10 More Video Games You Should Never Play Alone

9. Alien: Isolation

alien isolation
Creative Assembly

Isolation is the name of the game, literally, and figuratively, but the fright level in 2014’s Alien Isolation is so intense you may be reaching for a partner, family member, roommate, or other human being.

What makes Alien: Isolation particularly clever and frightening is that the titular Alien’s AI was cleverly programmed with a set of behavioural patterns that evolve as the game progresses. These mechanics keep the Alien threatening, and keep you praying it didn’t see you running for dear life into that locker.

The Alien is horrifying, the creepy Working Joe androids are horrifying, and the persistent feeling of dread and tension makes Isolation way more than just a series of jump scares.

Given how much media in the horror sphere leans heavily on jump scares, that’s pretty impressive. I don’t know about you but I’d at least need the company of Twitch chat to get through this one.

Advertisement
In this post: 
Fear
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Jess has been a journalist and content creator in the games industry for over 15 years and has been WhatCulture's resident Australian import and sorry cop since 2020, upping the quotient of swearing and apologising in WhatCulture Gaming's annual blooper videos considerably. She previously worked at GameSpot for 10 years, most notably hosting GameSpot News in addition to E3 live shows, and PAX panels. She regularly livestreams a variety of games on her 'jessmcdonell' YouTube and Twitch channels and hosts the 'Do It On The Day' podcast. She has won awards for her news and feature work in gaming as well as an accolade for her comedic writing (likely an admin error). She can be found on X at @jessmcdonell and Instagram at @jessicamcdonell sharing her current videogame fixations, industry insights, and videos of her cat, Karma.