Man, you really know how to combine the intelligent tone of a professional, old-school critic with the passion of a gamer. I've never seen anything quite like it. Definitely, enthusiastically subscribed.
For me the gun is a psychological crutch for me. I'm playing the game on hard mode (as recommended by the devs) and every time I'm about to lose my nerves, knowing the giant beast could be right around the next corner, I just take out my pistol or my flamethrower and it calms me down. Even though I know the weapons have little to no affect on the creature, years of conditioning from playing FPS games has made the sight of a gun in my hands to be one of security, "I can fight back" I think even though I know I really can't. No other game has made me feel that way before, it's quite interesting. Also just wanted to say thank you to the recent uploads Noah, they're as entertaining as always!
hazeman671 this is the primary reason i like isolation as much as i do. You CAN defend yourself, to a certain degree. Id LOVE to play other horror games like amnesia but i literally cant, it terrifies me that you cant really hide beneath stuff and there are no ways to defend yourself lol
@@theparodymonster1 Try the Frictional stuff. If you are that scared of being defenseless, that is perfectly aligned with the horror they want you to get from it. You can do it!
Weirdly enough, I had the same feeling from a little game named Receiver. Not really a horror title nor does it try to be one, but because of the way guns work, it's terrifying to be entering a hallway with the doubt that you might screw everything up. While your gun is pretty effective, ammo is scarce, guns are realistically if unforgivably finicky to handle, and you're always one slide rack, one safety, or one magazine well away from disaster. It's such a simple, but neat idea. Instead of shying away from guns like in Amnesia, or making guns useless like in Isolation, Receiver perfectly plays up the trope of "panicking protagonist fumbles with gun and is ultimately unable to stop the threat in time due to said panic" in an organic, gameplay-driven manner. I really think something could be done with that concept, with a higher budget and more production time.
The game is awesome but the flamethrower is a get out of jail free card. Even on hard, if you mess up you spray her a few times and she scurries away. I find the flamethrower deflates the tension, and has way too much ammo available.
Just found your video after 10 years haha! I'm a huge alien fan and when I first tried to play the gams back when it came out, I was so scared that I had to stop! I now have revisited the game and played Hard and now I'm playing Nightmare! I love love love the sound design, the environment, the delicate use of music at the right times - it is so sick. Great video!! There's 2 books out about it (an art book and a deep dive into how they made the game) and I hope to get both for xmas haha they are on my list!
"Some people complained that its monotonous, 20 hours of cat & mouse? Isn't that too much?... I feel like it was barely enough." Amen, best review I've seen of this classic masterpiece.
This game was a fantastic love letter to the original film, right down even to the computer interfaces. I've never felt so anxious climbing through air vents before, but this matched my horror and general anxiety from watching that air vent scene in the film.
17:40 This might be the most graphically impressive corridor sequence I've ever seen in a game _Aliens: Isolation_ looks dated in places but its yet to be surpassed in many others.. This game in VR is *incredible*
I love your reviews for the sheer insight and the use of language and also ... I became accustomed to getting to know games through lets play videos (some that I cannot play, some for giving me a fresh point of view). It seems to me that's something I'd love to see you do. You clearly love playing these games and you have your own unique insight and you know game history. I think it would be really fresh seeing you do a walkthrough with your own unique commentary and than perhaps a recap and a review at the end. just my two cents
The sabotaged airlock encounter in the Nostromo DLC might be a direct reference to one of Alien’s infamous deleted scenes, which was cut before even being properly filmed (which is why you’ll never see it in a director’s cut). I believe it made it into the novelization, since it existed in the screenplay in some form.
You're my favourite TH-camr and game reviewer along with Matthewmatosis! As per usual, this was a fantastic video and the regular uploads from you have been an absolute delight.
Colonel Cubbage Do you know anybody else who does similar videos like him and Matthew? I mean I've subbed over 300 channels, but I'm always on the lookout for new awesome channels. I know all the regular ones... Super Bunnyhop, Elder Geek, Analog Reviews etc. etc. Please give me a few names, I'd really appreciate it (if you know any).
Rose Thelostone Already know that one. He's awesome. Know anybody else? I got a few more if you care: James Howell (!!! absolutely brilliant videos, a video series on TLOU, and an absolutely fantastic walkthrough for MGS3, a walkthrough like no other), The Gaming Brit, HyperBitHero, SolePorpoise, Al Russel, Grant Voegtle, and lots of others. You should totally check them out. They are great - every single one of them.
First review of this game i feel I agree completely with. The game is absolutely stellar and is an incredible achievement in bringing elements of older games into the modern video game world as well as replicating the source material to such a level. It also succeeds in making the to an extent limited premise constantly work for all 20 hours and it even managed to bring back the tension of the first alien encounters again in the final hours. Easily goty so far and probably my favorite video game since Hotline Miami.
I've finally watched ALL your videos to date. Watching your growth and development really gives me hope for my own game reviews I want to start making.
What is really amazing in the game is that technical design of the minigames, vent opening etc. feels REAL. The locks/vents/terminals MAKE sense and the minigames really feel like this is how it really could be. I actually spent some time looking where all the circuitry and pipes lead after opening/shortcircuiting/hacking them and they really fuckign LEAD TO THE PLACES THEY were used to...I call that extremely brilliant and over detailed design..Kudos
Definitely agree with the rest - extremely high quality reviews full of lore that most others miss altogether. You need hella more traffic for the knowledge and effort you put into these!
I think this was the first video of yours I saw a few months back. I keep coming back to your channel because you have a really cool and unique approach to game analysis. Has a lot of depth. Thanks for the videos!
Welcome back Noah. I actually passed up this game for Shadow of Mordor. After watching your review I'm kind of regretting my choice. I do love your longer videos and more indepth breakdowns, but this shorter review style breakdown is pretty awesome, I hope to see more of this from you in the future. Thanks for all your hard work.
Yay new video I had a very weird college class where the teacher talked about how she was amongst the first to see it and how she totally panicked from the chestbuster scene
***** Well scared, revolted. She has said many times in interviews that they pointed an air-jet of blood right at her which is what freaked her out. Keep in mind, that's real animal blood from the butchers that they used. In the rough cut of the CB scene you actually see her scream, panic, and stumble back, she ends up going end over end.
I'm certain you didn't just make this for my comment on your earlier Aliens franchise retrospective, but I appreciate it nonetheless. You succeeded in not spoiling anything, which just makes me want this game more and more.
I watched your AvP series retrospective and this review and I have to say that I am really impressed. I didn't expect such well-thought, educated and intelligent videos on TH-cam. The Theseus comparison really surprised me, I did read (and write) a bit about the Alien series but I didn't see that anywhere else. I'm subscribing, waiting for more videos :)
20:03 Why did I, who is watching an essay covering a video game about an extraterrestrial monster, get jump scared by the one of the NPCs suddenly sprinting out of the fog?
Nice to see you doing a review of a current game this time. I haven't been able to really find the time to play the game much yet, but I'm really looking forward to sinking my teeth into it. It's not a game I want to play for a few minutes at a time. I have however tried it with the oculus rift the other day and it's a pretty mindblowing experience.
Great review! I've enjoyed the first few hours I've put into this game but I can only take so much at a time! Even better, this review led me to all your other excellent videos; you definitely gained another viewer in me. Keep up the awesome work!
I was hoping you would review this game as I thought it was absolutely amazing. The most satisfying game I've played in a long time. I'm happy you did this.
This is a tribute to a Alien creature and one of few games aimed at mature audience. Even with full arsenal of weapons you're still supposed to go slowly and silently avoiding Alien as in first levels. Modern players who are used to online fps shooters will have a VERY hard time dealing with the creature the obvious way. Running and bunnyhopping to avoid difficult situation? Try it! ;) Alien is fast, clever, unpredictable and unforgiving. Explore Sevastopol station at your own risk or go straight from one objective to the next. Either way at some point you'll find yourself saying: I'm too scared to move further... A masterpiece of digital entertainment.
I haven't been able to dedicate many hours to the game myself, sadly, and am still stuck in Med Bay, but I am absolutely loving the tense atmosphere of this game. I think the best move Creative Assembly made was taking their time in even introducing the creature. Many games these days want to rush you through an experience, get you into the action as soon as possible, but this game wants to ease you into things. It's a rare thing to find in games these days and appeals strongly to the original film, where it took a long time for Kane to even get facehugged, let along for the creature to descend and kill Brett. Creative Assembly wanted to build the tension, to make you wonder and expect where the creature would be coming from, until finally it drops down in a position that leaves you incredibly vulnerable. I honestly hope this game does well and has a good long tail, because I'd not only love to see Creative Assembly do more games outside of strategy (I was also a fan of their game Viking: Battle for Asgard), but I'd love to see the AAA space acknowledge that players don't always have to be empowered for a game to sell.
Have you tried adjusting the difficulty? This isn't a game to be ashamed of playing on easy for certain segments-- the difficulties really only adjust the slack the Alien gives you about the noise you're making before it eats you, so a can you kick on hard would be heard but on easy it would be ignored. It's still hard on easy-- it's just more tolerant of mistakes.
I might, depends on how many more times I die in Med Bay, which I hear is the hardest part of the game for a while. A couple more attempts and I might just shrug and set it to easy. Thus far some of my deaths have simply been my own fault. Tossing a noisemaker only for it to bounce harmlessly off the Xeno's head, for example.
I'd love to hear a more in-depth analysis of LA Noire. I couldn't finish the game myself due to the frustrating interrogation gameplay and my own obsession with getting every mission perfectly, but I'd love to hear your take on it.
Ron Cobb worked a lot of interesting things into the actual design of the Nostromo which are hard to spot within the film. Things like symbols around doors indicating the atmo/gravity conditions beyond it. There's a lot of great material about it in the Quadrilogy DVD. Check it out. Love every second of your videos by the way Noah C.
I have only one complaint and it is small. I have played through on nightmare difficulty at least 12 times and I wish on that difficulty that button prompts could be removed and items do not highlight orange as well as see the physical items in the containers and the save box use light cues on the unit itself to tell you that you are saving. That would amp the immersion higher than any other game ever made. I also wished Axel was in the game more, he felt like the most authentic character that would have fit in Alien or Alien 3 perfectly and I have never seen a better NPC personality in an Alien game before. A side note, in Prometheus, the ship should have had the late 70s aesthetics and when Charlize character mentions the dated tech, the pilot should have said, "when you're stranded light years from home and can't fix your equipment with duct tape, a hammer and screwdriver on the fly, see how well your damaged high tech gets you when you don't have a fancy replacement touchscreen at the ready." Continuity restored and makes perfect sense. If I were stranded in the desert or the jungle, would I rather a cellphone with a compass app to rely on or an analog compass when dealing with hazardous unknowns?
I enjoyed every second of this in close review, and I can't wait to get my hands on the game. You made some very interesting points on how Isolation was able to successfully make the player feel like they were truly being hunted, and have to use their wit and cunning to avoid the Alien. I've already recommended to a lot of my friends that they should view your videos. not just because of your great skill of being a narrator, but because of how in depth you go into reviewing games and complete series of games. can't wait till the next video.
agreed, but on the hardest level the alien seems to be omnipotend and thus will allways know (generally) where you are. thus i never had the sence that it was difficult but fair. and therefore i can understand the sence of repetition some have. i pursonally hate overpowered enemies. especially if no explenation is given for it. why is it that a bomb hurts the alien. (it runs away implying that it is afraid of being hurt. why else would it run) yet bullets dont seem to harm it in any way. frustrating.
Hard. It never for one second felt cheap, or ever took me out of the moment because of that, as I got used to the games rhythms I gradually forgot i even was on hard, but when i turned the difficulty down I REALLY noticed a difference.
If you have it unlocked, use Nightmare mode. It's absolutely riveting. The alien is punishingly smart, will react to the most minscule of noises. Your motion tracker is barely functional and you have no map available. Crafting materials are scarce, so you will have to choose your encounters wisely. Ammo drops are so rare that it's generally inadvisable to use your weapons at all, as it can attract trouble in situations that you weren't really expecting it.
You made a comment about Dallas dying in the vent, however in the director's cut Ripley finds him alive in the ship while the self destruct sequence is going on. It was removed from the theatrical version of the movie, but provides a little bit of insight as to why they decided not to kill Dallas.
Fantastic review! I really hope to see more of these reviews. I wonder, would you ever do a thorough look at the Metal Gear Solid series or an in depth review of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (when in comes out)?
I absolutely loved the game. One of my new favorites along with the Half life games, Bioshock infinite, system shock 2 and Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl. I think it is a 10/10 game imo and one of the best horror games ever. I really enjoyed the review. It was a very well done and thoughtful review.
Actualy, we could. I've read an interview not long ago in which the developers stated that, altough Isolation wasn't as much of a critical success they wanted, they still love the game and are very proud of it, so a sequel is definetly possible, altough probably not in the immediate future.
As another thought, I'm curious on if you'd do a video on Episodic games, or just games that have similar play-style to many recent Telltale Games: Walking Dead, Jurassic Park, Back to the future, etc.
Hell, I'd actually be happy for a big overview of Jurassic Park games. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Trespasser and such. Though I know there aren't all that many "good" JP games :/
***** The fact that the Half Life team said they took a LOT of inspiration from Trespasser proves it isn't something to just be used as the butt of jokes. It's a neat little gem that just was buried under negative reviews because either most computers just couldn't run a game that massive correctly, and because it was rushed in envelopment during the crucial end. I desperately needed more time to be finished, but Dreamworks needed a profit. Man, I STILL play it. I've replayed it maybe 20+ times now, because that voice over for Anne and Hammond is goddamn stellar.
You wouldn't think that a developer whose more famous for their Turn base/Real time, strategy games and has more experience with that genre, would make a good first person shooter, but from what you shown here it look's well made. And the setting, looks absolutely gorgeous, definitely captures how 1970s popular culture viewed where we would end up in the future! Of course, Creative Assembly does have experience in making historical games which require a great deal of research, to capture the feel of the era their set in. I guess it should be no surprise they would devote the same effort to recreating the world of Alien, and all the 1970s popular culture goodness that is a part of it. So, do you recommend getting the game now. or waiting a little bit and get it a little cheaper? PS: Great review, by the way.
It depends totally on your enthusiasm level. I think it's worth paying full price, if you want to play it *now*, but patience almost always knocks off twenty bucks if you wait until the steam Christmas sales.
It's even more interesting that they've made a great FPS without having much experience in the genre, but their strategy games are often severely lacking on the strategy front.
It's not a FPS(hooter), by no means. If, then the game is a FPS(neaker). Much like the old Thief games, if you are spotted and have to, or decide to, fight, you end up being dead.
if you think about it though alien isolations alien has some pretty good and complex AI RTS/TBS games require good and complex AI in order to be a challenge to the player
Noah Caldwell-Gervais I used them for years, but a lot of games don't let you rebind the controls and have wasd for default. I just slowly grew to accept them and now I can't really go back.
***** I still use keyboard for playing and it pisses me off to no end when I cannot rebind controls to my own liking. You see, I am left handed and wasd bullshit doesn't work for me. I am using the same controls, the same bindings since the days of Doom (1) and so claim the right to be able to customize the game this little bit. The mouse and my right hand fingers on the numeric pad is my gamepad :)
Andrej Gobec Yeah I think every game should have rebindable controls no matter what, I think it's worth calling the game broken when you can't change the controls to your liking. But alas there is still a game every now and then that won't let you so I have just grown to accept wasd, I don't really mind it now, but it was hell adjusting to it.
I feel the same. Got it, played it for an hour, put it down and didn't go back for three years. The shit is terrifying. Picked it back up three days ago and haven't put it down. You can soldier through to a point where it isn't terrifying to you anymore. It's worth it, but I TOTALLY get it if you leave it alone. The shit, again, is terrifying.
Stuff like The Andromeda Strain and both versions of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers (and a few others I'm probably forgetting) predated it (1971, 1956 and 1978 respectively), but I don' think any of them left quite the same impression that Alien did on the pop culture consciousness. Or were as influential come to think of it
Thank you very much for the upload. I always enjoy your videos and really appreciate all the effort and time you put into your reviews & analyzes. Please keep up the good work. Wish you all the best. Take care. Greetings from Roland Rosumnyi;
Awesome review my friend!! I thought they did a good job with this game! Do you think you can review the Jedi Knight games? From Dark Forces to Jedi Academy?
my first game i ever started was on hard. I had for most of the game maximum items made and pre-made(spent the craftables already). I just don't think i can finish the game without dying
Oddly the Alien didn´t stop my game. i played this on "nightmare" and I managed to go as far as the android room. i couldn´t handle 8, pr was it ten, Seegson androids. One of my favorite games ever. I love hard games. They don´t make these anymore.
I've got a feeling alien isolation is a result of the unarmed missions in colonial marines where you have to sneak around with no way of killing the aliens etc.
I never felt bad about defending myself but I largely avoided getting into gunfights because of the Alien, they end up bringing it out on them and it makes my life harder >_>
i don't really get scared by watching people play games (well i used to but then i found out it was just a video game and nothing in the game is real) but jesus christ this game is so scary. the times i go to a new tab thinking i'm safe but no i'm going back in a few secs to see the person playing dies, screams, reloads a save yet i still get scared, the times the guy playing hides in the closet things and the alien comes into look and see where he is and he lives but i still get scared (sorry for the bad spelling)
I very much I agree with pretty much everything, but there was also something that feels absolutely OFF. It's the cinematics. They feel very much like modern movies which doesn't fit at all in here. When the art and sounds are Alien movie like, they could at least make them cinematics too.
I feel like all the things you said about this game WOULD be true if the game was more difficult. Played through on hard and I found the AI too predictable, hear the alien - > hide - > wait for the sound of it returning to the vents - > GO GO GO -> repeat. The first 6 hours I found to be the most effective, I only ever really got stuck on the medical bay because it was my first time seeing the alien, interacting and studying it (actually tried shooting it the first time, not smart haha). But then you get the flamethrower... suddenly the invincible being that stalked you killing you in one hit has now become the ultimate pushover. The hive should have been the scariest part of the game but it felt really rushed and the aliens didn't scare me at all considering I had stocked all my flamethrower ammo. This game has great presentation, can't fault the visual and sound design, I just feel like this game suffers from what I call "COD generation" design in that the developers were too scared too make the game actually challenging in fear of losing their casual audience and as a result, even the hardest difficulty is a pushover for the experienced gamer. Difficulty is a big part of a horror game's immersion in my opinion. TL;DR - great presentation, meh game. 6/10.
I found the difficulty sufficient. Usually, I play on hard when it comes to FPS, but Isolation was hard enough for me on medium. Of course, the sound of the Alien was the best (the only really) indicator of where that monster was at that moment, yet, it got me all too often. Also, I wouldn't call the Alien exactly "predictable", since it had it's own mind and no scripted route to walk by, as is the industry standard for such games! Instead, the beast reacted on my behavior and the noise I made - NOT on set waypoints it travelled to regularly. That alone made a great game for me. Alien Isolation had me shaking more than once and I cannot remember any other game creating an equal sense of terror in me! tl;dr: loved the game and it was REALLY frightening me at times!
![The Outer Worlds in Close Critique [Spoilers]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TpxidRlZyXc/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Outer Worlds in Close Critique [Spoilers]](/img/tr.png)
Man, you really know how to combine the intelligent tone of a professional, old-school critic with the passion of a gamer. I've never seen anything quite like it. Definitely, enthusiastically subscribed.
"A game that cares as much for its minotaur as it does for its labyrinth." I love that. Well said.
L B lol just happened to me
Noah is way before his time man.
@@scientificbrony ❤️
For me the gun is a psychological crutch for me. I'm playing the game on hard mode (as recommended by the devs) and every time I'm about to lose my nerves, knowing the giant beast could be right around the next corner, I just take out my pistol or my flamethrower and it calms me down. Even though I know the weapons have little to no affect on the creature, years of conditioning from playing FPS games has made the sight of a gun in my hands to be one of security, "I can fight back" I think even though I know I really can't. No other game has made me feel that way before, it's quite interesting. Also just wanted to say thank you to the recent uploads Noah, they're as entertaining as always!
hazeman671 this is the primary reason i like isolation as much as i do. You CAN defend yourself, to a certain degree.
Id LOVE to play other horror games like amnesia but i literally cant, it terrifies me that you cant really hide beneath stuff and there are no ways to defend yourself lol
@@theparodymonster1 Try the Frictional stuff. If you are that scared of being defenseless, that is perfectly aligned with the horror they want you to get from it.
You can do it!
Weirdly enough, I had the same feeling from a little game named Receiver. Not really a horror title nor does it try to be one, but because of the way guns work, it's terrifying to be entering a hallway with the doubt that you might screw everything up. While your gun is pretty effective, ammo is scarce, guns are realistically if unforgivably finicky to handle, and you're always one slide rack, one safety, or one magazine well away from disaster. It's such a simple, but neat idea. Instead of shying away from guns like in Amnesia, or making guns useless like in Isolation, Receiver perfectly plays up the trope of "panicking protagonist fumbles with gun and is ultimately unable to stop the threat in time due to said panic" in an organic, gameplay-driven manner. I really think something could be done with that concept, with a higher budget and more production time.
hahah i love this game "here have a handgun IT FUCKING SUCKS!!"
The game is awesome but the flamethrower is a get out of jail free card.
Even on hard, if you mess up you spray her a few times and she scurries away. I find the flamethrower deflates the tension, and has way too much ammo available.
Just found your video after 10 years haha! I'm a huge alien fan and when I first tried to play the gams back when it came out, I was so scared that I had to stop! I now have revisited the game and played Hard and now I'm playing Nightmare! I love love love the sound design, the environment, the delicate use of music at the right times - it is so sick. Great video!! There's 2 books out about it (an art book and a deep dive into how they made the game) and I hope to get both for xmas haha they are on my list!
Feast your eyes, ladies and gentlemen. As of May 19th, 2017, this is officially the best Alien sequel you will ever get.
Sigh.
2021 and it still the best
@@pathecardify Fireteam is out and Isolation is still the best
2024 hiiiii
Now we will get a sequel!! :D so excited!
"Some people complained that its monotonous, 20 hours of cat & mouse? Isn't that too much?... I feel like it was barely enough."
Amen, best review I've seen of this classic masterpiece.
This game was a fantastic love letter to the original film, right down even to the computer interfaces. I've never felt so anxious climbing through air vents before, but this matched my horror and general anxiety from watching that air vent scene in the film.
17:40 This might be the most graphically impressive corridor sequence I've ever seen in a game
_Aliens: Isolation_ looks dated in places but its yet to be surpassed in many others..
This game in VR is *incredible*
You put a lot of time into these videos. You're a very smart man...keep it up!
Wow one of my favourite youtubers likes what i like.
Александр Калашников
:D
You should atleast feature him on your channel. This dude deserves more exposure.
Jabronie Johnson :D
I love your reviews for the sheer insight and the use of language and also ... I became accustomed to getting to know games through lets play videos (some that I cannot play, some for giving me a fresh point of view).
It seems to me that's something I'd love to see you do. You clearly love playing these games and you have your own unique insight and you know game history. I think it would be really fresh seeing you do a walkthrough with your own unique commentary and than perhaps a recap and a review at the end.
just my two cents
everytime this game gets reviewed and relooked at it makes me want to replay it. truly a milestone in our medium
The sabotaged airlock encounter in the Nostromo DLC might be a direct reference to one of Alien’s infamous deleted scenes, which was cut before even being properly filmed (which is why you’ll never see it in a director’s cut). I believe it made it into the novelization, since it existed in the screenplay in some form.
Easily one of my favorite games of all time. The tone and tension are fucking perfect, both separately and in tandem. Hooolyyy shit.
And the sound design!! Brilliant. Turn down the lights, turn up the headphones, and get into it.
Agreed. Game's a timeless classic, a love letter to die-hard fans. Its perfect
You're my favourite TH-camr and game reviewer along with Matthewmatosis!
As per usual, this was a fantastic video and the regular uploads from you have been an absolute delight.
Colonel Cubbage Do you know anybody else who does similar videos like him and Matthew? I mean I've subbed over 300 channels, but I'm always on the lookout for new awesome channels. I know all the regular ones... Super Bunnyhop, Elder Geek, Analog Reviews etc. etc.
Please give me a few names, I'd really appreciate it (if you know any).
iWillWakeYouUp A great one is MrBtongue! It seems you've got a great taste of channels.
Rose Thelostone
Already know that one. He's awesome.
Know anybody else?
I got a few more if you care:
James Howell (!!! absolutely brilliant videos, a video series on TLOU, and an absolutely fantastic walkthrough for MGS3, a walkthrough like no other), The Gaming Brit, HyperBitHero, SolePorpoise, Al Russel, Grant Voegtle, and lots of others.
You should totally check them out. They are great - every single one of them.
iWillWakeYouUp Oh my god thank you. I get so engrossed in things like this, the last one I can think of is Errant Signal, he's amazing.
Rose Thelostone
Yeah he's good. :)
First review of this game i feel I agree completely with. The game is absolutely stellar and is an incredible achievement in bringing elements of older games into the modern video game world as well as replicating the source material to such a level. It also succeeds in making the to an extent limited premise constantly work for all 20 hours and it even managed to bring back the tension of the first alien encounters again in the final hours. Easily goty so far and probably my favorite video game since Hotline Miami.
Played this in VR, seems even in space, every one in the house can hear you scream
I've finally watched ALL your videos to date. Watching your growth and development really gives me hope for my own game reviews I want to start making.
What is really amazing in the game is that technical design of the minigames, vent opening etc. feels REAL. The locks/vents/terminals MAKE sense and the minigames really feel like this is how it really could be. I actually spent some time looking where all the circuitry and pipes lead after opening/shortcircuiting/hacking them and they really fuckign LEAD TO THE PLACES THEY were used to...I call that extremely brilliant and over detailed design..Kudos
Definitely agree with the rest - extremely high quality reviews full of lore that most others miss altogether. You need hella more traffic for the knowledge and effort you put into these!
Dude I love the vintage style of your in person camera segments. Top notch!
That's so homoerotic.
JustStayDown90 Oooo bb you followed me
Had to know you weren't sharing the love!
JustStayDown90 Can only share so much. :)
I think this was the first video of yours I saw a few months back. I keep coming back to your channel because you have a really cool and unique approach to game analysis. Has a lot of depth. Thanks for the videos!
Was a really well written review, keep it up! My sub counts on it
Welcome back Noah. I actually passed up this game for Shadow of Mordor. After watching your review I'm kind of regretting my choice.
I do love your longer videos and more indepth breakdowns, but this shorter review style breakdown is pretty awesome, I hope to see more of this from you in the future.
Thanks for all your hard work.
Yay new video
I had a very weird college class where the teacher talked about how she was amongst the first to see it and how she totally panicked from the chestbuster scene
***** Well scared, revolted. She has said many times in interviews that they pointed an air-jet of blood right at her which is what freaked her out. Keep in mind, that's real animal blood from the butchers that they used. In the rough cut of the CB scene you actually see her scream, panic, and stumble back, she ends up going end over end.
Veronica Cartwright was in Alien. Nancy Cartwright is in The Simpsons (she plays Bart.)
I'm certain you didn't just make this for my comment on your earlier Aliens franchise retrospective, but I appreciate it nonetheless. You succeeded in not spoiling anything, which just makes me want this game more and more.
Really enjoying your channel, always excited when you post a new video.
Fantastic review. I think you've sold me on this title.
I watched your AvP series retrospective and this review and I have to say that I am really impressed. I didn't expect such well-thought, educated and intelligent videos on TH-cam. The Theseus comparison really surprised me, I did read (and write) a bit about the Alien series but I didn't see that anywhere else.
I'm subscribing, waiting for more videos :)
Three videos in the last month, you're spoiling us man!
One of the best games ever! Love it. Still holds up.
Always happy to see a new video of yours pop up! Also, I think it'd be awesome if you did one on L.A. Noire someday.
keep doing these, if anyone ever finds this channel, theyll probably never leave it
20:03 Why did I, who is watching an essay covering a video game about an extraterrestrial monster, get jump scared by the one of the NPCs suddenly sprinting out of the fog?
Nice to see you doing a review of a current game this time. I haven't been able to really find the time to play the game much yet, but I'm really looking forward to sinking my teeth into it. It's not a game I want to play for a few minutes at a time. I have however tried it with the oculus rift the other day and it's a pretty mindblowing experience.
I remember this video from 5 years ago. I missed this channel
Love your videos.Keep up the great work.
I absolutely adore this game. (replaying at the moment)
I cannot agree more with this review, you put into words perfectly!
At 2:04: even Colonial Marines was willing to put in at least some effort to emphasize the bulky neo-what look of the marines' equipment?
+Samuel Schimmel "Vietnam" is the word you couldn't here, sorry i was the only one to reply an entire year later. lmao
+RIP In Peace Seamus Thanks!
Samuel Schimmel No problem.
Yet another video from Noah, these seem to be becoming more frequent, good.
Great review! I've enjoyed the first few hours I've put into this game but I can only take so much at a time! Even better, this review led me to all your other excellent videos; you definitely gained another viewer in me. Keep up the awesome work!
The Beatles and Alien? Perfect match!
3 videos in 1 month? I like that.
I was hoping you would review this game as I thought it was absolutely amazing. The most satisfying game I've played in a long time. I'm happy you did this.
Great stuff, as usual. Thanks !
This is a tribute to a Alien creature and one of few games aimed at mature audience. Even with full arsenal of weapons you're still supposed to go slowly and silently avoiding Alien as in first levels. Modern players who are used to online fps shooters will have a VERY hard time dealing with the creature the obvious way. Running and bunnyhopping to avoid difficult situation? Try it! ;) Alien is fast, clever, unpredictable and unforgiving. Explore Sevastopol station at your own risk or go straight from one objective to the next. Either way at some point you'll find yourself saying: I'm too scared to move further... A masterpiece of digital entertainment.
I haven't been able to dedicate many hours to the game myself, sadly, and am still stuck in Med Bay, but I am absolutely loving the tense atmosphere of this game. I think the best move Creative Assembly made was taking their time in even introducing the creature. Many games these days want to rush you through an experience, get you into the action as soon as possible, but this game wants to ease you into things.
It's a rare thing to find in games these days and appeals strongly to the original film, where it took a long time for Kane to even get facehugged, let along for the creature to descend and kill Brett. Creative Assembly wanted to build the tension, to make you wonder and expect where the creature would be coming from, until finally it drops down in a position that leaves you incredibly vulnerable.
I honestly hope this game does well and has a good long tail, because I'd not only love to see Creative Assembly do more games outside of strategy (I was also a fan of their game Viking: Battle for Asgard), but I'd love to see the AAA space acknowledge that players don't always have to be empowered for a game to sell.
Have you tried adjusting the difficulty? This isn't a game to be ashamed of playing on easy for certain segments-- the difficulties really only adjust the slack the Alien gives you about the noise you're making before it eats you, so a can you kick on hard would be heard but on easy it would be ignored. It's still hard on easy-- it's just more tolerant of mistakes.
I might, depends on how many more times I die in Med Bay, which I hear is the hardest part of the game for a while. A couple more attempts and I might just shrug and set it to easy.
Thus far some of my deaths have simply been my own fault. Tossing a noisemaker only for it to bounce harmlessly off the Xeno's head, for example.
Med bay is the hardest section of the game easily.
I'd love to hear a more in-depth analysis of LA Noire. I couldn't finish the game myself due to the frustrating interrogation gameplay and my own obsession with getting every mission perfectly, but I'd love to hear your take on it.
Ron Cobb worked a lot of interesting things into the actual design of the Nostromo which are hard to spot within the film. Things like symbols around doors indicating the atmo/gravity conditions beyond it. There's a lot of great material about it in the Quadrilogy DVD. Check it out.
Love every second of your videos by the way Noah C.
I call this game Alien: Frustration. Still, one of my favorite games of 2014.
I have only one complaint and it is small. I have played through on nightmare difficulty at least 12 times and I wish on that difficulty that button prompts could be removed and items do not highlight orange as well as see the physical items in the containers and the save box use light cues on the unit itself to tell you that you are saving. That would amp the immersion higher than any other game ever made.
I also wished Axel was in the game more, he felt like the most authentic character that would have fit in Alien or Alien 3 perfectly and I have never seen a better NPC personality in an Alien game before.
A side note, in Prometheus, the ship should have had the late 70s aesthetics and when Charlize character mentions the dated tech, the pilot should have said, "when you're stranded light years from home and can't fix your equipment with duct tape, a hammer and screwdriver on the fly, see how well your damaged high tech gets you when you don't have a fancy replacement touchscreen at the ready." Continuity restored and makes perfect sense. If I were stranded in the desert or the jungle, would I rather a cellphone with a compass app to rely on or an analog compass when dealing with hazardous unknowns?
i like these reviews. when will you make another through out look?
I enjoyed every second of this in close review, and I can't wait to get my hands on the game. You made some very interesting points on how Isolation was able to successfully make the player feel like they were truly being hunted, and have to use their wit and cunning to avoid the Alien.
I've already recommended to a lot of my friends that they should view your videos. not just because of your great skill of being a narrator, but because of how in depth you go into reviewing games and complete series of games. can't wait till the next video.
agreed, but on the hardest level the alien seems to be omnipotend and thus will allways know (generally) where you are. thus i never had the sence that it was difficult but fair. and therefore i can understand the sence of repetition some have.
i pursonally hate overpowered enemies. especially if no explenation is given for it. why is it that a bomb hurts the alien. (it runs away implying that it is afraid of being hurt. why else would it run) yet bullets dont seem to harm it in any way.
frustrating.
ok so you did do one, that's perfect !
What difficulty do people recommend for the best horror experience? I like stealth games, for the record...
Hard.
It never for one second felt cheap, or ever took me out of the moment because of that, as I got used to the games rhythms I gradually forgot i even was on hard, but when i turned the difficulty down I REALLY noticed a difference.
If you have it unlocked, use Nightmare mode. It's absolutely riveting. The alien is punishingly smart, will react to the most minscule of noises. Your motion tracker is barely functional and you have no map available.
Crafting materials are scarce, so you will have to choose your encounters wisely. Ammo drops are so rare that it's generally inadvisable to use your weapons at all, as it can attract trouble in situations that you weren't really expecting it.
You made a comment about Dallas dying in the vent, however in the director's cut Ripley finds him alive in the ship while the self destruct sequence is going on. It was removed from the theatrical version of the movie, but provides a little bit of insight as to why they decided not to kill Dallas.
Yaaay! Great to see a new video. :D
Great review! You've perfectly explained in detail all the things I loved about this game!
Excellent review
Fantastic review! I really hope to see more of these reviews. I wonder, would you ever do a thorough look at the Metal Gear Solid series or an in depth review of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (when in comes out)?
Great video as always; after those final thoughts i'm curios about your opinion on the Dead Space franchise, what do you think of those games?
I absolutely loved the game. One of my new favorites along with the Half life games, Bioshock infinite, system shock 2 and Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl. I think it is a 10/10 game imo and one of the best horror games ever. I really enjoyed the review. It was a very well done and thoughtful review.
You sound like you're a 60's tv host! how do you do it? :o
I'm curious, why did the view count for this video suddenly increase by a few thousand around January for this year?
I would love to see you do an episode/review on "Ico" or the first "Project Zero"
Yup! It is awesome! Too bad it didn't sell that well. .meaning we are not getting a sequel. .and that simply sucks. .
It was actually fairly successful. I wouldn't worry too much about a sequel; if the demand is there, we'll get one.
I love this game. We will not get a proper sequel unfortunately.
Actualy, we could. I've read an interview not long ago in which the developers stated that, altough Isolation wasn't as much of a critical success they wanted, they still love the game and are very proud of it, so a sequel is definetly possible, altough probably not in the immediate future.
That is good to hear! Thanks for the heads up.
As another thought, I'm curious on if you'd do a video on Episodic games, or just games that have similar play-style to many recent Telltale Games: Walking Dead, Jurassic Park, Back to the future, etc.
Hell, I'd actually be happy for a big overview of Jurassic Park games. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Trespasser and such. Though I know there aren't all that many "good" JP games :/
*****
The fact that the Half Life team said they took a LOT of inspiration from Trespasser proves it isn't something to just be used as the butt of jokes. It's a neat little gem that just was buried under negative reviews because either most computers just couldn't run a game that massive correctly, and because it was rushed in envelopment during the crucial end. I desperately needed more time to be finished, but Dreamworks needed a profit.
Man, I STILL play it. I've replayed it maybe 20+ times now, because that voice over for Anne and Hammond is goddamn stellar.
I love your openings.
incredible game and excellent review. Suscribed
That Beatles song at the beginning is such a perfect joke!!! :)
do you have a video about PS1 games like Alien Trilogy and Ressurection?
You wouldn't think that a developer whose more famous for their Turn base/Real time, strategy games and has more experience with that genre,
would make a good first person shooter, but from what you shown here it look's well made.
And the setting, looks absolutely gorgeous, definitely captures how 1970s popular culture viewed where we would end up in the future!
Of course, Creative Assembly does have experience in making historical games which require a great deal of research,
to capture the feel of the era their set in.
I guess it should be no surprise they would devote the same effort to recreating the world of Alien,
and all the 1970s popular culture goodness that is a part of it.
So, do you recommend getting the game now. or waiting a little bit and get it a little cheaper?
PS: Great review, by the way.
It depends totally on your enthusiasm level. I think it's worth paying full price, if you want to play it *now*, but patience almost always knocks off twenty bucks if you wait until the steam Christmas sales.
It's even more interesting that they've made a great FPS without having much experience in the genre, but their strategy games are often severely lacking on the strategy front.
It's not a FPS(hooter), by no means.
If, then the game is a FPS(neaker).
Much like the old Thief games, if you are spotted and have to, or decide to, fight, you end up being dead.
Jonny B Well if you have to be that specific fine. A first person, stealth survival/horror.
if you think about it though alien isolations alien has some pretty good and complex AI
RTS/TBS games require good and complex AI in order to be a challenge to the player
Great video - as always. BTW, game runs pretty smooth and looks good on your PC - what's your rig?
Windows 95 gaming controls? I haven't seen anybody use those in a while.
Oh yes. I never gave up on the idea that the arrow keys should move me the directions they indicate.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais I used them for years, but a lot of games don't let you rebind the controls and have wasd for default.
I just slowly grew to accept them and now I can't really go back.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais Heretic!
***** I still use keyboard for playing and it pisses me off to no end when I cannot rebind controls to my own liking. You see, I am left handed and wasd bullshit doesn't work for me. I am using the same controls, the same bindings since the days of Doom (1) and so claim the right to be able to customize the game this little bit. The mouse and my right hand fingers on the numeric pad is my gamepad :)
Andrej Gobec Yeah I think every game should have rebindable controls no matter what, I think it's worth calling the game broken when you can't change the controls to your liking.
But alas there is still a game every now and then that won't let you so I have just grown to accept wasd, I don't really mind it now, but it was hell adjusting to it.
Isolation is too damn intense for me.
I feel the same. Got it, played it for an hour, put it down and didn't go back for three years. The shit is terrifying. Picked it back up three days ago and haven't put it down. You can soldier through to a point where it isn't terrifying to you anymore. It's worth it, but I TOTALLY get it if you leave it alone. The shit, again, is terrifying.
was alien (1979) the first succesful horror/scifi hybrid movie?
Stuff like The Andromeda Strain and both versions of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers (and a few others I'm probably forgetting) predated it (1971, 1956 and 1978 respectively), but I don' think any of them left quite the same impression that Alien did on the pop culture consciousness. Or were as influential come to think of it
GSP66 Thanks dude that was very helpful!
Thank you very much for the upload.
I always enjoy your videos and really appreciate
all the effort and time you put into your reviews & analyzes.
Please keep up the good work. Wish you all the best. Take care.
Greetings from Roland Rosumnyi;
Very cool review. I was worried the game would be 90% scripted and five hours long, but you have definitely put those fears to rest.
Compared to your later videos, you sound so old school, if you know what I mean. Almost sounds like 60 minutes circa 1980.
I loved this game so much and it is exactly what an Alien game should be
whats the song from the intro?
Awesome review my friend!! I thought they did a good job with this game! Do you think you can review the Jedi Knight games? From Dark Forces to Jedi Academy?
my first game i ever started was on hard. I had for most of the game maximum items made and pre-made(spent the craftables already). I just don't think i can finish the game without dying
I loved this game. I might have to get for X1
I'm surprised on how quickly you put this out. I'd assume that a review of this length would take a month or so after release in order to complete.
Well Sevastopol was bought by Weylamd Yutani but besides that this review is on point.
very good review
Oddly the Alien didn´t stop my game. i played this on "nightmare" and I managed to go as far as the android room. i couldn´t handle 8, pr was it ten, Seegson androids. One of my favorite games ever. I love hard games. They don´t make these anymore.
this game is awsome and the dlc add ons are awsome too, specaily if your an alien fan
I've got a feeling alien isolation is a result of the unarmed missions in colonial marines where you have to sneak around with no way of killing the aliens etc.
I never felt bad about defending myself but I largely avoided getting into gunfights because of the Alien, they end up bringing it out on them and it makes my life harder >_>
That name sounds like royalty, are you royalty!?
And do you get the reference? :)
i don't really get scared by watching people play games (well i used to but then i found out it was just a video game and nothing in the game is real) but jesus christ this game is so scary. the times i go to a new tab thinking i'm safe but no i'm going back in a few secs to see the person playing dies, screams, reloads a save yet i still get scared, the times the guy playing hides in the closet things and the alien comes into look and see where he is and he lives but i still get scared (sorry for the bad spelling)
UGGGGGGGGGGGH i love your videos every single one. which includes this one
Hey Noah, what happened to your fallout videos?
The Alien never runs along the ceiling. My two cents on the matter. (Best game I've ever played)
Briliant thanks!
I very much I agree with pretty much everything, but there was also something that feels absolutely OFF. It's the cinematics. They feel very much like modern movies which doesn't fit at all in here. When the art and sounds are Alien movie like, they could at least make them cinematics too.
I feel like all the things you said about this game WOULD be true if the game was more difficult. Played through on hard and I found the AI too predictable, hear the alien - > hide - > wait for the sound of it returning to the vents - > GO GO GO -> repeat.
The first 6 hours I found to be the most effective, I only ever really got stuck on the medical bay because it was my first time seeing the alien, interacting and studying it (actually tried shooting it the first time, not smart haha). But then you get the flamethrower... suddenly the invincible being that stalked you killing you in one hit has now become the ultimate pushover. The hive should have been the scariest part of the game but it felt really rushed and the aliens didn't scare me at all considering I had stocked all my flamethrower ammo.
This game has great presentation, can't fault the visual and sound design, I just feel like this game suffers from what I call "COD generation" design in that the developers were too scared too make the game actually challenging in fear of losing their casual audience and as a result, even the hardest difficulty is a pushover for the experienced gamer. Difficulty is a big part of a horror game's immersion in my opinion.
TL;DR - great presentation, meh game. 6/10.
I found the difficulty sufficient.
Usually, I play on hard when it comes to FPS, but Isolation was hard enough for me on medium.
Of course, the sound of the Alien was the best (the only really) indicator of where that monster was at that moment, yet, it got me all too often.
Also, I wouldn't call the Alien exactly "predictable", since it had it's own mind and no scripted route to walk by, as is the industry standard for such games!
Instead, the beast reacted on my behavior and the noise I made - NOT on set waypoints it travelled to regularly. That alone made a great game for me.
Alien Isolation had me shaking more than once and I cannot remember any other game creating an equal sense of terror in me!
tl;dr: loved the game and it was REALLY frightening me at times!