Alien Isolation Review

Alien is back, now we all remember the last Alien game, namely Colonel Marines as the worst Alien game to date. It had been advertized wrongly and caused a huge amount of controversy for the fans of the series. Alien Isolation has to be decent in order to save the franchise as many gamers, including myself thought we were simply robbed last time round.

Well, I am pleased to tell you that Alien Isolation is fantastic when compared to its unsuccessful predecessor. In fact its a game in which you should all go and pick up as soon as it releases. Alien Isolation puts you in the shoes of Ripleys Daughter, after a turn of events, you end up on a space station that has simply gone wrong.

As Ripley you must then simply survive as you uncover the mysterious happenings of your Mothership while exploring the eerie yet stunning space station. The visuals are certainly a huge leap forward compared to Colonel Marines, in fact Alien Isolation looks more like the trailers and gameplay we were originally shown of Colonel Marines. The game is simply stunning, lighting plays a huge part in making the game feel eerie and atmospheric.

Survival is key and you will be scavenging for supplies, hiding from enemies and running like hell when you’re being chased. Alien Isolation is a tense game, once you get to a certain point in the game you end up feeling like you are constantly being watched as well as being hunted.

Being hunted keeps you on edge and I found myself jumping at the slightest of noise, in fact, I felt more alert and aware of my surroundings due to my heightened senses. The game truly does make you feel like you’re alone and afraid. Sprinting round a corner may attract unwanted attention, where as walking slowly may not. Even sneaking is scary as you could be sneaking right into your own execution.

The voice acting is solid too, each character sounds how you would expect them to and you can really relate to them as well as feel for their need to survive. It’s this connection that you feel for the characters that made me want to carry on as I wanted to know more about Ripley and her mission.

Visually as touched on above, the game looks amazing, the attention to detail can be seen from every corridor to every piece of trash lying around. It all looks superb! Character models also look fantastic too.

Where Alien Isolation really grips you is during these tense moments, these moments of eye pleasing surroundings and the feeling of being alone. Supplies can be used to craft health kits, ammo must be scavenged and weapons are scarce forcing you to use your wits more than your strong arm.

Technology does help throughout. Hit a rewire point and you can concentrate power in a certain area, find the right tools and you can hack circuits in order to open doors that won’t open with pure brute force. Each of these prompt either a quick time event or a mini game as such, in which you must get right in order to proceed. There is also a modified area scanner  that helps detect people and the alien, it indicates how far the moving entity is away from you by its intermittent bleeps as well as which direction it is coming from by on screen indicators.

These little moments never get boring as they are spread out nicely, I absolutely loved hacking the doors circuitry. The mini game prompts you to tune in to the right frequency and then match the pictures to the code within a certain time limit. Imagine doing this when you are being hunted!

Alien Isolation isn’t a first person shooter, it is a first person survival horror. The game makes you feel on edge constantly. Scavenging quickly becomes a question of whether you are willing to risk your life to explore and gain supplies to craft. Collectibles will only be found by searching through each and every treacherous location so for you collectors out there, be warned, you will be risking everything to find these collectibles.

Save points are placed in strategic places, even saving your game ends up being awesome, as Ripley plugs in her key card for a short few seconds in order to overwrite her previous save. These points act as respawn points in effect too due to having to reload your last save file every time you end up dead. Your map too must be updated at specific points that can be found around the space station. No map and you may end up lost in its expansive areas.

The game is challenging, even on easy I had a rough time evading my hunters and I still felt on edge whilst walking through the empty corridors or whilst climbing through the many vents throughout. Even hiding in a locker had me feeling claustrophobic, especially when I could see what awaited me outside of it.

The story is lengthy and to gain more insight into it, terminals filled with information can be found along with audio logs. These terminals that are packed with logs, letters and sometimes direct access to unlocking a door add that extra feel of authenticity. Alien Isolation was clearly thought about during its development that is for certain.

The developers have even gone to lengths in order to utilize the PlayStation 4 hardware effectively. The controller plays audio logs through its speaker and flashes while vibrating when someone is detected nearby on your modified area scanner. If you happen to own a camera (sadly I didn’t) you can opt in for noise detection and head tracking which apparently enables some extra nifty features.

Even objects really don’t need animated are animated. Toilets can be flushed, buttons can be pressed, monitors can be switched on and off, conveyor belts can be turned on too.

Alien Isolation is crammed with content, it offers a full experience. An enthralling rollercoaster ride that is not to be missed. Sure, there are a few minor bugs here and there that I encountered mostly whilst the game was installing, but overall the game is well polished. It offers a gripping storyline, a great cast of characters and the opportunity to feel scared out your wits for hours on end. Alien Isolation is that game to save the series, forget that the last one even existed and venture into hell with this superb survival horror that is unlike any core game out there right now!

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