ALIENS: Dark Descent

ALIENS: Dark Descent (2023) shows us how to make a proper sequel to the original Alien movies. Only this time, it's a game.

Set on the mining moon Lethe in 2198, 19 years after the original trilogy, the game starts strong, with a cinematic introduction that feels right at home in the Alien universe.

It does have its flaws, of course. The beginning suffers from quite a bit of hand-holding, likely intended to introduce the franchise and its mechanics to newcomers. Some tutorial segments drag on longer than necessary, but at least the optional hints system allows you to customize the experience. That being said, you might actually need those hints to fully understand how to play the game properly.

Genre-wise, it's a real-time tactical strategy game with RPG elements. It reminds me a lot of XCOM, one of my all-time favorites, except that combat happens in real time rather than being turn-based.

And I must say, I really enjoyed that combination. 

The game stays faithful to the established Alien lore while expanding on it in ways that, in my opinion, the newer movies failed to do. The atmosphere is tense, the gameplay is engaging, and encounters can go horribly wrong if you're careless.

Losing a squad member can make the rest of a mission considerably more difficult, which gives every decision some actual weight. I do wish the game had a system closer to XCOM, though, where losing an entire squad doesn't necessarily mean game over. You simply recruit another team and deal with the consequences of your failure.

Here, it often feels like an all-or-nothing situation. Either everyone survives, or you reload.

Well, not always. The difficulty is balanced well enough that good strategy genuinely makes a difference, and recovering from a bad situation can be quite satisfying.

Some of the UI elements could use work, however. Healing crew members, for example, is far more tedious than it has any reason to be. You have to click, hold, wait for an animation, and then repeat the whole process. Sometimes multiple times per in-game day.

It gets old rather quickly. There's no meaningful decision involved in repeatedly performing the same action, so I don't understand why it couldn't have been simplified.

Visually, the game is excellent. The Xenomorphs look fantastic, and the cutscenes are genuinely movie-worthy. If this had been released as an animated Alien movie with the same story and presentation, I honestly think it could have been one of my favorite films in the franchise.

The soundtrack and music complement the atmosphere extremely well. Some of the sound design is less pleasant, particularly the constant sirens, which can become irritating after a while.

On the other hand, the Xenomorph sound effects are spot-on. Hearing those familiar noises while trying to keep your squad alive is genuinely chilling, especially when you know something is nearby but can't quite tell where.

I completed the entire campaign on medium difficulty, which took me approximately 50 hours. The variety of enemies and environments was sufficient to keep me interested throughout the game, although I can understand how some players, particularly those unfamiliar with this genre, might find certain parts repetitive.

And after those 50 hours, I can confidently say I enjoyed the experience.

The game has its shortcomings, particularly in its UI and a few gameplay decisions, but the developers clearly understood what makes the Alien universe interesting. The lore, atmosphere, tactical gameplay, and overall presentation work together remarkably well.

For me, ALIENS: Dark Descent is one of the best Alien experiences outside the original movies, and certainly one of the better examples of how to expand an established franchise without losing what made it appealing in the first place.