Alien: Isolation | Game Review

With all it’s pre-release hype, Alien: Isolation looked like the Alien game fans had always wanted. And that’s right, it certainly looks the part. It looks like the original Alien movie, with it’s retro outlook to how the future and space travel looked. It's definitely one of the most attractive looking games at the moment. And the Alien is the original Xenomorph which had everyone hiding beind their sofa when they first saw it pick off each member of Ripley’s Nostromo crew. Cue hours of hiding in lockers from the almighty grasp of the Xenomorph.

Unfortunately, these hours of hiding soon add up to about 20 hours in total. After dying hundreds of times, the thrill and fear drain away with how much time you’re wasting on this rather mediocre game. Even with the abysmal Alien: Colonial Marines game of 2013, at least it was fun! Isolation is just far too stressful for a game. The addition of androids, a poor enemy in comparison with THE Alien, is unnecessary and feels like a filler. Along with the little puzzles encountered throughout, difficult at the start, unbelievably easy by the end. Unless the Alien gets you first. Also, no Autosave. There are little phone boxes scattered throughout the game, this is where you save. You're not even totally safe while you're saving. So there will be plenty of excruciating moments where you're saving and whoopsie, Alien tail through the stomach. Ouch. Back to last save point. And the weapons are all but distractions for the invulnerable Alien, which cannot be killed, unlucky for you. Even that massive flamethrower you picked up a while back. 

Perfection is how you would describe the first few hours of the game, and it should end then, with the perfect balance of tension and stealth. Not continually pushing the sweet reprieve of the ending back until you have played for a very tedious 20 hours. One good thing is that the Alien, throughout the game, adapts to your pattern and the way you play. So if you find yourself hiding under tables as you see the long, sweeping tail of the alien brush past, you’d better rethink your tactics. The hundredth time of being stabbed through the stomach is still just, urgh, to be blunt.

Hopefully one day, there will be an Alien game that fulfils all expectations. If you'd rather stay in the knowledge that this is the Alien game you wanted, stick to the trailers. But, for now, you had better stay hidden in that locker with that trusty motion tracker of yours until the fateful day that happens.

5/10