Alien: Isolation

Isolation is a taut, confident, and electrifying horror game that perfectly captures the essence of Ridley Scott's legendary film. I just wish they'd been braver with the story.

There’s something beautiful about Alien: Isolation’s intensity, about the way it ebbs and flows, about how you learn when you’re a modicum safer than you were just a minute ago, and you can and should move a little faster, or risk waiting too long. It’s amazing how much it looks and feels like a film, translated into another medium, using that medium to make something similar and yet differently powerful.

This game makes you crawl like a goddamn worm, in constant fear of being squashed. I was scared to leave the closet I was hiding in, because the monster was somewhere out there. [Dec 2014, p.68]

It’s laden with tense moments and it’s a gorgeous visual journey, with a pretty good narrative and a lot of pleasant surprises for fans of the Alien franchise.

A stealth game that is not a disgrace to the Alien movie, and both its fan and a gamer who has not been kissed by its teeth will enjoy this, if they do wink at the game's story.

This is an unusually brave blockbuster, not prepared to compromise its vision in favour of chasing a larger audience; a credit to both developer and publisher. And while it may not be for everybody, those that are looking for a convincing interpretation of sci-fi's most terrifying monster will be well-served.

It's the best Alien experience you could have asked for, and even more than that. Ambience design is above the average, the Alien's AI almost revolutionary, and the survival experience one that will stick with you even when you switch the screen off.

Alien isolation is simply the best title on the Alien saga, a tribute to the first, unforgettable film by Ridley Scott, and a wonderful survival horror game that will captivate you thanks to the incredible emotions and moods that can give. Long-lived, funny, scary and full of quotations, it is a mandatory purchase for fans.

Alien: Isolation can be frustrating, but it's mostly terrifying in a near-perfect way. The Alien is scarier than it's been since Ridley Scott first showed it to the world, and the atmosphere is thick enough to cut.

Inspired by the first movie of the Alien saga, this FPS survival horror is simply the best homage to Ridley Scott's movie. It will haunt you, it will scare you and it will make you jump... and you'll like it.

Alien Isolation can be frustratingly difficult at times, but nevertheless it’s easily the best game in the Alien franchise since the original Aliens vs Predator. The fact that the game mimics perfectly the 1970s look and sci fi stylings of Ridley Scott’s Alien film makes the experience even more endearing. By featuring absurd number of “surprise” twists, Alien Isolation’s final act could’ve used some trimming. [Nov 2014]

A sublime, wonderfully scary horror/stealth game with beautiful graphics and fun gameplay. The eponymous alien is a constant threat, forcing the player to stay on his toes and brave the shadows in order to survive his trek inside the Sevastopol space station. The game's only major misstep is that it slightly outstays its welcome as the campaign drags on longer than it should have. Other than that, Alien: Isolation is one of the best horror games of the last few years.

Ignore the defects of the AI or the small problems related to animations, and get carried away in one of the most terrifying adventures of the latest years. Undoubtedly the best game based on Alien and the only one who has ever really been able to perfectly represent the original idea by ​​Ridley Scott.

Alien Isolation is a nerve-wrecking, stomach-twisting, bowel-moving, edge-of-your-seat experience and is unlike every other game out there.

Despite its shortcomings, including its simplicity and lack of variety, Alien: Isolation is what the franchise needed: a simple and well-executed experience that conveys the horror of deep space while respecting the vision of its source.

Alien Isolation is the best game adapted from the Ridley Scott masterpiece so far. The Creative Assembly have chosen the right way to use this IP in making it a tremendous survival, with both great artistic direction and atmosphere. The game takes the gamble to transform the player from hunter to prey, but it pays off as this setting gives birth to fear and stress. Exactly what you need to enjoy the terrific AI of the Alien which will be a real challenge for every experienced gamer.

Being stalked by a seemingly invincible solitary foe whose cunning is unlike anything experienced before is absolutely satisfying.

Creative Assembly has created a survival horror game which is apt for both fans of the movie, and also for those who never heard of Alien. Isolation is a finely crafted videogame full of pressure and with a superb atmosphere.

Isolation has some flaws, but it's faithful to the film series, and I'd love to see a follow-up with a few extra alien evolutions.

Players get frustrated, scared and upset, and it all feels very convincing because they also get outsmarted by an AI and there are few games that can make such a claim these days. Creative Assembly gets a huge plus for enhancing the fear factor in this one.

Alien: Isolation can serve as an example of a solid adaptation of movie features to the game format: Creative Assembly have managed to recreate the atmosphere of the original film. They did not try to squeeze Alien within the frames of existing genres, but took the events of the original picture as a basis while not limiting themselves to them. [Nov 2014, p.68]

The pacing might not be everyone's cup of tea but for fans of the original movie, this is a must. [Issue#246]

A stealth-horror game designed, with precision, to make pretty much every single activity and objective as uncomfortable and tense as possible.

If you're an Alien fan, it's definitely worth playing. People who like the stealth and survival-horror genres are gonna love Alien: Isolation. There are some flaws and bugs, but none of them affect the game atmosphere negatively.

Unlike every other Alien game to date, the alien in Alien: Isolation is an unpredictable enemy. It's off-rails, unscripted and behaves pretty much however it pleases. Like a mad Tamagotchi, the alien is powered by some clever AI routines that allow it to hunt and kill using a bunch of different senses.

In the same way that Ash respected the alien for its brutality in the original film, though, maybe I also respect Alien: Isolation just for how long, grueling and relentless it ends up being. Instead of completing the game, it feels more like I've escaped it and the nightmare it put me through. I no longer have to hear the sickening slump of the alien being spewed out of a vent.

Alien Isolation is for people who can withstand a heightened emotional state for a prolonged period of time. Patience, observation, and fast action are paramount.

A game that finds the balance between the new and the classic survival horror. If you like being scared with an infiltration-based gameplay, it's a great option, but if you like Alien as well, it is a game you cannot miss.

Alien: Isolation is scary and mixes shooting, stealth and exploration in a unique way. A dream finally come true for any Alien fan in terms of settings and details, although it lasts too long and it's very repetitive.

The details of the visual and ludic design, then, do more than keep the terror fresh—they create within the player a demand for more.

Make no mistake, Alien: Isolation is several steps in the right direction for both the Alien franchise, and horror games in general.

At its core, this is a fantastic port oft he Alien franchise into gaming. However, the almost too-strong Alien can be frustrating at times.

Alien: Isolation's story will take you around 15-20 hours to complete. But, to spare yourself the bitter aftertaste of the second part of the campaign, do this – after completing Mission 10, quit the game and pretend that you’ve just seen a happy ending.

It feels like the work of developers who've have been thinking about the perfect Alien video game since they were daydreaming in homeroom.

There is a lot of good to be found in Alien Isolation. In the end, this one is just one good writer and five levels less away from being a true classic.

Alien Isolation brings back the survival horror style. It's an indispensable game for ALIEN fans, with Ripley's daughter in a new, enormous and dangerous space station. Not for any player, the stealth style is hardcore, slow and a little bit old.

On one hand Alien: Isolation has great levels and some excellent sequences, but on the other it's too predictable, has technical issues and a disappointing Alien. In the beginning you'll be amazed, then you'll get bored, just to be excited at the very end. Isolation is much better than Colonial Marines but not as good as other survival horrors out there. It could (and should!) have been great.

The Creative Assembly’s game, however, is cooked; left to boil so long it loses all flavor and texture. For 10 hours, Isolation is one of the best horror games ever made, until a second, poorly made game bursts out of its heart.

It's the endless meandering in between that proves troublesome, much of it intended to build tension, but most of it falling victim to a neverending sameness. I say neverending, but in reality, Alien: Isolation limps to its frustrating ending after many hours more than it can support.