Alien Isolation on GOG - gog.la/alien2 Alias Isolation - github.com/aliasIsolation/aliasIsolation/releases It's a dark and smokey game which TH-cam compression does no favors for, but it eternally looks recent to me.
This is a great game, I'm not good with horror, so i could never play it (tried it a few times, never got past the motion detector part), i'm glad some people appreciate the game.
Hey now, as an Aussie it’s not the 7ft carpet pythons that you need to worry about haha. It’s the way smaller eastern browns that give me the willies ;)
I got to learn first-hand that the Alien can get you in the early levels when I accidentally bumped the "swing wrench" button just after getting into that tram you have to wait a long time for. I hit the wall, making noise, and the Alien nearly immediately dropped from a nearby vent and bum rushed me before I could react in time to send the tram off. I didn't just shit a chicken, I shit the whole roost.
I had the same experience, I thought the game was entirely scripted so I was screwing around waiting for that tram to show up. Yeah…..next thing I knew it the alien was right on top of me and scared the crap out of me! I always hide behind those crates near the tram now, learned my lesson haha.
it must have been the learned habits of creating AI in war/civilization games applied to the Alien genre, its interesting, makes me wonder what would happen if we had more video game developers jump around genres
@@LouieCartoon strategy games require a lot more effort AI wise for unit pathing and reaction so yeah, that’s probably a good skill that translates well to other genres like horror.
During my first playthrough, I spent most of the game thinking that the alien couldn't enter the vents and I was safe there. Seeing him suddenly crawling towards me in a vent about 12 hours into the game is probably the most terrifying thing that's ever happened to me in my life.
For me, it was when Outlast's main antagonist, Chris Cheesegraterface, who had opened the locker next to where I was hiding and then left every single time I encountered him, decided to open TWO lockers around the middle of the game (which, of course, was the one I was in). When a game manages to make you think you know how the enemy works, only for it to break through your misconceptions like that is a good game indeed.
you literally see him enter and exit via the vent system, tho. When you're crawling around trying to get from point-A to point- B and not a single person or android is around, that little blip on your tracker moving around is him in the vents.
If I remember correctly the Alien actually has 2 AI's. One that always knows where you are, and one whos job is to find you and actually controls the Alien, the first one just gives it hints. That's how they deliver the combination of it being unscripted and yet still able to perform.
Oh that’s neat. In short the first AI is going “warmer” or “colder” to the Xenomorph as it tries to find you. I never managed to finish this game as much as I loved it. The xenomorph was just too damned scary for me 😅.
Marlow's encounter with the space-jockey was also key to resolving a plot-hole in the original film series. The crew of the Nostromo visited LV-426 because a signal was detected. Decades later, LV-426 was colonized without finding the derelict until it was too late. So between the two events, the signal was deactivated. Marlow turned it off.
Fun little fact: story was written by Dan Abentt. For those who do not know him he is one of the best Warhammer 40k writers. His most famous 40k novels are Gaunt's Ghosts and Eisenhorn. If you wondered why story is this long you just need to read one of his books to see.
An RTS developer and an RPG novelist. We need more developers going outside their comfort zones like this while bringing their experience and philosophy to the table in a new way. In this case, CA's understanding of AI lent itself so well to the xenomorph, and if the author is somewhat responsible for the extended length of the game, I'm very much grateful to him.
@@diomedes7971 Gaunt's Ghosts have 16 books at this moment, Eisenhorn &co have 9. Having read about half of these, I can say he is generaly a decent writer, but I would'nt concider him great. And his works in 40k are often kinda light on grimdark ( argubably one thing that makes makes 40k a 40k. If done with some restrain :P )
I can't cope with how time is flying as I age. I got into an argument last night with my best friend about whether or not Dragon Age 4 was taking too long to come out. I pointed out that it had only been a couple of years since the last game, Inquisition, had come out, and he looked at me like I'm an idiot and reminded me that it came out in 2014. I couldn't believe that it had been that long.
Seriously. I thought it was pretty funny when Mandy said his computer at the time couldn't run it at highest settings... and I'm still using my same computer from that time. :D
@@ArcaneAzmadi it gets faster... the more your recent past becomes smaller compared ratio wise to your distant past the faster each year begins to feel... for a 5 year old a single year is a 5th of their life, for an 80 year old a year is just a small 80th... as a 44 year old myself, a year now feels like what a few months used to feel like for me in my 20's and compared to how a year felt for me in my pre teens... its like times on a god damn 3x fast forward, Months feel like weeks, weeks like days... Kinda depressing... not to mention your mind starts to ignore remembering larger and larger chunks of experience in long term memory so large parts of a year simply get lost, unlike when decades younger.
@@Daniel-Munoz Hey now, Aliens was just as good as Alien and in a lot of ways I consider it a stronger film. But... yeah everything from 3 onward was just bad... Prometheus was good but it's more of a loose spinoff movie than anything else...
In college, I remember watching a friend of mine throwing out his shoulder playing this game while drunk and eating pizza because he was startled by a Working Joe. He catapulted himself backwards out of his seat. Good times.
One of my little brother and I’s favorite shared memories is when we rented this from Family Video. As I was playing on our Xbox 360, I tried to mess with him, going “oooo It’s right there!” every so often randomly. This backfired when I climbed into a vent to hide from the alien, unaware that it could hide in vents. “Oooh it’s right there! Hahah- OH SHIT IT’S RIGHT THERE-“
I used to play this game with friends and we'd switch controllers when one of us died. One of our friends, while playing, went to hide in a vent; we were unaware the alien could go into the vents you can go into. So when the alien went into his vent as he was checking the radar, he got scared so bad he literally screamed at the top of his lungs as if he was literally getting killed by the alien in real life. Like straight up "AAAAH AAAAAAAAHH AAAH!!" It was the funniest shit ever lmao
The reason the music syncs so perfectly is because it uses Wwise. Wwise can essentially link specific events in the game to specific parts of music or tracks and dynamically switch between them immediately. Some of the Total War games also use Wwise and it's why the music there so perfectly flows between ambient idle in battle, to more tense build-up during the first charge into the enemy army, into full on battle music after contact is made. All of that is done entirely unscripted obviously and the sound engine itself handles all of it based on what's actually happening in the game. So, the music changing from scary horror running away music to something more intense and action-like when you turn around to fight the alien is because the sound engine picked up your actions and is suiting it. I'm sure other audio engines also use this capability in a similar way, but I've personally modded with Wwise and it was really impressive how easy it was to use and how effective it is too.
I don't think that's exactly it, I think Mandalore was instead attributing coincidental timing to witchcraft (unless Wwise can predict player actions ahead of him)
I always found the Working Joes were scarier than anything else in the game. With the alien you know you can't kill it and need to hide. But a blank faced robot briskly walking at your proclaiming it's intentions to help you is horrifying
Fecking YES. The intro where we're in the vent and watch it killing a survivor while claiming the guy should calm down and to let it help him was, in my opinion, downright perfect.
Yeah, the very first time I ever saw the working joe murder that guy in the start of the game, I thought they were horrifying. "You are being hysterical" as he bashes his head against a wall. The game does an amazing job of displaying human emotion, panic, fear vs. the cold indifference of the xeno and androids.
i had a working joe chase me down a hallway to an elevator, the doors closed and just before the elevator began to movie it just…. clipped through the doors anyway and beat me to death. never went from terrified to just 😑 “oh okay” so fast
At one point, I set a Working Joe on fire with the flamethrower. Its response was to simply walk through the flames, sneer “Only animals fear fire” and then slowly strangle me to death. That whole scene made my blood run cold.
I absolutely love this game to death but, I can't agree enough on how stretched out it felt The entire latter half of the game was just me going, "Is this it? is it finally over..?" Only for it to be like, "Nah, bro, you thought Ellen had a rough time? We're not even CLOSE to done." in a way, it kinda made me love the game even more. It really makes you FEEL like the whole universe wants you dead.
The writer is Dan Abnett, he is mostly known for his novels set in the Warhammer 40k Sci fi setting. Which is all about a universe where everyone and everything is out to get you. I think he was a excellent choice for a game like this
@@darkbozo11 I loved Alien Isolation and played it maybe six times. It could have been twice as long, and I've have still been fully engaged. Just love exploring Sevastopol station.
Mandy managed to work on two videos at the same time while constantly switching from off the pills to on the pills and delivered them both on the same day - simply amazing.
I had no idea it was this studio's first run at a first person game. They really knocked it out of the park in a way I didn't think was possible. This will eternally be my favorite survival horror game and I am heart broken that we will likely never see a proper sequel.
It reminds me about how fallen order from respawn was their first attempt at a third person non shooter game, it has some jank but its a damn solid piece of work overall for a first attempt at a new style.
Originally it wasn't even a first person game, it was 3rd person over the shoulder because that was all the rage at the time. At one point they put together a test area with the camera moved into first person and they really liked it, but they had to fight with Sega a bit to convince them to let them shift the game entirely first person.
I have a personal pipe dream that one day they'd use this tech for a remake of Metroid Fusion. Y'know, an AI-driven SA-X. Isolation already had a pretty solid Switch port, too.
I remember being absolutely blown away by the design in this game. The UI felt so diagetic and well put together and really remains a shining example of how set design and UIs should be done.
I had to look up the word “diagetic” and I still don’t understand what it means in the context you’ve used it. Is the word “diegetic”? Even if so, I still don’t get it lol.
@@AdoreYouInAshXI It means that the UI feels as if it fits within the reality of the game itself. As an example from another game, the health bar being on your spine in Dead Space. It conveys the information to the player easily AND feels as if it exists within the game world organically, instead of being something external only for the players benefit.
Mandalore causally flexing his VHS style editing abilities. That was honestly one of the best, most authentic VFX edits I've seen. I legit felt like I was watching an old VHS.
At 35:43 he has a brief credit saying that Noodle has a setup for the VHS stuff. So he had him actually put a clip onto a VHS tape and record it, rather than just trying to emulate it with editing.
i never managed to finish this game myself, although due to no fault of its own- its just that when the alien first shows up and is hunting you, i was so utterly terrified that i turned it off and never played it myself again. hearing that sound of the alien running and chasing you in this video activated my fight or flight. its the only horror game that ive never been able to go back to, they really nailed it.
It got me good too. I think the fact i knew it wasnt a scripted jumpscare nor a basic hunting AI like in other horror games really builds on the fear. Its predictable yet so unpredictable, the alien is actually hunting.
The AI has 2 parts: "The Director" - the Director always knows where you and the alien are, but only in terms of which Room you are in. After X amount of time it will send the Alien towards your last location, depending on several parameters. "The Alien" - doesn't know your location if it's not near you. If it's in the same room as you, it will find you after X amount of time, no matter how you're hidden.
(Spoiler Warning) I always interpreted the 'tether' as there being multiple xenomorphs on the station, just in different areas. Especially since it seems like it's in places it really shouldn't be able to sometimes. Made a lot more sense as a theory by the end of the game.
That does make sense, since one xeno cant cover an entire station the size of a town, so multiple ones make you think it's the same one stalking you when instead they're doing it in shifts, covering different areas at once.
@@De-ExtinctReptile I think at the start of the game, it is a single alien, but towards the end when you discover the hive, it's clear that you're probably dealing with multiple aliens, since after its destruction they spread around the station hunting.
it's single xeno for first part until you kill it. After that, when you discover hive you will be hunted by several - and yes it's possible to see 2 xenos in same room in late game.
For someone approaching the game as an experience that tether is acceptable because it can be explained away by the xenomorph being tied to Ripley like in the movie. For someone approaching the game thinking the alien is a simulation of a xenomorph it feels completely unfair and annoying.
Let's celebrate these devs! Only through genuine love and passion for the franchise could they have made such an incredible game starting on the 360 TWO CONSOLE GENERATIONS ago.
Oh yeah, I always forget that this was a cross generation title back in 2014, like Wolfenstein: The New Order, The Phantom Pain, The Evil Within and Shadow of Mordor.
@@PeixeKing shadow of mordor wasn't actually crossgen per say. Not only is the 360/ps3 version actually HORRIBLE, but monolith was forced by WB last second to make a port. It was always meant to be a xbox one/ps4 only title according to the developpements team
Like Mandalore says, there's plenty of things the devs just barely missed the mark with, but what you get in game has a level of polish I'd love to see in the majority of games coming out now. It's a triumph of horror gaming and I hope future development teams look at this game for how to make interactive systems of conflict integrate with an immersive experience.
This game is a friggin' art piece. The amount of work the team went into to nail the Cassette Futurism feel of the original so faithfully blows my mind.
On lore stuff- I like that both eggmorphing and actuall queen are both a thing Xenomorphs do. It's just "situation sensitive"- if there are no conditions for queen to be sustainable they do eggmorphing. If the thing resists for longer- then the queen is formed, being more efficient and faster at breeding than turning "prey" into eggs. It's a bioweapon and "perfect" one at that so it deffinetly has this sort of adaptation feature to not fail right after deployment and be easier to store
@@Andlekin And fairly realistic, it reminds me of the way gender ratios in some species change in response to their environment or how some species can change gender in response to the absence of the other gender.
According to Alien TTRPG this is canon, Aliens can morph people into eggs or reproduce via the Queen From what I gather Alien TTRPG is official in terms of the canon, so yeah. I played it, and it basically states it's the way it is.
I mean here's my thought: discount Alien 3 for a moment; (i mean do people even consider it canon?) There is no special Queen Facehugger or Embryo Queens evolve from regular xenomorph drones maybe detecting suitable conditions like how clownfish switch genders I kinda wish the original Alien lore was kept where the Xenomorphs weren't designed bioweapons but were a peaceful advanced cultured civilisation with just a really horribly violent puberty stage that got wiped out leaving behind their eggs like triops. And the Space Jockey civilization just discovered them and used them as bio-weapons with the Derelict basically being an alien B-17 bomber that crashed after one of its payload prematurely hatched mainly because I like the mental image of this story is literally the equivalent of if an alien space ship came to post nuclear apocalypse earth and found a crashed bomber, picked up a nuclear bomb in the cargo hold messed around with it and ended up Demon Core-ing or HBO's Chernobyl-ing themselves th-cam.com/video/nctLdHKbJgk/w-d-xo.html EDIT: oh hey Mandy actually mentioned the bomber thing in the video
This is probably one of my favorite horror games of all time and seeing this video was a delight. One thing I remember my sibling said about it was that while, "yes the xenomorph is afraid of fire, you can very quickly help it overcome that fear"
Without a doubt the most terrifying horror game I have ever played. The atmosphere, the alien itself, the 1980s sci-fi theme, everything is amazing. I always love to talk about the A.I. The Alien uses something called a "Director", which is essentially two AI's working together. One is the A.I. of the Alien itself, and the other is a sort've invisible man guiding and monitoring the player and the Alien, if the stress/activity seems low, it'll up send the Alien to where the player is or make him fall back if he's been near the player too much. It's a brilliant system and is also used by Left 4 Dead 2. All encounters are always different and random which is perfect for a horror game.
plus the director actually tracks how you've been dealing with the alien and will unlock certain abilities for the alien to directly counter your favorite tools
Left 4 Dead is criminally underrated for its AI. This whole Director idea is really solid and something only old Valve could come up with. It's a shame there's only Alien: Isolation that actually iterated on it and used it, at least I can't really think of anything else.
I just want to talk about my favorite part of this game. Towards the end of the game you're used to seeing paranoid human survivors who shoot at everything in sight. It's a station full of conflict. But then you get to a small room with a couch and a viewport with view of the planet. There's just one lone human survivor just sitting on the couch and staring out the window. He knows he's going to die and is choosing to accept his death in peace.
Around a year ago I suggested this game for Mando via email, he replied and said it was already on his list. Today is the day and, sad to say this is the best thing to happen to me this year. Thank you MANDO
Honestly, one of the best things about this game is the fact that so many people can play it and have different experiences. I know the AI can be a bit flakey at times but the fact that it can take so many variables into account and not become a complete mess is amazing. There are some good articles out there interviewing the creators about all the things the AI does and take into account.
"Not become a complete mess"... lol, are we talking about the same game? Alien Isolation's dogshite Artificial Idiot is THE worst one in any game i have played... well, probably ever in my life.
@@NekoiNemo Not sure if this is hyperbole or if you were born a few weeks ago. Well done, you've proved to the entire comment section that you're smarter than an intentionally handicapped AI from a videogame released in 2014, we're so proud son. Sure, it uses some old tricks and has some obvious gaps between scripted sections and emergent gameplay but "THE worst one in any game I have ever played" just reveals that you're overly salty and still haven't beaten the safe haven map (me neither, stage 10 is kicking my arse) OR haven't played any first person shooter or strategy game with bots/campaign released in the last 20 years. There are far worse A.Is in video games, plenty of releases from the past 5 years that reveal the ignorance in your comment. Besides, it has to be somewhat stupid to produce tense moments of "OH MY GOD HE'S STANDING RIGHT BESIDE MY LOCKER OH DEARY ME WHAT SHALL I DO", given that the xenomorph is literally being fed your exact location at every point in the game. It might not be as smart as the marketing team said, but it's still a very capable videogame nemesis; albeit one that is tuned for tense gameplay rather than an impossible nemesis (otherwise the already 20hr long campaign would bloat further and everybody would be too frustrated to finish it in the intended timeframe).
When I was a game dev student, I suggested we do our group project about Alien Isolation. 5 grown adults were put through the ringer... I was the only one that finished the game before we presented our "feature presentation" on it. This game is a jewel of game design and master class in tension/horror building
@@wicked5999 Somehow this is very accurate while being hilarious. I have no fear in horror games, i rarely get startled, most of these games feel very poorly designed to me, lack real tension, the outlast series really didnt make me feel anything... Yet, isolation was so stressfull until you got some means of pushing the xeno away i kept telling myself "why is my butt clenched, and why has it been THAT clenched for 30 minutes ? Is this why i play games ? To muscle my ass and feel terrible while just watching a flat window into the void ? Had to do small sessions for the first time in my life to keep my ass and my mind from solemn soreness.
It's a totally different type of game and if you go into it saying "this is going to be shit because it's on a phone" you're certainly going to agree with yourself and decide that it's shit, but there's a short (hour or two) phone game that acts as a mini pseudo-sequel. There's not much to it, but it's only a few bucks and it's the only phone game I didn't uninstall in disgust after about 5 minutes of playing. For what it is, it's very well-made IMO. It's called Alien Blackout or something and I played it on an Android phone like... dunno, 4 years ago.
One thing I always thought about with the computers and controls used in the world of Alien - in space the more simplified approach would actually make sense. Complex electronics could be more easily damaged by electro magnetic fields. So in some strange way that actually seemed more realistic to me than the hyper complex control systems I've seen in other science fiction. I do realize they were using 70s tech for the movies so that wasn't their reasoning - but it didn't feel to me like the tech was outdated if you get what I mean.
I've heard also that miniaturization is really costly process, so maybe solution for them is to throw all those cheap resources from space minning into big sturdy cheap computers.
Another thing is that in space it's really hard to get rid of heat, as there's no atmosphere to absorb the heat, it has to radiate the heat like the Sun. So using shitty, low power, low heat computers would be ideal as opposed to, say, a 3080 setting the ship or station on fire or eats up all the electricity that's being generated. Sure they might take up a lot of space, but well, you're in space, there's so much room to build a big o'l computer. Not to mention it's probably cheaper to build a factory producing these weaker computers than getting all the tech and expertise to build a stronger computer. Also no gravity means less stress on components means you can cheap out on things like durability and general toughness.
This is definitely one of the best horror games I've played imo. And we will most likely never see such a faithful recreation of the original movie in video game ever again.
25:22 *Thank you!* I swear, 95% of _all_ reviewers, letsplayers and general gaming content creators get this wrong _all the time_ It drove me almost crazy these past few years whenever it came up. _"Make sure to literally have your Motion Sensor up AT ALL TIMES!"_ was one of the highlights
Mandalore echoed a strong sentiment I had with the Alien being terrifying. Suddenly hearing it break out into a sprint with it's loud footsteps was how I first encountered the Alien in this game. It's one of the few times I've frozen in fear (legs like jelly) in a videogame before (maybe next to the doll house in Resident Evil Village). I love horror games so I laughed maniacally afterwards because I loved how strongly that moment got me. I live fully for horror games to constantly challenge my emotions and Isolation will be one of my favourite memories playing it.
I actually died to the alien at the first possible opportunity before the tram when I played the game for the first time. When your NPC friend got snatched by it I thought it had been alerted and I needed to run away, but running makes noise that can quickly attract it. I may have actually died a few times before I realized that your ally being eaten didn't actually mean you were in immediate danger and proceeded down to the tram quietly.
The only game where I got scared and hurt myself in real life trying to get away. It wasn't even the alien or the facehuggers, though they did get me good dozens of times. It was the part where the train flies overhead that scared the absolute crap out of me.
I actually predicted that moment. What scared me was when you walk into a room and then there's a sudden explosion. It's the part where you are using yourself as a bait and lure the xenomorph to an airlock. Even after I played it multiple times, for some stupid reason it kept scaring me .
I know why the alien keeps patrolling an area. It is because it is walking over oxygen canisters. Those things make noise so it thinks you are making noise. I seem to recall they can be shot to explode too but I try not to make noise which is why I noticed it. Certain rooms have a lot of canisters and if you sorta walk/bump into them and they start rolling, that's like a wrench hit in loudness.
Those creepy 'Working Joes' are an absolute work of art!! They scare the hell out of me almost as much as the main star of the show! Those eyes, the way they move and even that cold, dead voice!
the crazy part about this game is when you look at the logic they made for the aliens AI director. it's actually insane to look at. it really is probally one of the better alien games that captures the franchise well.
Yeah, I think Isolation has one of the best AI in games. It often feels like it's a real creature and not just an NPC, although it definitely also still has its shortcomings.
Me seeing it and doing UE5 stuff as a hobby: I wonder if you can bend the Black Board AI design that far lol, I guess you can but you would need to write A LOT of it by hand.
@@rafox66 Yeah overall I think the AI is incredible but sometimes how random it is just makes it kind of annoying. You know I don't need it to walk back and forth in some set pattern like most stealth games but it's just a pain in the ass when the Xeno suddenly goes in a random direction and then you get ganked and have to replay a whole section for the third time, just because the AI randomly done something different. On paper that's so damn cool but in practice it's a bit annoying at times.
I know it’s not what you meant, but the mobile game Alien Blackout acts as a sequel to the story and is pretty cool. It’s just a completely different style of game
I'm happy it was a commercial disappointment. I don't live in a world where a sequel exists and a bunch of low standard gamers, coping and acting like that it's a masterpiece. Every cheap trick in the book to artificially extend play time is here
@@MellowFungus Sounds like you're the one coping at one of the best horror games of all time and downright the most atmospheric game ever made, period. Fact of the matter is it sold badly because most "gamers" are low attention span zoomers and millenials who need to be actively pandered to if you want to actually make money in this wretched pisspit of an industry. And the fact that Alien Isolation raised a fat middle finger to this new age trope by itself makes it ten times better.
It says a lot about how great this game is that even just the xenomorph jumping at the footage gave me a start and brought back flashbacks. The best horror game ever made, IMO.
@@bushmonster1702 and you have to use the valve index or at least a headset with large fov to see your detector easily. This game in VR is just insane. The alien nest was so nightmarish
@@153ridzzzz I remember the medical facility is where I started closing my eye just before getting killed. It was just to much at some point. But what a trip. I finished the game entirely in VR. I strongly recommend
I had to pause to get up to get more rum and I noticed that you blurred her feet at 1:30 and that was a level of amusing I wasn't ready for. You are an editing inspiration to us all.
there’s something about the visuals of games from 2014 to 2016 that have made them age a lot better than other periods. The artists of that time were doing something really well to the products they were making.
Star Wars Battlefront 2015, for all its flaws, still looks amazing, and I think it captures the look and feel of the original trilogy almost as well this game does for Alien.
This is the only horror game where grown ass me had actual nightmares of after playing it. The tension is relentless. Never played another game quite like it.
just wanna say, bc i’ve never seen anyone mention it. but your captions are really good, ik that’s a weird compliment but yours are rlly descriptive and helpful
I think Axel is a good addition to the story. People always feel more comfortable in company, and you are kind of lulled into a false sense of security before the decent alone. Great video as always 👌 *chef kiss*
Also worth noting that more casual players would likely not pick up all the notes and voice logs and may have less experience with the mechanics of survival-horror games, so having Axel give a quick run-through is useful insurance in that regard
That kind of thing is in almost every horror game actually. Giving you a secure spot or company for a short while before taking it away from you. The "hubs" in Amnesia TTD and Outlast for example. They make you feel safe for a short while, then you progress and it puts the pressure back on you, and you feel it heavier *because* you have been given that break. It's like that "putting a frog in boiling hot water vs putting a frog in warm water and slowly heating it up" thing. The game takes you out of the boiling water to give you a rest, and in the process breaks your developed resistance to fear. Then it throws you back in.
I absolutely love the ernesty at the start of these going over the technical issues and fix ups. Like hey, you deserve to enjoy the game, heres some things that may get in your way. Its so nice to know in advance.
Personally I think they mostly added Axel to give you a little bit of false security if you were me, a 15 year old in a dark room looking for literally anything as a saving grace lol. When I was younger I cannot explain the dread that everything in this game made me feel because it has never been reproduced, but having Axel around made me feel safer in those few moments than I have ever felt again playing this game, I didn't give a fuck what he was saying cus he had a gun and he was on my side. I'm sure it was because he was some sort of order amongst all the chaos even thought it was tiny to younger me going through for the first time, if Axel was in front of me telling me what to do it meant the alien couldn't appear from the abyss and karate chop out my carotid artery (right?) and that is relative safety for alien isolation even if it is false lol. Works really well when the alien ends up steve irwin-ing the shit out of him, essentially blowing out my nightlight and sending me straight into 'cowabunga it is mode' A.K.A the good ole' Joestar secret technique. Needless to say I died a lot that night. This is a huge bias considering if you're not a 15 year old coward playing for the first time it's probably just going to be exactly what you said, but for me it was sort of a, 'welcome to the jungle' moment. I think this was the first horror game I decided to actually beat as well so more bias lol.
I was 17 when this game came out, and while this was my first real horror game as well, I was already a huge fan of the Alien universe. In fact, Alien was the first horror movie I ever watched as a kid- rented it from my local Block Buster. I had a pretty good idea what I was in for, but it was all new to me. When Axel guided me around the tutorial area, I appreciated the handholding as I knew I'd probably be all on my own soon- that "welcome to the jungle" idea you mentioned. As a character he wasn't violent or malicious, he was scared out of his mind and trying to survive. He had a convincingly human reaction to the whole situation in front of him, and his treatment of Ripley spoke of a genuinely paranoid and isolated man. I especially appreciated how he warmed up to Ripley just a little bit before he died. He tried to make Ripley understand the gravity of the situation they were both in now. He wanted her to make it out, but she needed to accept a grim reality first. While he was shortlived, I enjoyed his company. His departure not only helped to set the stage for how I would need to play the game, but also the tone of the game: being alone. Deprivation of the human element is what makes most horror so compelling, and by taking away a character in the new, main setting of the story establishes that survival is all on the player. Glad I wasn't the only one who enjoyed Axel!
Don't worry, it's absolutely impossible for a human to be unbiased. Being unbiased for a human just means your putting both opinions forward, not that you don't have an opinion. Even if you have 0 fucks about something, you still have an opinion on it, which means your not completely unbiased because that's impossible
Was there not a setting in which the alien in the game could detect your real voice if you got too startled? Pretty awesome game honestly, even with the flaws. As a massive Alien/Aliens fan, this was a massive love letter.
I remember watching a video of a guy using that feature on stream then giggled because of chat. He was hiding under the table in front of the Alien when it happened.
@@camblongkaras782 The console versions had some cool features that sadly the PC version never got. The PS4 had controller lightbar sync with the motion sensor and was colored green. Sounds like the Kinect on Xbox had the leaning plus alien able to hear your voice.
I actually really liked that the story just wouldn't freaking end. Because it's like a nightmare that won't end, you know? You just want it to end, but it won't stop. The shame is that the horror element wears off. But I personally never really thought this game was strong in the horror sense. It was more of a tense game, if that makes sense, not scary. I wasn't scared so much as I was anxious. And I think the game did keep its tension to the end.
I got to the point that I was no longer scared by the alien... just frustrated/annoyed. After that the game lost its appeal. That was 8 years ago. Maybe I'll pick it up again some time. It was a good game, no question there.
Btw great thanks for subtitling stuff really well so people with audial limitations can get the vibe of this great content. Learned how welcome but easily overlooked aspect that can be when working as software developer. You rock Mandalorian.
Something I really love about Alien Isolation that I've never heard anyone talk about is how it enhances your viewing of the first film. It gives a you a newfound respect for the crew of the Nostromo and you get a much better idea of what it was like for them with the Alien on board.
Playing games for a good 35 of my 40 years. Have played thousands of games, have completed hundreds. And Isolation makes my top 10 favourite ever. Delighted to see this on my notifications.
@@badbadman9412 Deus Ex (original), Half Life 1, 2, and Episodes, Elder Scrolls Morrowind, Final Fantasy VII (original), Mass Effect trilogy, Resident Evil 2 (original), Metal Gear Solid, Prey (2017), Knights of the Old Republic 1/2. Not exactly 10 as I've included some series where multiple games cover the same story. What about yours?
For my top 10s for the time being (my preferences change depending on, say, mood) and since Anthony mentioned some of them (so I won't mention them out of avoiding redundancy), here are these: - a lot of Star Wars Legends games, ranging from Star Wars: TIE Fighter and X-Wing Alliance; the Dark Forces Saga (basically, Dark Forces, Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II+Mysteries of the Sith, Jedi Outcast, and Jedi Academy); Episode I: Racer; Battlefront 2004 and II 2005; Republic Commando; and Empire at War+Forces of Corruption (with mods like Thrawn's Revenge to spice things up) - FreeSpace 2 (with mods like FS Port+Silent Threat: Reborn, Derelict, and Blue Planet) - Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (with the Basic Unofficial Patch) - Homeworld 1 (Classic or Remastered with the Players Patch, I don't care) and Cataclysm/Emergence; might have to try out Deserts of Kharak again - Battlezone '98+The Red Odyssey Redux and II: Combat Commander - Splinter Cell 1 (I recommend the GOG release for the DLC missions, plus some fanpatches so to restore lighting and stuff) and Chaos Theory; Pandora Tomorrow is woefully absent due to it being abandonware - Project Wingman - Psychonauts 1 and 2; haven't played the VR-exclusive In the Rhombus of Ruin yet - The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (with the Ultimate Talkie Patch), Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge - Special Edition, The Curse of Monkey Island, and the recent Return to Monkey Island - Fable+The Lost Chapters
I really enjoyed the section where you describe how much detail was poured into the level design. Without having seen the movie I don't think I'd be able to *fully* appreciate it, but it definitely made me watch the rest of the review in full screen to get whatever detail TH-cam left intact. I also really appreciated the part where you went over the limited facial animations and how it was probably an intentional and wise choice to pour that budget into other areas of the game, which is something I probably wouldn't have thought about. Great review!
There's no retro-futuristic aesthetic quite like it. It's as if the 60s/70s Apollo program kept going, and didn't even consider stopping at the moon. Humans became an interstellar civilization on the backs of cassette tapes.
4:00 Fun fact, the most popular VHS/CRT effect filter was also created by digitally recording a signal from a couple old tape players which were subjected to miscellaneous abuse (magnets, rubbing stuff onto the tape, fiddling with cables and so on). You just can't beat the REAL technical limitations when it comes to these things...
This game is an absolute master class in tension. A big complaint I see people making is how much progress they lose when you die, but I actually like that. The relief you feel when you finally make it to a save is immense.
Seriously! My friends and I got it on sale some weeks ago, and we've been binging it ever since. It's got that perfect mix of good gameplay, engaging character customisation, and fun/mockable story :D
I find it that main problem with getting someone to try it, is can't find proper words to convey how good of an experience it is, without spoiling it or giving unrealistic expectations. Not to mention you can't really talk about story without going into spoilers territory. It's really fun though.
2:57 Love Anthony Howell’s VA work. He voiced Morgott in Elden Ring and Fourchenault in Final Fantasy XIV. Always a pleasant surprise to hear him pop up in a game.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the recovered vr mode that modders patched back in. It is a bit jank, but works with motion controls which is more than a lot of official vr ports, and my god if you've never seen it the size of the alien is so damn intimidating. Can't recommend this enough if you've got a headset and don't have anything breakable in range when you panic and try to physically run away
Don't feel bad, it is REALLY long. It took me over a year to finish this game, and I had to reinstall it twice because I kept stopping and uninstalling the game to make more space on my hard drive. Eventually I would reinstall the game and come back to it, only to play for another 10 hours and get bored. Think it took like 30-40 hours for me to finish it? So about 10-12 hours every installation lol
One thing that always sold the atmosphere for me wasn't the loud, bombastic moments. It's those quiet moments when you're clearing an area of resources knowing full well that it's only quiet where you are because a 10 foot tall monster just got done making everyone there it's midnight snack. Great game.
I remember watching a Let's Play of this game around the time it released, and I remember also thinking "jesus man this game just keeps going" as I kept finding more and more episodes of the playthrough.
I've loved the idea of Alien Isolation for so long (way too scared to ever play it) and I'm really happy that you also had background information about the game that I'd never heard of. Knowing that they had access to concept art, the actual sound banks, and probably more, is very cool. Also: HOW THE FUCK DID CREATIVE ASSEMBLY MAKE THIS GAME The pipeline of Total War strategy to Alien survival horror is insane.
17:17 nice Mandalore branded Easter egg there. Every electrocution in a game I expect to hear marv screaming “That would be funny” No it wouldn’t. :P That first medical area with the alien was one of those “it just wouldn’t leave” moments for me. It was very intense and memorable but it took way too long because the thing wouldn’t leave me alone.
This is my favourite horror game of all time! I love the fact people still play it, make videos on it and share there experiences. This review was well edited and entertaining
You mention at 27:00 that there are mods to remove the tether. I did just this and found it really improved the game. It's true you see less of the Alien and can get into situations where you have basically avoided it for most of that level. To me, that was a reward for playing particularly carefully- and if I lowered my guard, the ambushes this thing would pull off were so much worse. Funny- you also mention that bumping items off tables doesn't attract the alien. I think you're right- that said, I didn't know that *at the time* and that was so much worse. Brilliant game, easily the scariest thing I've played- but over-long and lacking in complexity when it comes to the environment and puzzles. Something closer to the System Shock 2 it was trying to emulate would have been amazing. If a second game ever did come out, I'd have to get it straight away.
One of the main things I remember about the backlash to this game was RLM's horrendous Previously Recorded show, where they had some really bizarre takes about this game like claiming the AI wasn't actually dynamic, or that Metroidvania-style level design with backtracking to previous areas with new items to unlock doors was bad design (have any of those guys ever played another survival horror game?)
I adore Redlettermedia, but was the first and only time I watched a Pre-Rec video. They had only just started out IIRC, but it completely put me off for life. Absolutely one of the worst takes I've ever seen.
That's probably for the best, working in a hospital myself I wouldn't be excited about the tidal wave of heart attack patients from people who played the VR version of that game.
@@CollinMcLean Yeah, I remember the famous tidal wave of heart attack patients when Resident Evil 7 came out on PSVR. It was brutal. But seriously, if VR horror games would actually cause heart attacks, there would already by a media frenzy and moral panic about it. Luckily, they don't.
This game is a damn gem. From the plot, environment, sound, level design, visuals and gameplay, It was just a blast. Such a damn good horror game done right. Would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Horror/Aliens Movie or Lore.
This is by far the most "to the point" and professional game review EVER. So thank so much for this, and for sharing this passion with us!! This game was absolutely incredible... I'd pay hundreds of dollars to see some sort of remake (with improved graphics and improved AI, to make it even creepier and scarier). By the way, it's kind of funny, but this game at the time (and many years after I had played it) gave me some of the most timeless horrifying nightmares I've ever dreamt in my entire life. I had about 6 hyper-realistic, absolutely nerve-racking nightmares with the Alien as portrayed in Alien Isolation, that I will never ever forget... So yeah, this game was, and still is good to put it lightly..
Seriously, I don't know what engine this game was developed on but its an absolute technical marvel. When it first launched I played it on my dads 2008 Macbook Pro and was able to run it on high settings locked 30FPS.
This game was surely way ahead of its time. The AI was absolutely fantastic which really made you feel tense all the time and the sound design is one of the best I have ever experienced. Add to this the visuals the game offers and you will know how much of a must play experience this game offers. Sad that since then we have had barely any good games.
And playing it with the VR mod it's a whole new experience. Seeing it all if you really are there AND with the DLCs you can be on the Nostromo. Just amazing in VR.
Can be played from start to finish. But it's gamepad or m/k only. Or motion controllers as emulated gamepad. Sadly he never finished the mod to fully support motion controllers. Nevertheless it's an amazing experience. And a VR headset is worth it for all the vr mods out there. If you want a glimps you can check my channel but it's in german.
@@DetectiveOlivaw Stable but incompatible with alias isolation. Those jaggies he mentioned become really apparent in VR but fortunately with the game being so dark it is only really noticeable with light surface borders in a black background. The creator of the VR mod said he was okay to let out the source code of his mod if he cant be bothered to develop it further but never did with the claim that it is full of spaghetti code that needs cleaning up. I guess he is too embarrassed for other programmers to see the various commented scrapped sections and janky obscure workarounds that just work. A pity really, we could have alias isolation and motion controls modded into mother VR by now.
I adore this game, and one of the things I love most is the adoration it gets from other people. I know on release it was pretty polarising but I think it's aged so well and the fact people still love and gush over it whenever it's mentioned really warms my heart. I hope the devs who worked on it are proud of what they made, because it's a masterpiece in my opinion.
I remember my one big "oh that's disappointing" moment with the alien came when I was in an area with two distinct sides. And I realized no matter how stealthy I was, how slow I moved, when I went from one side of the area to another, the alien would immediately jump into a vent and come out into the one I was in. Even if it hadn't spotted me at all it knew which side I was on and would go there just to make sure I was always having to sneak. Amazing game but that one moment has always bugged me.
2 ปีที่แล้ว +7
Didn't knew your channel. Love how in depth you go on these reviews, really interesting. I really like the slow pace and how you take your time to explain things and how you keep putting footage of what you're talking about with no commentary on top to hear things how they are.
Alien Isolation on GOG - gog.la/alien2
Alias Isolation - github.com/aliasIsolation/aliasIsolation/releases
It's a dark and smokey game which TH-cam compression does no favors for, but it eternally looks recent to me.
Looks decent? Or recent? Looking forward to the vid btw
are you the misterious druid knight?
Are you using graphic mods?
This is a great game, I'm not good with horror, so i could never play it (tried it a few times, never got past the motion detector part), i'm glad some people appreciate the game.
The courage cat theme is greatly appreciated at 25:00
I'm an Australian Electrician. And this game really nails the feel of working in someone's roof after finding a 7ft long snake skin.
Reminds me of the motorcyclist that found a spider in his helmet. On the freeway. At 85mph.
@@pob_42 good God thats terrifying.
Hey now, as an Aussie it’s not the 7ft carpet pythons that you need to worry about haha. It’s the way smaller eastern browns that give me the willies ;)
The idea of living in a place with venomous car-door dwelling spiders scare me
What does it mean if the snake skin is still hissing at me?
I got to learn first-hand that the Alien can get you in the early levels when I accidentally bumped the "swing wrench" button just after getting into that tram you have to wait a long time for. I hit the wall, making noise, and the Alien nearly immediately dropped from a nearby vent and bum rushed me before I could react in time to send the tram off. I didn't just shit a chicken, I shit the whole roost.
Impressive
@@Jtoob-z5n Sometimes I surprise even myself.
Dude same
Absolutely my experience too.
I had the same experience, I thought the game was entirely scripted so I was screwing around waiting for that tram to show up. Yeah…..next thing I knew it the alien was right on top of me and scared the crap out of me! I always hide behind those crates near the tram now, learned my lesson haha.
To this day it’s crazy to me that it took Creative Assembly, a strategy game developer, to make one of the best alien games.
it must have been the learned habits of creating AI in war/civilization games applied to the Alien genre, its interesting, makes me wonder what would happen if we had more video game developers jump around genres
Angry Joe lol
@@LouieCartoon strategy games require a lot more effort AI wise for unit pathing and reaction so yeah, that’s probably a good skill that translates well to other genres like horror.
@@GrippeeTV and the unit pathing in shogun 2 still fucks up on my end lmao
Its also one of the best horror games ever.
During my first playthrough, I spent most of the game thinking that the alien couldn't enter the vents and I was safe there. Seeing him suddenly crawling towards me in a vent about 12 hours into the game is probably the most terrifying thing that's ever happened to me in my life.
For me, it was when Outlast's main antagonist, Chris Cheesegraterface, who had opened the locker next to where I was hiding and then left every single time I encountered him, decided to open TWO lockers around the middle of the game (which, of course, was the one I was in). When a game manages to make you think you know how the enemy works, only for it to break through your misconceptions like that is a good game indeed.
I kind of learned the opposite attitude: If it was in the vents, I was safe so long as I shut the fuck up and didn't make noise.
Haven't you ever seen an Alien movie? The vents belong to the xenomorphs!
you literally see him enter and exit via the vent system, tho. When you're crawling around trying to get from point-A to point- B and not a single person or android is around, that little blip on your tracker moving around is him in the vents.
@@batalorian7997 lol I was thinking the same thing
"Beyond just being unnecessary, it's redundant."
what a beautiful sentence
similar energy to Yahtzee's "That's not just idle fact, it's cold hard speculation!"
To not appreciate that wording would be both difficult, and impossible.
'It's like poetry. It rhymes.'
I’m somewhat of a grammar nazi and I didn’t even catch that. 😂
Dont get it, arent redundant and unnecessary basically the same?
If I remember correctly the Alien actually has 2 AI's. One that always knows where you are, and one whos job is to find you and actually controls the Alien, the first one just gives it hints. That's how they deliver the combination of it being unscripted and yet still able to perform.
Which is honestly a pretty clever way to pull it off
Oh that’s neat. In short the first AI is going “warmer” or “colder” to the Xenomorph as it tries to find you. I never managed to finish this game as much as I loved it. The xenomorph was just too damned scary for me 😅.
This is literally how every NPC AI works.
@@igorigor3960 I'm pretty sure it isn't
@@igorigor3960 it's literally not.
Marlow's encounter with the space-jockey was also key to resolving a plot-hole in the original film series. The crew of the Nostromo visited LV-426 because a signal was detected. Decades later, LV-426 was colonized without finding the derelict until it was too late. So between the two events, the signal was deactivated. Marlow turned it off.
Ooooh, that's interesting. In the world of Alien, always leave it to humans to fuck everything up beyond all comprehension.
So, is this game canon?
@@kaizokuAUTO always has been, sadly even colonial marines is also canon according to Ridley Scott
Quick! To alienpedia!
@Josias Lourenço REAL
Fun little fact: story was written by Dan Abentt. For those who do not know him he is one of the best Warhammer 40k writers.
His most famous 40k novels are Gaunt's Ghosts and Eisenhorn. If you wondered why story is this long you just need to read one of his books to see.
@@diomedes7971 Yep, 8 books to be exact (eisenhorn trilogy, ravenor trilogy, and the yet unfinished bequin trilogy), plus some short stories.
Dan Abnett*
An RTS developer and an RPG novelist. We need more developers going outside their comfort zones like this while bringing their experience and philosophy to the table in a new way. In this case, CA's understanding of AI lent itself so well to the xenomorph, and if the author is somewhat responsible for the extended length of the game, I'm very much grateful to him.
@@diomedes7971 Gaunt's Ghosts have 16 books at this moment, Eisenhorn &co have 9. Having read about half of these, I can say he is generaly a decent writer, but I would'nt concider him great. And his works in 40k are often kinda light on grimdark ( argubably one thing that makes makes 40k a 40k. If done with some restrain :P )
Oh yeah Eisenhorn is quite good that would explain a lot
I still cannot believe this game is 8 years old... It looks so good and was so good mechanically/story wise it's hard for me to realize
I can't cope with how time is flying as I age. I got into an argument last night with my best friend about whether or not Dragon Age 4 was taking too long to come out. I pointed out that it had only been a couple of years since the last game, Inquisition, had come out, and he looked at me like I'm an idiot and reminded me that it came out in 2014. I couldn't believe that it had been that long.
Seriously. I thought it was pretty funny when Mandy said his computer at the time couldn't run it at highest settings... and I'm still using my same computer from that time. :D
@@ArcaneAzmadi Let me guess, you are late 20s or early 30s?
@@ngastakvakis4425 Older.
@@ArcaneAzmadi it gets faster... the more your recent past becomes smaller compared ratio wise to your distant past the faster each year begins to feel... for a 5 year old a single year is a 5th of their life, for an 80 year old a year is just a small 80th... as a 44 year old myself, a year now feels like what a few months used to feel like for me in my 20's and compared to how a year felt for me in my pre teens... its like times on a god damn 3x fast forward, Months feel like weeks, weeks like days...
Kinda depressing... not to mention your mind starts to ignore remembering larger and larger chunks of experience in long term memory so large parts of a year simply get lost, unlike when decades younger.
It felt like a love-letter to the original film which is all most people are asking for out of a movie-game.
Seriously. Feels like a better sequel to the original movie than the actual sequels themselves.
Couldn't have said it better myself. This passion project is the polar opposite of mass-market movie games.
@@Daniel-Munoz Aliens is one of my favorite movies. But you are correct this game is a much better sequel to the first movie.
@@Daniel-Munoz Hey now, Aliens was just as good as Alien and in a lot of ways I consider it a stronger film.
But... yeah everything from 3 onward was just bad... Prometheus was good but it's more of a loose spinoff movie than anything else...
@Bread And Circuses Just thought it sounded cool lol didn't know it had religious significance until years after picking it
In college, I remember watching a friend of mine throwing out his shoulder playing this game while drunk and eating pizza because he was startled by a Working Joe. He catapulted himself backwards out of his seat.
Good times.
One of my little brother and I’s favorite shared memories is when we rented this from Family Video. As I was playing on our Xbox 360, I tried to mess with him, going “oooo It’s right there!” every so often randomly. This backfired when I climbed into a vent to hide from the alien, unaware that it could hide in vents.
“Oooh it’s right there! Hahah- OH SHIT IT’S RIGHT THERE-“
I used to play this game with friends and we'd switch controllers when one of us died. One of our friends, while playing, went to hide in a vent; we were unaware the alien could go into the vents you can go into. So when the alien went into his vent as he was checking the radar, he got scared so bad he literally screamed at the top of his lungs as if he was literally getting killed by the alien in real life. Like straight up "AAAAH AAAAAAAAHH AAAH!!" It was the funniest shit ever lmao
@@dominokos that made me laugh
Kek
Jumpscares never bugged me I just got angry cursing out loud when the alien catches me
The reason the music syncs so perfectly is because it uses Wwise. Wwise can essentially link specific events in the game to specific parts of music or tracks and dynamically switch between them immediately. Some of the Total War games also use Wwise and it's why the music there so perfectly flows between ambient idle in battle, to more tense build-up during the first charge into the enemy army, into full on battle music after contact is made. All of that is done entirely unscripted obviously and the sound engine itself handles all of it based on what's actually happening in the game. So, the music changing from scary horror running away music to something more intense and action-like when you turn around to fight the alien is because the sound engine picked up your actions and is suiting it.
I'm sure other audio engines also use this capability in a similar way, but I've personally modded with Wwise and it was really impressive how easy it was to use and how effective it is too.
I don't think that's exactly it, I think Mandalore was instead attributing coincidental timing to witchcraft (unless Wwise can predict player actions ahead of him)
Do you know any tutorials for Wwise? I always wanted to give the Romans Latin voice lines in Total War Rome and Attila
I have seen the word Wwise often when starting a game. This is the first time I had a clue what it is. Thank you.
What games did you mod with it?
I always found the Working Joes were scarier than anything else in the game. With the alien you know you can't kill it and need to hide. But a blank faced robot briskly walking at your proclaiming it's intentions to help you is horrifying
Fecking YES. The intro where we're in the vent and watch it killing a survivor while claiming the guy should calm down and to let it help him was, in my opinion, downright perfect.
Yeah, the very first time I ever saw the working joe murder that guy in the start of the game, I thought they were horrifying.
"You are being hysterical" as he bashes his head against a wall. The game does an amazing job of displaying human emotion, panic, fear vs. the cold indifference of the xeno and androids.
i had a working joe chase me down a hallway to an elevator, the doors closed and just before the elevator began to movie it just…. clipped through the doors anyway and beat me to death. never went from terrified to just 😑 “oh okay” so fast
the robots are the least scary thing, they are a joke, kids
At one point, I set a Working Joe on fire with the flamethrower. Its response was to simply walk through the flames, sneer “Only animals fear fire” and then slowly strangle me to death. That whole scene made my blood run cold.
I loved The Empty Man. We need more horror movies where the characters take one look at spooky shenanigans going on and say “Screw this, I’m out.”
One of the new(ish) Halloween movies and a recent movie called Barbarian have two moments where characters do exactly that, they're worth a watch.
I hope we get more horror movies in general that go that far off the rails.
@@MandaloreGaming I was so tripped out at the very end, it's quickly become one of my favorites.
I recommend soviet 1967 Viy, it was an adaptation of 1835 book by Nikolai Gogol, and mc is literally forced to be there.
That one scene from Event Horizon. "We're leaving."
I absolutely love this game to death but, I can't agree enough on how stretched out it felt
The entire latter half of the game was just me going, "Is this it? is it finally over..?"
Only for it to be like, "Nah, bro, you thought Ellen had a rough time? We're not even CLOSE to done."
in a way, it kinda made me love the game even more. It really makes you FEEL like the whole universe wants you dead.
The writer is Dan Abnett, he is mostly known for his novels set in the Warhammer 40k Sci fi setting. Which is all about a universe where everyone and everything is out to get you.
I think he was a excellent choice for a game like this
@@darkbozo11 I loved Alien Isolation and played it maybe six times. It could have been twice as long, and I've have still been fully engaged. Just love exploring Sevastopol station.
@@blakefrei3015 Sevastopol* After six playthroughs you'd think you could spell it right :P
it got too much for me when Amanda got kidnapped on her way to align the radio towers
I personally wish they would’ve made the game longer.
A Sseth and Mandalore video in one day. What a gift.
Mandy managed to work on two videos at the same time while constantly switching from off the pills to on the pills and delivered them both on the same day - simply amazing.
Damn I came to say the same
mandalore = on ritalin
seth = no ritalin
max0r = severe ritalin withdrawl on caffeine
almost makes you think...
Also with a confirmation that Mandalore is also Polish like Sseth :)
I had no idea it was this studio's first run at a first person game. They really knocked it out of the park in a way I didn't think was possible. This will eternally be my favorite survival horror game and I am heart broken that we will likely never see a proper sequel.
It reminds me about how fallen order from respawn was their first attempt at a third person non shooter game, it has some jank but its a damn solid piece of work overall for a first attempt at a new style.
It has a sequel or two: it's just the fact that they're movies named Aliens and Alien 3: Assembly Cut.
There are some comics that lead on after the game events if that's your kinda thing too
Originally it wasn't even a first person game, it was 3rd person over the shoulder because that was all the rage at the time. At one point they put together a test area with the camera moved into first person and they really liked it, but they had to fight with Sega a bit to convince them to let them shift the game entirely first person.
I have a personal pipe dream that one day they'd use this tech for a remake of Metroid Fusion. Y'know, an AI-driven SA-X.
Isolation already had a pretty solid Switch port, too.
I remember being absolutely blown away by the design in this game. The UI felt so diagetic and well put together and really remains a shining example of how set design and UIs should be done.
I had to look up the word “diagetic” and I still don’t understand what it means in the context you’ve used it.
Is the word “diegetic”? Even if so, I still don’t get it lol.
@@AdoreYouInAshXI It means that the UI feels as if it fits within the reality of the game itself. As an example from another game, the health bar being on your spine in Dead Space. It conveys the information to the player easily AND feels as if it exists within the game world organically, instead of being something external only for the players benefit.
@@willfoltz Ah, good reference to explain it. I understand, thanks!
Mandalore causally flexing his VHS style editing abilities. That was honestly one of the best, most authentic VFX edits I've seen. I legit felt like I was watching an old VHS.
At 35:43 he has a brief credit saying that Noodle has a setup for the VHS stuff. So he had him actually put a clip onto a VHS tape and record it, rather than just trying to emulate it with editing.
@@IsraelStorey oh nice! Shout out to Noodle then, that was so clean!
Marble Hornets-level
Sseth and Mandalore have such inconsistent upload schedules that they've somehow finally gotten in sync
they are one person bro
Have you ever seen them in the same room? Yeah, you think on that.
two besties with their periods are in sync
This review is from Sseth's drug abstinence period
haha i had this exact thought time of the month
Mega props for the VHS gag. Nobody else on youtube game circuits puts the thought and effort into the audio design as you do.
i never managed to finish this game myself, although due to no fault of its own- its just that when the alien first shows up and is hunting you, i was so utterly terrified that i turned it off and never played it myself again. hearing that sound of the alien running and chasing you in this video activated my fight or flight. its the only horror game that ive never been able to go back to, they really nailed it.
It got me good too. I think the fact i knew it wasnt a scripted jumpscare nor a basic hunting AI like in other horror games really builds on the fear. Its predictable yet so unpredictable, the alien is actually hunting.
don't play PT then
I don't even need alien for that
first 10 minutes of this video confirmed me never playing this game
Coward
Sounds like the only things activated with you was flight
The AI has 2 parts:
"The Director" - the Director always knows where you and the alien are, but only in terms of which Room you are in. After X amount of time it will send the Alien towards your last location, depending on several parameters.
"The Alien" - doesn't know your location if it's not near you. If it's in the same room as you, it will find you after X amount of time, no matter how you're hidden.
Exactly
(Spoiler Warning) I always interpreted the 'tether' as there being multiple xenomorphs on the station, just in different areas. Especially since it seems like it's in places it really shouldn't be able to sometimes. Made a lot more sense as a theory by the end of the game.
That does make sense, since one xeno cant cover an entire station the size of a town, so multiple ones make you think it's the same one stalking you when instead they're doing it in shifts, covering different areas at once.
Given how apparently 1 Xeno chased Ripley all the way through the transit towards a trap, it also could've just been a single alien
@@De-ExtinctReptile I think at the start of the game, it is a single alien, but towards the end when you discover the hive, it's clear that you're probably dealing with multiple aliens, since after its destruction they spread around the station hunting.
it's single xeno for first part until you kill it. After that, when you discover hive you will be hunted by several - and yes it's possible to see 2 xenos in same room in late game.
For someone approaching the game as an experience that tether is acceptable because it can be explained away by the xenomorph being tied to Ripley like in the movie. For someone approaching the game thinking the alien is a simulation of a xenomorph it feels completely unfair and annoying.
Let's celebrate these devs! Only through genuine love and passion for the franchise could they have made such an incredible game starting on the 360 TWO CONSOLE GENERATIONS ago.
Holy shit, really?
@@JZStudiosonline not only that, with visuals like this it run pretty well, at least on 360
@@JZStudiosonline yeah isolation isn't a ps4/one gen, it's a 360/ps3 title that got a ps4/xbox one version.
Oh yeah, I always forget that this was a cross generation title back in 2014, like Wolfenstein: The New Order, The Phantom Pain, The Evil Within and Shadow of Mordor.
@@PeixeKing shadow of mordor wasn't actually crossgen per say. Not only is the 360/ps3 version actually HORRIBLE, but monolith was forced by WB last second to make a port. It was always meant to be a xbox one/ps4 only title according to the developpements team
Like Mandalore says, there's plenty of things the devs just barely missed the mark with, but what you get in game has a level of polish I'd love to see in the majority of games coming out now. It's a triumph of horror gaming and I hope future development teams look at this game for how to make interactive systems of conflict integrate with an immersive experience.
Reminds me of Terminator: Resistance, this.
Oh, yes, it's good. Would even say it respected the first two films more than even its film contemporary Dark Fate.
I am just amazed the developer of this game made it, considering they are more of a one shot pony dealing with only total war.
Meanwhile 2042 and Pokemon today
@@warlockd Company names generally mean nothing, it's like animation, what matters is who's working at the company when a game is being made.
This game is a friggin' art piece. The amount of work the team went into to nail the Cassette Futurism feel of the original so faithfully blows my mind.
On lore stuff- I like that both eggmorphing and actuall queen are both a thing Xenomorphs do.
It's just "situation sensitive"- if there are no conditions for queen to be sustainable they do eggmorphing. If the thing resists for longer- then the queen is formed, being more efficient and faster at breeding than turning "prey" into eggs.
It's a bioweapon and "perfect" one at that so it deffinetly has this sort of adaptation feature to not fail right after deployment and be easier to store
That's a good head canon compromise.
@@Andlekin And fairly realistic, it reminds me of the way gender ratios in some species change in response to their environment or how some species can change gender in response to the absence of the other gender.
@@Andlekin Whats the actual canon though?
According to Alien TTRPG this is canon, Aliens can morph people into eggs or reproduce via the Queen
From what I gather Alien TTRPG is official in terms of the canon, so yeah. I played it, and it basically states it's the way it is.
I mean here's my thought:
discount Alien 3 for a moment; (i mean do people even consider it canon?) There is no special Queen Facehugger or Embryo
Queens evolve from regular xenomorph drones maybe detecting suitable conditions like how clownfish switch genders
I kinda wish the original Alien lore was kept where the Xenomorphs weren't designed bioweapons but were a peaceful advanced cultured civilisation with just a really horribly violent puberty stage that got wiped out leaving behind their eggs like triops. And the Space Jockey civilization just discovered them and used them as bio-weapons with the Derelict basically being an alien B-17 bomber that crashed after one of its payload prematurely hatched
mainly because I like the mental image of this story is literally the equivalent of if an alien space ship came to post nuclear apocalypse earth and found a crashed bomber, picked up a nuclear bomb in the cargo hold messed around with it and ended up Demon Core-ing or HBO's Chernobyl-ing themselves th-cam.com/video/nctLdHKbJgk/w-d-xo.html
EDIT: oh hey Mandy actually mentioned the bomber thing in the video
This is probably one of my favorite horror games of all time and seeing this video was a delight. One thing I remember my sibling said about it was that while, "yes the xenomorph is afraid of fire, you can very quickly help it overcome that fear"
This. Mine too. Resident Evil 7 is a close second. Alien Isolation was truly great.
Your sibling was a badass 😅
Without a doubt the most terrifying horror game I have ever played. The atmosphere, the alien itself, the 1980s sci-fi theme, everything is amazing.
I always love to talk about the A.I. The Alien uses something called a "Director", which is essentially two AI's working together. One is the A.I. of the Alien itself, and the other is a sort've invisible man guiding and monitoring the player and the Alien, if the stress/activity seems low, it'll up send the Alien to where the player is or make him fall back if he's been near the player too much. It's a brilliant system and is also used by Left 4 Dead 2. All encounters are always different and random which is perfect for a horror game.
plus the director actually tracks how you've been dealing with the alien and will unlock certain abilities for the alien to directly counter your favorite tools
Left 4 Dead is criminally underrated for its AI. This whole Director idea is really solid and something only old Valve could come up with. It's a shame there's only Alien: Isolation that actually iterated on it and used it, at least I can't really think of anything else.
I just want to talk about my favorite part of this game.
Towards the end of the game you're used to seeing paranoid human survivors who shoot at everything in sight. It's a station full of conflict.
But then you get to a small room with a couch and a viewport with view of the planet. There's just one lone human survivor just sitting on the couch and staring out the window. He knows he's going to die and is choosing to accept his death in peace.
It was a woman
Late to the party but. That woman can be killed. She has a single bullet with her so she was planning on killing herself
I liked Axel as an intro because when he's killed off, it makes the "isolation" feel all the more present
The 2137 joke in polish at 6:28 is a God tier meme. How on Earth Mandalore is fluent in contemprorary polish meme templates?! Well done sir :)
ziom byłem zaskoczony ponad wszelkie pojęcie xD
proże nie xD
Contemporary? At that point it's ancient classic
i ta kremowka
jpii slander!?! inconceivable!
Around a year ago I suggested this game for Mando via email, he replied and said it was already on his list. Today is the day and, sad to say this is the best thing to happen to me this year. Thank you MANDO
Tough year?(
@@gargean1671 Year of the Chud turned into the Year of Schizo....
@@gargean1671 Dude, do you have any space left in your cave? I mean, we could time-share.
@@gargean1671 Yeah:( how was yours?
@@animugril2166 So-so) Left my home country for good, lost profession of my dream... Tho oherwise it's nice tbh
Honestly, one of the best things about this game is the fact that so many people can play it and have different experiences. I know the AI can be a bit flakey at times but the fact that it can take so many variables into account and not become a complete mess is amazing. There are some good articles out there interviewing the creators about all the things the AI does and take into account.
"Not become a complete mess"... lol, are we talking about the same game? Alien Isolation's dogshite Artificial Idiot is THE worst one in any game i have played... well, probably ever in my life.
@@NekoiNemo *everyone speaks for themself mate
@@NekoiNemo Not sure if this is hyperbole or if you were born a few weeks ago. Well done, you've proved to the entire comment section that you're smarter than an intentionally handicapped AI from a videogame released in 2014, we're so proud son.
Sure, it uses some old tricks and has some obvious gaps between scripted sections and emergent gameplay but "THE worst one in any game I have ever played" just reveals that you're overly salty and still haven't beaten the safe haven map (me neither, stage 10 is kicking my arse) OR haven't played any first person shooter or strategy game with bots/campaign released in the last 20 years. There are far worse A.Is in video games, plenty of releases from the past 5 years that reveal the ignorance in your comment.
Besides, it has to be somewhat stupid to produce tense moments of "OH MY GOD HE'S STANDING RIGHT BESIDE MY LOCKER OH DEARY ME WHAT SHALL I DO", given that the xenomorph is literally being fed your exact location at every point in the game. It might not be as smart as the marketing team said, but it's still a very capable videogame nemesis; albeit one that is tuned for tense gameplay rather than an impossible nemesis (otherwise the already 20hr long campaign would bloat further and everybody would be too frustrated to finish it in the intended timeframe).
@@NekoiNemo No.
@@NekoiNemo Sure, that's why it's near-universally praised for its good AI.
When I was a game dev student, I suggested we do our group project about Alien Isolation. 5 grown adults were put through the ringer... I was the only one that finished the game before we presented our "feature presentation" on it.
This game is a jewel of game design and master class in tension/horror building
I can usually handle scary games, but this one got my glutes so tense my ass is now 7 meters wide
@@wicked5999 Somehow this is very accurate while being hilarious. I have no fear in horror games, i rarely get startled, most of these games feel very poorly designed to me, lack real tension, the outlast series really didnt make me feel anything... Yet, isolation was so stressfull until you got some means of pushing the xeno away i kept telling myself "why is my butt clenched, and why has it been THAT clenched for 30 minutes ? Is this why i play games ? To muscle my ass and feel terrible while just watching a flat window into the void ?
Had to do small sessions for the first time in my life to keep my ass and my mind from solemn soreness.
@@sirzebra it's all about tension in scary games after all
Mandalore would be the last person i would suspect of making a 2137 joke
How did it happen anyway? Did the meme ever cross the polish border? I thought it was extremely local.
@@borek92 I mean, the pope is one of the Polish people that were commonly known throughout the world, and Mandalore has lots of viewers from Poland
Prorzenie!
That really caught me off guard. I wonder if Mandalore will listen to Cenzoset this christmas.
It is not the first time. He did mention it during warhammer 3 total war review.
I loved this game and really wish there had been a full blown sequel.
It deserved it. One of the best games in the last 20 years.
It deserves a sequel so hard, what a great game. Cant believe it honestly
It's a totally different type of game and if you go into it saying "this is going to be shit because it's on a phone" you're certainly going to agree with yourself and decide that it's shit, but there's a short (hour or two) phone game that acts as a mini pseudo-sequel. There's not much to it, but it's only a few bucks and it's the only phone game I didn't uninstall in disgust after about 5 minutes of playing. For what it is, it's very well-made IMO. It's called Alien Blackout or something and I played it on an Android phone like... dunno, 4 years ago.
u must be so happy now lol
One thing I always thought about with the computers and controls used in the world of Alien - in space the more simplified approach would actually make sense. Complex electronics could be more easily damaged by electro magnetic fields. So in some strange way that actually seemed more realistic to me than the hyper complex control systems I've seen in other science fiction. I do realize they were using 70s tech for the movies so that wasn't their reasoning - but it didn't feel to me like the tech was outdated if you get what I mean.
The ISS runs on fucking IBM ThinkPads. You are absolutely correct.
I've heard also that miniaturization is really costly process, so maybe solution for them is to throw all those cheap resources from space minning into big sturdy cheap computers.
@@wsp233 imagine playing alien isolation in space with a computer room the size of a gym
Another thing is that in space it's really hard to get rid of heat, as there's no atmosphere to absorb the heat, it has to radiate the heat like the Sun. So using shitty, low power, low heat computers would be ideal as opposed to, say, a 3080 setting the ship or station on fire or eats up all the electricity that's being generated. Sure they might take up a lot of space, but well, you're in space, there's so much room to build a big o'l computer. Not to mention it's probably cheaper to build a factory producing these weaker computers than getting all the tech and expertise to build a stronger computer. Also no gravity means less stress on components means you can cheap out on things like durability and general toughness.
@@daddysempaichan Holy shit the future really is huge. I can't wait to ding one millionth of a gpu and rest assured that I lost barely any performance
This is definitely one of the best horror games I've played imo. And we will most likely never see such a faithful recreation of the original movie in video game ever again.
25:22 *Thank you!* I swear, 95% of _all_ reviewers, letsplayers and general gaming content creators get this wrong _all the time_
It drove me almost crazy these past few years whenever it came up.
_"Make sure to literally have your Motion Sensor up AT ALL TIMES!"_ was one of the highlights
Mandalore echoed a strong sentiment I had with the Alien being terrifying. Suddenly hearing it break out into a sprint with it's loud footsteps was how I first encountered the Alien in this game. It's one of the few times I've frozen in fear (legs like jelly) in a videogame before (maybe next to the doll house in Resident Evil Village). I love horror games so I laughed maniacally afterwards because I loved how strongly that moment got me. I live fully for horror games to constantly challenge my emotions and Isolation will be one of my favourite memories playing it.
I actually died to the alien at the first possible opportunity before the tram when I played the game for the first time. When your NPC friend got snatched by it I thought it had been alerted and I needed to run away, but running makes noise that can quickly attract it. I may have actually died a few times before I realized that your ally being eaten didn't actually mean you were in immediate danger and proceeded down to the tram quietly.
I didn't realize that was possible.
The exact same thing happened to me lol
Weird. I ran away in that part, and the noise didn't attract the Alien.
The only game where I got scared and hurt myself in real life trying to get away. It wasn't even the alien or the facehuggers, though they did get me good dozens of times. It was the part where the train flies overhead that scared the absolute crap out of me.
I actually predicted that moment. What scared me was when you walk into a room and then there's a sudden explosion. It's the part where you are using yourself as a bait and lure the xenomorph to an airlock. Even after I played it multiple times, for some stupid reason it kept scaring me .
The parts that scared me the most was randomly bumping into the jumpscares noisy exploring the areas
I know why the alien keeps patrolling an area. It is because it is walking over oxygen canisters. Those things make noise so it thinks you are making noise. I seem to recall they can be shot to explode too but I try not to make noise which is why I noticed it. Certain rooms have a lot of canisters and if you sorta walk/bump into them and they start rolling, that's like a wrench hit in loudness.
enemies don't hear the sound of stuff geting knocked over.
Those creepy 'Working Joes' are an absolute work of art!! They scare the hell out of me almost as much as the main star of the show! Those eyes, the way they move and even that cold, dead voice!
"You're becoming hysterical"
The Working Joes are almost scarier to me than the alien is. And in an Alien game? That’s straight up miraculous. Incredible work from the devs.
Tut. Tut.
Especially the section at 11:35.
the crazy part about this game is when you look at the logic they made for the aliens AI director. it's actually insane to look at. it really is probally one of the better alien games that captures the franchise well.
Yeah, I think Isolation has one of the best AI in games. It often feels like it's a real creature and not just an NPC, although it definitely also still has its shortcomings.
Me seeing it and doing UE5 stuff as a hobby: I wonder if you can bend the Black Board AI design that far lol, I guess you can but you would need to write A LOT of it by hand.
@@rafox66 Yeah overall I think the AI is incredible but sometimes how random it is just makes it kind of annoying.
You know I don't need it to walk back and forth in some set pattern like most stealth games but it's just a pain in the ass when the Xeno suddenly goes in a random direction and then you get ganked and have to replay a whole section for the third time, just because the AI randomly done something different.
On paper that's so damn cool but in practice it's a bit annoying at times.
My favorite game ever. It's a damn shame it didn't get a sequel :(
I don't think it need it, tho. Put CA making another horror game would have been nice.
I know it’s not what you meant, but the mobile game Alien Blackout acts as a sequel to the story and is pretty cool. It’s just a completely different style of game
I'm happy it was a commercial disappointment.
I don't live in a world where a sequel exists and a bunch of low standard gamers, coping and acting like that it's a masterpiece.
Every cheap trick in the book to artificially extend play time is here
@@MellowFungus Sounds like you're the one coping at one of the best horror games of all time and downright the most atmospheric game ever made, period. Fact of the matter is it sold badly because most "gamers" are low attention span zoomers and millenials who need to be actively pandered to if you want to actually make money in this wretched pisspit of an industry. And the fact that Alien Isolation raised a fat middle finger to this new age trope by itself makes it ten times better.
Actually, I have news for you
It says a lot about how great this game is that even just the xenomorph jumping at the footage gave me a start and brought back flashbacks.
The best horror game ever made, IMO.
I played this game in VR with my valve Index on hard and it was simply the best gaming experience of my life. The medical station was epic
San Cristobal PTSD Facility.
Damn I might have to try that.
@@bushmonster1702 and you have to use the valve index or at least a headset with large fov to see your detector easily. This game in VR is just insane. The alien nest was so nightmarish
@@153ridzzzz I remember the medical facility is where I started closing my eye just before getting killed. It was just to much at some point. But what a trip. I finished the game entirely in VR. I strongly recommend
How many times did you shit yourself
I had to pause to get up to get more rum and I noticed that you blurred her feet at 1:30 and that was a level of amusing I wasn't ready for. You are an editing inspiration to us all.
there’s something about the visuals of games from 2014 to 2016 that have made them age a lot better than other periods. The artists of that time were doing something really well to the products they were making.
Star Wars Battlefront 2015, for all its flaws, still looks amazing, and I think it captures the look and feel of the original trilogy almost as well this game does for Alien.
Metal gear solid 5 still looks so gorgeous Holy moly I could watch the sun set in that game for hours if I could
Need for Speed 2015 comes to mind.
This is the only horror game where grown ass me had actual nightmares of after playing it.
The tension is relentless. Never played another game quite like it.
But it takes a lot of time to build the tension sadly. That is it's flaw. The opening is way too slow
@@morkgin2459 I thought the same, and only after replaying it a 2nd time that I truly fell in love with it.
and then there this a VR version 😱
@@morkgin2459 To be fair, you can't really build tension that will leave you scared for days without taking your sweet time.
@@OzixiThrill Im not sure how time impacts anything
just wanna say, bc i’ve never seen anyone mention it. but your captions are really good, ik that’s a weird compliment but yours are rlly descriptive and helpful
I think Axel is a good addition to the story. People always feel more comfortable in company, and you are kind of lulled into a false sense of security before the decent alone. Great video as always 👌 *chef kiss*
Now that you mention it, good point.
Also worth noting that more casual players would likely not pick up all the notes and voice logs and may have less experience with the mechanics of survival-horror games, so having Axel give a quick run-through is useful insurance in that regard
That kind of thing is in almost every horror game actually. Giving you a secure spot or company for a short while before taking it away from you. The "hubs" in Amnesia TTD and Outlast for example. They make you feel safe for a short while, then you progress and it puts the pressure back on you, and you feel it heavier *because* you have been given that break. It's like that "putting a frog in boiling hot water vs putting a frog in warm water and slowly heating it up" thing. The game takes you out of the boiling water to give you a rest, and in the process breaks your developed resistance to fear. Then it throws you back in.
This is my favorite horror game ever, Im always happy to watch someone else "enjoying" it
-Edit 1-
11:48 That scared me XD
I legitimately reached out for an invisible flute, I can't imagine what would happen if it happened in game.
If graphics don't bother you much I highly recommend giving System Shock 2 a go
@@chillhour6155 I did, all those menus, stores, stats, etc. were quite confusing
I absolutely love the ernesty at the start of these going over the technical issues and fix ups.
Like hey, you deserve to enjoy the game, heres some things that may get in your way. Its so nice to know in advance.
The scariest part of this channel is that you'll never know when Halloween will strike.
Oh god the alien sprinting sound was pure terror. I've finished the game and I STILL jumped TWICE watching this video.
ikr. The alien sprinting sound usually is followed by "welp! I died again...".
there is genuine, pure terror when you hear the Alien in a full sprint, even to this day
Personally I think they mostly added Axel to give you a little bit of false security if you were me, a 15 year old in a dark room looking for literally anything as a saving grace lol. When I was younger I cannot explain the dread that everything in this game made me feel because it has never been reproduced, but having Axel around made me feel safer in those few moments than I have ever felt again playing this game, I didn't give a fuck what he was saying cus he had a gun and he was on my side. I'm sure it was because he was some sort of order amongst all the chaos even thought it was tiny to younger me going through for the first time, if Axel was in front of me telling me what to do it meant the alien couldn't appear from the abyss and karate chop out my carotid artery (right?) and that is relative safety for alien isolation even if it is false lol. Works really well when the alien ends up steve irwin-ing the shit out of him, essentially blowing out my nightlight and sending me straight into 'cowabunga it is mode' A.K.A the good ole' Joestar secret technique. Needless to say I died a lot that night. This is a huge bias considering if you're not a 15 year old coward playing for the first time it's probably just going to be exactly what you said, but for me it was sort of a, 'welcome to the jungle' moment. I think this was the first horror game I decided to actually beat as well so more bias lol.
I was 17 when this game came out, and while this was my first real horror game as well, I was already a huge fan of the Alien universe. In fact, Alien was the first horror movie I ever watched as a kid- rented it from my local Block Buster.
I had a pretty good idea what I was in for, but it was all new to me. When Axel guided me around the tutorial area, I appreciated the handholding as I knew I'd probably be all on my own soon- that "welcome to the jungle" idea you mentioned. As a character he wasn't violent or malicious, he was scared out of his mind and trying to survive. He had a convincingly human reaction to the whole situation in front of him, and his treatment of Ripley spoke of a genuinely paranoid and isolated man. I especially appreciated how he warmed up to Ripley just a little bit before he died. He tried to make Ripley understand the gravity of the situation they were both in now. He wanted her to make it out, but she needed to accept a grim reality first. While he was shortlived, I enjoyed his company. His departure not only helped to set the stage for how I would need to play the game, but also the tone of the game: being alone.
Deprivation of the human element is what makes most horror so compelling, and by taking away a character in the new, main setting of the story establishes that survival is all on the player.
Glad I wasn't the only one who enjoyed Axel!
Don't worry, it's absolutely impossible for a human to be unbiased. Being unbiased for a human just means your putting both opinions forward, not that you don't have an opinion. Even if you have 0 fucks about something, you still have an opinion on it, which means your not completely unbiased because that's impossible
I even felt somehow safer with the androids around. I know they wont Help but it was better then being alone with something in the vents.
8:57 Who ever did the captions for sounds effects, I love you
Was there not a setting in which the alien in the game could detect your real voice if you got too startled? Pretty awesome game honestly, even with the flaws. As a massive Alien/Aliens fan, this was a massive love letter.
That was for some reason only a feature on the kinect verison I believe.
@@TheSpoonyCroy it was for consoles. PS4 had it too
Only for the console versions sadly
I remember watching a video of a guy using that feature on stream then giggled because of chat. He was hiding under the table in front of the Alien when it happened.
@@camblongkaras782 The console versions had some cool features that sadly the PC version never got. The PS4 had controller lightbar sync with the motion sensor and was colored green. Sounds like the Kinect on Xbox had the leaning plus alien able to hear your voice.
I actually really liked that the story just wouldn't freaking end. Because it's like a nightmare that won't end, you know? You just want it to end, but it won't stop. The shame is that the horror element wears off. But I personally never really thought this game was strong in the horror sense. It was more of a tense game, if that makes sense, not scary. I wasn't scared so much as I was anxious. And I think the game did keep its tension to the end.
"You just want it to end, but it won't stop."
"It just won't STOP!"
*Bong*"We're under attack!"
"I know...."
I wanted the game to end because it was bad.
You sound like you are coping...
I think bad pacing is bad pacing. If a game doesn’t end when it should my reaction is usually just boredom or annoyance.
I got to the point that I was no longer scared by the alien... just frustrated/annoyed. After that the game lost its appeal. That was 8 years ago. Maybe I'll pick it up again some time. It was a good game, no question there.
@@MellowFungusThen why play it for that long if you felt that way?
Btw great thanks for subtitling stuff really well so people with audial limitations can get the vibe of this great content. Learned how welcome but easily overlooked aspect that can be when working as software developer. You rock Mandalorian.
Have beaten it on Nightmare twice, absolute blast not gonna lie, the mod that removes the Xeno's "tether" also greatly improves the experience
I think there's a VR version available...this game is certainly one of my favourites.
Working Joe: “Ow! Why are you hitting me?”
Ripley: “Because it pleases me, you slimy gutter dwarf!”
in the reactor they introduce a new enemy type
...the sliding puzzle
**hits him again**
“Because it is my good pleasure, you rotten little cabbage!”
Something I really love about Alien Isolation that I've never heard anyone talk about is how it enhances your viewing of the first film. It gives a you a newfound respect for the crew of the Nostromo and you get a much better idea of what it was like for them with the Alien on board.
Playing games for a good 35 of my 40 years. Have played thousands of games, have completed hundreds. And Isolation makes my top 10 favourite ever. Delighted to see this on my notifications.
Sir what other games would make it to your top 10?
@@badbadman9412 Deus Ex (original), Half Life 1, 2, and Episodes, Elder Scrolls Morrowind, Final Fantasy VII (original), Mass Effect trilogy, Resident Evil 2 (original), Metal Gear Solid, Prey (2017), Knights of the Old Republic 1/2. Not exactly 10 as I've included some series where multiple games cover the same story. What about yours?
For my top 10s for the time being (my preferences change depending on, say, mood) and since Anthony mentioned some of them (so I won't mention them out of avoiding redundancy), here are these:
- a lot of Star Wars Legends games, ranging from Star Wars: TIE Fighter and X-Wing Alliance; the Dark Forces Saga (basically, Dark Forces, Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II+Mysteries of the Sith, Jedi Outcast, and Jedi Academy); Episode I: Racer; Battlefront 2004 and II 2005; Republic Commando; and Empire at War+Forces of Corruption (with mods like Thrawn's Revenge to spice things up)
- FreeSpace 2 (with mods like FS Port+Silent Threat: Reborn, Derelict, and Blue Planet)
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (with the Basic Unofficial Patch)
- Homeworld 1 (Classic or Remastered with the Players Patch, I don't care) and Cataclysm/Emergence; might have to try out Deserts of Kharak again
- Battlezone '98+The Red Odyssey Redux and II: Combat Commander
- Splinter Cell 1 (I recommend the GOG release for the DLC missions, plus some fanpatches so to restore lighting and stuff) and Chaos Theory; Pandora Tomorrow is woefully absent due to it being abandonware
- Project Wingman
- Psychonauts 1 and 2; haven't played the VR-exclusive In the Rhombus of Ruin yet
- The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (with the Ultimate Talkie Patch), Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge - Special Edition, The Curse of Monkey Island, and the recent Return to Monkey Island
- Fable+The Lost Chapters
@@michaelandreipalon359 Nice selection. Vampire the Masquarade is definitely in my top 20. Amazing game, with the patch of course.
@@anthonyhiggins9799 Appreciate those words.
I really enjoyed the section where you describe how much detail was poured into the level design. Without having seen the movie I don't think I'd be able to *fully* appreciate it, but it definitely made me watch the rest of the review in full screen to get whatever detail TH-cam left intact.
I also really appreciated the part where you went over the limited facial animations and how it was probably an intentional and wise choice to pour that budget into other areas of the game, which is something I probably wouldn't have thought about.
Great review!
There's no retro-futuristic aesthetic quite like it. It's as if the 60s/70s Apollo program kept going, and didn't even consider stopping at the moon. Humans became an interstellar civilization on the backs of cassette tapes.
One of the greatest games of all time, IMO. Wish I could experience it again for the first time.
4:00 Fun fact, the most popular VHS/CRT effect filter was also created by digitally recording a signal from a couple old tape players which were subjected to miscellaneous abuse (magnets, rubbing stuff onto the tape, fiddling with cables and so on). You just can't beat the REAL technical limitations when it comes to these things...
This game is an absolute master class in tension. A big complaint I see people making is how much progress they lose when you die, but I actually like that. The relief you feel when you finally make it to a save is immense.
Fireteam Elite is unironically one of my favorite games of the past two years. It's surprisingly satisfying and fun.
Seriously! My friends and I got it on sale some weeks ago, and we've been binging it ever since. It's got that perfect mix of good gameplay, engaging character customisation, and fun/mockable story :D
@36:22 , unexpected 13 Sentinels mention. Love to see it (It's a genuinely great experience, so hopefully this will get more people to play it)
I find it that main problem with getting someone to try it, is can't find proper words to convey how good of an experience it is, without spoiling it or giving unrealistic expectations.
Not to mention you can't really talk about story without going into spoilers territory.
It's really fun though.
2:57 Love Anthony Howell’s VA work. He voiced Morgott in Elden Ring and Fourchenault in Final Fantasy XIV. Always a pleasant surprise to hear him pop up in a game.
Same!!❤❤
I'm surprised you didn't mention the recovered vr mode that modders patched back in. It is a bit jank, but works with motion controls which is more than a lot of official vr ports, and my god if you've never seen it the size of the alien is so damn intimidating. Can't recommend this enough if you've got a headset and don't have anything breakable in range when you panic and try to physically run away
Could never finish this game, was too stressful. But for me, it was a masterpiece.
Don't feel bad, it is REALLY long.
It took me over a year to finish this game, and I had to reinstall it twice because I kept stopping and uninstalling the game to make more space on my hard drive. Eventually I would reinstall the game and come back to it, only to play for another 10 hours and get bored. Think it took like 30-40 hours for me to finish it? So about 10-12 hours every installation lol
I really wanted the platinum trophy on ps4 but scared me too much
One thing that always sold the atmosphere for me wasn't the loud, bombastic moments. It's those quiet moments when you're clearing an area of resources knowing full well that it's only quiet where you are because a 10 foot tall monster just got done making everyone there it's midnight snack. Great game.
I remember watching a Let's Play of this game around the time it released, and I remember also thinking "jesus man this game just keeps going" as I kept finding more and more episodes of the playthrough.
I've loved the idea of Alien Isolation for so long (way too scared to ever play it) and I'm really happy that you also had background information about the game that I'd never heard of. Knowing that they had access to concept art, the actual sound banks, and probably more, is very cool.
Also: HOW THE FUCK DID CREATIVE ASSEMBLY MAKE THIS GAME
The pipeline of Total War strategy to Alien survival horror is insane.
It's amazing that the aesthetic, pacing and atmosphere are so good, considering that the game was made by a company that only makes strategy games.
The pacing is not good AT ALL. That's the most common complaint this game has received since it came out.
17:17 nice Mandalore branded Easter egg there. Every electrocution in a game I expect to hear marv screaming
“That would be funny”
No it wouldn’t. :P
That first medical area with the alien was one of those “it just wouldn’t leave” moments for me.
It was very intense and memorable but it took way too long because the thing wouldn’t leave me alone.
Glad to see you give EDF the respect it deserves as a seminal piece of gaming history.
Guess we'll have to do a follow up review for when Alien Isolation 2 comes out 👀
This game visually was kinda ahead of its time, it actually have build in RTX features like light bouncing from object and stuff
This is my favourite horror game of all time! I love the fact people still play it, make videos on it and share there experiences. This review was well edited and entertaining
Try system shock 2
You mention at 27:00 that there are mods to remove the tether. I did just this and found it really improved the game. It's true you see less of the Alien and can get into situations where you have basically avoided it for most of that level. To me, that was a reward for playing particularly carefully- and if I lowered my guard, the ambushes this thing would pull off were so much worse.
Funny- you also mention that bumping items off tables doesn't attract the alien. I think you're right- that said, I didn't know that *at the time* and that was so much worse.
Brilliant game, easily the scariest thing I've played- but over-long and lacking in complexity when it comes to the environment and puzzles. Something closer to the System Shock 2 it was trying to emulate would have been amazing. If a second game ever did come out, I'd have to get it straight away.
One of the main things I remember about the backlash to this game was RLM's horrendous Previously Recorded show, where they had some really bizarre takes about this game like claiming the AI wasn't actually dynamic, or that Metroidvania-style level design with backtracking to previous areas with new items to unlock doors was bad design (have any of those guys ever played another survival horror game?)
I adore Redlettermedia, but was the first and only time I watched a Pre-Rec video. They had only just started out IIRC, but it completely put me off for life. Absolutely one of the worst takes I've ever seen.
@@three_seashells With Pre Rec ending years ago, I'm glad they figured out they should just stick to talking about movies instead.
The VR mod had huge potential but sadly it was abandoned.
Also, as a Pole - mad props for the 2137 joke :D
That's probably for the best, working in a hospital myself I wouldn't be excited about the tidal wave of heart attack patients from people who played the VR version of that game.
@@CollinMcLean Yeah, I remember the famous tidal wave of heart attack patients when Resident Evil 7 came out on PSVR. It was brutal.
But seriously, if VR horror games would actually cause heart attacks, there would already by a media frenzy and moral panic about it. Luckily, they don't.
This game is a damn gem. From the plot, environment, sound, level design, visuals and gameplay, It was just a blast. Such a damn good horror game done right. Would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Horror/Aliens Movie or Lore.
This is by far the most "to the point" and professional game review EVER. So thank so much for this, and for sharing this passion with us!! This game was absolutely incredible... I'd pay hundreds of dollars to see some sort of remake (with improved graphics and improved AI, to make it even creepier and scarier).
By the way, it's kind of funny, but this game at the time (and many years after I had played it) gave me some of the most timeless horrifying nightmares I've ever dreamt in my entire life. I had about 6 hyper-realistic, absolutely nerve-racking nightmares with the Alien as portrayed in Alien Isolation, that I will never ever forget... So yeah, this game was, and still is good to put it lightly..
I remember this being so impressive that when I played it on 360, I felt like I had a next gen console
Seriously, I don't know what engine this game was developed on but its an absolute technical marvel. When it first launched I played it on my dads 2008 Macbook Pro and was able to run it on high settings locked 30FPS.
6:26 Polish community approves of this joke
It concern me that it's anti-catholic meme. Is it true?
@@overlord165 A lot of Poles joke about it, it's an hour at which our Pope died
This game was surely way ahead of its time. The AI was absolutely fantastic which really made you feel tense all the time and the sound design is one of the best I have ever experienced. Add to this the visuals the game offers and you will know how much of a must play experience this game offers. Sad that since then we have had barely any good games.
And playing it with the VR mod it's a whole new experience. Seeing it all if you really are there AND with the DLCs you can be on the Nostromo. Just amazing in VR.
Is the VR mod really stable? This is definitely one of the few games I’d seriously consider getting a headset for, as silly as that sounds
Can be played from start to finish. But it's gamepad or m/k only. Or motion controllers as emulated gamepad. Sadly he never finished the mod to fully support motion controllers. Nevertheless it's an amazing experience. And a VR headset is worth it for all the vr mods out there. If you want a glimps you can check my channel but it's in german.
@@DetectiveOlivaw Stable but incompatible with alias isolation. Those jaggies he mentioned become really apparent in VR but fortunately with the game being so dark it is only really noticeable with light surface borders in a black background. The creator of the VR mod said he was okay to let out the source code of his mod if he cant be bothered to develop it further but never did with the claim that it is full of spaghetti code that needs cleaning up. I guess he is too embarrassed for other programmers to see the various commented scrapped sections and janky obscure workarounds that just work. A pity really, we could have alias isolation and motion controls modded into mother VR by now.
I adore this game, and one of the things I love most is the adoration it gets from other people.
I know on release it was pretty polarising but I think it's aged so well and the fact people still love and gush over it whenever it's mentioned really warms my heart. I hope the devs who worked on it are proud of what they made, because it's a masterpiece in my opinion.
Mandalore having PTSD-like flashbacks related to 2137 and Polish Pope memes made my day honestly.
I remember my one big "oh that's disappointing" moment with the alien came when I was in an area with two distinct sides. And I realized no matter how stealthy I was, how slow I moved, when I went from one side of the area to another, the alien would immediately jump into a vent and come out into the one I was in. Even if it hadn't spotted me at all it knew which side I was on and would go there just to make sure I was always having to sneak.
Amazing game but that one moment has always bugged me.
Didn't knew your channel. Love how in depth you go on these reviews, really interesting. I really like the slow pace and how you take your time to explain things and how you keep putting footage of what you're talking about with no commentary on top to hear things how they are.
Know*