Alien Isolation (PS4)

"Hiding is only ever a temporary solution"

A sentence you will quite frequently see on your screen if you ever find yourself playing the first-person, survival horror game Alien Isolation. A sentence that also manages to capture the essence of what Alien Isolation is all about, sneaking, hiding and using the environment to your advantage to survive long enough to reach the end of the game. Even if you're surely going to die a couple of times along the way.

Alien Isolation is sort of Dead Space meet Bioshock meet Outlast. Dead Space because you're in the same kind of environment and it has kind of the same vibe to it. When it comes to Bioshock, I can't really put my finger on it, but it somehow reminded me a lot of the original Bioshock. Maybe it has something to do with the atmosphere. I'd compare it to Outlast because it's as hauntingly scary and uses some of the same game mechanics.

The immersion you feel when playing Alien Isolation is incredible. When the alien is with you in a room you feel yourself actually holding your breath, as if it was right there in your apartment. The suspension is murdering. You actually have to take regular breaks to calm yourself down, it's so intense. On the PS4, it also looks great although the human characters don't look that impressive and character design is not the best possible. The androids are freaking creepy though. I really came to hate those calmed voiced motherfuckers, talking about safety protocols and shit.

The sound design of the game is really impressive. And you know that it's impressive if you find me talking about it. The game uses sound intelligently and that is why it's important to have decent speakers or headphones when you're playing, as listening to footsteps and other sounds are vital for your survival. Alien Isolation really makes you appreciate good sound design and shows that you can use it in clever ways to enhance gameplay and immersion. They've also manage to capture the visual appeal and atmosphere from the original Alien movie along with a Sigourney Weaver voiceover.

It seems that it's hard for many games to reach the right kind of balance between action and exploration, but Alien Isolation succeeds to capture a great balance between these two. The pacing is almost spot on. When it was intense it was really intense but there are also times to breathe and room for some exploration and discovery, which I think is very important.

I was really impressed with Alien Isolation. At one point it felt like it was a bit out dragged and long but now when I've finished it, I feel myself longing for more. It's definitely one of the better games I've played (like ever) at least in it's genre. I have this somewhat love-hate relationship with stealth games. When it's done right, and mixed with survival horror like in this one, stealth games can be quite the experience. They differ from other games in many ways. They don't make you feel powerful but actually make you feel scared and a bit anxious, which is kinda weird. Why would you want to play a game that makes you feel scared?

I've always liked horror movies just for that reason, to feel scared. I read somewhere that the reason you would want to feel scared is all about the feeling you get after being scared, the satisfaction from the fact that you've conquered a frightening situation. Many people also seem to be fascinated with the dark side because it's different and not something you experience in your daily life. It might also be that fear like every other emotion makes you feel more alive and experiencing it in a "safe" environment you're able to experience fear that is fully controllable. Now it's time for a an Alien movie marathon, peace out!

+ Great Immersion
+ Impressive Sound Design
+ Good balance between action and exploration

- Character design

9/10