Alien: Isolation Reviews
After years of fumbling with the license, it's refreshing to see Sega finally deliver a game worthy of the Alien branding.
Isolation isn't the worst Alien game, but it is the most disappointing
Alien: Isolation harbors legitimate frights, but they're nestled between endless stretches of bland lever-pulling and button-pressing.
Pacing problems and a lack of variety take their toll, but in its best most moments this is the most successful big budget survival horror in a decade.
Alien: Isolation is worth experiencing, but at the same time feels like lost potential. There's nothing quite like playing elaborate hide-and-seek with the alien, it's just a shame that so much baggage comes along with it. Fans may have finally gotten a good alien game, but they may have to wait longer for a great one.
Alien: Isolation is still well rounded and comprehensive in its reverential use of the original 1979 film, even with its shortcomings. I cannot imagine any future Alien game attempting a similar feat with the same level of success. While the interlude made me question whether you can have too much fan service, I respect this kitchen-sink approach from The Creative Assembly. This sense of completeness is all the more affirmed by the DLC featuring the movie's original cast (which I have yet to evaluate). Alien: Isolation's ideal for those with the patience to deal with unpredictable behavior of the alien and who accept the inevitability that you will die once in a while through no fault of your own.
CA has finally nailed the true horror of Alien in video game form. It's only taken 35 years.
A shorter, sharper campaign would condense the high points more potently, and some better characterisation would make the plot twists hit harder. But if you're looking for a game that really sinks its teeth into what makes this iconic movie monster endure, look no further.
Alien: Isolation can be frustrating, but it's mostly terrifying in a near-perfect way. The Alien is scarier than it's been since Ridley Scott first showed it to the world, and the atmosphere is thick enough to cut.
Alien: Isolation is a tough, terrifying and ultimate thrilling game that's defiantly old-school in its approach. The result is one of the best survival horror games in recent memory.
Alien: Isolation erases the memory of Colonial Marines, but it's still not the great Alien game we were hoping for.
This is the closest a game has come to capturing the promise of the Alien franchise, even if its story doesn't add much to the lore
Alien: Isolation is a phenomenal title marred by only one major issue that some will overlook, and others will find a deal-breaker. It's comfortably the best Alien game ever made, and delivers authenticity along with a new story that is worth seeing, experiencing, and fleeing from into the darkness. Never once allowing the immersion to be broken, Creative Assembly have done it. They have actually done it.
Terrifying, tense and almost unbearable, this is the Alien adaptation you've always dreamed of. It's not quite flawless and the hide-and-seek gameplay can be tough going, but few other movie tie-ins work so hard to capture not just the look of the film, but the emotion and the pacing. It's also the scariest game since the original Dead Space. Consider yourself warned.
Alien: Isolation isn't created with the same purity as the xenomorph in which you'll be hiding from; it's not perfect by any means. But it's finally a game that does the iconic franchise justice.
Alien Isolation is for people who can withstand a heightened emotional state for a prolonged period of time. Patience, observation, and fast action are paramount. There were numerous occasions, after being brutally killed again and again, that I had to step away and say, "Ok, that's enough." But the thing is, it wasn't. I kept going back to see if I could be a survivor, out maneuver the perfect organism, and get through the level alive.
At the centre of the debate will be one of the finest entries in the Alien canon in any medium, and one of the finest horror experiences in ours.
That idea of never being comfortable with how the game is unravelling is something that feels quite unique and it's extremely well imagined here. Plenty of survival horror games have you feeling vulnerable as you essentially fulfil the role of a hero but things are different here. In Alien: Isolation you're not the hero, you're the prey.
Alien: Isolation might not deliver the scary, intimate experience players expected for its entire running time, but smart design, good pacing, and a ton of gameplay variety more than make up for the lack of chills.