Stream and Alien: Isolation

Hey all,

So this probably going to be a very short post, but I want to get a post on here that isn't just "First Post!!!1"

I've been working on getting a twitch.tv stream up and running but my computer is having FPS issues with it for some reason. I'm looking into how to remedy that, and should be able to stream some high (?) level Brawlhalla play sometime in the very near future. In the meantime, I've been playing Alien: Isolation! At any given time I'm juggling a lot of games, like for instance right now I'm playing Fallout 4, The Witcher 3, The Forest, Diablo 3, and of course the multiplayer constants like League and Brawlhalla. Alien is so different from the others though, so much so that I feel the need to do a short write-up about it. If you're concerned about spoilers, I guess I'd advise you to stop reading here!

I'm only a couple hours into Alien: Isolation, in which you play as the daughter of Ellen Ripley, protagonist of the original Alien movies. Same old story of an abandoned ship, a distress beacon, you go check it out, boom you're alone. You navigate through the gigantic abandoned ship, trying to find the rest of your crew or just some way off the ship. Where there's still power, fluorescent lights flicker. The sounds of the ship aching and churning can be heard periodically, and you'll find yourself jumping at just about every little noise.

This game is scary.

If you're familiar with Ridley Scott's Alien from 1979, you know that most of the horror in the movie was derived from the chilling atmosphere of the Nostromo. The dark vacuum of space was haunting, and the practically empty ship gave us that real feeling of...dare I say it? Isolation. The movie put us on edge far before any space monsters show up. Now, with any horror game, atmosphere is absolutely key, otherwise it's no different from any other game where you run around with a gun. This is what I find so amazing about Alien: Isolation - the feeling that we get from the original movie is so overbearingly present in the game that I am legitimately uncomfortable while playing.

As I said before, I'm only a couple hours in. And believe it or not, I haven't even seen the alien yet. I've been shitting myself every time an exhaust vent coughs or a door slams shut but I have literally not seen the horror movie monster that the game is based around. This, to me at least, only serves to prove how important the building of atmosphere and suspense are. Honestly, more games should try to emulate this, horror or not. People generally want an immersive experience with their games, and Alien: Isolation delivers on this flawlessly.

This wasn't meant to be this long or become review-like, because even though it sounds like I was just drooling over it, I don't think Alien: Isolation is a perfect game. It's a good one for sure, but it has its flaws like anything else. I just wanted to write about my experience with it so far since it's been a fairly unique one as far as games go.

-SK