Aliens: Fireteam Elite Reviews
Aliens: Fireteam Elite encapsulates everything Aliens. From the iconic sound of pulse rifles tearing through hordes of Xenomorphs to plenty of "IT'S GAME OVER, MAN" quotes being thrown out in party chats, Fireteam Elite is a ton of fun. Mission variety, a lackluster campaign, and wonky AI teammates bring the game down from being truly exceptional, but it's undeniable that the moment-to-moment gameplay with friends is worth the price of admission.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite has some interesting mechanics to it, great visuals but lacks the replayability it needs to be successful as it’s such a minimal experience.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite is tricky to judge. The gameplay loop is repetitive and retreads a lot of the tropes found in similar co-op shooter experiences. Its presentation is good but inconsistent. What it does well is capturing the visuals and sound of the movies and distilling them into a well-established formula. There's a good variety of combat classes and engaging ways to customize and improve builds, so players are incentivized to continue playing and get better as the difficulty ratchets up to add a thrilling survival component. I am concerned about the title's online matchmaking, which we were unable to test. Since the title does not support crossplay, the game's longevity and player base will depend on early adopters and future content releases to prove that this online shooter is here to stay.
The game presents a solid foundation that manages to surprise in a few respects, but doesn’t quite take the plunge in full. I was hoping this iteration on the Aliens universe would finally be the one unafraid to take risks. But I’ll have to wait for the next attempt to find out if it’s not just a hopeless wish.
Aliens fans with friends should buy, as should anyone hungry for a more focused take on online co-op combat (read: less sprawling than The Division). Solo, offline players should tread extremely cautiously. Destiny and Borderlands fans may be unmoved.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite does the franchise justice by delivering an addictive co-op shooter set in iconic locations from the films.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a valid cooperative shooter, one where you can just drop in and shoot stuff with glee, or put your coordination and teamplay to the test if you're looking for a challenge. There are friendly AIs, but they aren't great and solo play only works at the lower difficulties. Finally, while the game is competent and fun, it also shows its low budget.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Aliens: Fireteam Elite does a lot right when it comes to the core gameplay experience, but lacks in its narrative. It adapts all the good parts of a looter shooter and a zombie-like shooter experience at the cost of some repetitive mission objectives.
We've waited far too long for an Aliens game this good, but it's finally here. With an exciting campaign, five exciting classes, a dazzling array of weapons, and a staggering array of monsters to use them on, Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a perfect organism.
An experience built for a fireteam of three, Aliens: Fireteam Elite turns the xenomorph horror on LV-895 into a shooting gallery that sadly misses the mark of what made its source material so iconic in the first place.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a disappointment. Even as an avid fan of the franchise, the fun to be had here is limited. Misguided design, hamstrung presentation and painfully repetitive gameplay suck the fun out of what is, on paper, a promising game. I'd love to have had a meaty, cooperative survival game to play with friends, an escalating challenge that gradually expected more of me as a player, with a story more than just serviceable in moving from one mission to the next. This time, I'm only screaming in frustration.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite does precisely what it sets out to do: letting players kill Aliens and defend hallways. Expecting anything more is only going to lead to disappointment.
Whilst not without its faults, Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a satisfying co-op shooter that shows that there's still fun to be had with the Aliens franchise.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a hugely entertaining co-op shooter, only brought down by the formulaic structure of its missions and the odd rough edge. Developer Cold Iron Studios is promising more free content in the future, however, and has the chance to turn the game into something rather special. With more horde maps, marine classes and perhaps a mission tweak here and there, we could imagine returning to Aliens: Fireteam Elite time and time again, long into the future. Right now though, while some team-based third-person shooter fans will have plenty of fun with it, it’s only really a must for Alien fans.
I can’t stress enough how much fun Aliens: Fireteam Elite is. If you’re a fan of the franchise, don’t pass this one up.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a lot of fun whether solo, or with friends. It feels rather disjointed not having any cutscenes or meaningful threads for any of the campaigns. The crashes, bugs, and audio flatness get in the way of its overall enjoyment and longevity. Cold Iron Studios have post-launch content lined up, and so there’s promise of these issues being fixed and there being more to do in the near future. Aliens: Fireteam Elite lacks the connective tissue and spectacle that the films are known for, yet manages to provide entertainment for mindless, late-night sessions with friends.
I have mixed feelings from my time with Aliens: Fireteam Elite. I love the movies (well, the first two) and cooperative shooting is usually in my wheelhouse, but I could never connect with what is on offer here. The feel of the gunplay, mission design, and pacing have been a big turn-off for me, so I don’t personally see much value in endlessly repeating these missions for better attachments or cosmetics. It feels worse at conveying the spirit of the movies than the best of the preceding games adapted from the films and generic even as a modern online co-op shooter.
A short, sharp and fairly shallow take on the famed franchise nevertheless delivers on the full Aliens power fantasy.
I haven’t had enough fun in coop games until I’ve played Aliens: Fireteam Elite. Sure, it isn’t spectacular, some may even call it “boring”, but the time I have spent playing the game as a fan of the franchise and as someone who loves shooters definitely made the game enjoyable despite the complaints I had.
A fun and flexible swarm shooter that's a little too reliant on being played alongside friends.