Watch your step, the Alien is here

OVERALL 7.5

After the disaster that was Aliens: Colonial

Marines, many were skeptical of how SEGA would handle the series. Alien: Isolation tries, and partially succeeds in giving fans of both the movie franchise and of survival horror exactly what they want.

The story is set 15 years after the events of Alien, and players control Amanda Ripley as she investigates the disappearance of her mother, Ellen. She journeys to a space station called Sevastopol, only to find herself in a fight for her life against a Xenomorph.

Most of the gameplay here involves exploring different sections of the space station and figuring out how to get to the next. Considering the lack of any real survival horror games, this direction feels fresh. Tension and dread are apparent from the beginning, but it lets that fear settle in and develop over time. For instance — instead of having checkpoints every 2 minutes, you can only save at specific points in Alien:

Isolation. These save points are often conveniently located, but they are far enough to make sure you are careful and think about every step you make.

You will spend a lot of time hiding from the Xenomorph, hoping it won’t notice you. The game’s impeccable sound design adds to the tension and stress levels are raised when you hear its haunting footsteps coming closer. Your arsenal includes a standard selection of weapons, but the motion tracker is fundamental to the game’s most intriguing elements because it tells you the location of the Xenomorph. It is often best to stay put instead of risking it all as the Alien is extremely fast and you will die within seconds if spotted. The biggest issue here is that some of the elements get old fairly quickly as you are required to perform several mundane tasks over the course of an unnecessarily long main story.

Due to its awkward pacing and a significant amount of dull chapters, the experience can quickly become annoying. But the game is genuinely frightening and the first several hours, as well as some of the mechanics feel like a breath of fresh air. While Alien: Isolation is not the resurgence of survival horror like many had hoped, it is a step in the right direction. STRENGTHS Creepy and atmospheric Smart Alien AI makes every encounter

enthralling Excellent presentation and sound design WEAKNESSES

Needlessly long with a poor second half

The game’s intriguing design aspects eventually become frustrating

Pacing issues