-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Alien: Isolation |OT| 1 Alien. 1 Ripley. No Jonesy.
- Thread starter VisceralBowl
- Start date
BigTnaples
Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
As someone who loved Alien, Aliens and Prometheus, but hasn't really played any alien games, how likely am I to love this game?
Trying to hold off buying it until I finish Shadow of Mordor and Metro, but not sure that I can.
Trying to hold off buying it until I finish Shadow of Mordor and Metro, but not sure that I can.
This is the best Alien game that has ever been made. It relies primarily on the aesthetics and atmosphere of the first Alien film with very similar pacing and tone, as well as the approach to the monster. The love and detail going into the level design and the enemies, along with plenty of callbacks to the original film really show how much Creative Assembly have cared about the universe and the values in the original Alien. Moreover, the mechanics and gameplay similarly don't rely on action at all to interest the player, but instead they methodically lure you into its setting and atmosphere with some amazing sound design.
It is currently my GOTY and it's one of the best gaming experiences I've had in years.
EDIT: Like someone on CA's forum wrote yesterday:
This echoes my sentiments about the game as well.
MarcoZombieCannon
Member
It's the best Alien-related product in a good long while.
This feels like it could be a film.
bitoriginal
Member
Well shit. I'm a big fan of all things Alien but when I first started playing this, I didn't really get it. It didn't click. I tried doing the Crew Expendable first and got annoyed with it, and the hideous facial animation and stuttering cut scenes at the beginning of the main game kinda put me off. Until I listened to GAF, rewatched Alien and wore some headphones.
As soon as I put my headphones on, everything changed. The sound design and audio in this game is second to none, and so important to being a survivor. Being able to hear every little sound and footstep just enhances the experience tenfold, and feels essential. You even can hear your shoes squeak as you pivot, hear the pipes rattle and vents blast out air. Every desolate noise on Sevestapol serves a purpose. When it came to escaping a group of human NPCs, it was made much more realistic and intense just listening to them talk to each other as a I hid.
Exploring the ship is tense, interesting and intriguing. The aesthetics are lovingly crafted and really capture the vibe of the film. The beginning of the game really eases you into the mechanics and I'm now nearing the infamous medical bay section. Overall, for anyone on the fence, I'd say jump in because you really do have a great experience waiting for you.
GAF, despite the imperfections, I think this shit might just be one of the boldest games I've played in a long, long time. I'm so glad that this game exists, and it may just be the best Alien game ever.
As soon as I put my headphones on, everything changed. The sound design and audio in this game is second to none, and so important to being a survivor. Being able to hear every little sound and footstep just enhances the experience tenfold, and feels essential. You even can hear your shoes squeak as you pivot, hear the pipes rattle and vents blast out air. Every desolate noise on Sevestapol serves a purpose. When it came to escaping a group of human NPCs, it was made much more realistic and intense just listening to them talk to each other as a I hid.
Exploring the ship is tense, interesting and intriguing. The aesthetics are lovingly crafted and really capture the vibe of the film. The beginning of the game really eases you into the mechanics and I'm now nearing the infamous medical bay section. Overall, for anyone on the fence, I'd say jump in because you really do have a great experience waiting for you.
GAF, despite the imperfections, I think this shit might just be one of the boldest games I've played in a long, long time. I'm so glad that this game exists, and it may just be the best Alien game ever.
s_mirage
Member
Ran into an amusing bug earlier: managed to accidentally set myself on fire but didn't die. The fire didn't go out though, even after reloading from death. It made illumination in the ducts easier although Ripley's perpetually burning hands made using the motion tracker somewhat awkward.
Finally finished the game.
The atmosphere, environmental design and sounds make the game really good in the start but in the end I can totally 100% understand how some people gave this low scores. The game overstays its welcome and in the end all I really see it for is good horror game for four to six hours than then slowly turns into just a bad game.
-
-
-
-
Started out as a solid 4/5 but I ended my experience in the group of people that would maybe give a 2/5. Final half of the game really did me in.
The atmosphere, environmental design and sounds make the game really good in the start but in the end I can totally 100% understand how some people gave this low scores. The game overstays its welcome and in the end all I really see it for is good horror game for four to six hours than then slowly turns into just a bad game.
-
Too much rubberface stealth scenes
Too much repeating of scenarios. "Get to point B while Xenomorph patrols around you" gradually loses any tension
Story is too spread out
One-hit-kill enemies get boring when you're attempting to complete a goal for the tenth time
Started out as a solid 4/5 but I ended my experience in the group of people that would maybe give a 2/5. Final half of the game really did me in.
D
Deleted member 30609
Unconfirmed Member
DO NOT PLAY THE DLC FIRST, YOU WILL NOT ENJOY YOURSELF
I don't know how this idea seeped into the discussion surrounding this game, but please save yourself the anguish and let the actual game teach you how to play properly
I don't know how this idea seeped into the discussion surrounding this game, but please save yourself the anguish and let the actual game teach you how to play properly
Mobius and pet octopus
Member
Oh alright... have to release both... thanks.
I just took my headphones for granted since I always play FPS with headphones on.
The scariest fucking thing in this game is when you're running from the alien who knows you're there and he is making a shit ton of banging noises as he sprints at full speed. You make it around the corner and he doesn't slow, you hide under a table but it is way too late and you're fucked and for a split second you maybe think you got away and rawr, he knew exactly where you were.
I actually screamed once, I was that into the experience... lol.
D
Deleted member 30609
Unconfirmed Member
the problem isn't overt story spoilers (although arguably it does kind of kill the gradual build up and pay-off the first time you have to avoid the Xeno), it's more of a mechanical concern. It throws you into the deep end with no context or training. It feels unfair and there's no emotional climax.
I mean, if you really want to, by all means. But ready yourself for tedium.
Many of them aren't! I spent a good fifteen minutes carefully avoiding a few in Chapter 10 only to realise they were completely friendly, just going about their business checking things.
I really want to enjoy this game, but I'm literally at the first point in the game where there are roaming enemies and I find it needlessly, pointlessly frustrating. I've died about five times on the first room (where you pick up the Security Tuner) and I'm really rapidly losing interest in progressing.
It gets much, much better and far less rigid when the alien shows up. Those early segments are indeed frustrating, though.
I mean they can see you from across the entire room (and it's a big room) and kill you with pinpoint accuracy in two or three shots. I tried distracting them with flares and stuff but it still didn't work.
I am rapidly beginning to see why reviewers complained about the AI.
real_slime
Banned
The cutscenes run perfectly smooth for me. Although the game itself is very choppy in 1080p, but smooth in 720p. No visual bugs.
I'm at the start of mission 10. Still very much enjoying everything about it. I'm finding the difficulty to be just right on medium. There's enough variability in the Alien's behaviour that it is difficult to get stuck on any one area since slightly different things happen every time.
I think the Joes are good. I like how you don't know if they are hostile or not - good thing they didn't put in a hostile/friendly indicator. Seems like as with most other things in this game, that was a choice made to help heighten tension.
I'm at the start of mission 10. Still very much enjoying everything about it. I'm finding the difficulty to be just right on medium. There's enough variability in the Alien's behaviour that it is difficult to get stuck on any one area since slightly different things happen every time.
I think the Joes are good. I like how you don't know if they are hostile or not - good thing they didn't put in a hostile/friendly indicator. Seems like as with most other things in this game, that was a choice made to help heighten tension.
Yeah, the first real encounter with the humans in mission 3 definitely leaves a bad first impression.
I can imagine a no kill run being extremely frustrating.
The reviews complained about the alien AI, which I mostly disagree with. They should have complained about the human AI, which is much, much worse.
ClaptoVaughn
Member
I'm playing the DLC first and I don't see how hard it is to "play properly." The only times I've died have been to my own carelessness and sometimes experimentation (like trying to take the alien on with my wrench).
The game mechanics don't need a tutorial. Just look up the controls in the menu and take your time.
real_slime
Banned
I had a similar issue. Just bump it down to normal. I didn't feel like spending 3 hours figuring out how to lure every one of the humans out of the room just right. Maybe if I went back now and tried it again I'd handle it better, but yeah. I had more trouble with that first human encounter than anything else in the game so far and I'm probably more than halfway through.
The alien doesn't really rely on line of sight. The stealth mechanics are radically different for humanoids vs alien. The stealth in general works a lot better with the alien.
EDIT: ^ my friends and I really never killed anybody, definitely never out of necessity. We just snuck around everyone.
Zomba13
Member
I did the DLCs first and had no problem. Minus a bit of frustration at the start of Crew Expendable due to the checkpoint placement and again at the end due to it glitching out on me on the button press killing me instead of ending the DLC it was fine. I just approached it slowly, used the flamethrower if shit got real and it saw me and sneaked a lot.
Intheflorsh
Banned
There are barely any human encounters in the game and most of them are easy to bypass completely. The opening chapters are not a good representation of the rest of the game.
I turned the difficulty down after maybe the third time I got killed.
I think I made a mistake by leaving the room down the steps I came in from. I have to go back up into the room and as soon as I enter it I get spotted and shot by one of the guys on the balcony and shot again.
Zomba13
Member
btw the bit everyone is talking about right now is probably the most frustrating moment in the game I've run into. My friends and I were stuck on that moment for like an hour and a half. Nothing else in the game has been that frustrating or even close (although we're not done).
real_slime
Banned
Okay, well the way I did it was I crawled over to the cover at the left of the from (from the entrance), snuck out and wrench one of the guys while he was relatively alone, then ran back behind the cover and waited until the humans came close enough round the corner that I could pop out and whack them twice each. I think there were 3, right?
I didn't have much trouble after I turned it to normal.
I'm relieved to see I'm not the only idiot who had trouble with this section. Really weird stuff! Later on in the game the human sections can be taken on in a few different ways, or easily avoided. I like to sick the alien on them.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
This one scenario has spawned at least 3 possible solutions in this thread alone, and you're coming up with a potential (yet super-challenging) 4th.
I don't know if that necessarily makes it a bad thing.
I don't consider trial and error gameplay of this kind to be good gameplay.
godelsmetric, call for the alien and use it to kill the human opponents. I admit, I did that on two occasions - I'm a terrible person
I don't think you can at that point.
jim2point0
Banned
Good lord. Hattiwatti, the author of the BF4 Cinematic Tools, is creating something for Alien Isolation.
http://files.1337upload.net/AI-1b68c6.webm
http://files.1337upload.net/AI-1b68c6.webm
Zomba13
Member
Very nice. If it lets me fly around and explore and take screenshots without worrying I'm gonna get eaten/strangled/shot then that's great.
Shake Appeal
Member
They've got nets!
I love the fan service in this.
The true Alien Isolation begins there. Or at least I felt like it was, more so then the security tuner part.
ArkkAngel007
Member
What are the thoughts on the Survival Mode stuff so far?
Stallion Free
Cock Encumbered
Yeah, you can get an area smokey, turn off nearby camera, create noises as a distraction.
I guess I should have used my psychic powers to tell that she was standing right next to the exit of this vent. Oh well, another reload.
I tried turning on some speakers but it didn't seem to do anything? And I made the area smokey but that didn't seem to do anything either?
I tried turning on some speakers but it didn't seem to do anything? And I made the area smokey but that didn't seem to do anything either?
Zomba13
Member
Once you have the hack tool just go up the stairs they come down (before they come down) hide behind the box and right against the wall so they go past you then just sneak past the last guy at the far end of the walk way (by the objective door). Wait a bit and he'll turn around and go into the loungy room that is up the little steps. It's a straight shot to the door. Just be sure to crouch and not walk or run.
(I was playing on medium when I did this)
I'll give this a go.
I presume you're crouching/sneaking around, right? Just get the tool on the bottom floor to trigger the group, go up the stairs on your left, go past the little dinning/seating area.
You can rewire the air filtration system so they don't spot you as easily.
If I recall correctly it's pretty easy to sneak up on the one guy who is patrolling the upper floor, just mellee him to death and run past the door he's closest to. They won't follow you there.
Sorry I can't be any more specific without a map, but I didn't really have a problem with this section. Played through the whole game on Hard and there are much worse parts. None that felt unfair, though.
Lady Siara
Member
Basically what I did was trigger her and went back down the stairs until she runs off. Loot everything in the room, pick up the hacker, and go up the stairs to your left if you're facing the hacking tool. I basically just crouch walked along the balcony as quickly as possible, got to the room, sneaked behind the guy that patrols there, and through the door. Speed is important because I tried it after they had been in the room and it did not work as easily.
part of the reason we got stuck for an hour and a half at that segment is we went back and saved after triggering the group. Sneaking into the room and up the stairs when they're patroling is infuriatingly difficult. You pretty much have to do it all in one swoop.
CloudyTuba
Member
Fantastic. I remember that part. Obviously I avoided it but I wondered if it was possible to get killed that early on, or if it was just a little teaser.
Lady Siara
Member
Ah, that makes sense. Yeah, it's a pretty stupid part and just feels out of place.