The Alters Reviews
Technical issues aside, we’ve had a great time playing The Alters. It poses tough choices and requirements to the player, and gives us a tight time limit and a thousand other things to keep track of, all while teasing us with new exposition or areas to explore that we’ll never get to in one sitting. It’s a tough game, but give it the time it deserves and you find yourself deeply invested in Jan(s) home.
The idea of mixing strategic management with existential drama and science fiction results in a game that will demand both the player's technical and social skills. This is where my perception of it being a weird subversion of a farm simulator, such as Story of Seasons, comes into play. It's just that instead of planting turnips, milking cows and trying to woo some of the village's bachelorettes (or bachelors), we have to mine an inhospitable planet, maintain a functional mobile base and prevent alternative versions of ourselves from killing each other. In short, The Alters can be as welcoming as it is irritating — but it is also unique in its own way.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
So far, The Alters is the most compelling and intriguing game I’ve played this year.
The Alters and its innovative gameplay invite you to confront your own decisions as you fight for survival. A masterpiece not to be missed.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Alters teaches us that along the non-stop race for survival, sometimes you need to relax with a movie night with the people who know you best.
Full disclosure: I am not the target demographic for a survival and base building centric game. However, The Alters primary focus is the sci-fi narrative that is crafted around a bold and unique concept. The survival and base building elements aren’t here for you to create your own narrative, but instead they drastically heighten the stakes of the existing one. The Alters exceeds expectations in every facet of the game. The narrative had depth beyond an intriguing premise as it provoked philosophical thought. The base building featured a tetris like grid, which made it engaging, but easy to understand, and the survival elements didn’t feel meaningless, they felt crucial to my survival. Best of all, The fusion of all of these elements highlighted the best everything harmonized together
THE ALTERS is a compelling, if sometimes chaotic, sci-fi odyssey brimming with ambition and innovation. Its customizable systems, engaging narrative arcs, and unique take on identity through alter creation make it a standout experience. The onboarding could be smoother, and not all mechanics are user-friendly out of the gate, but those who persevere will find a richly layered game full of meaningful decisions and poignant solitude. For fans of thoughtful, atmospheric sci-fi survival, it’s absolutely worth exploring.
The Alters is one of those rare experiences that transcends the barrier of entertainment to touch on something deeply human.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Alters is a truly addicting management sim. It has the perfect amount of resources to monitor — enough to be a challenge, but not enough to be impossible. Players have to balance assigning Alters, managing resources to create critical items like radiation filters, talking to the Alters and the corporate overlords, exploring the planet’s surface, and trying to do the right thing. It's one of the best games I've played this year.
“The Alters” convinces with a great story that brings a new twist to the Robinsonade with the cloning. I have come to love and hate the various Jans, which is mainly due to the brilliant performance by voice actor Alex Jordan.
Review in German | Read full review
The Alters delivers a fascinating story and a rich survival experience that sets it apart from many games in the genre. Its unique presentation, well-developed characters, and engaging gameplay mechanics create a world that is both immersive and challenging.
The plot, though far from light or pleasant, is truly engaging, and completing it leaves you with a feeling of existential emptiness. The gameplay itself, though seemingly simple, is addictive and very satisfying. It is impossible to remain indifferent to The Alters. At the moment, it is one of my favorite “smaller” titles of the year, which I can recommend to everyone with a clear conscience.
Review in Polish | Read full review
The Alters delivers the most thought-provoking narrative in the survival genre, while also providing an excellent gameplay loop that encourages replayability.
All in all, The Alters delivers a unique and memorable experience. It’s the kind of game that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll. For those who enjoy deep storytelling and intriguing character dynamics, it’s absolutely worth exploring.
The Alters offered a unique experience with original ideas and a distinctive gameplay system. It's not just a survival game, but one of exploration and deep choices, featuring a beautiful artistic direction and a sci-fi atmosphere filled with mystery. The experience was enjoyable for the most part, especially thanks to the variety of characters and their different roles. However, some design decisions slightly diminished the overall quality of the experience.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Even with complex gameplay, the game is highly inviting for newcomers to the genre, featuring a well-crafted story and impressive possibilities. The Alters is, so far, the studio's peak and one of the best survival games out there.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Alters is an excellent narrative survival adventure from 11 bit studios, combining base-building, resource management, and story-driven gameplay. Players control Jan Dolski, the sole survivor of a botched space mission, who uses clone "alters" with modified life paths to aid his survival. The game masterfully blends exploration (à la Satisfactory) with personal dilemmas, as Dolski navigates not only a dangerous planet but also the emotional complexities of his cloned companions. Balancing immediate survival with the psychological weight of these choices, The Alters delivers a gripping experience deserving top marks.
Review in Finnish | Read full review
I like The Alters. It sells its premise in a way I wish more science fiction games would. We need more of them. But the watering down of its gameplay elements makes it hard to recommend. If you’re willing to slog through tedium and gameplay filler there is a wonderfully fun story to experience. I’m debating if I want to push through a second time and see how my journey plays out.
The Alters offers a challenging and compelling experience with its moral dilemmas and cornering situations. If you enjoyed Frostpunk and This War of Mine, you're bound to love this one.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
The entire package of The Alters is incredible from start to finish. Be it the immersive soundtrack that delivers a gut-punch time after time, the incredible blending of new crew members with the philosophical questions posited around the right to create life, and the performances given by Alex Jordan and the smaller roles by the rest of the cast. When I wasn’t playing The Alters, I was thinking about The Alters. The decisions were difficult, and the choices matter. 2025 seems jam-packed with incredible, Game of the Year contenders, and for the last five months, mine was easily Split Fiction. Now, however, there’s only one choice for me. The Alters is Game of the Year.