Publisher: SEGA
Developer: Creative Assembly
Release Date: Oct. 7, 2014
Platform: PS4 (Reviewed), PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC
Genre: Horror, Survival, Stealth
MSRP: $59.99
There are precious few games that can perfectly recreate the feel of a movie, but Alien Isolation achieves this with an almost eerie precision. It’s the kind of game you play alone in the dark, knowing the absence of light could both save you and spoil you from the fright.
The game is a captivating and harrowing experience that fully envisions the scope of Ridley Scott’s immortal film Alien. Rather than simply portraying the film, though, it expands upon it and brings to life a refreshing new extension while keeping the original concepts in place.
Creative Assembly has crafted a thriller that completely absorbs its audience, using many of the same mechanics of the 1979 classic.
Perhaps the most unique concept about the game is that it takes away all power from the gamer. And as odd as this will sound, that’s actually the beauty of it all. Instead of gunning down xenomorphs with reckless abandon, players are forced instead to treat their foe for what it is: an interstellar killing machine.
Sticking to the shadows and relying on their senses, players are stripped of their machismo bravado in favor of Amanda Ripley’s cunning and wit. It’s a welcome change to the genre and pays glorious tribute to Ellen Ripley’s performance in the original film.
One of the things that Isolation does best is revitalize the image of the alien simply by making players respect its power, and for that I’m extremely grateful. It’s one of the most amazing depictions of the alien’s true nature that I’ve ever seen, and throughout the game, I was almost in awe of the slithering terror.
The developers have captured the creature’s liquid grace perfectly: the fluid movements, the way its tail slithers around corners, and the way it crawls its way through the station like some kind of interstellar viper. The way it leaves chaos and death in its wake, and the way it’s inner mouth snatches out to dispatch its prey.
The terrifying primal state of H.R. Giger’s nightmare has been permanently restored, and it’ll always be remembered and regarded the way it should be–with blind panic and fear.
