Alien: Rogue Incursion is loose across SteamVR and PSVR2 today and it’s probably the best Alien spin off since Amanda Ripley escaped Sevastopol.
H.R. Geier’s nightmare is back, and this time its right up in your eyeballs. Alien: Rogue Incursion is out now and brings an enjoyable tirade of dimly lit corridors, tension, and panicked combat to SteamVR and PSVR2. Available to pick up now for $39.99 or local equivalent, the new Alien outing slots into an inconsistent franchise, and I leapt in to find out if you should stay the hell away or head in guns blazing.
Story
Anybody that’s been waiting to land on the planet Purdan will already know that Developer Survios picked this plot carefully. Much like Alien Romulus, this title spins off existing lore in the wider Alien franchise, following ex Colonial marine Zula Hendricks and synthetic Davis 01 into a rescue mission on an isolated station. Of course, everything inevitably turns bad from the moment they crash land into the charred remains of a site in lockdown.
For fans of the disparate Alien lore, this character’s appearance and the occasional assistance of Davis is a nice way of anchoring the events of this tale in the expanded universe. It draws on aspects of comic books and places us away from the silver screen timeline, while still referencing established characters like Amanda Ripley. For the rest of us, the pair are a good fit and a well-executed pairing. The duo provide enough interaction and in game support to keep the characterization and dialogue from becoming overly introverted while allowing plenty of room for a silent dread to descend over proceedings.
Graphics
There certainly isn’t safety in numbers when Zula grabs her gear and heads out into an facility that embodies the eerie neo industrial design of Alein and Aliens. Between the howling blizzard and emergency lighting, you’ll find massive airlock doors and a utilitarian construct which draws on the first two big screen outings. Aside from the extra-terrestrial origins, the whole operation feels believable. Look past the trails of blood that unfurl like an ominous red carpet and take a look at the detailing here. Control rooms are strewn with mundane tools, boxes, and construction gear that makes the facility feel functional but far from inviting. Electronics cement the 1980s future aesthetic with large push buttons, interlaced wiring, digital cassettes, and phosphorus monochrome displays that are built to withstand everything but a directed pulse rifle. I loved the authenticity of this environment, right down to the joystick used to interact with computer terminals. Opening messages and downloading digital audio logs provide a welcome insight into the former crew of this doomed outpost, but it’s the unyielding utilitarianism of this play space that tells you exactly how little the universe cares. That, and the bloody decoration that hangs across a range of hallways and hangers that feel like they’ve come right off a movie set.
Unfortunately, you can’t hang around to admire the solid environmental work. Appearing out of derelict overhangs, over walkways, and in between crawl spaces, the Xenomorphs are a fantastic depiction of the big screen menace. Thanks to the power of a fully-fledged gaming rig, SteamVR presented a villain that does justice to Giger’s original. Despite some occasionally odd movement physics, bouncing off a wall or melting away when dead, these predators don’t just look the part. They make generally good use of every available air vent or ceiling space, hunting in packs and brimming with menace.
Proving its place as a shooter, unlike Alien Isolation, most encounters I remember with these dreaded things had me fend of several at once. Drawn to any amount of noise, they’ll announce imminent chaos with a blip on Zula’s motion detector. Then it’s all about keeping backs to the wall and aiming well. While Davis will provide some cover, its mostly down to the player to point and shoot during any action sequences.
Combat and Puzzle Play
Thankfully, combat is seriously good thanks to some great control systems. Inventory items are well spaced out across the player character and combat choices are equally obvious. Grabbing a Pulse Rifle, grenade, or revolver isn’t much more difficult than reaching over your shoulder and pressing a single action button. Reloading is a quick couple of moves, and swapping weapons can be as simple as dropping everything and reaching across for another option, picking it up when all the Xenomorphs are dead. Movement feels surprisingly natural to work with and this shows when the swarms start getting up close and bitey. Between the panic, there’s not much more to combat than point and shoot, yet small moments just make the action. I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the Pulse Rifle. There’s a moment when I realized that not only could I hold the barrel of this gun with my off hand to steady the recoil, but I could pull it slightly to center to have Zula aim through the scope. It’s this minutia that makes Alien: Rogue Incursion feel like more than a cash grab, small moments in combat or during narrative conversations that make the action and stakes feel real.
With a solid and utterly believable setting and intuitive combat controls, all that’s left is to make it to the end of this initial arc. The first of a two part tale drags Zula across a series of interconnected key card style quests, scavenging the truth about a secret base and recovering authorization to delve even further. While peeling back the doors can be as simple as shooting a fuse box, it’s more likely to involve finding tools, rearranging power relays, locating keys, and unsealing obstacles with a torch. Every problem tends to have a tool, and this leverages the control systems with a range of simple twists that make the straightforward find and forage quests continually engaging. Never obtusely difficult, these are all about driving the action forward, besides, sitting back and pondering the best way to blow a fuse box might end in teeth and claws. The Xenomorphs are always hunting.
Authentically Alien
It’s the mix of accessibility, authenticity, and impending doom that make Alien: Rogue Incursion a great romp through the iconic franchise. Everything form the big beasts, to the whine of your gun, the setting, and event he opening logos are perfectly pitched. This title isn’t going to redefine the franchise, but its never as horrid as some zombie shuffling alternatives either. The dread-soaked corridors and customized control rooms feel exactly as you’d want. The Xenomorphs actually look the part, and controls never get in the way of the action. At around eight hours long, Alien: Rogue Incursion is everything it should be and never overstays its welcome. The Xenomorphs don’t suffocate the gameplay and the puzzles never rise to the level of Alien Isolation, but it did everything it needed to and left leave me scrambling for my Pulse Rifle at midnight, when I should be trying not to dream of Xenomorphs.
Survios shakes off the aftermath of so many franchise cash grabs and manages what few other studios have, a decent Alien game. Alien: Rogue Incursion is available now.
