For a decade, Alien Isolation has enjoyed an afterlife as the default entry in “top 10 games we’d love to see a sequel to.” But now that Creative Assembly has delivered exactly that, what did fans want from it?
I recently got the chance to play the game’s opening 30 minutes, during which I explored a desolate planet in search of missing crewmates.
The leap in visuals is instantly noticeable. The game’s intro includes clips from the original 2014 game, and while they don’t look bad, the graphical improvements are perhaps Alien Isolation 2’s first big jump scare.
When I reached a crashed ship and made the horrific decision to climb inside, it was like slipping on an old, extremely scary glove. The thing that this game, and the original, did so well was making you scared of your own shadow.
Even in this intro section, when I was pretty sure the Xenomorph wasn’t going to leap out at me before being properly introduced, I couldn’t help but tense up. Heightened weather effects, severe audio booms through the headphones, and masterful tension building all ensured I was absolutely locked in.
After a bit of light puzzle solving, you start to see the world through your Alien Isolation eyes. There are vents to crawl through. Tables to hide under. But where is it? Sadly for me, sitting in a tiny, dark room under Sega‘s Summer Game Fest booth, that was quickly answered.
Creative Assembly knows exactly how good the Xenomorph looks in the new game. It’s sleek, absolutely massive, and far more detailed than the original. However, the mission remains the same. Escape, don’t let it see you, and stay quiet.
I had a flashlight to help me look around, but as soon as the game established that using the flashlight would make it easier for the Alien to spot me, I might as well have binned it. You are powerless. You can’t do anything to the Xenomorph. You are prey. It’s an utterly oppressive feeling.
I found the first grate I could and slowly shuffled back through the ship. The thing everyone remembers about Alien Isolation is how dynamic the Xenomorph was when it chased you around. Of course, this is all smoke and mirrors, but whatever Creative Assembly is doing to ensure tense, cinematic moments still feels like an effective magic trick.
The Xenomorph slowly stalked over the top of my grate, never making it quite clear whether or not it could see you. The game encourages you to never stop moving, but it’s hard not to be paralyzed by fear when you’re one wrong move from death.
And you will die. When I did, the brutal kills were just as visceral. And not visceral in the video game marketing sense, visceral in the sense that my viscera were ejected from my stomach thanks to the Alien’s tail.
Even when I thought I’d made it out, a pipe exploded, sending fire shooting across my intended path. This alerted the Xenomorph and forced me into a panicked decision. Any hesitation from me, and it was back to my save point. There are few horror games like it, and perhaps none that have established their baddie so effectively. I suppose it helps when it’s based on the greatest sci-fi horror ever made.
So far, Alien Isolation 2 feels very similar to the first game. But then again, would you really want anything else? The sequel will likely diverge once we’ve had a chance to play more of it, but from this early section, it’s very much the spirit and the horror of that first entry brought to life with new technology.
This is exactly the sequel that fans imagined during the last decade, when it seemed so unlikely. Whether or not the magic trick of the Alien itself will last through another adventure, or how Creative Assembly will evolve the formula, is yet to be seen, but it feels like, after this long time away, this familiar intro is exactly the tone setter I was hoping for.
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