Seegson: Tomorrow, Together

Alien: Isolation turns ten years old today and the game still holds up so well. From the lighting, the sounds and all the decor, this game is a horrifying masterpiece that scares me again and again with each playthrough.

I am a big fan of the Alien franchise (well, most of it) and this game perfectly captured the 1970s retro-futuristic style of the original Alien movie. Staying true to that time period is one of my favorite details of the game because modernizing the design would have sucked the soul right out of the playing experience. One of the things that bothered me about the Prometheus and Alien: Covenant movies was how they both felt more modern though they actually take place prior to the events of Alien. The designers of Alien: Isolation did not make that same mistake.

I especially love the design of the Seegson "Working Joe" synthetics. Unlike Ash or Bishop from the first two movies, the Working Joe synthetic doesn't look or sound like a real human. It has loose neck "skin", glowing eyes and a monotone robotic voice that is capable of delivering polite dialogue in a most menacing manner. Whenever they spot me somewhere I am not supposed to go, they quicken their steps in pursuit of me and while I know I can outrun them, I also know that running may bring the xenomorph to my location. All of this contributes to a delightful sense of dread I have not experienced in any other video game.

While I own so many other games I need to get around to, seeing the Alien: Romulus movie inspired me to start another playthrough of Alien: Isolation, this time on the Hard difficulty setting. I am normally a purist that doesn't install video game mods but I decided to install the Alias Isolation mod to improve upon the anti-aliasing in the game and it works very well. I've been trying to take as many screenshots as possible so I can go back and enjoy the scenery without the threat of being killed.

The game's stunning visuals are equally matched by its chilling sound design. The musical score contains themes from Alien and the in-game sound effects contribute as much to the terror as anything I see in the game. From the sound of the xenomorph crawling overhead through the vents to its snarls, hisses, and the thumping of its feet down the corridors, I'm rarely left feeling safe at any point in the game. I'm only able to breathe a sigh of relief when I hear the xenomorph return to the vents in the ceiling but that relief is only ever short-lived.

Below is a video I found on YouTube that perfectly encapsulates how terrifying the game can be. It demonstrates how the xenomorph uses the ceiling vents to get around the space station, the player's ability to hide and how the musical score enhances the experience. It sounds to me like one of Sevastopol Station's unlucky residents gets killed off camera.

I have wanted a sequel to this game ever since I finished my first playthrough. I add "Alien: Isolaton sequel" to my Google search history at least once every year and I recently came across a post on Reddit claiming a former developer shared info about a 10th anniversary remaster as well as a sequel and I hope this turns out to be true. I can only imagine how much more realistic and terrifying a sequel (or even a prequel) could look with today's graphics cards.

If you enjoy the movie franchise and you've never played Alien: Isolation, I strongly suggest you get yourself a copy, put on some good gaming headphones, dim the lights in your room and subject yourself to hours of pure terror.