Alien: Isolation

Zach Goodier

After Colonial Marines, most of us Alien fans had a bad taste in our mouths, and feared that the long awaited train wreck would mark the end of the Alien franchise in video games.  When news came down that Isolation was being produced, the mix of anticipation and dread was palpable.  So does this title live up to our expectations, and is it truly the game that Alien fans have long awaited?

In short, the answer is a resounding yes.

Servastapol: the place where nightmares go to die at the hands of even worse things.

We begin with Amanda Ripley, Ellen’s daughter, who has been working in the region where the Nostromo went missing in an effort to find some sort of closure for her missing mother.  Opportunity comes along when a representative of Weyland-Yutani corporation comes along saying that the Nostromo’s flight recorder has been found, and that a ship has been hired to take a small group to Servastapol Station to recover it.  Since Servastapol is owned by a rival company, Seegson, the company is anxious to recover the recorder ASAP. 

Scenes like this really sell this as a faithful emulation of the original work(s)

Upon arrival, attempts to hail the station are met with static, unrecognizable responses, leading the crew to assume the transmitter is down and dispatch Amanda with Samuels and Taylor, a legal representative for Weyland, to board the station via airlock.  After being separated, Amanda quickly finds the station, which is in the process of being decommissioned, has gone eerily dark, with few signs of life aboard.   It doesn’t take very long for Amanda to discover why: a Xenomorph is loose on the station, and the few survivors that are left have gone underground to avoid drawing its attention.  What ensues is a quest to survive the Xenomorph’s relentless hunt, and find a way to get off the station.

This scene is eerie, but at the same time really fits the role of Servastapol as a former hub of commerce.

Story wise, this game does a great job of mixing up the elements that made both the first and second movies great.  The Xenomorph is a hunter, akin to the first movie, while mixing the elements of mistrust and conspiracy that worked in the background of both movies so well.  As you go through the game, survivors, androids, and even some of your friends turn on you, keeping you on your toes, and always having to be ready with an exit plan. 

"Working Joe's" are cheap androids manufactured by Seegson... They rate fairly high on the "creepy" scale, but their static nature tends to make them far less of a threat than the xenomorph.

Now, the major draw to this game has been the Alien itself, using sophisticated “AI” to track down the player and offer unique and stressful challenges each and every time you play, even the 3^rd or 4^th time through.  Now, there really is no such thing as a true “AI” in video games, but this Alien is as close as anyone has really gotten in a video game.

If this is what you see, then you're already dead.  Just accept it.

The Alien seems to randomly select directions, as well as when to double back down a hallway.  Since you have no direct way of killing the Alien, your only viable option is stealth.  But that is difficult when the Alien is running on a random path that prevents you from being able to learn patterns or anticipate where it will go.  This makes for some very stressful moments throughout the game, as the Alien challenges both your instincts on when and where to go and hide, as well as your intellect in finding ways to move it out of the way, or towards a group of hostiles to clear the way to an objective.  You always feel like the Alien has intelligence, and it’s movements look and feel very natural, adding a very creepy vibe to match the tense music that accompanies the Alien being in close proximity.  You can outsmart it for a time, giving you the feeling of brilliance, but it always adapts to your tactics, learning your methods and adapting its' searches to limit your options, making the game feel harder as you expend your options, making your best option the one where the alien never even suspects you were there.

The motion tracker is here, and with it comes waves of tensity with each and every ping.

Between the atmosphere, which is taken directly from the first movie, even working in a few set recreate meticulously from the original film, as well as mixing in some elements from the second movie, like the motion tracker.  Items like the flamethrower and improvised devices like flashbangs and smoke bombs can be crafted with materials you find throughout the station, and give you the feeling that Amanda is truly a Ripley, with engineering prowess to match the good survival instincts.

These are always a welcome sight, but they don't keep the Alien away, be careful of your surroundings before saving.

The only faults this game has is that most of its big twists and turns are also inspired by the original 2 movies.  This makes them rather predictable, which takes away from the impact.  There are still a couple of surprises, even for Alien fans, but if you’re a true fan of the original movies, then you will probably feel ahead of the story for much of the game. Also, the difficulty can make the Alien feel almost deaf/blind on easy, and exceedingly sensitive on hard, so normal is recommended, but it can still be tough at times, as this game requires as much patience as it does nerves of steel.   It has been said that this game is too slow due to the death rate and slow pace, but I argue that this is meant to feel more like the classic movies, with more attention to atmosphere and set pieces, which really works in this game.  This isn’t a modern shooter, and you will be punished for even thinking that as you play.  You can’t just walk out and kill the xenomorph, don’t even try.  So for those who like to let their guns and explosives do the talking, just don’t bother picking up this game, the Xenomorph is too adaptable and naturally resistant to simply drop it with a couple of shots from the civilian-grade weapons you have on-hand.

With access to weapons like the flamethrower later on, you have effective defenses against the alien.  However, they are only deterrents, and won't keep it away for long, especially with how it eats up fuel.

Overall, this is one of my favorite games this year.  While the story is a little too derivative at times, it really does a good job of introducing a strong female character that feels at least in the same league as Ellen Ripley.  The Alien is the major draw, though, with natural, yet erratic behavior that makes for a constant tension that gives this game replay value.  I’m hoping this is the start of a new era in Alien games, with better attention paid to getting the xenomorph(s) right, leaning towards experiences that make you truly feel like the prey, rather than turning the most dangerous life-form in the cosmos into a target in a shooting gallery.  This game could be a turning point for the franchise in gaming, lending more focus to the quality of the alien and the levels, rather than making it feel like just a generic shooter with  Alien texture packs.

Good:

-Amanda is a worthy successor to her mother, Ellen Ripley.

-Servastapol has its’ own stories and lore to explore, which adds a lot to the Alien universe.

-The Xenomorph is one of the best in-game enemies I have ever seen, hands down.

-Crafting system makes survival feel like something you can better prepare for, which makes the game more exciting.

Bad:

-Story can be derivative of the original 2 films, making most of the twists rather obvious.

-Difficulty can be a bit of a drag, with the Alien sometimes seeming too easy on easy mode, failing to notice me in a relatively open situation, so mid-to-high difficulty is recommended for a true “Alien” experience, but you will likely die quite a bit. 

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10