Last week at the 2014 E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Daily Dead had the opportunity to get some play time with Alien: Isolation, an upcoming first-person survival horror game set fifteen years after the events of the original 1979 film. Playing as Amanda Ripley, daughter of the famous Ellen Ripley, Alien: Isolation has you navigating your way through an creepy, abandoned space station in search of evidence explaining the disappearance of her mother.
For the demo, SEGA had us play Alien: Isolation inside a dark, cavernous room, shut off from the rest of the busy convention goings-on, so that immediately help set the mood. My first impression of the game was that I really enjoyed how Isolation takes you back to an analog world through its appearance, feeling very much like the look of the original Alien film. Because the overall image has a slight grain to it, it gives off a very filmic look and feels like you’re being immersed inside a scene that was pulled straight from the movie.
In the demo level, we started off in a small room with multiple entryways with the objective being to find a staircase leading to the next area of the space station. The first thing I see in the room is a flame-thrower sitting on a desk, so I gathered that and a few other items that were lying around the room, chose a direction and was on my way. As I began my exploration, I hastily moved through a hallway in search of my objective. It wasn’t long until I heard the familiar sounds of impending doom that was very close and ready to attack. Seconds later, the alien lets out a startlingly loud shriek and then pounces on me from above, impaling me with its tail. Remaining in first-person view, this animation takes the player by surprise and it’s very cool to watch. What’s even better is that this is just one way that the alien can kill you and the various kill animations seemed to be triggered by the direction of the alien attack, which was another fun touch.
Unlike the last year’s action-shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines, Alien: Isolation is very much a stealth game. Battling a single alien, you are given limited resources to rely on and are forced to make quick decisions on how to best navigate your way through numerous hostile situations instead of just running-and-gunning it, akin to the pulse-pounding suspense that Alien universe is known for.
In Alien: Isolation, you are also being hunted the entire time you’re playing, which adds to the overall intensity of the game. There’s also a lack of an on screen HUD that creates a more immersive experience and forces players to rely more on line of sight or use of the iconic motion tracker as your only clue that danger might be approaching from any given direction. I pretty much realized after being attacked about five times in a row that I needed to be a lot sneakier with how I was moving my character throughout the game.
Isolation also features a highly intelligent alien A.I. that reacts to what the player is currently doing so that rather than simply moving on a pre-determined path, the alien will actively seek you out using any sound or visual indicator of your location to find you. This can be tricky because you have to use your motion tracker to scout areas and see your objective and that, of course, creates sound and emits light which will alert the alien or anyone else to your whereabouts.
What’s really helpful is that players are given numerous cover and hiding spots throughout the environment so that you can maneuver around the space station, staying out of sight whenever necessary. To do this in close quarters, Alien: Isolation features a game mechanic that allows the player to hold their breath for a short period of time. This is especially useful whenever the player in hiding somewhere in very close vicinity to the alien because even the slightest sounds- like breathing- can alert a hostile to your location and seal your fate in a matter of mere moments.
For Alien: Isolation, it’s not just Xenomorphs that you are forced to contend with, as you move throughout the space station. There are also other human survivors and some synthetic androids onboard that may or may not be friendly. The interactions with these supporting characters differ based on the circumstances of the encounter and you can either choose to interact with them or hide from them so that you can continue moving forward in the game. But their reactions are specific to the given circumstance at that moment so when you run into a synthetic while searching or hiding out in a restricted area, you can expect that they will react negatively.
Based on the amount of playtime I had with it, Alien: Isolation seems to have a heavy focus on scavenging each area for resources as your ability to find key materials is central to your survival. In true survival-horror fashion, things like weapons and ammunition are hard to come by and you’re also asked to turn your resources into usable items, such as med kits, via an on-screen crafting menu. Everything about your time in Alien: Isolation is about being methodical and deliberate, so players are asked to do a bit of thinking as they’re searching for the truth.
Being a fan of survival horror games, I really enjoyed the time I had with Alien: Isolation; it wasn’t an easy game by any means (something that may be a big detractor for gamers with differing tastes) as this isn’t a game where you’re meant to conquer the “big bad.” Isolation is all about strategy and I enjoyed that it was a bit more challenging than Colonial Marines and that it also forced me to be a little more thoughtful about my actions. Creative Assembly totally nails the atmosphere from Ridley Scott’s original Alien with their visuals, which was another huge bonus for me and I guess my biggest complaint about the game was that I just wish I would have had more time to play it to get a real understanding of all the mechanics. Thankfully, I only have a few more months to go, as Alien: Isolation hits retailers on October 7, 2014 for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC.
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