The Alters Reviews
The Alters is a highly atmospheric sci-fi character study mixed with simple but effective resource and base management that cleverly builds existential and interpersonal pressure throughout its story.
The Alters is a cerebral, thought-provoking, and beefy story-driven survival game, and undoubtedly 11 Bit Studios' magnum opus.
Wildly unpredictable but always enjoyable, The Alters is a masterclass in high-tension gaming.
Many games feel like they mirror film and television in the stories they tell and the cinematography they present, but The Alters feels like a best-selling sci-fi novel. The intricacies, branching storylines, decisions that actually matter, and world-building that makes you feel at home on a planet millions of light years away is a terrific accomplishment. This is the story of a singular man I cannot recommend enough. And who knows, perhaps along the way you might even learn something about yourself.
The moral implications of cloning yourself aren't lost in all the resource and base management systems.
The Alters is an engrossing survival adventure that delicately balances captivating self-reflection and engaging base management
Hardcore Gamer's official review on the new sci-fi strategy game The Alters.
The Alters is a unique and atmospheric survival game that riffs on the existing 11 Bit Studios blueprint in a meaningful way. Offering a superb sci-fi story that is equal parts somber, surreal, and silly. The economy, base building, and Alter Management are the highlights, which are somewhat dragged down by the rather mindless exploration that feels like a means to an end. But overall, The Alters is a brave and bold step forward within the survival genre, and one that will make you question your life decisions more than any other.
It can be very difficult to take these games that are focused on complex system management and add a nice layer of humanity to it all, offering a reason beyond simple efficiencies and problem-solving for people to engage, but 11 Bit Studios does it well and has once again succeeded with The Alters.
The Alters is one of the stand-out survival games of this generation. Imbued with a fascinating sci-fi concept for the ages - one that asks genuinely fascinating ethical questions – and with high-pressure survival mechanics that keep things stressful from beginning to end, this is quite the experience. Did I enjoy playing it? Not really, but good grief, I'll never forget it.
The Alters blends 3D survival, resource management, and base building with a strong narrative core. As Jan Dolski, we must explore a hostile planet, manage a space base, and create alternate versions of ourselves to survive. Each Alter has unique skills, but also memories, personalities, and unresolved conflicts. Managing tensions between clones, assigning the right roles, keeping morale high, and coping with extreme environmental conditions becomes the heart of the gameplay. A deep challenge that mixes micromanagement, psychology, and sci-fi human drama, told through branching, multi-choice dialogues.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Alters is a unique, emotionally layered, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking game that will have you questioning your own life choices and then simulating alternate versions of them. It’s not just about survival or ‘tree-punching’ as Ken calls it; but it’s about identity, regret, and learning to cooperate with your own worst tendencies… literally. It’s like if RimWorld and Black Mirror had a baby, and that baby wanted to talk to you about your high school failures. The Alters is developer 11-bit Studios firing on all cylinders with what I feel is there best game to date. Do I recommend The Alters? Absolutely! Just don’t play it when you’re already existentially fragile. Or do. I’m not your Alter.
The Alters is 11 Bit Studios' magnum opus; a tense, thrilling, thoughtful game that makes you question what kind of person you want to be.
The Alters spreads itself thinly, approaching heady subject matter with little imagination and shallow dialogue. Coupled with irritating resource management, cumbersome traversal, and an ever-ticking clock that harms its narrative pacing, 11 Bit's ambitious surival game is only for those who love deadlines and suffering.
While The Alters is a narrative success, its survival gameplay is more of a side focus than the core of the title.
The Alters is more than a fascinating concept, mixing strong characterization and impactful decision-making with an enthralling quest for survival, even if the gameplay doesn't always excite.
Adventure and survival parts of The Alters were reduced to a minimum, so that the story, choices and interactions with alters could serve as the main course. Unfortunately this particular meal left me feeling hungry, but that is due to my personal preferences. If you want something new and fresh among games that make you manage a base with a little exploration, and a little survival, The Alters looks bold and original.
Review in Polish | Read full review
The Alters is a masterfully crafted sci-fi adventure about survival, self-discovery, and learning to live with the version of yourself who tried a little harder.
The Alters has taken the idea of choices and their ramifications and used it to create a world where you can only count on yourself to survive. It mixes these with literal elements of survival, such as mining for materials, keeping important items stocked, and keeping your base in working shape. All these elements made me think about my own choices in life, and what could have been if I had taken different paths. Therefore, not only was The Alters a captivating story and world to play in, but it also really made me think philosophically about life and what it really means to survive.