This week’s WeView sees us heading into deep space to find out just what happened aboard the Nostromo. Yes, it’s time for us to take a look at Alien: Isolation, probably the most interesting survival horror game we’ve seen in recent years. Putting you up against a true hunter rather than your average cannon fodder certainly sets it apart from the crowd, as does the way it captures its source material so faithfully.
In Peter’s review of the game it was the xenomorph that really drew his praise, although he did appreciate the way the game’s “Aesthetics match the film brilliantly”. I can see why he’d want to focus on the xenomorph though, it’s the centrepiece of the entire experience. As he notes, the start of the game isn’t “much more than an inconvenience to those of us who’ve played their share of stealth games”. Sure, there’s enemies to avoid and a story to try and unravel, but it’s not where the true game lies.
https://youtu.be/trPIYFR-zAk
As Peter puts it, “The alien changes everything”. You move from avoiding relatively simple groups of humans and synthetics to fleeing from an unkillable hunting machine that is actually smart. Distractions move from being “a pleasing game mechanic” to a “matter of life and death”, and much of what the game has taught you about enemies so far is for naught when confronted by the xenomorph.
Perhaps most unnerving element of all is the three words “The alien learns”. Your hunter learns what you’re doing to stay alive nearly as quickly as you do it, adapting its strategy based on your previous encounters and sussing out your tactics. The only way you can counter it is to learn faster than it is. As Peter puts it “You’ll learn or you’ll die”.
The only fault Peter found with the xenomorph was the fact that it didn’t seem to react to NPCs the same way it did to you. For example, he noticed that “group of shouting humans” didn’t really seem “to attract the attention of the alien that can apparently hear you breathing from inside a locker”. While that might sound like a nitpick, I can agree with him that it lowers the tension and breaks suspension of disbelief somewhat.
Talking of suspension of disbelief, Peter did praise the use of each console’s camera systems to draw you into the world. Not only did he like the game’s use of head tracking to allow you to peek out of lockers and the like, but he also enjoyed the way that the system’s microphone listened for loud noises, so that letting “out a yell from your sofa… might alert something deadly in your game”. It’s a smart idea that I’d like to see more developers capitalise on.
On the more negative side of things, while Peter appreciated the game’s stealth core he did find he spent “Quite a lot of time is spent simply hiding in cupboards”, which can obviously be a little frustrating. He also felt the game’s mission structure was occasionally weak, at times resorting to “back-and-forth busy work”.
Despite the few negative elements he highlighted, Peter still found more than enough to like about Alien: Isolation. Ultimately he rated the sci-fi title at a 9/10, and praised the way the game constantly made you feel unsettled, having this to say in conclusion:
That idea of never being comfortable with how the game is unravelling is something that feels quite unique and it’s extremely well imagined here. Plenty of survival horror games have you feeling vulnerable as you essentially fulfil the role of a hero but things are different here. In Alien: Isolation you’re not the hero, you’re the prey.
The question is, as always, did you agree with Peter’s assessment of Isolation. Did the xenomorph keep you terrified, or did you eventually become accustomed to it? Did the game stay true to the source material, or did its visual presentation not quite match up with what you were expecting?
It doesn’t matter if you loved, hated, or were indifferent to Isolation, we’d like to hear from you. If you feel like sharing your thoughts, all you have to do is drop us a comment below. In Monday’s WeView Verdict we’ll highlight a few of the comments we liked, as well as rounding up the community’s verdict using the Buy It, Sale It, Plus It, Avoid It scale, so remember to include a rating for the game in your comment.
NotSmartEnough
BUY IT
It’s fantastic. The attention to detail in the setting and sound design is excellent. The fact that the alien is smarter than your standard on-rails game AI makes it genuinely scary: you cannot predict what it’s going to do.
aycizzle
Great game, great atmosphere, great sound, immense tension and it’s a bloody Alien game (finally) done right! Buy it!
cam_manutd
An extremely atmospheric and tense game where you are always vulnerable. I think its a novel game one in which that ll not adhere to the majority of people’s tastes. The game is mostly slow paced because if you play it (like me) taking everything cautiously knowing that your next turn could be your last.
The gameplay is fine. Crafting stuff from the enviroment is great a nice feature. I am also a big fan that you can not kill the Alien it can only be harmed, distracted or threateaned (not a good tactic to play by).
Being an FPS of sorts, when given the otpion of combat if you wish to take i, these elements are weaker than others. Also there has not been a great deal of buzz around its DLC. Not having trophies did more harm han good imo.
The game is very much like Outlast. Explore, hide, run, do some menial tasks. Only this time you have a supremely intelligent AI enemy on your back and you do feel it throughout.
I would recommend giving it a go. So buy it at a reasonable price.
Andrewww
Not just buy it from me, it is absolutely BUY IT NOW.
This is survival horror of the finest I’ve ever played. I’ve been an Alien fan for many many years, and playing through the game several times by now has been an incredible experience. I’ve had so many ‘Wow!’ moments, have been bloody scared at the beginning, still am left shocked when the beast gets me from the vents above, sometimes unexpectedly.
As much as I liked Peter’s review, which so well caught the essence of Alien: Isolation, there are some things I disagree with:
1. Spending time hiding in lockers or under beds, etc. was not frustrating at all, I’ve enjoyed those scary moments immensely.
2. I’ve not experienced NPCs to be ignored by the Alien, maybe they’ve patched that.
3. For me this game is a very rare gem, I’ve not played anything alike before, I deeply fell in love with Sevastopol station, so it is not 9/10, but rather 12/10. ;o)
I’ve only started playing this game early January, so was a little late to the party, but I’ve hardly played anything else since. Also love the DLC, as it really changes how you play quite a bit.
I’ve got so addicted to this game, the only thing which did stop me playing Alien: Isolation was, sadly, that my beamer just broke. :o(
(Very cool so many of you loved this game! If you feel like adding a true fan of A:I, I’m called the same on PSN.)
And, did you see the red toy robot that starts talking when you come closer, saying stuff like ‘When I grow up, I want to become a Seegson android’, but alerting the Alien to get you..? :o)
Paulo Vinicius Radtke
Buy it, definitely. The game is one of the most innovative takes on the survival horror genre, both for being all about survival and for keeping the player on the edge in a consistent way. It’s by far the most “stealth action” a game can get, surpassing the very game that defined the genre (Metal Gear). As for the horror, even if the actual death scenes are not scary, and I got used to alien sights pretty much soon, the surroundings kept me on my toes every corner. Hearing sounds here and there, wondering where the alien could come out next was basically nerve shattering, and the save game system played brilliantly to add tension and give meaning to survival. In several section is takes more than 15 minutes to find the next save game, so even if you don’t feel any fear, you’ll still fear dying and having to redo a whole section.
It’s a challenging game, which doesn’t take players by the hand through endless tutorials and long explanations as to what to do. But it’s very rewarding, there are many ways to play the same section. Also, having an alien that has a more advanced AI improves a lot from traditional scripted games, and will have player improvising a lot from one play through to another. The item crafting is also a plus, and helps people to get different solutions for some of the games difficult situations.
There are a few downsides that take away the enjoyment. For a game that boasts an intelligent enemy, there are a few scripted events that detract a little, like trains that can run over you once you start crossing its tracks, but won’t ever come until you actually start crossing them. Also, by choosing not to give some more instructions to the player, many people can get frustrated because they won’t simply learn some basics on how to use the motion tracker as a GPS to go around mission objectives. Also, the ending was kind of a let down, given all that happened during the game, it seems weird (and unnatural) that the very final scene played the way it did.
However, these are still minor issues for a game that has more positive aspects to praise. From the setting to the actual game play, Alien Isolation deserves to be played. Not that I didn’t said it before, but buy it. :)