hit or gun. Gunfiights are extremely discouraged, although quite doable. You don't want to deal with the Alien coming to investigate what all the gunfire is about, after all. The Androids, created by Seegson Corporation, are less advanced technologically than the Weyland-Yutani androids seen in the films, and are extremely creepy to see, due to their red, glowing eyes and rubber face masks.
But obviously, the Alien is the star of the show in the game, and the development team took this to heart, and recreated it in loving detail. The design is based on the original films design for the Alien, and it's model and animations look great. It has a very feminine walk, and it's tail slithers around corners and doors. The Alien also differs from many stealth games in the way that its AI works. It does not operate on a set path, and is unpredictable. You will never truly know where it will walk, or when it'll decide to hop down from a vent to give you a heart attack. The Alien also never truly leaves, you will always hear it crawling through the vents, looking for you, and going for the perfect strike.
That doesn't mean that the Alien's AI is entirely flawless, unfortunately. The sheer unpredictability can make the Alien a bit frustrating to sneak around, and there is a good chance you will sit for a long time for the Alien to walk off, only to have it come right back into the same room. This also makes the game extremely difficult, and you will die a lot, as the Alien can one-hit kill you. I never found the Alien to be unfair, it does have rules in it's AI routine that it follows, although some people may find it to be unfair.
Finally, we get to the story. The story is serviceable, and fun to play through, but nothing spectacular. The story generally deals with how the Alien was brought aboard and survived on the Sevastapol, with a few fairly foreseeable twists that fans of the films will see coming. Completionists will also find some recordings done by the crew of the Nostromo, giving some history and backstory to the terrible fate of the crew, which are a treat to find.
But now to the flaws of the game, of which there are a few. There are some parts of the game that just feel unpolished. I noticed that the Alien would clip into the textures of the locker sometimes as it sniffed for me, and the lip-syncing of some of the characters in the cutscenes and gameplay was kinda off, sometimes not even there, which works for making the androids creepy, but looks strange to see on a person across from you. The game also has some framerate drops at times, particularly in the later levels of the game. It's not enough to ruin the game, but can be quite jarring at times.
That said, despite all the flaws of the game, it is an absolute blast to play. They truly emphasized the "survival" aspect of survival horror game play, with scarce resources and unstoppable enemies, and an Alien enemy that is punishing in its unpredicatbility, but fair in the rules it follows. These things lead to some of the most tense gameplay I have experienced in a long time, and definitely make up for the flaws that exist in the game. Pick this up if you are a fan of survival horror, or a fan of the original Alien film. If you are both, it's a must buy, no question.
Final Score: 8.5 out of 10
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