Although the universe of aliens is fertile for the creation of computer games, it is constantly haunted by failures: the not entirely successful relaunch of AvP and the completely disastrous Alien: Colonial Marines completely killed the hope for a bright future for the franchise in the gaming industry. However, the situation changed after the release of Alien: Isolation.
This time the development was entrusted to the Creative Assembl studio, which had previously only been involved in the development of the Total War strategy. Although this news was received with caution by everyone, it can be said that the British unexpectedly outdid themselves and did the incredible. From the first fucking shot! But first things first.
PLOT: The story is a direct continuation of Ridley Scott's film "Alien" and throws us 15 years forward after the events of the film. Helen Ripley's daughter, Amanda, has been trying to find her mother for many years. So she ends up at the Sevastpol space station, where the flight recorder of the Nostromo ship was delivered, the records of which can shed light on what happened to the ship and where Amanda’s mother disappeared. But upon arriving there, Amanda discovers that the station is falling apart, full of distraught androids and people who are far from friendly. But the most dangerous enemy is yet to come....
GAMEPLAY: The first and most important thing you need to understand is that you will NEVER be safe. Here it is illusory like in any other game. To be honest, I have never seen such frightening and uncomfortable gameplay anywhere else. The game will take at least 15 hours to complete, and all this time you will have to behave unheroically. The Alien reacts to every rustle, he is attentive and patient, he is smart and not bound by the shackles of scripting and is completely, absolutely unpredictable. Moreover, he is able to learn from his mistakes.
Let me give you an example: one day, when an Alien appeared again, I decided to distract his attention with a sound generator. And as soon as I used it, the Alien remembered this and drew the appropriate conclusions. When this trick was repeated, he rushed not to the place of the sound source, but to where he was thrown from)) Clever, isn’t it?
And when you hide from him in a locker, for example, it’s generally panic. The Alien can smell Ripley even inside the shelter. If he has any suspicions, he should immediately remove the motion sensor, pull his head away from the door grill and hold his breath. The tension at this moment is such that your face stretches out and your breath catches.
Throughout the game we will of course come across weapons, but they can only help from people and androids, and even then not always. The fact is that in some situations it is highly not recommended to use weapons, otherwise the creature will come running to the shots. In addition, all kinds of loot and all kinds of drawings are scattered throughout the locations: first aid kits, distracting grenades, EMP charges, blinding grenades, Molotov cocktails, etc.
But if you can somehow get rid of androids and people, then such tricks will not work with the Alien. You can’t kill him, it’s almost impossible to run away if he’s discovered you, and you won’t be able to drive him away for a long time either. The only way to survive is to play hide and seek with this cunning creature.
REMARKS: By the way, many probably had questions about why the only stranger cannot be smeared across the wall with a shotgun? Let me explain: in the game we are dealing with the Praetorian - an elite guardsman of the Hive, who can only be calmed down with a pulse rifle. Its distinctive features from its relatives are the habit of walking on two legs, large stature and armored panels on the back and chest.
FEATURES: One of the main things that is present in the game is the same atmosphere of the film, here we see an alien Ridley Scott. Here, the film’s ambience is conveyed as clearly as possible: massive CRT monitors, equipment with analog switches, 80s-style computers, computer panels and “portable TVs” blinking in myriads of lights, etc.
A significant part of the game is the music, and the sound in the game in general. Oh my God, this is amazing! Not only was the same orchestra that played the original music for the film invited to record the soundtrack, but also half of the sounds were pumped directly from there: the sounds of a siren, the groan of the station’s casing, the hum of ventilation, the systemic sound of computers, the squeak of that same motion sensor - all this plays to create a powerful atmosphere and hits hard on nostalgia.
As a result, we have a good thriller with a good plot. Words are not enough to describe it. you have to play this, you have to feel this fear. I recommend it. My rating is 9/10.