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[Creamium]

I'm playing through Alien: Isolation now and as a long time Alien fan, I can't describe how impressed I am with this game. The attention to detail (androids do the little Ash warm-up jog!) and the sound design is astounding, not to mention that the Alien is absolutely terrifying. I decided to start on hard mode and yesterday was the point I would've switched to normal if I didn't love the game so much. I've decided to see it through, I want this badge of honor.

I beat mission 5 & 6 yesterday, and that took me a long time. I lost count of the retries I had to do in those levels. Mission 5 is the first 'real' introduction to the Alien and boy was it stressful. I was expecting a rest point after, but I had an even harder time with mission 6 (the med bay, getting to the operating room and exiting). Even with crouching and moving very slowly, the Alien was on me all the time. I couldn't shake him and I'm thinking I need to rely on distractions and my craftables more. I discovered that the molotov is a sure-fire way to make him retreat for at least a few seconds. Impressed with the mode all the same though, this is survival horror at its purest.

Decided to make a thread for mental support more than anything. But you can give me general tips, or prepare me for upcoming missions. I plan on updating with my progress or roadblocks, maybe you can guys can help. Or feel free to talk about the game in general really. I'll need a place to vent as I make it through this. In mission 7 now.

 

[GrizzNKev]

Hard mode isn't hard, really. The game will only punish you for staying in one place too long. Don't waste time hiding. Keep on the move as much as possible and you'll be fine.

 

[Vindicator]

Keep trying over and over, thats how it worked out for me. All about that RNG.

 

[MillionStabs]

Any situation where humans are blocking your path, throw some noisemakers to bring the Alien in to deal with them while you hide like a huge coward.

I beat the game on whatever the hardest difficulty was at launch, not the new hard they patched it, and you really just have to learn to manipulate where the Alien is. If you get far enough from his, run for a few seconds then hide again because he will come look for you.

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

Hard mode isn't hard, really. The game will only punish you for staying in one place too long. Don't waste time hiding. Keep on the move as much as possible and you'll be fine.

I actually found the opposite. There is definitely times where just MOVE MOVE MOVE saved me but I spent a good 2/3rds of that game in a locker on Hard, just waiting and listening. I'd eventually hear it in the right spot and then it'd be a mad dash. BUT DON'T EVER ACTUALLY DASH EVER.

What helped me the most, and this is just me, is I was streaming it for two of my friends. And it made the scary parts more bearable, but also the failures because they were laughing. Keep cracking! The xenomorph is definitely an RNG monster and it will show up randomly.

 

[Creamium]

Hard mode isn't hard, really. The game will only punish you for staying in one place too long. Don't waste time hiding. Keep on the move as much as possible and you'll be fine.

I don't know, that didn't really work out for me in the med bay. It kept patrolling and finding me, even if I did go straight for the objective. I did make the bad decision of backtracking to a previous save, sometimes it's best just to move forward.

There are sections though where it just stays in the vents, I'm getting the impression that it has different 'modes' of alertness.

 

[FoxnHurley]

Hell the away from lockers. Use the distraction items that you can craft (the game is extremely generous on how many you're able to replenish during each mission if you actively search cabinets and crates).

Don't become over-reliant on a particular item, hiding tactic, or weapon because the alien will catch onto your foolery and appear more frequently and aggressively. Switch it up from time to time and you'll be fine. Noise makers and flashbangs work great to divert the alien, but move quickly because it only buys you about 10-15 seconds after the alien has investigated your decoy before it's hot on your trail again.

Refrain from using the pistol on androids. A good shock with the stun baton from behind will stun them enough where you can beat them to death with your wrench

 

[thegameplayloop]

Here's a tip. As tempting as it may be, don't go off course to find save points on the later missions. If I recall, I did just this in mission 14 and it lead me to a game breaking bug where the game loaded me somewhere else entirely after an elevator. Never picked it up again.

 

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

Game isn't really hard just annoying. Learn where the objective is and where the save spots are. The moment you save your game if the alien is nearby just let it kill you and then move on to the next area. Also just walk everywhere crouching is pointless. And once you get the flamethrower the game becomes really easy.

 

[Fahzgoolin]

mental support for a video game playthrough?

-_-

Part of the experience of a challenge is overcoming the odds yourself and feeling the "isolation" all by yourself.

 

[Creamium]

And once you get the flamethrower the game becomes really easy.

That just happened.

And holy crap

Spoiler

space jockey! Even though that was pure fan service, I don't care, it was amazing. You can tell this team adored Alien.

btw the last few missions were a lot easier. Didn't even see the Alien in missions 7 & 8. Think I'm now at 10.

 

[RealityCheque]

How to beat hard mode:

Go to options. Set it to easy.

Enjoy the game more now that the alien isn't hounding you for every second using its 6th sense and smell-o-vision.

The AI is the best and worst of this game. On hard it's downright unfair.

 

[DieH@rd]

Stick with hard. Just take your time, and remember to hide under the tables/gurneys. Alien can't see you if you are using the "peak" ability, so you can observe him a lot.

Game gets better and better as time goes on, so don't stop playing. The real horror is still ahead.

Magnificent game. Shame there is no info about a sequel.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

If you are past the medical bay, then you are already past the hardest part of the game. You'll get tools that with let you stay alive when you make mistakes in the future.

Make as many Molotovs and the ones that make noise as possible, don't invest in flash bangs. Don't shoot anyone, kill all the vulnerable robots with electric shocks and then melee, and I mean all of them, they have good crafting components.

By the end of the game you can be sprinting through a hard section and throwing molotovs if you looted enough, and decided that you don't want to play hide and seek on this particular section.

Hard it's ideally the way to go, unless you don't want to deal with resource management.

 

[Creamium]

Well...

I did it. Also got the trophy for not killing any humans. That finale was pretty tense, I was running low on flamethrower fuel constantly. The last missions involve so much janitor work it's insane (throwing switches, hacking, inputting codes, torching...). There was one area early on in mission 17 where you need to activate 3 things in the same room before you can call the transit... While the Alien constantly roams around. Panick-saved like crazy there.

I'd say overall my major complaint is that the game's way too long. Mission 14 was such a good climax, I don't get why they decided to go on for 5 more chapters.

Spoiler

Won't soon forget those working joes walking up to you while you're setting up the hive explosions. Loud noises and flashing lights... and the bolt gun.

After that point, it's not like they're still mixing it up or letting you explore new areas. Disappointed the game falls into the trap of padding and stretching out the experience, it's one of my biggest pet peeves.

Still, incredible experience, especially with headphones in the dark. Sometimes I still hear the thuds and shrieks when I'm not playing.