Alien Isolation

[Sigfried1977]

Checkpoints would have ruined the tension. If you had a checkpoint every time a situation got a little bit dangerous, the game would have lost its bite entirely. AI simply isn't the kind of clear room after room using minimal resources affair Dead Space is.

 

[TomRL]

Isolation does also have automatic checkpoints every now and then.

 

[Sigfried1977]

Between chapter breaks, yeah. The very last stretch of the game checkpoints your progress every couple of seconds as well. But those are the select few times were the game very much does diverge from its core gameplay loop, and that gameplay loop literally consists of nothing but finding and reaching the next save station without being eaten while working on your objectives. Over and over. If you could just run across the map while hitting checkpoints, the need for careful planning would have been gone. The Alien would repeatedly catch you of course, but it really wouldn't matter because chances are you've probably crossed some invisible line on the way. That's also why using a save station takes a couple of seconds. If it didn't, you could just make a dash for the next one, slam a button and be okay.
The fixed hard saves are an integral part to the game's design.

 

[swaaye]

It caught me off guard because I assumed it was another game that would checkpoint. So I didn't even use the save stations initially because I figured it was checkpointing and I would save when I wanted to quit. And so it cost me some progress at some point. That sort of assumption would be my guess as to what is annoying people.

I disagree with the statement that this game is much different than Dead Space though. It's obviously all about stealth whereas Dead Space is an action game but you progress similarly in both games. I beat Dead Space again a month or two ago. AI has somewhat larger areas and the ducts but it's still quite similar. It even has a path-to-follow indicator on the motion tracker. AI initially seemed like it might become more about non-linear exploration of the station but that didn't really happen. I was also hoping for more character interaction and possibly some decisions/influence, based off the vibe I got from the early previews. It is like Dead Space in that respect too.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I like the concept of hard games, but I've always found the rules are never explained and when you enter into them with the mindset of conventional games, they are typically cruel and frustrating. If 'get better or get nowhere' is going to be mantra of games, then 'explain yourself properly and don't rely on user-maintained wikis to do that for you' should be the mantra of the associated developers making those games.

eg. Playing Baldur's Gate on PC, there's no way to know if an encounter is winnable or not, so you can plough through lots of some mobs, then get completely mullered by others. Unless you've memorised the complete AD&D monster manual, you can only play, die, reload and learn, which is a pretty frustrating approach (although excusable for the time period of the game).

 

[Sigfried1977]

Well, the rules in Alien are pretty damn clear.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

Out of curiosity what do you guys see here?

Spoiler

To me it looks like the educational diagram of the female pelvis... but I have co-workers studying that area so I see lots of pics, presentations and posters with that kind of content..

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Well, the rules in Alien are pretty damn clear.

The rules are mutable. Plenty of people have reported being killed by the alien spawning behind them where the alien could not possibly have been or approached from.

Cheap deaths like this are infuriating. The alien isn't winning because it's smarter or faster, it's winning because it can cheat the laws of physics in that it can move anywhere.

A fair rule would be the alien can only get to places where a route exists or can be made.

 

[Nesh]

perhaps it used ceiling ventilations and got behind you

 

[Laa-Yosh]

While I agree that a teleporting enemy is kinda hard to outsmart, there is another factor here -

Spoiler

despite the initial marketing for the game, there isn't only one alien on Sevastopol.
I know this is just a forced explanation for the apparent problems with the AI but it might have been factored into the game. By the time the player learns about the hive, there's already a feeling that there has to be more than one creature... and sure, there are.

 

[orangpelupa]

someone need to create a "Wallhack" for the aliens. So we can always see through wall where is the alien. wheteher there are more of them, or they teleportd.

To me it looks like the educational diagram of the female pelvis... but I have co-workers studying that area so I see lots of pics, presentations and posters with that kind of content..

i saw that too and brain scan

 

[Sigfried1977]

The rules are mutable. Plenty of people have reported being killed by the alien spawning behind them where the alien could not possibly have been or approached from.

Cheap deaths like this are infuriating. The alien isn't winning because it's smarter or faster, it's winning because it can cheat the laws of physics in that it can move anywhere.

A fair rule would be the alien can only get to places where a route exists or can be made.

Never happened to me. Sure, the creature's movement obviously isn't limited by the physical boundaries of an actual ventilation system, but it never just spawns out of a random vent shaft either. If the the motion tracker is showing movement at the opposite end of the map, the Alien isn't gonna get a drop on you right away.

Quite frankly, I think most people simply aren't patient enough for this game. The game actually seemed remarkably fair to me.

 

[Daozang]

To me it looks like the educational diagram of the female pelvis... but I have co-workers studying that area so I see lots of pics, presentations and posters with that kind of content..

Lol, that's what I saw as well
My excuse is those anatomy for artists books I'm reading lately. :smile:

 

[Nesh]

Holy shit I just finished this game.

I understand why some reviewers didnt give it positive reviews while others gave it very high.

It grabs you from the balls, tightens its fist, lets them go, and when you think its time to relax, it grabs them again even tighter.

Its a game that doesnt make you comfortable. Not because of bad design. Its the opposite. Its because of its great design that it doesnt make you comfortable playing it. It is not the type of game that you play and you are having fun with a smile drawn in your face just like when you were a kid riding a carousel. Its the type of fan that I can draw a similarity with what you get in a horror theme park. It is stressful and requires great patience. Not everyone is suited for this game. Those that cant take it may confuse its area of success with unfun and dragging design. These people are the equivalent of a 7 year old kid who was accidentally misplaced in a horror theme park. Someone who doesnt like this tension is gonna hate it while an adult who wants the thrills will love it.

Similarly not everyone likes to watch horror movies no matter how good it is, while others love them.

I cant think of any other way that this game could have been better or truer to the atmosphere of the 2 original Alien movies. Personally I think that this creation took that atmosphere and multiplied it a couple of times. The atmosphere and detail was sometimes quite breathtaking. Amazing. The way they played with the sound and visuals is top.

Just to get an idea of the attention of detail in this game there was a section that Ripley was wearing a spacesuit and debris was coming from a specific direction in outer space. As you turned the camera towards the debris you could hear the little pieces hitting the glass of your helmet. As you turned the direction of the camera away the sound would faid. Small droplets would also start to appear inside the helmet from the humidity of her breath.

This is one of the games that make me also appreciate the fact that I bought a PS4. The game's motion sensor sound is coming from the controller's speaker. It increases the immersion so much.

This game brought memories of the days I played the Resident Evil 1. Unforgiving, scary and hard. It regenerated the survival horror theme

The things that some reviews described as its disadvantages are actually its advantages. If these were true disadvantages they would have been also true for Resident Evil 1. But we know its intentional game design.

I finished the game on Hard Mode. I find the save points well placed. I only got killed once or twice while trying to save. It was hugely important to move on crouching mode. Also do not panic. Sometimes the Alien makes sounds as if it saw you but it actually doesnt. Keep crouching and moving behind objects and desks. Even if it is close to you (i.e on the other site of a table) it cant see you while crouching. Keep moving around some of these objects while it walks around. Sometimes you might think you wont make it while it walks around the object but you can actually do.


PATIENCE! This game is trying to mimic the uncomfortable situation as realistically and faithful to the movies as possible. You may need to wait for minutes for the Alien to go away. Sometimes you may have to hide multiple times on the same spot before it decides to leave.

Outstanding game.

 

[Arwin]

"The atmosphere and detail was sometimes quite breathtaking. Amazing. The way they played with the sound and visuals is top."

I only played a bit over an hour or so and haven't even seen the Alien yet, but this already stood out to me. The space station is just a wonderful place to be in, audio and visually. I don't generally like this genre, but this seems great. As you've already praised the game, I can only repeat some of the complaints: I do think that the character animations are bad even for last-gen! It's almost embarrassing, but fortunately it doesn't take too much away from the game because the space station is the real star, imho. And the graffiti really does seem a bit unnecessary.

But the sound design and the way they use light and smoke and general atmosphere is fantastic.

 

[mrconfused]

Playing through this on hard and it's a stunning experience.

Playing on XB1, and the visuals are really something else.

I especially love the way light and shodow interact with the smoke and steam.

And lovely details such as the way dust particles are lit up by the tip of the flamethrower.

All the different materials look so real.

Also, the star of the show, the Alien, is beautifully rendered. I let it kill me just so i can get a closer look.

Special mention to the sound design and the quality of the mix....WOW, some of the best i've
ever heard.

Love this game, it's a dream come true.

 

[London Geezer]

Game now on sale for £24 on PSN so what the hell, got it!

 

[Nesh]

Since the game wasnt hard enough they added a Nightmare difficulty mode with an update.
And for those that are too much of a pussy thy added a Novice mode too (pretty ironic expression considering that the protagonist is a very capable female)

 

[VFX_Veteran]

This was my GOTY. I finished it this weekend on the Oculus Rift and it was spectacular! Extremely immersive and very tense. Congrats to CA!

 

[Gerry]

Playing through this now on the XB1. Scariest bloody game I've played in quite some time.