Quite frankly, its amazing there havent been more survival horror games based on the Alien franchise. Its roots are entrenched in that style in nearly every way. The setting, the creature, everything about it fits so perfectly within that genre. This is made all the more apparent when you see how many games have been influenced by Alien. The Half-Life, Doom, and Dead Space series wouldnt exist without Alien to inspire their designers. Instead, almost all Alien games focus on action and shooting. Or course, these games have their place, but as mentioned earlier, not every Alien based game should be a shooter. The franchise is adaptable enough to incorporate all kinds of genres, just like the films themselves. Its kind of a shame the games have limited themselves in this way. Alien: Isolation will be the first proper Alien based survival horror game in who knows how long. Instead of being armed to the teeth, you are weak and vulnerable. Instead of drop ships and APCs full of marines, you and a small crew are trapped in a space station. Instead of killing swarms of Aliens without a care in the world, you are doing your best to avoid just one. You will not be given weapons for a majority of the game, not very effective weapons anyway. Focus will instead be on fear and tension; claustrophobia and long dark hallways. Even more so than the horror games it inspired, Isolation will strip you of safety and make you feel truly vulnerable. And just like the film it is based on, the Alien wont appear to you constantly, building the terror and suspense. Emphasis will be placed on exploring the environment and interacting with the crew, all the time knowing that the Alien could be around any corner. As a concept for a survival horror game, its perfect. One does wonder though how such a game can sustain tension and fear in the player with this simple of a design for what will apparently be a 10 hour game, but its certainly doable. Well have to wait and see, but for now, its just great to see an Alien game focused on horror rather than action.
