I feel like the Derelict chapter was a little disappointing. It's great to see it in an FPS with AAA quality and all that. But I think it was a giant missed opportunity by not showing the Alien that came out of the Space Jockey. Even if it was fossilized it still would have been interesting to see and it would have been something brand new on top of that.
It's about 18 hours long, It's a real great thrill ride if you ask me.
The environments are deliciously well realized and there are so many call backs to the first movie.
I don't know if I'd call it super scary, but it's the first survival horror type game that has made me gasp "OH FUCK" in real life since like RE2?
The game is tension incarnate, you will feel safe for maybe an hour combined in your 18 hour play through.
One of my gripes about the difficulty is that at times dying is a bit too frequent, which is fine but the unintended side effect is that after a while you start kind of going into "rogue like" mode, where because you've already died 4 times you know exactly where what is, when the big threat is gonna show up, where it will show up, how to deal with it, where the objective is and where the follow up is. Which means a segment that could have taken 15 or so minutes of careful stealth and planning gets reduced to a straight 2 minute and 45 second stroll through the space station.
But that's entirely a problem based on your play style.
I feel like I should throw out some tips/rules for people who are partway through or just starting:
If you don't want (very minor) mechanic spoilers and want to learn yourself, do not reveal.
1. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever press the sprint button. Its only purpose is to tempt you into doing something stupid that WILL get you killed.
2. Crouch walking is effectively silent. You can literally be inches from any enemy, including the Alien without being detected. Walking has a "hearing radius" of about two of the distance lines on the motion tracker, and running will attract anyone/everyone to your exact position immediately.
3. Pretty much every tool is a distraction maker above all else, the visual only ones require the enemy to actually SEE it before they'll go check it out, whereas the audio ones attract everything after a few seconds.
4. DO NOT STAY IDLE. The longer you stay in a specific area (one room or a closet), the more the Alien localizes its search, and the fewer opportunities you'll have to escape.
5. Use those tools, if you like to search around for stuff, then you'll have more than enough supplies to use one or two tools per area. If you don't search around so much, then try to keep it to one tool per 2 areas.
For general information that isn't spoilery:
1. The game is about 15-25 hours long depending on how much you search around or backtrack.
2. Having surround sound is pretty much mandatory for the game, whether via headset or speakers. Sound is more useful than any tool in the game.
3. The save points are numerous and fairly obvious despite what some would tell you. They make a very distinct "bleeping" noise when you're within 10m of them, and there are generally 2-3 in any given map.
Hope everyone enjoys this great game. Was hoping it got GOTY, but Bayonetta 2's reviews appear to be quashing that dream.
Being in first person view, play with headsets, you'll hear every creak and every footstep including your own shoes squicking on the floor from time to time... and you'll know the direction they're coming from. It adds a whole new level of intense which I feel is missing in evil within. Granted, I am only like maybe an hour into the evil within, probably even shorter, but I feel like that game is mostly trying to gross you out or amaze you, not quite scary... yet.
Alien isolation, I can safely say, is the best horror game I have ever played. At times it can be frustrating though... but that kinda wore off quite quickly thinking back.
I so far have an impression of the game that lines up to all the negative reviews. When the game is on and flowing it is the best of its kind. When you are stuck in a locker unable to move for five minutes watching a random AI alien confusingly walk about, it sucks.
It's pretty great. Scary if you have all the lights off, and headphones on full blast. If it's not scary, it's always very tense. Challenging, but not cheap (you have to pay attention to every type of clue possible with the Alien). I haven't beaten it yet, probably halfway through, but if you don't try and shotgun it all at once, it's pretty enjoyable. I'll probably clock somewhere around 25 hours on my first run. I'm playing hard difficulty too. Story is kinda garbage, but the overall atmosphere makes up for it. If you like the original Alien movie, it's a no brainer that you should buy it.
I so far have an impression of the game that lines up to all the negative reviews. When the game is on and flowing it is the best of its kind. When you are stuck in a locker unable to move for five minutes watching a random AI alien confusingly walk about, it sucks.
You can definitely get yourself stuck in a locker hole in this game. I just had it happen to me on mission 16 which was the first time I was like 'come oooon', because the Alien's patrol route didn't seem to leave any good enough gaps for me to slip out. However, I ended up realising I was playing too conservatively and just fuckin ran for it (well, walked mostly but I ran to a hiding spot while it was momentarily in a vent). That worked very well and after 10 deaths borne of trepidation I was able to clear the area out without another. So sometimes disregarding your caution, when it isn't working out or taking forever, does work out.
I like the game so far, but i am getting completely destroyed. I am playing it on easy and still getting extremely frustrated. It seems the alien knows all my moves
I like the game so far, but i am getting completely destroyed. I am playing it on easy and still getting extremely frustrated. It seems the alien knows all my moves
I so far have an impression of the game that lines up to all the negative reviews. When the game is on and flowing it is the best of its kind. When you are stuck in a locker unable to move for five minutes watching a random AI alien confusingly walk about, it sucks.
Not wanting to take the "you're not doing it right" path but doing so...
The game and Alien AI is not designed around hiding until it's safe to proceed. From this thread and elsewhere it's clear this is one aspect causing a lot of people grief.
Lockers should be used only as temporary spot and only if Alien approaching and they are nearest place to hide.
The moment the Alien passes on you need to grab the moment to move to another hiding spot. Alien wil return to check out locker and you're already gone.
If you use lockers as they've been used in other games you will end up trapped. In this game you should mostly be on the move and you're rarely fully safe. There is no set route for Alien and no set youre 100% clear to move on design.
I think it's brilliant but it requires unlearning how you think you should play based on other games.
Not wanting to take the "you're not doing it right" path but doing so...
The game and Alien AI is not designed around hiding until it's safe to proceed. From this thread and elsewhere it's clear this is one aspect causing a lot of people grief.
Lockers should be used only as temporary spot and only if Alien approaching and they are nearest place to hide.
The moment the Alien passes on you need to grab the moment to move to another hiding spot. Alien wil return to check out locker and you're already gone.
If you use lockers as they've been used in other games you will end up trapped. In this game you should mostly be on the move and you're rarely fully safe. There is no set route for Alien and no set youre 100% clear to move on design.
I think it's brilliant but it requires unlearning how you think you should play based on other games.
It's like some people hate that it's not "gamey" enough, which I think is absolutely nuts. It's so much more immersive than that, and part of the reason why I think I only used a locker once in the entire game, and it was in the first 10%.
being attacked from vents that u cant even see in the darkness for the 5th time in a row is starting to get really annoying. I wish easy mode would give u a chance to escape from that once per life
Just finished the game. Not a fan of the ending but it points towards a sequel so I'm eager to see how that turns out. The Alien seems pretty predictable once you understand how it works. There is a bit of randomness to it but I think it acts purely on the noises you make.
That said the dev team really did a beautiful job in capturing the environment. They did their homework and did a wonderful job in capturing the feeling of the movies. I felt like I was walking around on the movie set. Going to have to give the crew expansion a try.
I notice some people suggesting that you crouch walk and never sprint. There are times where walking is the best option and there are moments where sprinting is definitely useful.
I think it definitely has a lot more "gamey" aspects than people may be willing to give credit to, if they play it poorly. You should only really be crouch walking to avoid line of sight and when close to a hostile. You should also look ahead to find potential hiding spots in case the alien happens to drop in without warning, which happens.
I think sitting around and waiting for the alien to leave every encounter is something I think the game teaches you early on is not ideal, in that medical area. Although it certain depends on the area you're in, there might not be enough cover to get around.
It's like some people hate that it's not "gamey" enough, which I think is absolutely nuts. It's so much more immersive than that, and part of the reason why I think I only used a locker once in the entire game, and it was in the first 10%.
If anything, it's too gamey, not too little gameay. Running always attract the alien even if he wasn't anywhere close, hiding in a closet attracts him more than hiding below a desk, in some segments he is coded to not distance from yourself more than x meters (quantity depends of the difficulty used). All this things are "gamey" for me.
I think the game is good, but it has some quirks and questionable design points at times.
Just got it, and a few friends want to see what its like. If we're just playing it for an hour or two to try it out, is it better to play the main game or crew expendable?
I know crew expenable is short enough to finish then, but is it a good way to see what the game is like, or is it kind of different?
Just got it, and a few friends want to see what its like. If we're just playing it for an hour or two to try it out, is it better to play the main game or crew expendable?
I know crew expenable is short enough to finish then, but is it a good way to see what the game is like, or is it kind of different?
So finally booted this up. Polished off SoM a few hours ago.
God damn. They nailed the atmosphere. Feel like I stepped into the world of Riddleys movie.
Playing on hard, with 7.1 headset. So far it's amazing.
That said, I am unsure of what to do the very first time you experience real danger...
IE I am hiding in a vent after you pick up the Access Tuner and I dunno what to do about the 3 people with guns outside :0. Apparently I suck. Am I supposed to sneak by?
managed to finish the game on Hard, so great... it is pretty long but there weren't any parts I would cut over all, maybe some of the more redundant "turn this generator on now lolol" type stuff but it really ads to the tension. The game is paced pretty well in that whenever there is a really tense section the next one usually has a lot more room for you to breath (while still being alert)
spoilers below for the later chapters
the weyland yutani reveal was like an oh shit moment, and when apollo switched from the seegson slogan into the WY slogan it was just so perfect...
I legit thought the Hive was the end of the game but damn if I wasn't satisfied with the way the rest of it played out...
amanda hearling ellen's recording for her was also a nice surprise and really really awesome from a story telling and character stand point, fucking brilliant...
I finished this last night and am still floored with how much this game impressed me. I went in with semi-low expectations, not knowing much about the game aside from a basic understanding of the gameplay mechanics. Every little thing from the environment to the sound and music encapsulated the first film so superbly well. Things like ambient sound sounding like hisses, scatches, and creaks from the alien were just fantastic. The encounters were almost always tense and never felt monotonous. Minigames like hacking and opening doors, which usually annoy me in games, were actually fun and rewarding here. Frantically trying to flip a switch or hack a door open while the alien is just in the other room is such a rush. This game is just filled to the brim with so many memorable moments. This has been reiterated by many of you but the way the save point system is set up makes each encounter feel meaningful. Getting a sideways glance from one android can put you back ten or more minutes, making the stakes high, but the relief from finding the next save point has only been matched (recently) by the next bonfire in the Souls series. I found this game, much, much more scary than Amnesia ever was, though the fear did start to wane halfway through in exchange for tension. Still, this is easily the best horror game I've played in years.
My complaints with the game are pretty minor. I didn't feel that as a whole it dragged on but
the scene where you aligned the satellites felt like an eternity. Also, cutting through all of the androids to get to APOLLO could have been trimmed a bit. By far, my least favorite encounters were with humans. I only recall meeting two sets of non-story npc human groups and one human that weren't immediately hostile, and of those, only the group that left soon after meeting me didn't die seconds afterwards. I guess that's part of adding to the feeling of isolation, which I was definitely feeling, so mission accomplished. Most of the weapons and equipment you can build were largely unused by me. I used the bolt gun, the flamethrower, medkits, and flashbangs at the end of the game because I hate dealing with humans and didn't want to kill the pacing. I used the shotgun and magnum a handful of times and the pipebombs/emps once for the androids breaking through the door.
Choices aren't bad and they all seem to have a purpose, plus, the game never forced you to use any of the equipment you can build so that's a wash. Loot was easy to come across and I found myself leaving lots of building materials behind as I didn't have room for it and had already maxed out everything I could make, but I'll blame my survival horror hoarding tendencies on that. Case in point, this is at the end of Amnesia. Similarly, I think I replaced my batteries once in this game. I never felt the AI was cheating with clairvoyance, nor did I ever feel it was teleporting. This is a huge pet peeve of mine and I'm so pleased these sort of things didn't ruin the game.
This game went from something I was pretty indifferent towards, even negative to at times (in regards to the Crew Expendable fiasco before we knew everything), to possibly a dark horse for my GOTY. This game...it's just beautiful.
So I finished that part. Decided not to be so stingy with my one flare.
This game is amazing so far. Just got the Motion Tracker.
The alien has me on edge like you wouldn't belive and it hasn't even killed me yet.
The atmosphere in this game is incredible.
When you are near glass windows and you here that creaking,freezing, stress of space willing itself against you, it really gives you that feeling of absolute isolation. Intentional.
You can totally throw flares, but only if the Alien doesn't see you ignite it or see where it's been thrown from. If he does, he'll investigate the source of trajectory. He's pretty smart.
In my experience, he has trouble hearing walking on normal mode unless you're right next to him, but on hard, he'll hear walking from around corners and come running. Crouch walk is the only sure method of moving around when playing on hard unless you're positive he's a room or two away from you.
Basically, his sight is slightly better on hard, but his hearing is much better, at least that's how it seemed to me.
I notice some people suggesting that you crouch walk and never sprint. There are times where walking is the best option and there are moments where sprinting is definitely useful.
Basically once you get the Flamethrower that's when you mostly want to walk unless you want to conserve ammo and want to hide and wait for it to go away.
. I mean it would've been cool to see what came out of the Jockey, their is art of it storyboarded out where they see a huge Alien fossilized into the side of a huge rock. Too bad they didn't shoot the scene or make the assets.]
Actually, that was not where they find the Alien that came out of the Jockey. The creature they find fossilized was where they originally found the Space Jockey and that was paired with the whole Alien Temple that was originally scripted and story boarded until it was discarded for budgetary reasons.
Please cover your spoilers in this thread. Deleted content relating to spoilers is still spoiling those plot points.
So I'm wondering how they could effectively pull off a sequel to this game without making it just more of the same. The majority of us here like the game, but would you pay another $65 for Isolation Round 2?
This game was made cross-gen so I assume that in a few ways the features and AI were held back. I imagine they could improve the game technically in a few areas. Even better graphics (they're already good). Even more varied AI behaviors (Alien jumping through glass from the other side? varied forms of attack, such and slow stalking rather than always fast running?). Stuff like that.
However besides the technical, what kinds of ideas would keep a sequel fresh and enjoyable? Gameplay ideas, plot ideas? What would convince you to drop another 65 bucks?
So I'm wondering how they could effectively pull off a sequel to this game without making it just more of the same. The majority of us here like the game, but would you pay another $65 for Isolation Round 2?
This game was made cross-gen so I assume that in a few ways the features and AI were held back. I imagine they could improve the game technically in a few areas. Even better graphics (they're already good). Even more varied AI behaviors (Alien jumping through glass from the other side? varied forms of attack, such and slow stalking rather than always fast running?). Stuff like that.
However besides the technical, what kinds of ideas would keep a sequel fresh and enjoyable? Gameplay ideas, plot ideas? What would convince you to drop another 65 bucks?
Tower defence mechanics
More freedom
Survivors: ground vehicles that need a mechanics to be operative and so on...
A gameplay that push the players deepers in search of foods, and hint.
The goal? Wait and resist for 30 days until rescue
I don't think the game needs a sequel. I actually think a sequel could be detrimental in that so many of the notes of the franchise have been played now. It would risk being a retread in so many ways.
Tower defence mechanics
More freedom
Survivors: ground vehicles that need a mechanics to be operative and so on...
A gameplay that push the players deepers in search of foods, and hint.
The goal? Wait and resist for 30 days until rescue
Oh interesting. Tower defense would be like an evolved form of hacking those little boxes to turn on alarms or open doors. We change our environment in really minor ways in this game, changing it in more major ways would be interesting.
Having to worry about food could be tedious. Then again, I loved MGS3 so who knows.
Those are nice features but it leaves the core gameplay still helpless lady vs alien indoors. It would still feel like an expansion pack. Your idea about vehicles could be going somewhere though. Instead of being indoors all the time, we could be traveling from location to location on a planet. Perhaps something more like the premise of Prometheus rather than Alien. Moving from Engineer temple to temple searching for something? That black goo opens up the possibility for new kinds of creatures in addition to the alien. That could mix things up and feel fresh. Perhaps the player could even get a minor infection and slowly change throughout the story, adding another level of horror.
I don't think the game needs a sequel. I actually think a sequel could be detrimental in that so many of the notes of the franchise have been played now. It would risk being a retread in so many ways.
Exactly why I'm wondering how they could possibly make it fresh. It's definitely at major risk for being more of the same. I wouldn't want just more of the same, either. The game doesn't need a sequel if it's like that. If that's what it would be then they should just leave this as a one-off.
Just curious if some creative person in here has an idea I haven't thought of that will just blow me away. I'd love a sequel if they can actually do something with it. Not if they can't. Love hearing peoples ideas.
Apologies if this has already been posted, but Amazon UK have a good deal on this right now. Just a shade under £35 for the PS4 version - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KL4PNWU/.
Just curious if some creative person in here has an idea I haven't thought of that will just blow me away. I'd love a sequel if they can actually do something with it. Not if they can't. Love hearing peoples ideas.
I think the options are either make a fantastic Aliens game (i.e. more action-oriented, but not an outright FPS like previous games have been), or wait a generation for the technological leap to be big enough to make another game more interesting.
I have no doubt a sequel is coming earlier than that if sales have been in any way good, though. And I'll probably buy it whatever my reservations.
Basically once you get the Flamethrower that's when you mostly want to walk unless you want to conserve ammo and want to hide and wait for it to go away.
The detection radius is actually pretty forgiving. The main thing to be concerned about is being seen rather than being heard, at least from my experience. I was also playing on survival. If the alien is in the same room, it is probably best to crouch walk, but even then sometimes I used walk because I felt I had to reduce the chance that he would turn around and it worked fine. It is also pretty intense when you take a risk like that.
I like the game so far, but i am getting completely destroyed. I am playing it on easy and still getting extremely frustrated. It seems the alien knows all my moves
Completed this last night, enjoyed it immensely (well as much as you can enjoy being scared witless and being on the end of your seat most the time) on the whole, but i do agree with others that the ending is a tad weak but cant hold that against the game as 90% of it was awesome!!.
Im wondering if some of the DLC will carry on the story as I doubt we'll see a sequel as i think 1 game is enough and another game would just be more of the same and no way as impactful....unless they completely change the gaming mechanics and genre of game but then it wouldn't be a sequel to Isolation
I still say there is a Queen hidden away somewhere on the station, theres just too many eggs something is making them all and the drones are carrying them off and placing them in different areas
I never realized the achivement "Mercy or Prudence?" didn't include androids.
But anyway, I'm done with the game! That was one of a journey. I must say I prefered the first half more than the rest, but maybe that is because I tried to understand the mechanics and the game in general. Hard was enough difficult for me, I wouldn't go higher if there was one.
Just curious if some creative person in here has an idea I haven't thought of that will just blow me away. I'd love a sequel if they can actually do something with it. Not if they can't. Love hearing peoples ideas.
For a sequel I think they should having jumping. That is one thing I felt was a bit off. Maybe more open areas as well. Less narrow corridors and hallways. Less vent crawling too. More of an open exploration. Not necessarily more weapons, but weapon modifications. The tools, I felt, have a lot more potential to them. The crafting system could have used a bit more depth.
Also, that gas mask... seemed to have usage in only a single area lol... maybe there was some backtracking that made use of it that I missed.
That is at least what I would like to see I think.
So is there any in-game feedback for holding your breath in a locker? A few times now I'm leaning back in a locker, the alien comes close and the game tells me to pull LT to hold my breath. I do it and it looks like absolutely nothing changes, I don't hear any difference, and the alien quickly finds me.
Feels like I'm doing something wrong but I don't know what. I cant tell if I'm holding my breath.
People already complain about the game being too long. Good, but long enough to the point of being tedious. Just doing the same thing over again in a different place with a couple new gadgets isn't going to cut it for most!
Wow, i can't believe some people don't like the ending,lol
I think it's perfect, as it does the movies justice.
Both Aliens movies finish with ejection of the Alien to Space... Aswell as the Isolation of Ripely alone. The only thing (but not worried), is that they shouldn't have had the flash of light on her face and her facial movement. It would have kept the audience thinking. Is she alive, is she dead. Who will pick here up...... Will the Alien teabag her ass and no-one will hear her scream in space. jk lol
So is there any in-game feedback for holding your breath in a locker? A few times now I'm leaning back in a locker, the alien comes close and the game tells me to pull LT to hold my breath. I do it and it looks like absolutely nothing changes, I don't hear any difference, and the alien quickly finds me.
Feels like I'm doing something wrong but I don't know what. I cant tell if I'm holding my breath.
People already complain about the game being too long. Good, but long enough to the point of being tedious. Just doing the same thing over again in a different place with a couple new gadgets isn't going to cut it for most!
I might have just been lucky, but holding back and L2 always worked for me. I released it too early once, which resulted in me being found, but otherwise I was fine.
Is there any chance it saw you hide in the first place? Also, be wary of the motion detector when hiding. The alien can hear it when it's near.
I just marathoned through 8 chapters of Alien Isolation and completed it last night.
The Apollo core level is so cheap. Take away all my guns? Fine. But then you add Working Joes that are not only immune to stun rods, but also EMP mines? Not only that, I killed 3 working joes. 2 using 4 pipebombs and 1 using the electrified floor. But what happens when I hit the computer? They spawn 6 more rubber suit wearing joes in the server rooms. making me waste my time. By far the scariest and most tense non-alien level thanks to those cheap conceits. With the Alien there's only one of them you have to sneak around at a time and you can ward it off with fire. Rubber suit wearing joes? Nothing wards them off and there's fucking tons of em in that area. Thank god for the bolt gun you get later on though. Nailing those fuckers in the head was so cathartic.