Alien: Isolation is a 2014 survival horror game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Alien: Isolation is a 2014 survival horror game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Based on the Alien film series, the game is set 15 years after the events of the original 1979 film, and follows engineer Amanda Ripley, daughter of Alien protagonist Ellen Ripley, as she investigates the disappearance of her mother aboard the space station Sevastopol. Once inside, Amanda discovers that the station has fallen into disarray due to an Alien creature on the loose and must find a way to escape. The game emphasizes stealth and survival horror gameplay, requiring the player to avoid, outsmart, and fight enemies with tools such as a motion tracker and flamethrower.
Alien: Isolation was designed to resemble the original Alien film rather than its more action-oriented 1986 sequel Aliens, and features a similar lo-fi, 1970s vision of what the future could look like. It runs on an engine built to accommodate the Alien’s behaviour and technical aspects such as atmospheric and lighting effects. Creative Assembly intended to make Alien: Isolation a third-person game, but used first-person to create a more intense experience. Several downloadable content packs were released, some of which relive scenes from the original film.
Alien: Isolation received positive reviews and sold over two million copies by May 2015. Its retro-futuristic art direction, sound design, and artificial intelligence were praised, while its characters and length received some criticism. It appeared in multiple “best of” lists and won several year-end awards, including Best Audio at the 2015 Game Developers Choice Awards and Audio Achievement at the 11th British Academy Games Awards. It saw ports to Linux and OS X in 2015, Nintendo Switch in 2019, then to Android and iOS mobile devices in 2021. It was also added to the Amazon Luna service in 2021. A television adaptation was released in 2019.
Alien: Isolation is a single-player action-adventure game with an emphasis on stealth and survival horror. The player controls Amanda Ripley from a first-person perspective,[1][2] and must explore a space station and complete objectives while avoiding, outsmarting, and defeating enemies.[3] Objectives range from activating computers to collecting certain items or reaching a specific area. The player can run, climb ladders, sneak into vents, crouch behind objects to break the line of sight with enemies, and peek over or lean around for a safe view.[3] The player also has the ability to go under tables or inside empty lockers to hide from enemies.[3]
Amanda encounters various enemies throughout the station, including hostile human survivors and androids. The player can either eliminate them or avoid them using stealth or distractions.[3] The main antagonist, an Alien creature, pursues the player throughout. The Alien creature cannot be defeated, requiring the player to use stealth tactics in order to survive.[2] Instead of following a predetermined path, the Alien has the ability to actively investigate disturbances and hunt the player by sight or sound.[3] Along the way, the player can use both a flashlight and a motion tracker to detect the Alien’s movements. However, using any of these increases the chance of the Alien finding the player. For example, if the Alien is close enough, it will be attracted by the tracker’s sound, forcing the player to use the tracker wisely and remove it as soon as it detects motion.[3] The motion tracker cannot detect enemies when they are not moving and cannot determine if the alien creature is up in the ducts or on ground level.[3][4] On the game’s hardest difficulty setting, Nightmare, the motion tracker is unreliable and does not accurately locate enemies.
Although Amanda gains access to a revolver, a shotgun, a bolt gun, a flamethrower, and a stun baton over the course of the game,[5][6] Alien: Isolation emphasizes evasion over direct combat by providing limited ammunition.[2] The player can also craft useful items by collecting schematics and different materials. Items include EMP detonators, noisemakers, molotov cocktails, and pipe bombs; these can help the player deal with enemies.[5] For example, the noisemaker can be used to attract enemies in a particular direction. The Alien is afraid of fire, so using flame weapons forces it to retreat into the station’s ventilation system, though only if a vent is nearby. The player has a limited amount of health which decreases when attacked by enemies; health is restored with medkits, which can be crafted with materials in Amanda’s inventory,[3] although all of the Alien’s attacks (unless it is retreating) will result in instant death.
The space station is divided into sections connected by trams and elevators. Some doors require certain actions before entry is allowed; for example, some require a keycard or entry codes, while others need to be hacked or cut open with welding torches.[4] Computer terminals and rewiring stations can be used to access information and trigger actions such as disabling security cameras or manipulating the space station’s air-purification mechanism.[4] An automap helps the player navigate the different areas.[7] To save game progress, the player needs to locate a terminal and insert Amanda’s access card. If Amanda dies, the player will have to restart from the last saved point.[8] In addition to the campaign mode, Alien: Isolation features a special mode, called Survivor Mode, in which the player must complete objectives within a time limit on different challenge maps while being hunted by the Alien.