Alien: Isolation officially revealed, will be ‘true survival horror’

In April 2013, gamers faced true horror when they attempted to play through the bug-riddled mess of bad ideas and lies known as Alien: Colonial Marines. Obviously, something needed to be done with the Alien license to make it actually worth playing again. And that’s where developer Creative Assembly comes in, with Alien: Isolation.

As was rumoured back a couple of months ago, Alien: Isolation will star the daughter of main film series protagonist Ellen Ripley, as players navigate their way through a decommissioned space station while being hunted down by the penis-shaped head of a Xenomorph creature.

It’s out there, waiting for players and Amanda Ripley in the shadows. And this time, you won’t be packing any heat to easily kill the acid-blooded sexually suggestive nightmare. H.R Giger, you cur. 

“In Alien: Isolation, we have taken the series back to the roots of Ridley Scott’s 1979 movie, the original survival horror,” said Alistair Hope, Creative Lead at Creative Assembly in a press release.

Our Alien is a truly terrifying creature, as intelligent as he is hostile, relentless, brutal and unstoppable. This is the Alien game fans of the series have always wanted.

“Creative Assembly has created a truly incredible gaming experience, capturing perfectly the very core of what has made the Alien franchise remain relevant after 35 years,” said Jeffrey Godsick, president of Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products further on in the statement.

This partnership has led to the creation of a game that is simply outstanding and sets the tone for what is to come this year for the 35th anniversary of Alien.

And honestly, it looks pretty damn terrifying so far. There’s not a gun in sight in that debut trailer, the visuals look sumptuous and the characters look like actual human beings, instead of your usual stereotypical gung-ho action man protagonist.

Speaking to VG247, UI lead John McKellan confirmed the nature of this particular game by saying “[In Alien: Isolation] you’re always underpowered and you’re always the underdog. We want the player not really ever feel too much in control and to be second-guessing what’s going to happen next.” The PlayStation 4 version of the game also boasts a neat trick in Isolation. The iconic radar and motion tracker from the various films and games will be present, with the pinging sound now coming through the speakers on the PS4 controller.

The game isn’t even about killing the Xenomorph. It’s about surviving several encounters with it, and that sounds exactly like the kind of game that the Aliens franchise deserves. It’s out much later this year, on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Last Updated: January 8, 2014