ALIEN: ISOLATION
Don’t like it. Never tried it. Every month we force one of our team to play their most feared game
When I was eight years old, I was utterly terrified of two very specific things: the X-Files theme tune, and HR Giger’s Xenomorph design. I hadn’t actually seen the Alien films, but the sheer chitinous look of the thing sent shivers down my tiny spine. Twenty years on, not much has changed. It’s time to face that fear, with Alien: Isolation my chosen method of immersion therapy.
Half an hour in, it becomes clear that this may have been a mistake. Isolation works hard to restore the sense of mystery and terror the Xenomorph possessed when it first appeared on cinema screens. The game introduces its monster slowly, while the soundtrack makes sure you’re constantly on edge. It’s all too effective.
THE VERY FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE ALIEN CAUSES ME TO SHRIEK.
The very first glimpse of the alien causes me to shriek and nearly drop the controller. It’s a good thing I didn’t enable the game’s Noise Detection feature, which alerts enemies to any sounds you make outside of the game as well as within it, or my playing time would be much shorter.
As the alien starts to appear more and more, the game encourages you not to fight but hide, an invitation which I all too readily accept. Every time I hear the alien getting close, I climb into the nearest locker, listening out for those tell-tale footsteps and risking the odd glance at my motion tracker, praying it won’t notice the muffled whimpering coming from behind the door. Only when it moves on, the tip of that serpentine tail disappearing around a corner, do I exhale – and realise I’ve been holding my breath the entire time.
The game wants me to keep pushing to the next checkpoint, but you know what? I think I’ll just stay here in my nice safe locker. Forever.