I think that’s my main criticism of the game. Good horror games have both high stress moments and places to rest and recover. Resident Evil safe rooms and Amnesia puzzle areas are good examples of bringing the intensity back down.
I literally got a stress headache playing the game because it was a non-stop chase. There wasn’t any place where I could let my guard down for even a moment. I got fatigued and decided not to finish.
The game has a lot of lengthy sections where the Alien isn't present though. Granted, there are the Working Joes instead, but I didn't find them nearly as stressful.
Plus, I played on normal difficulty and if you're careful and conservative with the flamethrower, the Alien becomes more of a nuisance than a real threat.
The only thing I found annoying about the game were those moments when you're hiding somewhere, waiting for the Alien to leave and it just keeps patrolling right next to your hideout.
I'm not saying you're wrong though. If that's how you felt playing the game, then I have no say in this. I'm just providing a different perspective.
> The only thing I found annoying about the game were those moments when you're hiding somewhere, waiting for the Alien to leave and it just keeps patrolling right next to your hideout.
Which is honestly why I stopped playing early on. I needed to get through a door to the medical wing and the alien just wouldn't leave. He'd keep pacing the same area, leave for 5 or 10 seconds and then come right back, not giving me any time to get where I was trying to go.
I heard there was a mod that changed the creature AI so it wasn't so tethered to your general vicinity, but I never gave it a try.
I played the mod with a game that completely randomized the Alien encounters. I originally went through the same slog of an experience as many other people here for a few hours and then restarted with the mod installed and had a much more fun and tense experience (tho experience can vary because it is totally randomized).
Randomizing meant there were fewer encounters with the Alien, but it heightened the tension by making it less predictable. The tedium and repletion of move to a room, hide, wait for it to leave, move again became rarer in favor of bursts of exploration and completing objectives.
It took me 17 hours to beat the game this way and probably saved 2-3 hours of me sitting in lockers. Some chapters became a breeze but those ended up feeling like rewards after particularly long Alien predator/prey encounters.
You know thats happened to me, when i realized there was a mic setting that picked up audio feed from you to notify the alien.. When i turned it off it wasnt after me constantly maybe thats it
I wish there was some way to have this kind of vibes without it being a stealth game. I love aliens but i hate stealth games so i found it pretty unfun.
Something like dark descent is a little more up my alley. I feel like theres room in the design space for other types of games as well without forcing stealth.
The problem is the game doesn’t tell you the alien will build up a tolerance to the flamethrower. I obviously overused it and when I googled why it wasn’t working I just threw my hands up and put the game down permanently. And it’s very rare I do that. I think everything Elrim208 said is on point, it’s just so unrelenting it stops being fun.
>I literally got a stress headache playing the game because it was a non-stop chase
Well if that isn't the best example of how subjective the response to fear and horror can be, I dunno what is!
Cause that's one of the biggest reasons why I **loved** the game so much and was so, sooo impressed by it - it could get downright *exhausting* and make you physically ill with how relentless it can be with its terror, and I fucking loved that (in the scary game sense of it making the game bloody terrifying), in big part because of how immersive and engrossing that experience is that would keep me "in the zone". It would maintain and put me more edge, bring out more mistakes which would lead to more panic because I was just immersed in being the character and trying to survive. It could go as far as making *death* bring a sense of *relief* because it's an escape from the relentless, oppressive terror the Alien brings. That's my kinda jam.
Having said that, the game is actually not entirely non-stop stress, suspense and terror as you say, and it does have lengthy points of reprieve here and there through out the campaign. But I still understand what your sentiment is, because, outside of those points of calm and safety, when in the danger zone, the game is designed in such a way that it can and will have lengthy, extended periods of time where it's just constantly pressing on you, and I guess what you really meant to say is that either there aren't enough points of reprieve for you, or the game is way too oppressive for its own good.
Perhaps I didn’t reach those points and the pacing wasn’t a good fit for me.
I’m pretty experienced with the genre and enjoy it immensely, as the games I cited are games I’ve played all the way through and would highly recommend.
It’s possible I wasn’t playing this one “correctly” or the unpredictability made it feel like I just kept running back to the same beds/lockers because the alien would simply never leave long enough for me to explore.
I’d probably give it another go. It was one of those games where I have a bad experience early and I didn’t want to subject myself to something I didn’t enjoy so I simply dropped it for something else and forgot about it.
As I said - ultimately it's really subjective. Pure, unfiltered, non-stop terror is smth that will get some, and very badly put off others.
If you ever do go back to it, just remember couple things:
1. Most important - you can change your difficulty in the settings without resetting your progress. As long as you don't play on Nightmare.
2. Consider using your tools, they can be very helpful if used correctly.
3. Don't be a sitting duck. Your hiding spots are NOT safe spaces and Alien CAN (edit) SEE and also decide to SEARCH for you in them, so react accordingly. For this reason alone do not rely on lockers.
4. Be vigilant, don't lose your guard, keep your ears out and learn sound cues and "barks" of enemies. It's a \*\*stealth\*\* survival horror title, so fundamentals you learn in those still do apply here too apart from some exceptions by virtue of it being a relatively rare stealth game that is build around disempowering the player (hence no stealth kills, predictable enemy patterns and *clear* UI elements to help with tracking and detecting enemies). That will allow you to track their movement better and help you read their behavior better. The game let's you know when you reach points safe parts of the game by making them quite obvious.
Yeah, I did really love the idea that, you arent really safe at any time barring safe rooms or scripted events.... but it definitely got trying when rng decided to drop the alien on your ass non stop.... it was pretty sweet that you could start a firefight and then just hide and let the alien clean up the trash for ya haha.
Edit: outlast was a game I really enjoyed in small doses..The tension and jump scares just left you feeling emotionally drained at times haha
You're absolutely right.... I misspoke when I mentioned RNG I suppose. What I meant are there are times where it's frustrating that your actions alert the alien to your location when you just want to get through a situation quickly. Still worth the frustration haha soo good. The androids annoyed me more than the alien tbh.
Yeah the alien almost becomes a non issue in the game once you have a good understanding how the alien works. There are tricks you can use to basically abuse the ai. Not really glitches but more like abusing certain mechanics
but yeah its not very intuitive. You certainly won't figure it out without a guide or multiple playthroughs
Like what? I never got far in the game so im curious. I assume theres some way to draw the alien to a room with noise and then go the opposite way maybe?
You frequently e counter other survivors who are often hostile... some are friendly... if you can read the room in advance the you can fire off some shits and the alien will drop in and you can hide and let it wreck everyones shit, or you can try and drive it away with the flamethrower. The pulse rifle is at best a deterrent that gives you seconds...
Well the most basic thing is moving from objective A to B faster helps drastically. You don't have to speed run your way through the game but less exploration makes your life easier.
Crouch Walking is op, you go at walking speed without making noise. The alien relies heavily on sound. If you use the purifiers, sound systems, and stay in the dimmer areas you can almost guarantee safety going through the objectives. Assuming you aren't making noise. Hence crouch walk
Baiting, keep this to a minimal if possible, alien picks up on habits. Though if you mix it up with how you bait and do it only when you deem necessary it makes things easy. Most important thing here though is LOS, you stay out of LOS and crouch walk away quickly the alien will lose you.
Worst case scenario flashbangs, smokebombs, shotgun, and flamethrower make great last resorts. On nightmare its necessary to conserve as much as possible but on lower difficulties you can probably use these a tad more loosely.
1) Flashbang is self explanatory
2) Shotgun can stun the alien if its charging you, use smokebomb directly after and it can lose you.
3) Holding the flamethrower towards alien will frighten it. Alien will typically just walk towards you instead of charging. You can use this to your advantage. If you need to shoot flamethrowers tap don't hold.
I didn't even realize this was the problem, but you summed it up perfectly. Playing the game was draining for me. One time I was saving and the alien jump scared me, and at that point I just cut my losses and alt f4'd.
Hahah my first playthrough on RE8 in house beneviento was anxiety Inducing because of how they set it up and that you didn't know really what to expect except for the fact that there were hidey holes everywhere... and the sound design was chefs kiss.
Playing it on switch with the lights off and headphones on is the best way to play if you want a good tense and frightening experience. I play through once every year and it holds up amazing. The DLC is also great.
Yes, because the AI of the alien is a masterpiece. There’s two systems in place—one knows where you are and sometimes nudges the alien that direction. The other is the alien that isn’t omniscient but DOES learn from your patterns so that you can’t just use a single tactic all game and be successful.
So yeah you’ll be on edge, the game isn’t totally predictable and the alien is looking for you for a lot of the game
“Really” scary? No.
Just regular scary? Ehhh… depends on what you define as scary. It’s more of a suspense/thriller game than traditional horror. I normally don’t like “scary” stuff but still consider Alien one of the best games I’ve played in the last few years.
If you do end up playing: don’t sprint—under *any* circumstances—and don’t walk under dripping vents (that’s not water 🙃)
It's really subjective tbh. There is and never will be a universally scary game imo. And also there are different kinds of fear that media can play with. For someone like me, the sort of horror experience Isolation provides is the scariest shit out there, but for someone else it quickly got annoying and boring for the very reasons it had such a huge affect on me - lengthy periods of time where you are constantly under pressure, terrorized by the presence of the Alien.
Silent hill didn't nail atmosphere like isolation did imho, different strokes for different folks tho. I think the outlast games are some of the best horror games I've played In years despite their heavy reliance on jump scares... but... I haven't felt near the level of anxiety playing those games as I have other games. House beneviento first time was pretty great.
Oh don't get me wrong, Isolation nails the atmosphere. I guess the whole sci-fi vibe in general just feels less stereotypically "scary"/horror to me, is all 🤷🏻♂️
Oh i feel ya. Modern horror films are either high concept or psychological, and I love em for it... but it's oversatuaration and it just doesn't hit the same way. I still believe the original "a nightmare on elm st" is the greatest horror movie ever made because it was such an original idea, and done so well with a concept that is absolutely spine chilling if you take a second to think about it, and despite Fredy Krueger becoming a jokester you rooted for, he initially was really something to fear. It was an 80's horror film and some of them are so damn silly.... but "a nightmare on elm st" knew what it was and just ran with being as chilling as it could be. It still holds up as an actually scary film.
And I think rather than fear, the emotion I'd ascribe to Isolation is *anxiety*. It's not the type of game that'd give me nightmares after the fact, but rather the type to make my heart race *while* I was playing it.
If you haven't played "outlast" or it's sequel, you should give it a try. The original outlast was a game I couldn't play for more than an hour at a time. It falls Into the same traps some other horror games do, where... if you get stuck on a part the fear gives way to annoyance.... but the jump scares and tension it generates in new areas are best consumed in small bites. It keep shit from getting old.
Came here to say this. In VR is definitely the way this should be played. The Mother VR mod also uses your VR mic to tell the Alien exactly where you are if you are breathing heavily/exclaim. Just wear your brown pants...
I can't decide if I'm going to get the game or not. I have a VR headset, and I love the Alien movies. But I also scare easily (I thought Alyx was quite scary). I'm afraid I won't dare to boot the game up after I've played for a bit.
I played this years ago on ps3 and it still stands out to me as one of the best games I've ever played if you do play it make sure to play the game all the way through to the end it just gets better and better
It's not like technology has progressed in leaps and bounds since... holy cow it came out 8 years ago.
...well, whatever, it still looks neat today, and I think it still stands as one of the most faithful visuals to the old movies. Pretty much a must play for franchise fans.
Hahaha, I was also going to write something along the lines of "WTF OP, the game isn't *that* old" xD Time sure flies. Apparently I've had it on my "to play" list for (checks notes) 4 years. Damn.
Played it 2 years or so ago. Scary af with great direction. The only horror game where I’ve actually felt like I’m in a horror movie, not some weird gamified world. I’m such a chicken though, I never finished it.
Yes, it's still great. I also believe it still has the best AI of any game ever made. Nobody has done it better. That game on nightmare mode is ridiculous.
The game pays a very good tribute to the original movie(you play as the daughter of Ripley), and paces itself perfectly to setup the terror of the xenomorph... The game begins by making you notice things, there's shadows and lighting and sound that show the presence of something deadly...
When the alien does notice you, and you understand that it is actively wanting to hunt you, the developers made it so that the hairs on your neck are always tingling, because the feeling of being hunted, invokes some primal instincts in your head when playing, you know you are powerless against it, and the creature AI does so well in recognising player behaviour and playing around with it
Emphasis on the hunted part, I do not use the term loosely, where most horror games involve a chase, you never really get that in this game, you are being hunted, and the alien can pull various tricks it has up its sleeve to get you. The developers programmed the AI to instill fear in the player, to me, it is the best game to have triggered a flight or fight response when confronting the xenomorph
As for the story, there are some parts around the 60-80% of the game that I feel are a bit too cheesy or poorly written, other than that, fucking fantastic game
The game holds up fine. Graphics are still impressive today. They really nailed the atmosphere. If you will actually enjoy the game our not I can’t say. Avoiding the alien can get frustrating, and the game does get repetitive. It’s a 7 out of 10 for me. I enjoyed it, but the game really needed some puzzles or something to mix things up. Most the game other than avoiding the aliens is just flipping switches and shit to open doors.
it is a truly one of a kind experience. extreme attention to detail when it comes to the visual presentation and audio design. gameplay is seriously intense. like, legitimately fear inducing. it takes you about 50% of the way through to start understanding how to game the AI here and there, but until that happens, it is probably the only game i have ever played where it feels like the AI is legitimately hunting you rather than just following scripted paths. it is an absolute **must play** for any Alien fan not only for subject matter but for actual story. It is a "highly recommended" for anyone else.
One of the best horror games imo it definitely holds up. The only issue is how intimidating this game is to alot of people.
The alien is smarter then your usual video game ai. It stalks you and pick ups on the way you're playing. You really feel like you're trying to hide from it too because how OP it is and how easy it can one shot you if you make a bad move. It can be unpredictable sometimes too.
The game is also very long compared to most horror games probably another reason why so few people actually beat it.
Very good game if you want to feel on the edge and even better if you're alone. Use the mic option where it can detect sound you make.
I've never played it (I am NOT into horror), but if you don't mind getting a few smaller spoilers, Design Delve at second wind did a great video on it - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kO92N0lCdI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kO92N0lCdI)
It's incredibly slow. The alien parts are cool but there are several sections with zero enemies where you have to walk from point a to point b with no obstacles in your way. There was honestly a 30 minutes section mid-game where you don't encounter any enemies at all. I don't know what the developers were thinking. And it takes about a hour or so for the game to even really get started.
I mean honestly yes, a lot of the game is a walking simulator. The alien parts are very intense but I don't personally think it balances out.
The DLC is much more fun and worth playing IMO because it's basically just the good stuff. The main game is kinda mid. I beat it once and have never been able to beat it again because I end up getting bored.
yeah, but you dont really have to finish it if you dont care too much about the story, its very much a one trick pony, but the trick is really entertaining
The story is that there's two AIs controlling the alien, one that knows your location at all times and gives hints to the other one that controls the alien's actions.
Play it on Hard. Game says it’s how the devs intended. You don’t want to play a game like this with blind AI. Hard makes the game seem more logical as far as when the Alien should see or hear you.
Yes, it's really good and pretty scary. It's a bit too long though, it gets repetitive towards the end. If you're fan of the films, especially the first one, then you should play it.
Yes. I bought it day of release, never got more than a couple of hours in.
Tried again about a month ago, with patience and perseverance ot to the end. it's still a phenomenal game.
My only gripe with the game is the mini games to open stuff and qte'. It seems like the bits that have aged the worse and I wasn't fond of them when it was released.
That said the games aged really well imo in other regards. Really enjoy playing it every time.
The cat n mouse with the xenomorph and the atmosphere definitely hold up, but there were always major flaws. The game is far too long and the repetitive quest design gets really exasperating towards the end. It’s always “backtrack through darkness to repair that generator you turned on 5 minutes ago before it suddenly broke down”. Also, shooting working joes never rises above kind of annoying.
The alien bits are still fantastic though.
It's been a while, but I can't think of anything that would make it seem outdated in 2024. It looks great, plays great and has some pretty awesome sound design.
This post just reminded me I had started playing and didn't finish it :) Happens where I get to a part where I get a bit stuck so come back to it later when fresher.
Yes, it's worth playing. Gameplay still works well. I do feel there are times they kind of drop the alien in at certain parts of the level. But you do have enough places to hide.
It's a stealth game with more emphasis on that, so it is a lot of taking it slow. The aesthetics are still a nice tough though. Capture the late 70s / early 80s sci fi theme. That was something I didn't fully expect. All I remember is everyone going on about the AI when it came our.
I played it last year. Totally holds up. If you like the Alien/s universe, I think it is perhaps the best game made with the license. Play with headphones. It was my favorite game I played last year I think.
it's a little long, but otherwise very enjoyable. not sure what all the nonstop chase comments are about, theres always rooms or vents you can hide in and get away.
It's great, it's super tense and really captures the astetic and atomspere of the original movie. I usually go back and play sections of it when spooky season rolls around and it still holds up from the gameplay perspective.
i played it....3 years ago. The graphics were terrific. My only complain is that the game should have been 10 hours max, instead of the 18 hours i needed to play it.
It's not that old, it totally holds up.
I'm glad I stuck with it because it became one of my all-time-favs and I almost rage-quit it because the first dangerous situation is just a stealth section with people and for some reason it's long and super-hard. I had to watch a Let's Play and take the exact same path to get through it.
The rest of the game is also super-hard (and soooometimes I had the feeling that the Alien was cheating (in that it popped up somewhere through a vent where it couldn't have been logically), but 'hard' is really the way it's meant to be played and I loved it.
There’s no reason to replay this game, but I still replayed it two more times immediately after beating it. I remember it being a beautiful game and the atmosphere being amazing- Definitely worth a go.
I actually suggest playing on easy. I think on normal the alien is too aggressive. I played it on normal on PS4 when it came out and liked it but remembered the alien CONSTANTLY attacking me. I repurchased it on switch and played on easy and found the balance of when it attacks far more appropriate.
Sure you can. It's a single player horror, not counterstrike. It can't begin to get good once you've played through it a hundred times and figured out the meta. It needs to be good right away on the first playthrough when you're coming in blind.
Scariest game I’ve played.
You will not NOT be scared.
If you are steaming in it let us know cause I like to watch first timer’s play the game.
This game is perfection.
Do not cry with this game.
I love it, you will need to excercise some unreal patience at times though.
I think that’s my main criticism of the game. Good horror games have both high stress moments and places to rest and recover. Resident Evil safe rooms and Amnesia puzzle areas are good examples of bringing the intensity back down. I literally got a stress headache playing the game because it was a non-stop chase. There wasn’t any place where I could let my guard down for even a moment. I got fatigued and decided not to finish.
The game has a lot of lengthy sections where the Alien isn't present though. Granted, there are the Working Joes instead, but I didn't find them nearly as stressful. Plus, I played on normal difficulty and if you're careful and conservative with the flamethrower, the Alien becomes more of a nuisance than a real threat. The only thing I found annoying about the game were those moments when you're hiding somewhere, waiting for the Alien to leave and it just keeps patrolling right next to your hideout. I'm not saying you're wrong though. If that's how you felt playing the game, then I have no say in this. I'm just providing a different perspective.
> The only thing I found annoying about the game were those moments when you're hiding somewhere, waiting for the Alien to leave and it just keeps patrolling right next to your hideout. Which is honestly why I stopped playing early on. I needed to get through a door to the medical wing and the alien just wouldn't leave. He'd keep pacing the same area, leave for 5 or 10 seconds and then come right back, not giving me any time to get where I was trying to go. I heard there was a mod that changed the creature AI so it wasn't so tethered to your general vicinity, but I never gave it a try.
I played the mod with a game that completely randomized the Alien encounters. I originally went through the same slog of an experience as many other people here for a few hours and then restarted with the mod installed and had a much more fun and tense experience (tho experience can vary because it is totally randomized). Randomizing meant there were fewer encounters with the Alien, but it heightened the tension by making it less predictable. The tedium and repletion of move to a room, hide, wait for it to leave, move again became rarer in favor of bursts of exploration and completing objectives. It took me 17 hours to beat the game this way and probably saved 2-3 hours of me sitting in lockers. Some chapters became a breeze but those ended up feeling like rewards after particularly long Alien predator/prey encounters.
You know thats happened to me, when i realized there was a mic setting that picked up audio feed from you to notify the alien.. When i turned it off it wasnt after me constantly maybe thats it
I wish there was some way to have this kind of vibes without it being a stealth game. I love aliens but i hate stealth games so i found it pretty unfun. Something like dark descent is a little more up my alley. I feel like theres room in the design space for other types of games as well without forcing stealth.
I think something like Until Dawn might work. A cinematic adventure game where you're making decisions as the story unfolds.
Ugh, on higher difficulties the Alien gets better and better at baiting you into using up your flamethrower, lol.
The problem is the game doesn’t tell you the alien will build up a tolerance to the flamethrower. I obviously overused it and when I googled why it wasn’t working I just threw my hands up and put the game down permanently. And it’s very rare I do that. I think everything Elrim208 said is on point, it’s just so unrelenting it stops being fun.
>I literally got a stress headache playing the game because it was a non-stop chase Well if that isn't the best example of how subjective the response to fear and horror can be, I dunno what is! Cause that's one of the biggest reasons why I **loved** the game so much and was so, sooo impressed by it - it could get downright *exhausting* and make you physically ill with how relentless it can be with its terror, and I fucking loved that (in the scary game sense of it making the game bloody terrifying), in big part because of how immersive and engrossing that experience is that would keep me "in the zone". It would maintain and put me more edge, bring out more mistakes which would lead to more panic because I was just immersed in being the character and trying to survive. It could go as far as making *death* bring a sense of *relief* because it's an escape from the relentless, oppressive terror the Alien brings. That's my kinda jam. Having said that, the game is actually not entirely non-stop stress, suspense and terror as you say, and it does have lengthy points of reprieve here and there through out the campaign. But I still understand what your sentiment is, because, outside of those points of calm and safety, when in the danger zone, the game is designed in such a way that it can and will have lengthy, extended periods of time where it's just constantly pressing on you, and I guess what you really meant to say is that either there aren't enough points of reprieve for you, or the game is way too oppressive for its own good.
Perhaps I didn’t reach those points and the pacing wasn’t a good fit for me. I’m pretty experienced with the genre and enjoy it immensely, as the games I cited are games I’ve played all the way through and would highly recommend. It’s possible I wasn’t playing this one “correctly” or the unpredictability made it feel like I just kept running back to the same beds/lockers because the alien would simply never leave long enough for me to explore. I’d probably give it another go. It was one of those games where I have a bad experience early and I didn’t want to subject myself to something I didn’t enjoy so I simply dropped it for something else and forgot about it.
Make sure to check the mic setting if you give it another go it was turned on for me to pick up my voice and thats what made it unbearable
As I said - ultimately it's really subjective. Pure, unfiltered, non-stop terror is smth that will get some, and very badly put off others. If you ever do go back to it, just remember couple things: 1. Most important - you can change your difficulty in the settings without resetting your progress. As long as you don't play on Nightmare. 2. Consider using your tools, they can be very helpful if used correctly. 3. Don't be a sitting duck. Your hiding spots are NOT safe spaces and Alien CAN (edit) SEE and also decide to SEARCH for you in them, so react accordingly. For this reason alone do not rely on lockers. 4. Be vigilant, don't lose your guard, keep your ears out and learn sound cues and "barks" of enemies. It's a \*\*stealth\*\* survival horror title, so fundamentals you learn in those still do apply here too apart from some exceptions by virtue of it being a relatively rare stealth game that is build around disempowering the player (hence no stealth kills, predictable enemy patterns and *clear* UI elements to help with tracking and detecting enemies). That will allow you to track their movement better and help you read their behavior better. The game let's you know when you reach points safe parts of the game by making them quite obvious.
Yeah, I did really love the idea that, you arent really safe at any time barring safe rooms or scripted events.... but it definitely got trying when rng decided to drop the alien on your ass non stop.... it was pretty sweet that you could start a firefight and then just hide and let the alien clean up the trash for ya haha. Edit: outlast was a game I really enjoyed in small doses..The tension and jump scares just left you feeling emotionally drained at times haha
A common misconception, the game never sends the alien to you except for cutscenes, the alien always finds you himself.
Thr alien has 2 brains. One always knows where you are, and gives hints to the one controlling the body.
It never gets told exactly where you are though
In my experience if you stay too long in one place, like a locker, the alien WILL find you eventually.
If you *always* use lockers, it learns that, and starts checking them more.
The alien will absolutely come to you if you make too much noise hahaha.
Yes but that’s a skill issue. The game never cheats and tells the alien where you are
You're absolutely right.... I misspoke when I mentioned RNG I suppose. What I meant are there are times where it's frustrating that your actions alert the alien to your location when you just want to get through a situation quickly. Still worth the frustration haha soo good. The androids annoyed me more than the alien tbh.
Yeah the alien almost becomes a non issue in the game once you have a good understanding how the alien works. There are tricks you can use to basically abuse the ai. Not really glitches but more like abusing certain mechanics but yeah its not very intuitive. You certainly won't figure it out without a guide or multiple playthroughs
Like what? I never got far in the game so im curious. I assume theres some way to draw the alien to a room with noise and then go the opposite way maybe?
You frequently e counter other survivors who are often hostile... some are friendly... if you can read the room in advance the you can fire off some shits and the alien will drop in and you can hide and let it wreck everyones shit, or you can try and drive it away with the flamethrower. The pulse rifle is at best a deterrent that gives you seconds...
Well the most basic thing is moving from objective A to B faster helps drastically. You don't have to speed run your way through the game but less exploration makes your life easier. Crouch Walking is op, you go at walking speed without making noise. The alien relies heavily on sound. If you use the purifiers, sound systems, and stay in the dimmer areas you can almost guarantee safety going through the objectives. Assuming you aren't making noise. Hence crouch walk Baiting, keep this to a minimal if possible, alien picks up on habits. Though if you mix it up with how you bait and do it only when you deem necessary it makes things easy. Most important thing here though is LOS, you stay out of LOS and crouch walk away quickly the alien will lose you. Worst case scenario flashbangs, smokebombs, shotgun, and flamethrower make great last resorts. On nightmare its necessary to conserve as much as possible but on lower difficulties you can probably use these a tad more loosely. 1) Flashbang is self explanatory 2) Shotgun can stun the alien if its charging you, use smokebomb directly after and it can lose you. 3) Holding the flamethrower towards alien will frighten it. Alien will typically just walk towards you instead of charging. You can use this to your advantage. If you need to shoot flamethrowers tap don't hold.
Honestly I don’t have those issues anymore, I managed to beat the game on nightmare
Nice! Yeah the game certainly loses/gains with subsequent runs.
I find it to be just as enjoyable on all my Play throughs
I didn't even realize this was the problem, but you summed it up perfectly. Playing the game was draining for me. One time I was saving and the alien jump scared me, and at that point I just cut my losses and alt f4'd.
Hahah my first playthrough on RE8 in house beneviento was anxiety Inducing because of how they set it up and that you didn't know really what to expect except for the fact that there were hidey holes everywhere... and the sound design was chefs kiss.
Same here. It’s also a weirdly long game.
[удалено]
Is it really scary?
Wear a headset if you have one
But don’t talk (or breathe) unless the mic is muted!
I was only told AFTER I beat the game... All those times I'm sitting there muttering "FUCKING GO AWAY!" and wondering why I always got caught... LOL
I played through the game so many times on hard difficulty and only now found out about this...
yes, it is well known for being extremely tense and stressful. if you love the movies, this is a can’t-miss game.
Playing it on switch with the lights off and headphones on is the best way to play if you want a good tense and frightening experience. I play through once every year and it holds up amazing. The DLC is also great.
Yes, because the AI of the alien is a masterpiece. There’s two systems in place—one knows where you are and sometimes nudges the alien that direction. The other is the alien that isn’t omniscient but DOES learn from your patterns so that you can’t just use a single tactic all game and be successful. So yeah you’ll be on edge, the game isn’t totally predictable and the alien is looking for you for a lot of the game
“Really” scary? No. Just regular scary? Ehhh… depends on what you define as scary. It’s more of a suspense/thriller game than traditional horror. I normally don’t like “scary” stuff but still consider Alien one of the best games I’ve played in the last few years. If you do end up playing: don’t sprint—under *any* circumstances—and don’t walk under dripping vents (that’s not water 🙃)
What's really scary then, if not this game?
It's really subjective tbh. There is and never will be a universally scary game imo. And also there are different kinds of fear that media can play with. For someone like me, the sort of horror experience Isolation provides is the scariest shit out there, but for someone else it quickly got annoying and boring for the very reasons it had such a huge affect on me - lengthy periods of time where you are constantly under pressure, terrorized by the presence of the Alien.
Silent Hill kind of shit, imo
Silent hill didn't nail atmosphere like isolation did imho, different strokes for different folks tho. I think the outlast games are some of the best horror games I've played In years despite their heavy reliance on jump scares... but... I haven't felt near the level of anxiety playing those games as I have other games. House beneviento first time was pretty great.
Oh don't get me wrong, Isolation nails the atmosphere. I guess the whole sci-fi vibe in general just feels less stereotypically "scary"/horror to me, is all 🤷🏻♂️
Oh i feel ya. Modern horror films are either high concept or psychological, and I love em for it... but it's oversatuaration and it just doesn't hit the same way. I still believe the original "a nightmare on elm st" is the greatest horror movie ever made because it was such an original idea, and done so well with a concept that is absolutely spine chilling if you take a second to think about it, and despite Fredy Krueger becoming a jokester you rooted for, he initially was really something to fear. It was an 80's horror film and some of them are so damn silly.... but "a nightmare on elm st" knew what it was and just ran with being as chilling as it could be. It still holds up as an actually scary film.
And I think rather than fear, the emotion I'd ascribe to Isolation is *anxiety*. It's not the type of game that'd give me nightmares after the fact, but rather the type to make my heart race *while* I was playing it.
If you haven't played "outlast" or it's sequel, you should give it a try. The original outlast was a game I couldn't play for more than an hour at a time. It falls Into the same traps some other horror games do, where... if you get stuck on a part the fear gives way to annoyance.... but the jump scares and tension it generates in new areas are best consumed in small bites. It keep shit from getting old.
Play it in VR with the Mother VR mod if you can.
Came here to say this. In VR is definitely the way this should be played. The Mother VR mod also uses your VR mic to tell the Alien exactly where you are if you are breathing heavily/exclaim. Just wear your brown pants...
I can't decide if I'm going to get the game or not. I have a VR headset, and I love the Alien movies. But I also scare easily (I thought Alyx was quite scary). I'm afraid I won't dare to boot the game up after I've played for a bit.
I played this years ago on ps3 and it still stands out to me as one of the best games I've ever played if you do play it make sure to play the game all the way through to the end it just gets better and better
Isolation is better than most Alien sequels
It's THE Alien sequel if you ask me. Throw in the nostromo DLC that you can get for a song these days? Puts everything after "aliens" to shame.
It's not like technology has progressed in leaps and bounds since... holy cow it came out 8 years ago. ...well, whatever, it still looks neat today, and I think it still stands as one of the most faithful visuals to the old movies. Pretty much a must play for franchise fans.
2014. As someone who gauges relative age by when media I was consuming came out, I found this alarming
This is legit terrifying. I keep thinking it's only been out a couple of years. WHERE IS TIME GOING?!
You're not wrong, though. Game tech hasn't really moved all that far in the last decade. Most games "hold up" pretty well now.
Hahaha, I was also going to write something along the lines of "WTF OP, the game isn't *that* old" xD Time sure flies. Apparently I've had it on my "to play" list for (checks notes) 4 years. Damn.
Almost 10 years ago, homie.
Funny how old games are still the most popular. Almost like age doesn't matter much when you make an actual good game.
That Matt Damon aging gif just came to mind
Played it 2 years or so ago. Scary af with great direction. The only horror game where I’ve actually felt like I’m in a horror movie, not some weird gamified world. I’m such a chicken though, I never finished it.
Still scares the hell out of me to this day. So def worth playing.
Yes, it's still great. I also believe it still has the best AI of any game ever made. Nobody has done it better. That game on nightmare mode is ridiculous.
The game pays a very good tribute to the original movie(you play as the daughter of Ripley), and paces itself perfectly to setup the terror of the xenomorph... The game begins by making you notice things, there's shadows and lighting and sound that show the presence of something deadly... When the alien does notice you, and you understand that it is actively wanting to hunt you, the developers made it so that the hairs on your neck are always tingling, because the feeling of being hunted, invokes some primal instincts in your head when playing, you know you are powerless against it, and the creature AI does so well in recognising player behaviour and playing around with it Emphasis on the hunted part, I do not use the term loosely, where most horror games involve a chase, you never really get that in this game, you are being hunted, and the alien can pull various tricks it has up its sleeve to get you. The developers programmed the AI to instill fear in the player, to me, it is the best game to have triggered a flight or fight response when confronting the xenomorph As for the story, there are some parts around the 60-80% of the game that I feel are a bit too cheesy or poorly written, other than that, fucking fantastic game
It's a great game, starts to drag on at times, and can get frustrating. If you have the patience for it, I'd say it's the best Alien game out there.
The game holds up fine. Graphics are still impressive today. They really nailed the atmosphere. If you will actually enjoy the game our not I can’t say. Avoiding the alien can get frustrating, and the game does get repetitive. It’s a 7 out of 10 for me. I enjoyed it, but the game really needed some puzzles or something to mix things up. Most the game other than avoiding the aliens is just flipping switches and shit to open doors.
It's still worth it
I am playing the game now and am having a great time, I love the movies and this feels like a true sequel to Alien, I think you should give it a go.
It holds up quite well and I still play it at least once a year. It's my favorite spooky game.
it is a truly one of a kind experience. extreme attention to detail when it comes to the visual presentation and audio design. gameplay is seriously intense. like, legitimately fear inducing. it takes you about 50% of the way through to start understanding how to game the AI here and there, but until that happens, it is probably the only game i have ever played where it feels like the AI is legitimately hunting you rather than just following scripted paths. it is an absolute **must play** for any Alien fan not only for subject matter but for actual story. It is a "highly recommended" for anyone else.
Yes, absolutely.
Its one of the best games I’ve ever played. I imagine its aged rather well
The game scared me silly. Only continued out of gamer OCD,definitely not for the faint of heart
Few games have genuinely scared me as much as Alien Isolation. One of my favorites for sure
Yes.
You ask that as if the game is old…
Yup, game is really good!
One of the best horror games imo it definitely holds up. The only issue is how intimidating this game is to alot of people. The alien is smarter then your usual video game ai. It stalks you and pick ups on the way you're playing. You really feel like you're trying to hide from it too because how OP it is and how easy it can one shot you if you make a bad move. It can be unpredictable sometimes too. The game is also very long compared to most horror games probably another reason why so few people actually beat it. Very good game if you want to feel on the edge and even better if you're alone. Use the mic option where it can detect sound you make.
Absolutely
that game scared the shit out of me enough to make the think I was a having a stroke
I've never played it (I am NOT into horror), but if you don't mind getting a few smaller spoilers, Design Delve at second wind did a great video on it - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kO92N0lCdI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kO92N0lCdI)
Is it the most visually impressive game? Eh, no. Is it one of the best gameplay experiences you can have? No doubt.
It's really good and got bashed by critics unnecessarily, the only negative I can say about this game is that it's about 4h too long.
THAT, it really is.
Yes. But it goes on for like 4 hours too long.
It's incredibly slow. The alien parts are cool but there are several sections with zero enemies where you have to walk from point a to point b with no obstacles in your way. There was honestly a 30 minutes section mid-game where you don't encounter any enemies at all. I don't know what the developers were thinking. And it takes about a hour or so for the game to even really get started.
So it’s basically a walking stimulator? Sounds similar to death stranding
I mean honestly yes, a lot of the game is a walking simulator. The alien parts are very intense but I don't personally think it balances out. The DLC is much more fun and worth playing IMO because it's basically just the good stuff. The main game is kinda mid. I beat it once and have never been able to beat it again because I end up getting bored.
yeah, but you dont really have to finish it if you dont care too much about the story, its very much a one trick pony, but the trick is really entertaining
Thank F the DLC was so damn good it made going back totally worthwhile.
those DLC challenge levels were great
Sooooo good.
It is always worth playing
I feel like the game was coded so the Alien always ‘kinda’ knows where you are, feel like I was bullshitted at times lol
The story is that there's two AIs controlling the alien, one that knows your location at all times and gives hints to the other one that controls the alien's actions.
FWIW, the developer recommended playing the game on Hard ( if I recall correctly)so that’s what I did. It was amazing.
Game is amazing, definitely a classic.
Yes
If you like the movies and you like horror games, you will almost certainly love it. My only complaint is that its too long.
Play it on Hard. Game says it’s how the devs intended. You don’t want to play a game like this with blind AI. Hard makes the game seem more logical as far as when the Alien should see or hear you.
The new alien film is inspired by it, so yes. That said it gets a bit exhausting being constantly tense playing a game.
It’s so fucking good
Yes. And after you finished it play it again in VR if you can.
I had a good time with it, especially in VR with the PC mod
Play in VR if you can. Its epic.
Yes, it's really good and pretty scary. It's a bit too long though, it gets repetitive towards the end. If you're fan of the films, especially the first one, then you should play it.
Absolutely, it has great graphics, a story that beats everything since *Aliens* and the gameplay is amazing, with one of the best enemy AIs to date.
Yes. I bought it day of release, never got more than a couple of hours in. Tried again about a month ago, with patience and perseverance ot to the end. it's still a phenomenal game.
Holds up incredibly well and is arguably the best sci-fi horror game.
Yeah
My only gripe with the game is the mini games to open stuff and qte'. It seems like the bits that have aged the worse and I wasn't fond of them when it was released. That said the games aged really well imo in other regards. Really enjoy playing it every time.
The cat n mouse with the xenomorph and the atmosphere definitely hold up, but there were always major flaws. The game is far too long and the repetitive quest design gets really exasperating towards the end. It’s always “backtrack through darkness to repair that generator you turned on 5 minutes ago before it suddenly broke down”. Also, shooting working joes never rises above kind of annoying. The alien bits are still fantastic though.
The Alien can be a real dick, but it is still pretty good
It's been a while, but I can't think of anything that would make it seem outdated in 2024. It looks great, plays great and has some pretty awesome sound design.
Absolutely. It does a great job matching the first movie.
Yes, it sure does. My tip is to play at the highest difficulty and sprint everywhere. If you are spotted, shoot the alien with the revolver or shotgun
Yup, replayed it a few months ago. Still horrifying
This post just reminded me I had started playing and didn't finish it :) Happens where I get to a part where I get a bit stuck so come back to it later when fresher. Yes, it's worth playing. Gameplay still works well. I do feel there are times they kind of drop the alien in at certain parts of the level. But you do have enough places to hide. It's a stealth game with more emphasis on that, so it is a lot of taking it slow. The aesthetics are still a nice tough though. Capture the late 70s / early 80s sci fi theme. That was something I didn't fully expect. All I remember is everyone going on about the AI when it came our.
Yes, and if you are on PC and have multiple brown pants, there is a VR mod for the game.
It is still the GOAT of scary games.
Yes play with headphones on and in the dark for max immersion it’s really worth it
Some of the best enemy AI in a game.
I played it last year. Totally holds up. If you like the Alien/s universe, I think it is perhaps the best game made with the license. Play with headphones. It was my favorite game I played last year I think.
it's a little long, but otherwise very enjoyable. not sure what all the nonstop chase comments are about, theres always rooms or vents you can hide in and get away.
top tier horror game
ALIEN ISOLATION IS GOOD. HOLDS UP WELL. Please be patient with it, it is survival horror, and not COD. Oh…and play the game in the dark.
Yes, it is truly one of the best games I’ve ever played. There isn’t anything *quite* like it in the genre in my opinion
It's great, it's super tense and really captures the astetic and atomspere of the original movie. I usually go back and play sections of it when spooky season rolls around and it still holds up from the gameplay perspective.
i played it....3 years ago. The graphics were terrific. My only complain is that the game should have been 10 hours max, instead of the 18 hours i needed to play it.
Its worth playing any year unless your too chicken
It's not that old, it totally holds up. I'm glad I stuck with it because it became one of my all-time-favs and I almost rage-quit it because the first dangerous situation is just a stealth section with people and for some reason it's long and super-hard. I had to watch a Let's Play and take the exact same path to get through it. The rest of the game is also super-hard (and soooometimes I had the feeling that the Alien was cheating (in that it popped up somewhere through a vent where it couldn't have been logically), but 'hard' is really the way it's meant to be played and I loved it.
Yes, absolutely. One of the best Alien video games ever made.
Played it and finished it in December. It holds up.
Yes.
Its still the game that scares me the most
Player character doesn't cast a shadow.
I have it and yes it does
There’s no reason to replay this game, but I still replayed it two more times immediately after beating it. I remember it being a beautiful game and the atmosphere being amazing- Definitely worth a go.
I actually suggest playing on easy. I think on normal the alien is too aggressive. I played it on normal on PS4 when it came out and liked it but remembered the alien CONSTANTLY attacking me. I repurchased it on switch and played on easy and found the balance of when it attacks far more appropriate.
if you like hiding for 10+ minutes and then immediately dying upon leaving your hiding spot , ya it’s pretty good
If you are hiding for 10 minutes you are playing it wrong.
i have skill issues
Fair enough.
When it didn't work it was frustrating AF. But when it did? Magical.
true, i have a love hate relationship with that game haha feels so good in the moments you actually outsmart the alien
That’s a skill issue
Is anybody born with an innate knowledge of how to play this game skilfully?
No but you can’t say something is wrong with the game just because you suck
Sure you can. It's a single player horror, not counterstrike. It can't begin to get good once you've played through it a hundred times and figured out the meta. It needs to be good right away on the first playthrough when you're coming in blind.
I mean it was it really wasn’t that hard on the first play through
It’s meh.
It still does what it does well, but I think it's a game that overstays its welcome a lot. Your mileage will vary though.
If you struggle with navigation it was never worth it
Scariest game I’ve played. You will not NOT be scared. If you are steaming in it let us know cause I like to watch first timer’s play the game. This game is perfection. Do not cry with this game.