It’s not the first time that the Alien franchise gets translated into a game. Some of those games were good while others were a nightmare because they were so bad. Now that Alien: Isolation is released, we can say for sure that this is the first Alien game that really stays true to the original horror story. Prepare your nerves, because this is one hell of a ride.
Former Glory:
Sevastopol, once a large trading space station where hundreds of ships would dock to do business. It’s not hard to imagine just how beautiful everything once was. It must have been a nice place to stay. A place where you could do your business, meet tons of new people and relax in the relaxation-area. This isn’t the Sevastopol you’ll see in the game however. As Amanda Ripley – indeed, the daughter who’s searching for her lost mother – you’ll witness a dark and deserted space station instead.
Everything about the Sevastopol looks intimidating and dangerous. Gritty graffiti messages can be found on several wall in the station and the e-mail on the computers aren’t that friendly. Sevastopol was on the verge of closing down for good, the crew that was left behind wasn’t happy at all to stay inside the station. They had the company of the friendly AI robots to help them but that couldn’t make up for the lack of humans in the station.
One extra guest:
Everything changed when one of the staff got sick and infected the station with, what probably is the worst life form ever, the deadly alien. Since that moment, every human at the station fights for his/her survival. The alien is a deadly hunter, a hunter that doesn’t give second chances. The moment you expose yourself, is the moment you find yourself stuck in the deadly claws or tooth of the monster. It’s a fight for survival and it’s a fight the human race is currently losing. Amanda Ripley is everything but a hero. Just like the others on the station, she has to be smart in order to survive. No, she’s definitely not a gun-blazing hero, in fact she’s just as afraid to die by the claws of the alien than everybody else. The alien and the way it acts is without a doubt the main reason why this game is so scary to play. Before you meet the deadly hunter however, you’ll need to face some other dangers.
I’m an engineer:
At the start of the game, Amanda doesn’t know the real danger of the station just yet. The first hours of the game consists in finding a way to reach your own spaceship to escape. Amanda is an engineer so she knows how to bend the old-school science fiction tools to her will. In the first hours, you’ll need to find a lot of equipment in order to open the doors or activate the elevators that are blocking your way. The first hours aren’t that intense just yet but you’ll never feel at ease thanks to the atmosphere of the deserted space station.
Avoid the others:
After a while of figuring out how to open blocked paths, you’ll run into other human beings. Because all of them want to survive, they’ll attack everybody that can form a potential danger, including you. Avoiding human beings by sneaking around is big part of the game in its first hours. More challenging are the Working Joes you’ll encounter. Those are the artificial intelligence robots that were made to help out the humans on the station.
Unfortunately, the turned rogue and attack you at first sight. The Working Joes ask a more aggressive approach to take down. They’re smart and notice your presence form a long distance. Taking them down will result in a clever hide and sneak session combined with a powerful shotgun. This part of the game is less scary and more action packed. It’s a welcome addition and distraction of the intense moments. The grand finale however, remains your encounters with the alien.
All hail the king:
The alien is the king of the game, it’s the sole reason why you’re scared to go around a corner. The alien is smart and can attack at any moment. Lowering your guard while advancing will often result in a cruel death. Lucky for you, you do own some equipment to track down the alien. Your self-made motion tracker can locate the alien for you, so you can hide beneath a desk or inside a cabin, hoping it will disappear.
While hiding from the alien, it’s important to be as quite as possible. If you look at your scanner too much, the alien will know where you are because of the sound the scanner makes. The intelligence of the alien is really next-gen since it learns from its mistakes.
Nobody will hear you scream.
You’re able to distract the alien with flares or sound makers but after a while the alien won’t fall for the same trap over and over again. After a while, the alien won’t follow the flare, it will come to the direction the flare came from. Because of this random encounters and the AI of the alien, this Isolation isn’t an easy game at all. A big part of the game consists out of trial & error. You’ll need to learn the pattern and understand the behavior of the alien in order to survive. At first, you won’t last long but after a while you’ll get what the game is expecting of you. It’s a shame the game doesn’t come with an auto save since dying will often result in a setback to the previous saving point.
You’ll get stronger:
After a couple of hours in the game, you won’t remain that powerless against the alien. After a while you’ll even have access to a flamethrower. Although the alien is a true badass, it does fear fire. Using your flamethrower as a distraction is crucial in the later parts of the games and can give you a second chance of survival. Wielding the flamethrower makes you more powerful and therefore, the tension isn’t that high anymore. I’m not sure if including such a powerful weapon is good for the gameplay but it does turn this game into a game that can be enjoyed by a bigger audience.
Conclusion:
Alien: Isolation is without a doubt the best alien game I’ve ever played. It stayed true to the original movie and offers a new kind of horror experience. The only downside to the story is that the game might take a little too long to complete. The more action packed scenes aren’t necessary and the flamethrower kills the horror experience a bit. Aside of that, this is without a doubt a very beautiful game that you just need to experience for yourself once you get the opportunity. Don’t be mistaken this isn’t an easy game. If you want to survive, you’ll need to prove you’re worth it.
