Discover the true meaning of fear in Alien: Isolation, a survival horror set in an atmosphere of constant dread and mortal danger. Fifteen years after the events of Alien™, Ellen Ripley's daughter, Amanda enters a desperate battle for survival, on a mission to unravel the truth behind her mother's disappearance. As Amanda, you will navigate through an increasingly volatile world as you find yourself confronted on all sides by a panicked, desperate population and an unpredictable, ruthless Alien. Underpowered and underprepared, you must scavenge resources, improvise solutions and use your wits, not just to succeed in your mission, but to simply stay alive.
Intelligent AI, Awesome graphics, great sound effects, and 70's sci-fi retro design,
what should i say? it's really cool! amazing.
final verdict:
ten out of ten!
if you are biggest fan of ALIEN franchise, BUY THIS GAME NOW!
This is an extremely well done game.
It's dense, unsettling atmosphere is unequaled by any other previous game I've EVER played. You can actually FEEL the terror of being hunted by a very clever creature, which already knows that you're trapped.
10/10.
Short version:
Authentic Alien (1979) experience with all the elements, the atmosphere, the soundtrack, the alien, the environments-- Everything conspiring to make you immerse in the lovely world built by Ridley Scott, H.R. Giger, Dan O'Bannon & Ronald Shusett.
Firstly, IGN and Gamespot reviewers should be ashamed. This game deserved a far better score than it got from them. In fact IGN and Gamespot were some of the only ones that gave this game a mediocre score. Nearly all other groups and publications gave it positive reviews of 8 out of 10 or higher.
Now while most would say that the length of the game is an issue, even those who reviewed it positively. I can understand why they'd say that, but frankly I would have been disappointed if Alien Isolation had finished at the point they likely meant. It only took me eighteen hours to complete the game on the Medium difficulty setting and much of the intrigue and a very clever reference to a deleted scene from Alien occur after the point where some thought it should have ended.
The story is well thought out and the whole cause of how the Alien came aboard Sevastopol is very plausible, and ties in well with the original Alien movie. One thing people have to remember when playing this game is to disregard any lore that wasn't in the very first film. So disregard what happened in any of the sequels, the Alien in the first movie is an altogether different creature than the sequels.
The gameplay is excellent, with a preference to stealth and resource gathering much like The Last of Us. Combat should only be a last resort when there's no other way out of a difficult situation. Throughout my playthrough of the game, I was only forced to actually fight enemies off around a dozen times or so. Mind you I played the game very cautiously. Even then I died roughly a dozen times, give or take. Once by an Android, four or five times by The Alien and the rest I believe were due to facehuggers. Don't be upset about dying, as it is all part of the experience of the game.
There were some people who have moaned about instances of backtracking to areas previously visited. Firstly this happened very rarely if you follow only the story and not decide to return to previous areas to explore yourself. Backtracking only occurred in the last quarter of the game and doesn't comprise that much of it. Whenever the player has to backtrack, your equipment has improved allowing the player to explore new areas, and even environments have changed due to the players actions in earlier missions.
Then there is the sound and level design which to put it shortly is absolutely amazing, otherwise I would go on about the effort put into it without end.
The only issue I had is that the cutscenes and voice acting could have been done better. I've heard some talk about glitches ruining other players experiences, but have yet to experience any other than the rare minor one on my PC.
Overall I'd give Alien Isolation a 9/10. I loved the game myself and is an excellent return to the old survival horror genre, where every action can have a consequence. I will admit that the game isn't for everyone, but for players who enjoy a slower game and have the patience to wait and plan out their next move to outwit the Alien will love this game and fully recommend it.
A bit boring and frustrating during later gameplay.
A 2020 Review - Alien: Isolation (PC, 2014)
Score: 7/10
Mediocrity Score: Not Mediocre
Alien: Isolation is a death-by-alien simulator masquerading as a first-person survival horror game. Dripping with late-1970s tech-ambiance, Creative Assembly has produced a rather safe narrative that closely follows the original Alien's tale of Ellen Ripley. Not falling far from the tree, the protagonist you play is none other than Amanda Ripley - Ellen Ripley's daughter. In what must feel like the family curse, Amanda is stricken with a far-too-similar fate being stuck on a space station trying to survive against aliens. If you aren't a fan of the series or haven't seen any of the movies - don't sweat it. Just bring an extra pair of underwear and dive into this insanely atmospheric and engrossing experience.
Tags: A few words or tags that come to mind are: atmospheric, stressful, powerless, tedious.
Avg. Time to beat: ~20 hours
Quickest Speedrun: ~2.5 hours (even on nightmare difficulty)
2020 Retail Price: $40
Lowest Historical Price on Steam: $10
Lowest Historical Price outside Steam: $7.50
Quick Take: Alien: Isolated is not fun. It is not an enjoyable experience by traditional standards, but it is a horrifically beautiful and a completely immersive one. Kotaku's Kirk Hamilton said it better than anyone else, "While many a video game has been designed for people who enjoy killing aliens, Alien: Isolation can only have been created for people who derive some perverse pleasure out of being killed by an alien." This game in its purest form is an engrossing simulation of how it would feel to try your odds against the alien xenomorphs in a bout of survival. Your odds are very slim. Between the sound engineering and the visual design, the two complement each other like two peas in a pod or...two facehuggers in an egg-sack, if you prefer. Together the two bring about an utter sense of dread, panic, and stress. You can hear the alien scampering through the ventilation; you can see its slimy drool ooze down in wait. You can hear the rich pops and sizzles of the CRT screens and analog devices used throughout the game. From opening production credits to end-game credits, it's a technical marvel...but is it an entertaining one? Well, that's where things get complicated... That's where I begin to feel the ol' quote "I want to get off Mr. Bones Wild Ride" becomes relevant again. At 16 hours in, I decided that's all the thrill I'll be getting out of that ride. Are you ever 100% glad you did or tried something, but wouldn't ever do it again? I appreciate Alien: Isolation for having done so much, so right - but I can't say I enjoyed or had fun playing it. It's stressful. I'm a huge horror film buff, yet this is a much longer and interactive experience - one that did not give me that "just 5 more minutes" feeling. It was more of a "where the hell's the savegame telephone at?"
Pros:
- Scarier than I expected. Panic-inducing experience, as designed.
- Completely engrossing experience thanks to the top-notch audio and visual quality.
- Alien AI is something to behold. Something other developers should aspire to accomplish.
- Great map design and setting. The rough state of things on the Sevastopol station really add to the effectiveness of the game's darker, more dreadful tones.
Cons:
- Boilerplate story that does its best to imitate its original source rather than set itself apart more meaningfully. Doesn't hold together the weaker points of gameplay, but sags down with them.
- Second half of the game becomes incredibly tiring and tedious when managing your alien woes mixed with having to frequently backtrack the map in order to accomplish new goals.
- The feeling of powerlessness and stress become exhausting. The trial-and-error quality to survival leaves me feeling like I've wasted a lot of time and that I can't win.
- No replayability. 100% glad I played it, but have no interest in ever playing it again.
The worst thing I can say is that through all its thrills and immersion, I never found it to be a fun experience. It's one I'm glad I had, but not one I enjoyed much. I think this might be the case for many players or potential ones. It's made for a difficult game to review; how do I recommend something that I did not enjoy? My advice is to view i like a thrill-ride. Look for a low price point (have seen it go for $10 on Steam) and keep expectations realistic. I don't see the need to put more than 4-10 hours to really get the full experience. If you scare or get startled easily, perhaps see if any of your friends have a copy you could check out with them. It's absolutely worth experiencing but I'm not convinced the price for admission is priced right for most of the year. At being 6 years old, I feel $40 is quite a reach. $20 seems fairer - but I personally would wait until it falls to $10 or less.
Best Alien game to date
the DLCs are awesome and very authentic to the movie counterparts
This game goes on sale with all the DLCs for like 16 dollars constantly and it really is a steal.
hell, this game is worth full price.
shame on IGN for basically ruining the sales for this amazing game.
they gave this basically the same score as Aliens:CM which is utter bs but whatever.
The most greatest thing that happened to Alien franchise since the second movie.
a fantastic horror game.