Giant Bomb (Score: 80)
The flamethrower will only scare the Alien away for a while. It cannot be killed!
Giant Bomb’s review makes it clear that while some games are power fantasies, this one is about making you feel powerless. “Designers have found that one of the best ways to build tension is by disempowering the player, flipping the script on how most video games function“, according to the review. It also makes it clear that between the Alien, the hostile humans and androids who want to hunt you down, there is hardly a moment to relax in the game.
Also according to the review the game has trouble justifying its length. It appears as though it’s going to end on more than one occasion, but the story continues (so in that sense it is like The Return of the King movie). The review also praises the game’s attention to detail, saying of the game that it is stunning to look at and in line with Ridley Scott’s vision of space life.
Kotaku (Score: N/A)
The Alien sure is one ruthless killing machine. To put it bluntly, it is a bitch.
Kotaku’s review makes it clear that playing Alien: Isolation is a tense, nerve-racking experience. This is due to the unpredictability of the Alien AI. The review even refers to the game as a “simulation, not a series of scripted events”. It also stresses that this is a difficult game, and that being killed by the Alien is a common occurrence.
The review also praises the game visuals, mentioning that developer The Creative Assembly worked with 20th Century Fox to make sure that the game would look like Ridley Scott’s classic 1979 Alien film. But not all is rosy in the graphics department, as the human characters models are not the best, although the Alien looks terrific, and this is a game you should play according to Kotaku.
The Telegraph (Score: 90)
Save the game before the Alien gets you…
The Telegraph gave the game a glowing review, making it clear that this is a game that draws its inspiration from Ridley Scott’s 1979 movie, rather than James Cameron’s 1986 Aliens blockbuster. The latter is an action movie in which the Aliens are cannon fodder, while in the original Alien movie and in Alien: Isolation the creature is “one methodical, unstoppable menace that stalks the space station Sevastopol”, according to the review.
Even saving the game is stressful, as there are few save points and part of the saving process takes place in game time as Ripley must insert her card in the emergency phone (meaning you can be killed by the Alien while saving!). The reviewer admits that the game is slow and stressful and that “this is not a game for everyone”. And while the narrative falls flat, the game of cat and mouse with the Alien makes it worth playing.
PC Gamer (Score: 93)
The Sevastopol space station is an atmospheric setting for the game.
PC Gamer’s review praises Alien: Isolation’s visuals, claiming it is “the most visually striking game world since Deus Ex: Human Revolution”. And given how atmospheric that game was, it is clear that Alien: Isolation is visually arresting, to say the least.
And something that is clear from the review is that developer Creative Assembly pulled out all the stops to make the creature, like in the Alien movie, “the perfect organism”. The Alien simply cannot be killed. “Isolation’s magic lies in the fact that you have to outsmart its single alien rather than kill it”, according to the PC Gamer review. This is fine if playing a game of cat and mouse with a seven feet tall acid-spewing predator is your cup of tea. And like in the Telegraph review, it is pointed out that the story and characters are a weak link, although the game certainly captures the essence of the 1979 Alien film.