EGX: Why Alien Isolation is about to make Alien scary again

Good news everyone, Alien: Isolation is going to make Alien scary again. The franchise has been mistreated in recent years, especially in the world of videogames. Titles like Aliens: Colonial Marines floundered while imitators (most prominently Dead Space) made a name for themselves, often by riffing on what was so special about Alien in the first place.

Now developers Creative Assembly look set to reclaim the sci-fi horror throne for everyone’s most feared extra-terrestrial by returning to what made the original film so great – locking a crew of unsuspecting humans in an enclosed space with an unstoppable, muderous, acid-blooded monster and ratcheting up the tension to unbearable levels. Based on my hands-on at EGX, it’s been a very successful move indeed.

The demo tasks you with sneaking through a deserted section of a spaceship while being hunted by, you guessed it, an Alien. You have a delightfully authentic motion detector to track it, and a flamethrower to defend yourself, but you can’t kill your otherworldly opponent outright. This means that violence is really only viable as a last resort, even if you think you’re well equipped; any attempts to go toe-to-claw with the Alien will result in a swift and grisly death.

Instead your best bet is to creep your way around, keeping your senses sharp and hiding in lockers when it all gets a bit too intense. Sounds easy, right? Well it is until you start having to deal with the game’s objectives. The omnipresent threat turns a simple journey to switch on a generator into a nerve-shredding ordeal.

The first thing you’ll notice is how weighty everything feels. The controls are responsive but deliberate, making everything from sprinting to opening doors feel punchy and very real. You have a first-person viewpoint but this is no floating gun-simulator; any interaction with the world requires the use of your character’s hands while looking down at your feet gives you a view of a very ordinary pair of shoes.

This is because the character in questions is Amanda Ripley, daughter of Sigourney Weaver’s character from the films and one of the franchise’s staple average protagonists. Not being forced to play as a burly space marine is refreshing and adds another layer of terror to proceedings. The sensation of being unprepared and alone in a hostile place is oppressive, even after just a few minutes.

This dread is most apparent when you get up close to the Alien itself, which you’re going to want to avoid as much as possible. Isolation reminds you what an extraordinary piece of creature design the Alien is and, because you’re cast as a thoroughly ordinary-sized human being, it absolutely towers over you. Controlled by some ungodly AI, it constantly prowls around looking for you. Even when you can’t pick it up on your scanner, you know that it’s out there.

On one occasion I was hiding under a table with the Alien pacing just a few feet away, all glistening skin and ugly ridges (the level of detail is staggering). On another, an attempt to sprint though the map saw it drop from the ceiling just inches away from my face. And yes, if it catches you it does that thing with its mouth. If nothing else, Alien: Isolation understands exactly what is so disturbing about its title character.

Of course a scary monster alone can’t carry a horror game but luckily The Creative Assembly seem to have nailed everything else. The sound design is impeccable, full of equally unnerving silence and noise. The Alien sounds suitably menacing but the music is what really brings the fear. As your stalker closes in it rises from a murmur to a full-blown cacophony, smashing any mental barriers you put in place to hold back the panic. You’ll want to play this one with headphones. [divider]

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Just like the original film’s Nostromo, Isolation’s spacebound corridors are meticulously designed to appear lived-in. The result is an eerily realistic setting, all whistling steam and whirring machinery, even if the franchise’s grimy industrial style feels a bit tired after nearly four decades of people ripping it off.

Next-gen adopters eager to show off their consoles’ graphical brunt might be a touch underwhelmed but Isolation is still a very handsome game. Its neatest trick is its lighting, which adds to the unease by bathing environments in a sickly brightness, but the smoke and fire effects impress too. If all the games of this generation are going to look this good, photorealism will probably cease to be a novelty in a few years.

Futurists will also be pleased to hear that Isolation will be available to play in virtual reality using the Oculus Rift. I didn’t get a chance to try it out at EGX, but I saw someone who did and at one point they physically jumped out of their chair. I sampled the Rift with other games and it makes for a hugely immersive experience. My only worry would be whether I have the nerve to withstand the threat of a digital face-hugging with the screen two inches from my eyes.

So Alien: Isolation looks good, feels great and might be the scariest thing to hit consoles in years. Sounds like a must-buy, surely? Perhaps, but the demo did raise some concerns, especially about the game’s longevity.

Hiding from the Alien is terrifying in 10-minute bursts but it wouldn’t be easy for any developer to spin such a lean concept into a full-price game. At the same time, The Creative Assembly run the risk of diluting the thrill if they pad out the hide-and-seek too much.

This may be why the game is, on first impression at least, relentlessly difficult. The challenge is welcome in small doses, but could easily become a slog after your thirtieth evisceration. The constant danger also limits exploration of the surroundings that you may otherwise want to linger over.

The developers have been tight-lipped on how they’re going to keep things varied, although the presence of other humans (or androids) promises to mix things up a bit. There are also plans for downloadable content featuring characters and locations from the 1979 film. For staunch Alien fans this might be worth the price of admission alone.

But even if you can’t tell your xenomorphs from your Predators there’s still plenty to make Alien: Isolation one of the most exciting games out in the next few months. If  Creative Assembly can deliver on what they’re promising they might do for games what Ridley Scott did for sci-fi films all those years ago. After a generation of consoles with few horror classics to scream about, a return to the original dead space might be the fresh air we need. [divider_top]

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