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Alien: Isolation |OT| 1 Alien. 1 Ripley. No Jonesy.

M

MNC

Member
Bumping for this magnificent masterpiece that I finally finished. I'm sitting here listening to the credits. Although the ending falls a bit short
I'm not too fond of the cliffhanger but it suits Alien I guess
BY GOD THIS GAME. It reeks of atmosphere and hits all the right notes. This is my late 2014 GOTY. The game is full of quality imagery and audio that fit the Alien universe perfectly. It took me long to beat (about 20 hours) but already sad I can't experience such an atmospheric alien game for the first time.

so many great set pieces. The reactor core. The walk in the derelict space ship. The many space walks to see Sevastopol in its glory from the outside. The shrieks of the Alien Queen in the latter part of the game gave me the fucking chills and I really had my heart in my throat during the segment where the face huggers and the Alien architecture first appeared.

Credits ended. Back to the main menu. Thanks for the magnificent game.
 
M

malfcn

Member
Lttp, started this today. The opening scene looked bad, and the motion might make me feel bad. Starting slow, but so far it has atmosphere up the yin yang.
 
L

leng jai

Member
Just picked up the PS4 version for $15. Not a big fan of horror but always wanted to try this game for the sound design. The PS4 version seems to be extremely solid so I don't think I need to bother getting it on PC.

I'm assuming this game is significantly more stressful/scary compared to something like Until Dawn?
 
S

Sparrowhawk

Member
leng jai said:
Just picked up the PS4 version for $15. Not a big fan of horror but always wanted to try this game for the sound design. The PS4 version seems to be extremely solid so I don't think I need to bother getting it on PC.

I'm assuming this game is significantly more stressful/scary compared to something like Until Dawn?
Click to expand...

Could have gotten it with all of the DLC for the same price on Steam at the moment, but I've heard the PS4 version is good.
 
M

malfcn

Member
Finished. Gutted ending.

Took 2 months since I played on hardest for first time, and couldn't devote a lot of time to it. And the game mentally wore me down, and playing tired would make it worse. Tried to get the no death achievement, but apparently reloading (even with no tape animation) didn't work.

Liked a lot about it. Some not so much about it.

The leaning around mechanic was slick when you could just peak around things.
The Xeno was very tense to be around. It was frustrating sometimes, but overall I liked it. But when it walked in and out of a room, and did silly stuff that didn't make sense, that made it annoying.
 
D

DrGonzo615

Banned
I seriously need to go back and play through this game again.....but im scared. Also its so goddamn stressful I feel like Im gonna have a heart attack.
 
L

LogicStep

Member
I just got the game when it was on sale recently. Started on hard mode. I'm still in the beginning but man, it already feels difficult. Where you get the hacking tool, those humans are out for blood. I got nothing but a wrench and a flare and they have guns. But man the atmosphere is amazing.
 
T

TimeEffect

Member
$12.00 on PSN

I want a scary game, but Im so confused with the low scores and critixisns. Some of you seem to love this game. Why did people dislike it so much?
 
R

RoyaleDuke

Banned
Been replaying this to see if it still holds up as a masterpiece, and guess what? It's still a masterpiece.

I actually had the alien come up behind me in a vent today, scared the shit out of me.

It is also completely true to the ALIEN universe and not Aliens(not that Aliens is bad or anything, amazing movie but the first one raises some awesome questions and the depiction of an alien species is fantastic.


TimeEffect said:
$12.00 on PSN

I want a scary game, but Im so confused with the low scores and critixisns. Some of you seem to love this game. Why did people dislike it so much?
Click to expand...

It's a long engrossing single player stealth survival horror game with crafting useful items to distract the alien and humans.

For 12 bucks it is a fucking steal, I'd pay full price several times over.

Incredible. gripping 23 hour experience.

There is also some great dlc and a survival mode.
 
T

TimeEffect

Member
I think $12.00 sounds like a great price.

Sounds very long. I dont particularly mind. However, I just hope it's scary throughout. I do like engrossing myself in scary games.

Im playing Until Dawn and every jump scare is scaring the hell out of me lol. And I was so scared of Outlast that I put it off for a few months after the first jump scare (that game lost its scariness but it was still fun in the end)

I also liked Dead Space, but never finished it... I somewhat dreaded playing it, but also think I lost interest.
 
T

thumb

Banned
TimeEffect said:
I think $12.00 sounds like a great price.

Sounds very long. I dont particularly mind. However, I just hope it's scary throughout. I do like engrossing myself in scary games.

Im playing Until Dawn and every jump scare is scaring the hell out of me lol. And I was so scared of Outlast that I put it off for a few months after the first jump scare (that game lost its scariness but it was still fun in the end)

I also liked Dead Space, but never finished it... I somewhat dreaded playing it, but also think I lost interest.
Click to expand...

It's definitely a long, challenging game. So take breaks! You really need to be in the right mood to marathon this thing. But the game is among my favorites of all time. It's truly great and worth your time.
 
K

Kebiinu

Banned
Just picked it up from the PSN store. Loving the atmosphere so far, didn't encounter any hostiles yet--just got the bolt cutters--but the sound has me checking around everywhere.

It's tense! Any tips? Once the game really gets going I mean, what are some good ways to approach the dangers?
 
S

strafer

member
Kebiinu said:
Just picked it up from the PSN store. Loving the atmosphere so far, didn't encounter any hostiles yet--just got the bolt cutters--but the sound has me checking around everywhere.

It's tense! Any tips? Once the game really gets going I mean, what are some good ways to approach the dangers?
Click to expand...

Crouch. Hide under stuff. Do NOT run.
 
K

Kebiinu

Banned
strafer said:
Crouch. Hide under stuff. Do NOT run.
Click to expand...

Lmao. The first actual Android encounter when you need to escape...man! I was trying to figure out the best strategy, when I finally decided to just run. They're resilient and terrifying, haha.

Running actually worked in my favor, the first time I ran to the elevator and accidentally locked an android with me, fatal error. Second time I ran to the end, and escaped through the vents, waited for the android to leave, then escaped in the elevator.

I was tense af, after I realized that I didn't take advantage of the save spot before the elevator. So I was really hoping I could survive to the next save point, before having to do everything all over again. I opened the door to the final stretch before the map marker, and I noticed drool coming from the vents above. I quickly hid in the locker, and watched my sensor device. Something told me I just avoided a jump scare!

I survived to the next point, and now I'm taking a break. The game is intense, oh wow.
 
S

strafer

member
Kebiinu said:
Lmao. The first actual Android encounter when you need to escape...man! I was trying to figure out the best strategy, when I finally decided to just run. They're resilient and terrifying, haha.

Running actually worked in my favor, the first time I ran to the elevator and accidentally locked an android with me, fatal error. Second time I ran to the end, and escaped through the vents, waited for the android to leave, then escaped in the elevator.

I was tense af, after I realized that I didn't take advantage of the save spot before the elevator. So I was really hoping I could survive to the next save point, before having to do everything all over again. I opened the door to the final stretch before the map marker, and I noticed drool coming from the vents above. I quickly hid in the locker, and watched my sensor device. Something told me I just avoided a jump scare!

I survived to the next point, and now I'm taking a break. The game is intense, oh wow.
Click to expand...

The androids yes, those you can run from but the other creature not so much.
 
GutsOfThor

GutsOfThor

Member
Went back to playing this after getting sidetracked with a bunch of other games. It's a very scary and tense game no doubt but it's not very fun to play imo. Games like this and outlast become very tedious very quickly for me. Looking like I may give this one up and move on to another game in my backlog.
 
B

bobs...onGaf

Member
This game is fantastic, I feel like I was lucky I had someone around to encourage me to get through the early part as I may have lost interest within the first 2 hours otherwise. As I have read on here, the game just clicked for me during medical and I now cant stop.

I am now on mission 8 according to my trophys (Unless I am right in thinking I am a little further than that but there are just no trophys for the fairly short bits I just did?). Am I right in thinking I am about to get the flamethrower soon? It sounds like I should already have it so I hope I havent skipped it. (Edit: heh just got it! How far through the game am I, is this still fairly early or is this about mid game?)

This game is just too tense for me to explore the environment and hunt things down in the way I can in other games. I am worried in the end game I am going to struggle due to a lack of blueprints etc. Does the game generally give you what you need for when you need it or am I going to struggle by being too scared to explore?
 
J

Jobbs

Banned
GutsOfThor said:
Went back to playing this after getting sidetracked with a bunch of other games. It's a very scary and tense game no doubt but it's not very fun to play imo. Games like this and outlast become very tedious very quickly for me. Looking like I may give this one up and move on to another game in my backlog.
Click to expand...

I hate Outlast and loved Alien Isolation. The difference is efficacy and choice. The player has some autonomy to do things and react to things in Alien Isolation. Outlast is mostly just a canned haunted house ride and the fear and tension drain out rapidly once you start seeing through it all.

I also liked the slow pace of Alien and found that it switched things up just enough as the game progressed to keep anything from getting too repetitive. I also recognize it may not be for everyone, but I loved it.
 
B

bobs...onGaf

Member
Finished it and thought it was fantastic. Im very impressed by how well the cat and mouse gameplay works even when it's really mostly just one enemy. Would love a game in this vein in the terminator or Jurassic park universes (saw a post on here where someone else wanted that) although I doubt that would ever happen!

As ive seen others say - it's almost a relief to have finished it - I don't think any game has made me feel such a sense of dread - really well done
 
S

strafer

member
bobs...onGaf said:
Finished it and thought it was fantastic. Im very impressed by how well the cat and mouse gameplay works even when it's really mostly just one enemy. Would love a game in this vein in the terminator or Jurassic park worlds although I doubt that would ever happen!

As ive seen others say - it's almost a relief to have finished it - I don't think any game has made me feel such a sense of dread - really well done
Click to expand...

Glad you enjoyed it. :)

What difficulty did you play on? I recommend replaying it on the new hardest mode.

y4zhQbY.jpg
 
B

bobs...onGaf

Member
Haha I actually started in hard but decided to drop that down once I heard the game was 20 hours long - I couldn't quite afford to keep dying and make the game even longer

Which is a shame as actually once I hit my stride with the game - the fact it was 'too long' wasn't an issue and I really enjoyed the whole lot. So yeah - a shame I didn't stick with hard mode although I somewhat wonder if I would have hit my stride in the same way if I had more going against me - it felt fairly challenging just on normal.

That said I can't go back any time soon, im quite glad to have survived Sevastopol and have a genuine aversion to the idea of tormenting myself to any of that again - never mind on nightmare And that's really the highest praise I can give it - the game just makes me so tense
 
O

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
bobs...onGaf said:
Finished it and thought it was fantastic. Im very impressed by how well the cat and mouse gameplay works even when it's really mostly just one enemy. Would love a game in this vein in the terminator or Jurassic park universes (saw a post on here where someone else wanted that) although I doubt that would ever happen!

As ive seen others say - it's almost a relief to have finished it - I don't think any game has made me feel such a sense of dread - really well done
Click to expand...
Terminator Isolation 👌🏻
 
J

Jobbs

Banned
I don't think these guys are gonna be making anything interesting like Alien Isolation again. It didn't sell big enough. They're back to doing Total War and Halo
 
T

thumb

Banned
Jobbs said:
I don't think these guys are gonna be making anything interesting like Alien Isolation again. It didn't sell big enough. They're back to doing Total War and Halo
Click to expand...

That's so depressing. Alien: Isolation was a god damn triumph of art and design. It deserves GOTY awards.
 
J

Jobbs

Banned
thumb said:
That's so depressing. Alien: Isolation was a god damn triumph of art and design. It deserves GOTY awards.
Click to expand...

Reviewers/audiences didn't understand it well enough and/or it was just too slowly paced for mainstream audiences. I dunno. I thought the game was fresh as hell and utterly intense. I never totally got used to the alien even though I did play it start to finish.
 
S

strafer

member
Jobbs said:
I don't think these guys are gonna be making anything interesting like Alien Isolation again. It didn't sell big enough. They're back to doing Total War and Halo
Click to expand...

Yeah, the official forum has been down for maintaince for a year now. They dont care.

Shame.
 
B

bobs...onGaf

Member
Sorry for the thread bump, just played the survival mission as it was the last bit of content in the game for me, felt awesome. Is a shame to have nothing else to do. I cant quite bring myself to buy the rest of the dlc though. Anyone have any thoughts on it? I imagine its ultimately fairly short and without a narrative I am less inclined to push ahead.


Also had this happen to me and it looked too good not to gif

http://m.imgur.com/4hq953t
 
K

Kwansu Dudes

Member
So I've been playing through this for a few days and it's interesting enough to keep me going, but certain things are grating. I've made it to the 3rd transit area and here are my thoughts so far (I'll try to refrain from spoilers):

Pros:
  • The Space Station is interesting
  • The graphics/moodiness/lighting are done well and make it dreadful to explore
  • Tension is high
  • A decent variety of items/equipment you can use (though I haven't used much if any)
  • Sound Design
  • The Terminals are worth reading/add meaning

Cons:
  • The Game is SLOW. Most of my gameplay focused cons are derived from this.
  • Alien AI is Frustrating. I've had a few moments where it would spawn at "perfect" moments and there wouldn't be a detection. For example, I was reading a terminal and he just happened to stop in front of the door or he'd leave a room just to jump back in a few moments later (I've only seen this happen in one particular room). This is probably why we didn't get the TLOU E3 AI, hah.
  • No Checkpoints. This game would've benefited greatly from having a modern checkpoint system (e.g. checkpoint after completing an objective or reaching a certain point) or having manual save states. Redoing whole sections of grabbing items and whatever slowly make me die a little inside. This would probably counterbalance the slowness for me quite well.
  • Ripley is Weak. I get why she isn't FemShep, but having to avoid 90% of enemies with how slow this game plays gets old.
  • Voice Acting and Characters are Mediocre. With how highly this game was praised, I was surprised to see how average/gamey the voice acting was. It's not bad enough to take me out of the game, but it's pretty appalling for a game with the Alien name. I think the androids have the best VA by far.
  • The Map should tell you what type of lock doors have. More of a QoL improvement.

tl;dr it's enjoyable so far. Will post again once I've finished.

Final Thoughts Edit:

  • The game is definitely LONG. I think I finished at around 23 hours on Hard but it felt much longer.
  • I hated how the Alien AI would absolutely ignore enemies despite them shooting or talking out loudly. "Gamey" AI like that makes me mad.
  • The ending was predictable and thought it didn't provide any closure at all. Shame they won't be able to make a sequel.
  • The Ripley DLCs are short, but they're worth $1 each. I haven't tried Survival mode.

Overall, it's a flawed gem but an enjoyable experience. I would recommend it to horror fans.
 
T

thumb

Banned
Kwansu Dudes said:
So I've been playingnd here are my thoughts so far (I'll try to refrain from spoilers):

(Snip)

  • Voice Acting and Characters are Mediocre. With how highly this game was praised,e androids have the best VA by far.

tl;dr it's enjoyable so far. Will post again once I've finished.
Click to expand...

Can we talk about this point some more? I've read a number of complaints about the voice acting, but I really enjoyed it. And I'm picky about good voice acting. I thought, in particular, that Amanda's reactions were really good. She was tough, like her mother, but still believable. Scared, but determined and resourceful.
 
K

Kwansu Dudes

Member
thumb said:
Can we talk about this point some more? I've read a number of complaints about the voice acting, but I really enjoyed it. And I'm picky about good voice acting. I thought, in particular, that Amanda's reactions were really good. She was tough, like her mother, but still believable. Scared, but determined and resourceful.
Click to expand...

In the first few scenes, the VA was pretty wooden so that set the tone for me. It wasn't the worst thing I've heard, but it was closely treading the Dead Island line. Surprisingly, it felt as if Ripley's VA started taking it more seriously once the game became more tense. I'm currently on Chapter 14 and I think it's just the bad writing/cliches that drags the VA down. This game is also incredibly long.

edit: updated my original post with finalized thoughts.
 
D

Dr.Wampe

Member
So after a very long break from the game (About 1,5 Years), i suddenly had the urge to finish it, after i finally played and survived Outlast. Boy was i wrong to not complete Alien on the first run. It is such a beautifull and immersive game, even my wife wanted to know how it ends. I have to admit tough, that there where two or three parts where i wished the game would end now, but In hindsight i think that this feeling of exhaustion was all part of the overall terror and tension. What a great game! Best Movie licensed game that i played.
 
S

strafer

member
Dr.Wampe said:
So after a very long break from the game (About 1,5 Years), i suddenly had the urge to finish it, after i finally played and survived Outlast. Boy was i wrong to not complete Alien on the first run. It is such a beautifull and immersive game, even my wife wanted to know how it ends. I have to admit tough, that there where two or three parts where i wished the game would end now, but In hindsight i think that this feeling of exhaustion was all part of the overall terror and tension. What a great game! Best Movie licensed game that i played.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the family, it's truly is an amazing game.
 
B

Bumhead

Banned
Sorry to bump.

Just finished my second play through of the game, but the last thing GAF needs is more LTTP or RTTP threads for this game (or, maybe it needs more..?)

To me, this is a special game. In 2014 it was my Game of the Year and I billed it as a bit of a cult classic.. one of those games that would sit just under the mainstream radar but would still be talked about and revered fondly years down the line by those who played it.

A second play through 3 years later has cemented that - at least to me - its actually more than that. I absolutely think this is one of the games of the generation, and I'm amazed how fresh this game felt to me in 2017 even on a subsequent play through and having played so many other horror FPS games this gen; including RE7 just a month or two ago.
 
R

Roude Leiw

Member
Kwansu Dudes said:
[*]No Checkpoints. This game would've benefited greatly from having a modern checkpoint system (e.g. checkpoint after completing an objective or reaching a certain point) or having manual save states. Redoing whole sections of grabbing items and whatever slowly make me die a little inside. This would probably counterbalance the slowness for me quite well.
.
Click to expand...
what do you mean by there are no checkpoints? How is the progress saved?
 
Skyfox

Skyfox

Member
Believe it or not I’m still working my way slowly through this game so I can’t watch in case of spoilers but hopefully around 2019 I will give it a look ;)

Such a great game.
 
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