I love horror, and I love Alien, but have been avoiding this one as I don’t tend to like ‘timed’ games. Where I’m being chased the entire time with no real break in between. Are there times in this game where just looking around isn’t actively detrimental to you?
Unfortunately, most horror games 'reward' exploration with jumpscares, so there's never real safety as you're usually being guided towards a danger. I think some open world horror games might scratch your itch like The Forest, Sons of the Forest, Dying Light, STALKER, Subnautica and The Evil Within. A Quiet Place game also looks promising for when it's released.
I found that the better you are at the game the scarier it was because you lose the fear of dying if you keep dying but if you keep succeeding the death fear doesn’t go away
I only played it four (?) years ago, so I thankfully missed any hate it might have gotten. A Quiet Place looks really promising though, and it could really scratch the itch if they use a similar AI for the death angels (especially since managing the sound you make is a key metric)
@@thejesshinds this was one of the few games I bought when it came out, and I was so disappointed that the critics gave it such a low score, it frustrated me a lot. It didn't get much hate at all, because almost everyone that played it loved it, but the reviews were made by idiots, and it scared away a lot of potential audience for this game. About a quiet place, I wasn't much aware of the game, but it does look promising. If they manage to get at least 50% of what Alien Isolation did right, it will probably be the best horror game of the decade
Loads of people are still playing it and streaming it. I myself am playing it right now for the first time. I'm currently in medical, too scared to get out from under a table. 😂
Alien Isolation is a masterpiece of atmosphere and immersion. I could only play it for an hour or two at a time during the first play through. Glad to see it's experiencing something of a revival as it approaches it's tenth (!) anniversary
I have been kicking my feet watching all the new playthroughs from everyone who didn't have this on their radar! I hope it shows the devs how hungry we all are for more.
The really terrifying moment I had was after hiding and I thought the alien had moved on and when I left the room, it was waiting at the door. I had never encountered an AI that had holistically set a trap.
It's done this to me too and I'm not exaggerating when I say I started crying 🤣 I've never been so scared in my life and I realized I'd last 0.2 seconds in any situation IRL
I found this game to be scarier than any of the movies, because there were consequences to my actions in the game. I don't get the (additional) layer of fear of making the wrong move when watching a movie. Excellent video! I can't wait to see more!
Hey I just want to say, this video inspired me to buy and play Alien isolation and I had a great time. And as a horror fan who is mostly immune to scares, I did find this game extremely anxiety inducing and it has also intruduced me to the franchise that I will now be getting into. So, thanks !
Yup! I feel like a lot of the video game adaptations we've seen in films and tv shows would be better off if people who actually like the games were in the production teams
Cute and soothing voice, competent production value and editing, quality analysis of geeky topics, well written and well-delivered script. Yep, this channel will probably go far
Back when I finished this game my first thought was that I felt bad for all the people that are fans of the first Alien film yet they're too terrified to even come as close as to poke this game with a ten foot pole. Because they 100% should be. I'm a seasoned and avid horror game player and to this day this game has, for me, raised the bar across the board and come off as the _Apex_ horror experience in the entire history of multimedia at large. To whomever reads this comment and feel the first sentence of the previous paragraph speaks directly to them: Don't miss out on this. Embrace the fear. Embrace the struggle. It's 100% worth it. And also you'll have conquered what is widely regarded as one of the most agressively and debilitatingly horrifying video games ever made, so every other that has caught your interest will be a walk in the park. You'll be fine, you got this.
Totally agree with this! I've really struggled to find a horror game that scratches the same itch ss Isolation. I often get a short of fatigue when I start a game and it's got the same motions of jumpscares and chore quests 😅
@@thejesshinds Likewise. If there is any other game out there that has come close to A:I it's, for my money, SOMA. From the gifted minds behind the Amnesia series and a big departure from its setting, a game I wholeheartedly recommend to this day to just go in completely blind and experience it. While it doesn't break any new ground in terms of design and AI, it more than makes up for it with its unique setting, the philosophical questions it provokes, the numbing existential dread it left in me years after the credits rolled, and a very generous sprinkle of body horror to gruesomely fuse it all together. If there's one thing in SOMA that puts it on top of A:I for me is wishing to experience it for the first time again. Edit: It happens to be on sale right now on Steam. Quite serendipitous indeed.
OK I'll give it a try! I think I missed it because I saw trailers and it looked like another "wakes up and doesn't know how they got there but has to escape" story and I just can't do another one 😅
@@thejesshinds I almost made the same mistake, but it's on the level of Silent Hill 2 regarding how much there is to unpack in it. So much food for thought. Hopefully we get to hear yours about it sometime in the future. Cheers!
This is a great breakdown of what makes the game so terrifying. Creative Assembly did such an amazing job re-creating the look and feel of the first Alien film.
Thank you! Honestly, what a fantastic team they are. You can see how much thought went into everything. I didn't even mention the Menace Guage they used, there was just so much that went into crafting the perfect Big Bad.
Thank you! I started this channel to make content I wanted to see myself, not make a huge push in growing in, but it's definitely picking up thanks to people like you who exist outside of the algorithms haha
Great video, my favorite part of the game is how it’s the complete opposite of a normal video game power fantasy. Even on the easiest difficulty the Alien can still instant kill you which means no matter what you have to learn to be patient. You get powerful weapons but they are useless against the alien, besides the flame thrower, which if used too much the alien will grow immune. You can’t run because you’ll be heard and the alien is much faster than you. You can’t even hide forever because the AI will eventually narrow down your location. The only thing you have on the Alien is that you are smarter. You have to learn how to avoid, track and listen for the alien. Use gadgets, the environment, or other people to distract it. The scariest part is the aliens unpredictably, you can play a level where the alien never shows up or won’t leave you alone. Another great horror game I think people don’t talk about enough is SOMA, which is scary for much different reasons.
I totally agree! It's way more realistic, because we wouldn't have a single chance with a real alien 😅 Someone else also mentioned SOMA and I definitely want to check it out. I brushed it off because I thought it was another predictable chore-fetch-quest game, but I've since been convinced 😊
This is a remarkably well made and insightful piece of content. I’ve seen a lot of breakdowns centred around Alien Isolation but this is by far the most concise and well structured one I’ve seen. Nice.
01:38 it did bring something new. New android directives overriding older ones. How facehuggers move and the alien cocoon which is basically cryptobiosis. Its why I hope the franchise always goes for different directors. Cameron introduced colonizing worlds, colonial marines and an insect colony take on this spieces. Fincher showed us that facehugger impregenation takes characteristics of the organism it latches onto. Jeunet swimming aliens and a hybrid. Nice vid by the way. I wish Alien: Isolation got a spiritual successor. The medical bay section's tension was something else
Wow, is this video really this new? It feels like it's popped up in my recommended videos for ages :D Anyways, really good video essay on the subject. I'm so glad Romulus has raised interest in Isolation recently. I noticed three things Fede hid as nods to the game in Romulus, but didn't spot the save station. I hope you'll make more gaming video essays. I like how this video was put together, very professional. It also brought up new ideas about the game, and I've watched a lot of Alien: Isolation content. This video and your channel deserve so much more views and subscribers!
I appreciate this so much! 😊🙏 Definitely more to come, I put together a script whenever I hyperfocus on something new. Romulus has made me want to replay, but I honestly don't think I have the heart for it anymore, so I'm sticking to watching others for now.
I love how in the movies, in numerous scenes the Alien/s are hidden in plain sight. The first time you see them, you dont see them until you re watch them. So well done. Alien: Isolation - The best Alien game to date hands down.
Great video! I'm a long-time fan of the game (even before I've watched the original Alien) - I've watched many TH-camrs do their own playthroughs for years before I worked up the nerve to buy the game myself. Played it on Easy mode first before working my way up to Hard mode, where I'm currently in. Scariest game ever, but it's also so so good!
Thank you! I don't think someone could actually pay me to pick up this game again, let alone do it on any level over easy haha, so I take my hat off to you.
@@thejesshinds hahaha totally get you - i felt like passing out even in Easy mode, but then i had a funny encounter where i accidentally jumped out of a locker i was hiding in straight into the Alien, and then it felt a bit like i stepped on a really angry cat😭 anyways, i hope you keep making great videos like these! and maybe even someday surprise yourself & play it again lol
Such a good video about one of my favourite games of all time. Isolation is certainly not a perfect game, but every time I play it I'm utterly terrified
Fantastic video. It's tough for me to overall decide on the scariest game I've ever played. But I can say this for alien isolation, no game fills me with such an enormous amount of tension, and it is nearly CONSTANT Which is part of why I have trouble playing it for more than like 40 minutes at a time lol I'm kind of with you on Romulus. I didn't hate it. I liked it way better than covenant at least. I can't call it a bad movie, visually it is shot very well, I see why they put it on IMAX And while it was neat to see something like a nod to isolation in it, the film just doesn't feel like it has its own identity. Instead it's like they asked an AI to make a greatest hits mashup of all the prior alien films and squish them into one. This game, to me really is the ultimate love letter to the original film. Despite the game being a decade old now, it still looks fantastic too. On any platform, even the switch! 😅
Thank you! I honestly cried three times while playing this (once because my husband walked into the room, and it scared me to death), so maybe I should have also cut down the playtime. Yeah I loved the film, particularly loved Andy, I just wasn't ever scared? In a horror film? Also, I would NEVER play this game on Switch, only because I'd throw it across the room on any jump scares haha.
Someone else also pointed this out and I haven't stopped thinking about it since haha It's totally my mistake, I mostly worked on this after hours and things slipped through the cracks. I also didn't expect so many people to see this video, so I'll be triple checking next time!
Only recently got around to restarting and finishing it (prompted by the release of Romulus) When I bought and played the game back in 2014, I could not make it more than a few missions in, not out of difficulty but because I was new to horror games and the game was just too scary for me to continue (hiding under a desk while the Alien looked for me, I was too stressed and just gave up)
I rlly like this video. The editing is awesome. (If you are taking suggestions, could you leave the pages with text up like 3 seconds longer. I'd like to be able to ready more)
I can't believe this game is almost 10 years old already. RIP. Shame we never got a sequel, it would have been nice to see CA iterate on these features and maybe make the environments more dynamic and interactive. Good breakdown
10 years old and going strong! I'm really excited for A Quiet Place coming next month though, I really hope the death angels stalk in the same way and we get some version of this again.
My first playthrough of Isolation took me nearly 50 hours lol. I get lost easily, am bad at puzzles, and was juggling college, raising a sick neonatal kitten*, AND getting the piss scared out of me by this game. But was so worth it. Picked it back up a few days ago for a replay one year later and it's still just as terrifying. Knowing how the AI works somehow doesn't break the immersion for me. It actually kinda amps it up to know this thing is THINKING. Really cool, always will be one of my favorite horror games! I wish we had the ability to connect a microphone on the PC version. My first run was on a laptop that overheated each time I booted up the game, and the sound was coming through its low-quality speaker. But now I'm on a beefy PC with some good headphones and good lord the atmosphere is SO MUCH MORE TENSE with directional audio. I was scared the first time, now I'm on the edge of my seat. I upped the difficulty this time around too. It's been an all around really fun experience. Isolation usually goes on sale for SUPER cheap in April. Felt like I got away with stealing. I'm not sure if the DLCs are worth checking out but I think I'll give 'em a try sometime. Every horror fan should play this. Every Alien fan should play this. (*the kitten's name is Ripley. I found him 4/24, just a few days before Alien Day ^_^. He's alive and well, now a fully grown and healthy cat.)
You're right about the psychological aspect of the game. I picked up Isolation after Covenant came out. Loved the movie, picked up the game. Started in 2017 on Nightmare and it took me 3 years to finish because one section just got too stressful. Fast forward to Romulus and I reinstalled the game. Not even 5 seconds after you get to walk on Sevastapol and I already got tense and filled with anxiety. No game, not even non-horror like RDR ir Kingdom Hearts, has hit me that hard on a replay.
I cannot believe you STARTED on Nightmare 😭 You couldn't pay me to even try it haha. You're so right, this games replayability is fantastic because you'll never get the same jumpscares.
great video! subbed in the first 3 minutes haha. just one critique(?) the timeline at 2:40 ish showed isolation placed after Aliens, while you said it was between Alien- Aliens. then the next shot of the time line is corrected. just an inconsistency i noticed.
Alien Isolation is my favorite horror game of ALL TIME, and i've been gaming for more than 20 years. Phasmophobia is the only other game that comes close imo.
Same! I never really got into Phas, but I think it was the multiplayer aspect? My friends are a lot of fun, so we also struggle to take things seriously 😅
@@thejesshinds Perhaps. I for one prefer playing Phasmo solo because it's much scarier that way (and more challenging). The atmosphere is kinda lost with people. It's definitely not a game for everyone though, so i cautiously recommend it. But i love it for almost the same reasons i love Alien: Isolation. The atmosphere and the unpredictability of everything are absolute masterclass 👌
Alien: Isolation is a masterpiece. It also becomes a lot easier if you've ever played the legendary Thief trilogy. Sound is a much better tool for detecting the creature than the motion tracker, just like in The Dark Project or The Metal Age.
@@thejesshinds Be aware: The games are over 20 years old so expect some adjustment to both the controls and graphics. But if you can get them down, you'll play some of the finest Stealth experiences the industry has to offer. And each game has a horror style mission, with the third one, Deadly Shadows, having one of the scariest gaming levels ever made. If you wanna get the best experience out of them, go to the Through the Looking Glass forum (Looking Glass Studios was the developer). The community has created mods that improve visuals controls, some QOL features, and even fan missions.
I'm on my first playthru, I got it when it first game out and quickly noped out. Romulus encouraged me to face my fears and get back to work. It is my favorite piece of alien content second only to the original Alien and Aliens. I've beaten litteraly everything in the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne, demons souls and Elden Ring and I have to brace myself before starting a session with Isolation lol
Maybe I should follow your lead, I tapped out just before act 3 😅 I've loved watching others play through from a safe distance though haha. Good on you for finishing this, I feel like it deserves a real achievement.
One small correction: isolation takes place BEFORE Aliens, not after. This is because Ellen Ripley was revealed to have been in stasis for 57 years, at the beginning of the Original film's sequel. From her daughter's perspective, she had only been missing for 15 years. Also in Aliens, there was a deleted scene where the fact her daughter had passed away from cancer at the age of 66 was revealed to Ellen, showing a photo of Sigourney Weaver's late mother.
The timelines don't add up then as Alien takes place in 2122, and the game’s timeline is in 2137? The whole plot of Isolation is that Amanda is searching for answers regarding her mother’s disappearance after the events of Alien. I did also mention Amanda Ripley's passing in the Aliens director's cut at 16:13 :)
@thejesshinds your reply is correct, but you are still confused? Ellen is still drifting in space waiting to be found while he daughter is looking for clues from the remains of the space station featured in Alien. The timeline makes perfect sense to me
@@thejesshinds All good! I'm still on my first play through and love how terrifying this immersion can be. You presented this masterpiece flawlessly, AMAZING job, my friend!
just starting the video, and I just wanna say that I was scared of horror games and Allen isolation isolation was my first one, because I was really fascinated by the AI and tbh no other horror game makes me scared now because of it lol
It ruined other horrors for me to! Between jumpscares, I've just been getting quite bored, because there's also usually very little to them outside of that in terms of story :/
@@thejesshinds I still enjoy most other horrors, but it made me unable to enjoy stealth mechanics in any other game. no other game made stealth so engaging, full of tension and just straight up fun, once you get the hang of it. altho it also had some of the worst stealth sections where you have to sneak past any other enemy than alien, imo androids should be mostly seen in combat encounters
9:30 I think that the enviromental AI will at this point gave as information (or a clue) your location directly to the Xenomorph AI. So, you can't get out, xenomorph will in the end find you if you are at the same spot for too long
I love the game, but unfortunately I stopped being scared of the alien by halfway through, after figuring out how it behaves and how to handle it I didn't feel afraid anymore, the non-alien enemies were more frightening. It's still amazing and the AI is really interesting how it works but the second half of the game was lackluster to me because I was no longer afraid.
@thejesshinds That's the weird thing, I'm generally really easy to scare, I had to have someone with me to walk through the first dark doorway in Resident Evil 7. I guess fear of the unknown is the thing that scares me most, once I figure out how a game works like the alien AI it becomes a lot less scary. Although I don't blame you on the androids, those stressed me out more than the alien.
what a sick video I love the analysis! I always wondered how the alien ai worked in alien isolation and why it always found me hiding in a locker 🤦 great video, I subbed.
Thank you! I also forgot to mention it had a Menace Guage, so it would also give you a bit of 'break' if it found you too easily and it would appear less. But yeah, as a fellow locker-camper, I salute you haha.
You should take a look at Haunting Ground, an (unfairly) underrated, overlooked survival horror that has only been given its' dues in recent years. It's a PS2 game from 2005. Lovely editing and presentation!
Yeah, Haunting Ground is like Alien: Isolation-lite. The enemies in that game behave a lot like the Xenomorph does in A:I, albeit far more rudimentary of course since it's a game from 2006
I am curious about visions for how to expand on the games brilliant concepts for a possible sequel. Maybe a less linear story? More players keeping the ship together while surviving as good as they can? What else? Two Aliens? The Alien sets traps dynamically, like sabotaging airsupport, electricity, mother and so on? An impostor or different competing goals for the crew of players? A manipulative AI driven mothur 9000? Destructable environment?
Yeah, the multiplayer game in the franchise was definitely more action and less stealth, so I like your idea more. I think it would also be fun to have some players be survivors and one to be the alien? Similar to In Silence. A Quiet Place looks really promising as well, and I hope they use a similar AI for the death angels (especially since managing the sound you make is a key metric). I think it's releasing in October, but I'm definitely going to give it a try!
Only way i can see a sequel work, is if we are isolated on a planet rather than a station. Which would mean, we'd be hunted by a bunch of aliens rather than one (we would also have deadlier weapons that could kill the xenomorphs too, since we no longer have to worry about hull damage) In other words, the sequel would be more Aliens than Alien. I COULD also see a multiplayer asymmetrical game working... But i'm sure 90% of the playerbase would've been massively disappointed with it
Oh my gosh, I love that idea! They could maybe even incorporate the Goo being released on the planet and then you also have to contend with mutants and potentially even mutated xenomorphs (like TLOU having different zombies requiring different tactics).
Can I ask what songs you used as the background music for this video? They were excellent choices 👌 I just found your channel today and an enjoying your retrospectives. Cheers
If you see this, a sequel has been officially announced! If you've been hiding in a locker for years (like me), this is our motivation to get out ❤️ x.com/AlienIsolation/status/1843305291322200488?t=nCVSIIYw4VGmcwthjel7Kg&s=19
@@parchemiarz it's mostly instrument stems and samples all cut and pieced together in the editing software, but it would be WAY easier to just make it all from scratch with a synth or music software next time.
There's never been a horror game since Alien Isolation that instills fear in me like AI does. The fact that you never know where the alien will come from combined with the sounds your constantly hearing, wondering if that was the alien or the ship. I always turn the soundtrack off on this game as I find the music distracting, so much better wandering a quiet ship.
Honestly I'm dying for another game to make me feel this way 😭 I have a personal vendetta against whoever did the sound design of the alien in the vents, specifically haha
Maybe a bad take, but for me the game while being a good game is not as great as people praise it. Maybe that's just me not vibing as much with horror games tho. For the ai I did spot some patterns while playing it, which turned some parts into very repetetive experiences for me. I knew how the alien would act and so it was just about repeating the same action and waiting out the alien do its thing over and over in that situations. It wasn't always like this, but I do remember some parts, where that was the case. Making the alien completely invulnerable, while giving the player weapons, that should work and we know they should through the movies did draw me out a lot. It made it clear that the alien isn't a "real" organsim, but just a simple game element for me. My actions were irrelevant if they fell outside of what the game demanded me to do. There was a script to follow. But honestly both critique points are just basically every single player horror game. And for one of those I do think the game was good.
I think your point on the weapons is a fair criticism. I get that they wanted us to strategize with stealth and craft items to lure the alien and sneak away, but I agree that when it did come down to a fight, it did feel pointless not inflicting ANY damage. A nice fix would have maybe been to increase the menace guage dramatically if you wounded the alien, making it super aggressive?
@@thejesshinds I think this is probably a difficult to solve problem. To keep it feel real you'd prolly need to at least leave some lasting injuries on the alien, which would prolly eat up some dev time to make that work and feel meaningful. Another way would be to let you actually be able to kill the alien, but it not being the only one. And it should be really, really difficult. But that would also require changing a lot of the game and maybe remove some of the perceived threat. And finally the third way, which I think prolly works the best in horror games is to not give the players anything to fight back with. Tho this would also change the game a lot, especially against the non alien foes. One thing I think that makes the alien movie work so well is that the threat feels real. It is a very imposing creature, but not magical or supernatural in any way. It feels real and you can try to defend yourself as the crew does. It's just very, very difficult. I think a lot of this tends to be lost in later alien movies. Especially covenant. The aliens there often feel a bit more like cgi constructs, that aren't real. I haven't read much of the comics, but from what I've heard a lot of those seem to suffer that aswell in a different way, where aliens are hyped up as to big of a threat. Having mlitaries be stupid for no reason. It makes you see that it's a story not something real.
@@thejesshinds The weapons were really made for fighting Working Joes and other humans. They weren't meant for the xenomorph (other than the flamethrower)
More than one alien is totally valid because we do see more xenomorphs towards the end :) I think for a decade ago this game did a lot of ground-breaking things, but yeah if they made a sequel or something today, we'd definitely need more than chore-fetch quests while just hiding in between.
Is there a specific part you're looking for and I can help you out? Most of the info in the script is directly from the source material or from experience/knowledge of game dev.
@@parchemiarz For the NPC AI, I haven't drawn from a single specific source, it's info covered in academic resources and game development that I'm learning, and I've just summarized some of what is relevant here. But, I can totally send you some literature and names of courses if you're interested in learning more about the topic? Then the Fight or Flight response when gaming is based off a few studies I've come across on the cortisol levels of participants while gaming (Namely measuring aggression to be fair). Like any good study, you'll also find opposing research saying the exact opposite, so this can definitely be contested. I chose to use the logic of playing a stressful game will cause some sort of stress, resulting in a level of physical reaction from the cortisol. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563216308731 www.nature.com/articles/s41380-018-0031-7
Yup! Put the specifics in the description: All movie spoilers are avoided when mentioning Alien: Romulus, except for the mention of one reveal at 01:39-01:55
I'm confused. What was the point you were trying to make at the beginning regarding Romulus? If the criticism is that the film "didn't contribute anything new"* to the franchise, I don't see how that couldn't also be said of Isolation? Romulus largely reinterprets or reuses ideas from older films/comics/books/games, with most of the standout qualities falling into the former category. Isolation does almost the exact same thing, with the obvious exception being that one is a strictly visual piece of media and the other is interactive. (I'd also argue Romulus took on a much more challenging task, trying to be a creative, coherent, well-integrated prequel to Aliens, AND sequel to Alien, Prometheus, and Covenant. I love Isolation, but I'm just not sure how you're saying it differs from Romulus in this sense. Am I missing something? p.s., the creature born at the end of the film was/is being referred to as the "Offspring" by the ppl who worked on the film.
My criticism didn't extend to the game as I was specifically speaking about the films then, but it's totally fair to say the same for Isolation not introducing any "new horror" 😊 I think the exemption for me personally comes from the game still being terrifying to play (based off the other points in the video), whereas I found Romulus a little routine in terms of recycling scares. Sometimes to the point of even mirroring shots of other Alien films (it could be argued as an homage, but still). I get your point of it being a prequel, so introducing something new would be a challenge and possibly mess with lore, but we did get the Offspring (thank you!) and another reaction of the Chemical A0/Prometheus black goo, so it wouldn't be a stretch to introduce more consequential earlier on in the film and see the ramifications of this (yet we got another trapped with the xenomorphs and facehuggers in a ship battle). I feel like they've maybe set it up to show a new use for the Goo and it's now potentially going to the colony? I really hope there is another film exploring this a bit more 😊🙏
@thejesshinds Okay, I get that now, I think. I just assumed there was a point being made in that section that was more relevant to the rest of the video or the game in general since it's how you chose to open the script/discussion. I could've just missed/misunderstood a transition of topics or something if that was the case, tho. I didn't really notice much of the "recycling"/homage when it came to the gags/scares on my viewing of the film, although that might be because I've consumed so much Alien media that everything sorta looks kinda samey to me now. To be fair tho, are we really going to fault someone for not reinventing the wheel when it comes to a chest-burster scene at this point? The best you can really do is distract from the fact that everyone knows what’s coming and I feel like they accomplished that as best they could. That being said, my biggest criticism of Romulus was all of the aggressively jarring calling back to well-known dialogue from earlier movies. I didn't mind how corny the film was in places, but the blatant copy+pasting of lines like "Get away from her, you b***h!", "I prefer the term 'artificial person’ myself.", and "I can't lie to you about your chances..." all felt needless when the scenes themselves would've stood on their own or even would've been improved if the reference(s) had been omitted. To your point abt the movie being a prequel, I feel like it would have been pretty hard to get ppl to buy into the idea of bringing the “black goo” back as a point of focus for the series given how poorly received Prometheus and Covenant were and how they never arrived at any conclusion that tied them in with the rest of the series. Back-dooring that plot point into the greater series by couching it in a more traditional Xenomorph-centric story accomplishes addresses those issues, imo. Plus, now further projects can take advantage of it like you said you’re hoping for without that baggage. Lastly (I swear I’ll shut up soon), I feel like the movie did a lot of original stuff given the limitations/goals they had. The ways they were still able to create tension in the Facehugger-centered scenes were really impressive given how banal they should be to the audience at this point. The cocoon scene leveraged a new feature of the Xenomorph life cycle to create some great uncertainty (in the moment at least) and the kill at the end was (and those throughout the whole movie) fittingly gruesome. The zero-gravity, acid-blood hallway sequence was super creative and so much fun (even if it wasn’t the scariest scene in the movie). Even though it was pulled from other media I also loved the new behaviors the Xenomorph exhibited (“saving” Rain so she could be Face-Hugged sticking out as a particularly disturbing example). Even though it wasn’t until the last 20-25 minutes of the movie that we see a new (if not wholly original) monster, I feel like the movie introduced enough new concepts/scenarios to keep the audience guessing. We can agree to disagree, tho. 👍
@@lizdevine2525 (Please don't ever shut up, haha) We don't need to agree to disagree; these kinds of discussions are nice to have without needing a black-and-white answer. One of my favourite things about films and games is seeing the different interpretations, and I'm not an authority on anything, I'm a random Yapper on the internet who makes videos on what the inside of my head looks like so I can speak to others about it too, I don't need to be the most correct about anything, so dissecting every little point I've made on here with such specificity like it's an academic paper is maybe not necessary as it's just my little opinion :) At the time of making this video, I was a small 500 sub-channel with maybe four other videos (now a slightly less small channel); I didn't expect anyone to really even see this; I just made something about a topic I enjoy with a lot of room for nuance. To try to answer you, the recycling for me were things like shot-for-shot repetitions of scenes like the alien coming in close to the hero's face, using x-ray to see embryos before they burst open, and the classic 'xenomorph is actually behind you' sort of thing. To your point, a lot of this, coupled with exact quotes from previous films, is what made me feel like it was layered on a bit thick. I don't think they needed to reinvent the wheel, I think they needed to stop walking their audience through the basics. While the characters may be discovering things for the first time, we're not, and I just personally feel like too much emphasis was put on moments of discovery, but this is completely subjective on how each person received it, my word is not law. A way I think this movie would have been cool for me personally is if the Offspring was around early on, taking out characters along with the xenomorphs or even having some in-fighting. Similar to Jurassic World and the Indominus Rex? We've SEEN dinosaurs escaping in a park, it's old and tired, but this new threat hunting for sport and being a new type of dinosaur they couldn't handle brought a bit of freshness and interest in how the new problem would be solved. In Romulus as soon as they first mentioned the zero gravity when looking for the cryo, I immediately turned to my partner and said that's coming in a fight later (although, it was still very cool to watch) and we knew the station was going to crash up at some point anyways, so I personally just felt like I was watching another Final Girl run around a space station with xenomorphs :)
I never got to play it before it was removed 😭 I have watched some playthoughs, but I don't think it's fair to judge based off something I actually played.
The scariest game ever made? That's says a lot about how numb I've become. To me the alien was an annoying obstacle, that I didn't enjoy at all. Just like Amnesia The Bunker, the game is best when the monster is in the walls and doesn't show.
A few people have had this sentiment, I totally get it 😊🙏 I think if you're big brain enough to figure the AI out or get used to the alien, it loses the fear factor. I never got super into the Amnesia games because I have a personal disdain for "I woke up and don't know how I got here" horror 😅 But the one level with the invisible entity in the water was truly terrifying to get through.
Whilst the films captivate, the games are where the experiences are. Isolation is the pinnacle of Alien games.
People who don't game don't get it! Horror where you can't hide under the sheets is the BEST!
I love horror, and I love Alien, but have been avoiding this one as I don’t tend to like ‘timed’ games. Where I’m being chased the entire time with no real break in between. Are there times in this game where just looking around isn’t actively detrimental to you?
I would LOVE to have another experience like this in a horror game.
Unfortunately, most horror games 'reward' exploration with jumpscares, so there's never real safety as you're usually being guided towards a danger. I think some open world horror games might scratch your itch like The Forest, Sons of the Forest, Dying Light, STALKER, Subnautica and The Evil Within. A Quiet Place game also looks promising for when it's released.
@@eebikonly certain parts of the game are like that. Play it
I found that the better you are at the game the scarier it was because you lose the fear of dying if you keep dying but if you keep succeeding the death fear doesn’t go away
Excellent point!! 😌🙏
We need a revival of this game, it was so unfairly mistreated 10 years ago, imagine all the possibilities for a good sequel there are.
I only played it four (?) years ago, so I thankfully missed any hate it might have gotten. A Quiet Place looks really promising though, and it could really scratch the itch if they use a similar AI for the death angels (especially since managing the sound you make is a key metric)
@@thejesshinds this was one of the few games I bought when it came out, and I was so disappointed that the critics gave it such a low score, it frustrated me a lot.
It didn't get much hate at all, because almost everyone that played it loved it, but the reviews were made by idiots, and it scared away a lot of potential audience for this game.
About a quiet place, I wasn't much aware of the game, but it does look promising. If they manage to get at least 50% of what Alien Isolation did right, it will probably be the best horror game of the decade
Luckily, it’s getting a remaster + sequel
There’s a lot to look forward to
Loads of people are still playing it and streaming it. I myself am playing it right now for the first time. I'm currently in medical, too scared to get out from under a table. 😂
@@jenni5104the way I've literally been in your position 🤣
10 years later Alien: Isolation still gets the recognition it deserves. Love the game.
It's a little sadistic, but I wish we could mandate a playthough so everyone can experience it as least once 😅
Alien Isolation is a masterpiece of atmosphere and immersion. I could only play it for an hour or two at a time during the first play through. Glad to see it's experiencing something of a revival as it approaches it's tenth (!) anniversary
I have been kicking my feet watching all the new playthroughs from everyone who didn't have this on their radar! I hope it shows the devs how hungry we all are for more.
The really terrifying moment I had was after hiding and I thought the alien had moved on and when I left the room, it was waiting at the door. I had never encountered an AI that had holistically set a trap.
It's done this to me too and I'm not exaggerating when I say I started crying 🤣 I've never been so scared in my life and I realized I'd last 0.2 seconds in any situation IRL
I just wanted to comment that I really appreciate your video style and quality. I was surprised to see you are such a small creator.
Thank you so much! 😊🙏 I do prefer creating content outside of the algorithm without the pressure of a big audience 😅
I found this game to be scarier than any of the movies, because there were consequences to my actions in the game. I don't get the (additional) layer of fear of making the wrong move when watching a movie. Excellent video! I can't wait to see more!
Thank you so much!
Hey I just want to say, this video inspired me to buy and play Alien isolation and I had a great time. And as a horror fan who is mostly immune to scares, I did find this game extremely anxiety inducing and it has also intruduced me to the franchise that I will now be getting into. So, thanks !
This video was SO good and I was surprised to notice at the end that it only has 626 views!! It deserves many more!! Keep doing what you're doing :)
She really does! Quality is good!
Well, you prophesized something, it's suddenly popped off haha. Thank you!
Bro Alien Isolation came out 10 YEARS AGO WHAT?! Ive sat here thinking it was like 4/5 years wtf this has ruined my night
I have literal grey hairs now, everything feels over a decade old to me 😭
This is excellent. Wow. So many Important ties from Romulus to Isolation I didn't know? Shows how lovingly it was put together and with such detail!
We can count it as an unofficial video game adaptation, and just add it to list of the great ones 🤭
@@thejesshinds Bet!
The director for Romulus is a massive Isolation fan. The whole movie was basically a love letter to it
Yup! I feel like a lot of the video game adaptations we've seen in films and tv shows would be better off if people who actually like the games were in the production teams
Cute and soothing voice, competent production value and editing, quality analysis of geeky topics, well written and well-delivered script. Yep, this channel will probably go far
This is extremely kind, thank you ☺️🙏🙏
Great video analysis! super underrated channel btw! :)
Thank you, it's much appreciated 😊🙏🙏
Back when I finished this game my first thought was that I felt bad for all the people that are fans of the first Alien film yet they're too terrified to even come as close as to poke this game with a ten foot pole. Because they 100% should be. I'm a seasoned and avid horror game player and to this day this game has, for me, raised the bar across the board and come off as the _Apex_ horror experience in the entire history of multimedia at large.
To whomever reads this comment and feel the first sentence of the previous paragraph speaks directly to them: Don't miss out on this. Embrace the fear. Embrace the struggle. It's 100% worth it. And also you'll have conquered what is widely regarded as one of the most agressively and debilitatingly horrifying video games ever made, so every other that has caught your interest will be a walk in the park. You'll be fine, you got this.
Totally agree with this! I've really struggled to find a horror game that scratches the same itch ss Isolation. I often get a short of fatigue when I start a game and it's got the same motions of jumpscares and chore quests 😅
@@thejesshinds Likewise. If there is any other game out there that has come close to A:I it's, for my money, SOMA. From the gifted minds behind the Amnesia series and a big departure from its setting, a game I wholeheartedly recommend to this day to just go in completely blind and experience it. While it doesn't break any new ground in terms of design and AI, it more than makes up for it with its unique setting, the philosophical questions it provokes, the numbing existential dread it left in me years after the credits rolled, and a very generous sprinkle of body horror to gruesomely fuse it all together. If there's one thing in SOMA that puts it on top of A:I for me is wishing to experience it for the first time again.
Edit: It happens to be on sale right now on Steam. Quite serendipitous indeed.
OK I'll give it a try! I think I missed it because I saw trailers and it looked like another "wakes up and doesn't know how they got there but has to escape" story and I just can't do another one 😅
@@thejesshinds I almost made the same mistake, but it's on the level of Silent Hill 2 regarding how much there is to unpack in it. So much food for thought. Hopefully we get to hear yours about it sometime in the future. Cheers!
Excellent observations and commentary on this spooky game. Liked and subscribed!
Thank you so much! 😊🙏🙏
This is a great breakdown of what makes the game so terrifying. Creative Assembly did such an amazing job re-creating the look and feel of the first Alien film.
Thank you! Honestly, what a fantastic team they are. You can see how much thought went into everything. I didn't even mention the Menace Guage they used, there was just so much that went into crafting the perfect Big Bad.
Only 800 subscribers? Are you crazy!? Beautiful video and analysis
Thank you! I started this channel to make content I wanted to see myself, not make a huge push in growing in, but it's definitely picking up thanks to people like you who exist outside of the algorithms haha
Great video, my favorite part of the game is how it’s the complete opposite of a normal video game power fantasy. Even on the easiest difficulty the Alien can still instant kill you which means no matter what you have to learn to be patient. You get powerful weapons but they are useless against the alien, besides the flame thrower, which if used too much the alien will grow immune. You can’t run because you’ll be heard and the alien is much faster than you. You can’t even hide forever because the AI will eventually narrow down your location. The only thing you have on the Alien is that you are smarter. You have to learn how to avoid, track and listen for the alien. Use gadgets, the environment, or other people to distract it. The scariest part is the aliens unpredictably, you can play a level where the alien never shows up or won’t leave you alone. Another great horror game I think people don’t talk about enough is SOMA, which is scary for much different reasons.
I totally agree! It's way more realistic, because we wouldn't have a single chance with a real alien 😅
Someone else also mentioned SOMA and I definitely want to check it out. I brushed it off because I thought it was another predictable chore-fetch-quest game, but I've since been convinced 😊
@@thejesshinds It's very different, don't read much about it before playing, I played it blind and fell in love with it
This is a remarkably well made and insightful piece of content. I’ve seen a lot of breakdowns centred around Alien Isolation but this is by far the most concise and well structured one I’ve seen. Nice.
Oh my goodness, what a thoughtful comment, thank you! A lot of love goes into these videos :)
01:38 it did bring something new. New android directives overriding older ones. How facehuggers move and the alien cocoon which is basically cryptobiosis. Its why I hope the franchise always goes for different directors. Cameron introduced colonizing worlds, colonial marines and an insect colony take on this spieces. Fincher showed us that facehugger impregenation takes characteristics of the organism it latches onto. Jeunet swimming aliens and a hybrid. Nice vid by the way. I wish Alien: Isolation got a spiritual successor. The medical bay section's tension was something else
Love the video! Really appreciated the explanation of the Xenomorph AI. Hope to see more content!
Thank you so much! 😊🙏
Wow, is this video really this new? It feels like it's popped up in my recommended videos for ages :D Anyways, really good video essay on the subject.
I'm so glad Romulus has raised interest in Isolation recently. I noticed three things Fede hid as nods to the game in Romulus, but didn't spot the save station.
I hope you'll make more gaming video essays. I like how this video was put together, very professional. It also brought up new ideas about the game, and I've watched a lot of Alien: Isolation content. This video and your channel deserve so much more views and subscribers!
I appreciate this so much! 😊🙏 Definitely more to come, I put together a script whenever I hyperfocus on something new.
Romulus has made me want to replay, but I honestly don't think I have the heart for it anymore, so I'm sticking to watching others for now.
this video is so well done, great job hope this blows up soon!!!!!
Thank you so much, that's very kind ☺️☺️
LOVE the video. There’s insight along with great editing
Appreciate this, thank you so much!
Another great video Jess
Thank you!!
I love how in the movies, in numerous scenes the Alien/s are hidden in plain sight. The first time you see them, you dont see them until you re watch them. So well done. Alien: Isolation - The best Alien game to date hands down.
It's like we, as the audience, are being stalked too! Such a clever choice 🙏
@@thejesshinds 100%! Almost a 4th wall interaction with the audience. Great point 😊👍🏻
I love just walking around the station and taking in the architecture and aesthetic. Also hearing the sounds of the station.
I think you're built different, because I am RUNNING away
Great video! I'm a long-time fan of the game (even before I've watched the original Alien) - I've watched many TH-camrs do their own playthroughs for years before I worked up the nerve to buy the game myself. Played it on Easy mode first before working my way up to Hard mode, where I'm currently in. Scariest game ever, but it's also so so good!
Thank you! I don't think someone could actually pay me to pick up this game again, let alone do it on any level over easy haha, so I take my hat off to you.
@@thejesshinds hahaha totally get you - i felt like passing out even in Easy mode, but then i had a funny encounter where i accidentally jumped out of a locker i was hiding in straight into the Alien, and then it felt a bit like i stepped on a really angry cat😭 anyways, i hope you keep making great videos like these! and maybe even someday surprise yourself & play it again lol
Excellent video, great editing and analysis. glad I found this channel, think this style of video will go far 👍🏼
I appreciate this so much, thank you! 😊🙏
Such a good video about one of my favourite games of all time. Isolation is certainly not a perfect game, but every time I play it I'm utterly terrified
Thank you! I can't bring myself to play it again, but I love watching others 😅
Fantastic video. It's tough for me to overall decide on the scariest game I've ever played. But I can say this for alien isolation, no game fills me with such an enormous amount of tension, and it is nearly CONSTANT
Which is part of why I have trouble playing it for more than like 40 minutes at a time lol
I'm kind of with you on Romulus. I didn't hate it. I liked it way better than covenant at least. I can't call it a bad movie, visually it is shot very well, I see why they put it on IMAX
And while it was neat to see something like a nod to isolation in it, the film just doesn't feel like it has its own identity. Instead it's like they asked an AI to make a greatest hits mashup of all the prior alien films and squish them into one.
This game, to me really is the ultimate love letter to the original film.
Despite the game being a decade old now, it still looks fantastic too. On any platform, even the switch! 😅
Honestly the scariest game I've played. I actually couldn't finish it
Thank you! I honestly cried three times while playing this (once because my husband walked into the room, and it scared me to death), so maybe I should have also cut down the playtime.
Yeah I loved the film, particularly loved Andy, I just wasn't ever scared? In a horror film?
Also, I would NEVER play this game on Switch, only because I'd throw it across the room on any jump scares haha.
Even the iOS version looks great :0
Brillant Video! At 2:43 you say that Alien Isolation is set between Alien and Aliens but the graphic shows Isolation after Aliens.
Someone else also pointed this out and I haven't stopped thinking about it since haha It's totally my mistake, I mostly worked on this after hours and things slipped through the cracks. I also didn't expect so many people to see this video, so I'll be triple checking next time!
What a great video! I'm so glad I found this channel ❤ Can't wait to see more
Appreciate this so much!!
Not only did this video go deep into Alien extended lore, I didn’t count any factual errors. Great job!
Thank you so much! 🙏
Super interesting video, thanks!
Thank youuu ☺️🙏
Only recently got around to restarting and finishing it (prompted by the release of Romulus)
When I bought and played the game back in 2014, I could not make it more than a few missions in, not out of difficulty but because I was new to horror games and the game was just too scary for me to continue (hiding under a desk while the Alien looked for me, I was too stressed and just gave up)
I STILL haven't finished it, I don't think I have it in me, so I'll enjoy playthoughs from far haha 😅
But its so cool that you got through!
Instant sub. Glad I found your channel!
Really appreciate that!
I rlly like this video. The editing is awesome.
(If you are taking suggestions, could you leave the pages with text up like 3 seconds longer. I'd like to be able to ready more)
Thank you so much! I appreciate that feedback, I'll keep it in mind for the next one ☺️🙏
Alien: Isolation is the only game I've ever played that made me genuinely question if my heart would hold out.
I can't believe this game is almost 10 years old already. RIP. Shame we never got a sequel, it would have been nice to see CA iterate on these features and maybe make the environments more dynamic and interactive. Good breakdown
10 years old and going strong! I'm really excited for A Quiet Place coming next month though, I really hope the death angels stalk in the same way and we get some version of this again.
We're getting a sequel and a remaster! I don't know when, but it's been announced.
Amazing video! Subscribed
Thank you so much! 😊🙏
My first playthrough of Isolation took me nearly 50 hours lol. I get lost easily, am bad at puzzles, and was juggling college, raising a sick neonatal kitten*, AND getting the piss scared out of me by this game. But was so worth it. Picked it back up a few days ago for a replay one year later and it's still just as terrifying. Knowing how the AI works somehow doesn't break the immersion for me. It actually kinda amps it up to know this thing is THINKING. Really cool, always will be one of my favorite horror games!
I wish we had the ability to connect a microphone on the PC version. My first run was on a laptop that overheated each time I booted up the game, and the sound was coming through its low-quality speaker. But now I'm on a beefy PC with some good headphones and good lord the atmosphere is SO MUCH MORE TENSE with directional audio. I was scared the first time, now I'm on the edge of my seat. I upped the difficulty this time around too. It's been an all around really fun experience. Isolation usually goes on sale for SUPER cheap in April. Felt like I got away with stealing. I'm not sure if the DLCs are worth checking out but I think I'll give 'em a try sometime. Every horror fan should play this. Every Alien fan should play this.
(*the kitten's name is Ripley. I found him 4/24, just a few days before Alien Day ^_^. He's alive and well, now a fully grown and healthy cat.)
This is legitimately my favourite reply, and I really wish we could post photos so I could see Ripley now
You're right about the psychological aspect of the game. I picked up Isolation after Covenant came out. Loved the movie, picked up the game. Started in 2017 on Nightmare and it took me 3 years to finish because one section just got too stressful. Fast forward to Romulus and I reinstalled the game. Not even 5 seconds after you get to walk on Sevastapol and I already got tense and filled with anxiety. No game, not even non-horror like RDR ir Kingdom Hearts, has hit me that hard on a replay.
I cannot believe you STARTED on Nightmare 😭 You couldn't pay me to even try it haha. You're so right, this games replayability is fantastic because you'll never get the same jumpscares.
Really well done video! Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much!
So amazing that this has still stood the test of time
It just goes to show what happens when we don't just prioritize graphics and realism.
would love to watch your playthrough!
Unfortunately it was years ago on Twitch, but my neighbors definitely knew about it as well 😅
great video! subbed in the first 3 minutes haha. just one critique(?) the timeline at 2:40 ish showed isolation placed after Aliens, while you said it was between Alien- Aliens. then the next shot of the time line is corrected. just an inconsistency i noticed.
Oh my goodness that must have been a midnight oil mistake 😭 I'm so irritated now! Thanks for pointing it out though 🙏😊
this is some crazy top notch editing, all the props to you for making this
Oh my goodness thank you so much! 😊🙏🙏
This video explains really good why the Game is so terrifying and shows the reasons for why it is the best horror game ever made!
Thank you!
Try it in VR. I can only play for about 20 mins before stopping, in case I have a heart attack.
I absolutely will not be able to try the VR hahaha
With all the buzz around Alien Romulus, I’m seeing a lot more discussion about A Isolation, hopefully that’ll push Sega/Disney to greenlight a sequal
I have loved watching all the new playthroughs and people hating every second haha. It's definitely time for a new game in the franchise!
Alien Isolation is my favorite horror game of ALL TIME, and i've been gaming for more than 20 years. Phasmophobia is the only other game that comes close imo.
Same! I never really got into Phas, but I think it was the multiplayer aspect? My friends are a lot of fun, so we also struggle to take things seriously 😅
@@thejesshinds Perhaps. I for one prefer playing Phasmo solo because it's much scarier that way (and more challenging). The atmosphere is kinda lost with people.
It's definitely not a game for everyone though, so i cautiously recommend it. But i love it for almost the same reasons i love Alien: Isolation. The atmosphere and the unpredictability of everything are absolute masterclass 👌
Oh yeah I should try a solo run!
*Slaps top of channel* this bad boy can fit so many good videos in it
😂😂😂
Top Comment 🤣🤣🙏
The use of music was really well done!
Music is awesome!
I appreciate you noticing this so much haha. It took me two days to get it where I wanted
@@thejesshinds fuck yeahhh, love that
Alien: Isolation is a masterpiece.
It also becomes a lot easier if you've ever played the legendary Thief trilogy.
Sound is a much better tool for detecting the creature than the motion tracker, just like in The Dark Project or The Metal Age.
Oh I'll take a look into the Thief trilogy, I haven't heard of that before 🫡🙏
@@thejesshinds
Be aware: The games are over 20 years old so expect some adjustment to both the controls and graphics.
But if you can get them down, you'll play some of the finest Stealth experiences the industry has to offer.
And each game has a horror style mission, with the third one, Deadly Shadows, having one of the scariest gaming levels ever made.
If you wanna get the best experience out of them, go to the Through the Looking Glass forum (Looking Glass Studios was the developer). The community has created mods that improve visuals controls, some QOL features, and even fan missions.
I'm on my first playthru, I got it when it first game out and quickly noped out. Romulus encouraged me to face my fears and get back to work. It is my favorite piece of alien content second only to the original Alien and Aliens.
I've beaten litteraly everything in the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne, demons souls and Elden Ring and I have to brace myself before starting a session with Isolation lol
Maybe I should follow your lead, I tapped out just before act 3 😅 I've loved watching others play through from a safe distance though haha. Good on you for finishing this, I feel like it deserves a real achievement.
@thejesshinds if I can pull this off I'm certain you can too:)
Admittedly I have had to look up tutorials more than a few times when I get stuck lol
I’ve finished Isolation twice. I’m pretty sure the stress took a few months off my lifespan.
I pretty much quit after picking up the flamethrower and it helping me in no way 😅 Now I just watch play throughs from a safe distance haha
this video is so outstandingly high quality. you deserve so many more views and you definitely have my sub!
I appreciate that so much, thank you! ☺️🙏
One small correction: isolation takes place BEFORE Aliens, not after. This is because Ellen Ripley was revealed to have been in stasis for 57 years, at the beginning of the Original film's sequel. From her daughter's perspective, she had only been missing for 15 years. Also in Aliens, there was a deleted scene where the fact her daughter had passed away from cancer at the age of 66 was revealed to Ellen, showing a photo of Sigourney Weaver's late mother.
The timelines don't add up then as Alien takes place in 2122, and the game’s timeline is in 2137? The whole plot of Isolation is that Amanda is searching for answers regarding her mother’s disappearance after the events of Alien. I did also mention Amanda Ripley's passing in the Aliens director's cut at 16:13 :)
@thejesshinds your reply is correct, but you are still confused? Ellen is still drifting in space waiting to be found while he daughter is looking for clues from the remains of the space station featured in Alien. The timeline makes perfect sense to me
@@briangiven7399 Oh Sorry, I read "Alien" haha. Yes the infographic had a mistake from what I said.
@@thejesshinds All good! I'm still on my first play through and love how terrifying this immersion can be. You presented this masterpiece flawlessly, AMAZING job, my friend!
just starting the video, and I just wanna say that I was scared of horror games and Allen isolation isolation was my first one, because I was really fascinated by the AI and tbh no other horror game makes me scared now because of it lol
It's cool how just thinking about it got me scared as well!
It ruined other horrors for me to! Between jumpscares, I've just been getting quite bored, because there's also usually very little to them outside of that in terms of story :/
@@thejesshinds I still enjoy most other horrors, but it made me unable to enjoy stealth mechanics in any other game. no other game made stealth so engaging, full of tension and just straight up fun, once you get the hang of it. altho it also had some of the worst stealth sections where you have to sneak past any other enemy than alien, imo androids should be mostly seen in combat encounters
Man, tell me more about Allen: Isolation. Allen must be one really scary guy!!! 😱
9:30
I think that the enviromental AI will at this point gave as information (or a clue) your location directly to the Xenomorph AI. So, you can't get out, xenomorph will in the end find you if you are at the same spot for too long
Yup that's true! I think one of the game hints said something like "hiding is only a temporary solution"
Great video!
Thank you so much!
I love the game, but unfortunately I stopped being scared of the alien by halfway through, after figuring out how it behaves and how to handle it I didn't feel afraid anymore, the non-alien enemies were more frightening. It's still amazing and the AI is really interesting how it works but the second half of the game was lackluster to me because I was no longer afraid.
I've seen a few complaints like this and I totally get it. Personally, I'm a bog scaredy cat, so even the Androids had me running for my life haha.
@thejesshinds That's the weird thing, I'm generally really easy to scare, I had to have someone with me to walk through the first dark doorway in Resident Evil 7. I guess fear of the unknown is the thing that scares me most, once I figure out how a game works like the alien AI it becomes a lot less scary.
Although I don't blame you on the androids, those stressed me out more than the alien.
I would never say that this is the scariest game ever made; although it is quite terrifying at times.
What is the scariest one you've played? :)
Regarding Romulus.. the baby is called The Offspring.
Thank you!
what a sick video I love the analysis! I always wondered how the alien ai worked in alien isolation and why it always found me hiding in a locker 🤦
great video, I subbed.
Thank you! I also forgot to mention it had a Menace Guage, so it would also give you a bit of 'break' if it found you too easily and it would appear less. But yeah, as a fellow locker-camper, I salute you haha.
You should take a look at Haunting Ground, an (unfairly) underrated, overlooked survival horror that has only been given its' dues in recent years. It's a PS2 game from 2005. Lovely editing and presentation!
Oh wow I'll definitely do that! And thank you ☺️🙏
Yeah, Haunting Ground is like Alien: Isolation-lite. The enemies in that game behave a lot like the Xenomorph does in A:I, albeit far more rudimentary of course since it's a game from 2006
Playing Alien Isolation is the peak Alien experience
And I'm SO happy it's having a revival!
I am curious about visions for how to expand on the games brilliant concepts for a possible sequel.
Maybe a less linear story?
More players keeping the ship together while surviving as good as they can?
What else?
Two Aliens?
The Alien sets traps dynamically, like sabotaging airsupport, electricity, mother and so on?
An impostor or different competing goals for the crew of players?
A manipulative AI driven mothur 9000?
Destructable environment?
Yeah, the multiplayer game in the franchise was definitely more action and less stealth, so I like your idea more.
I think it would also be fun to have some players be survivors and one to be the alien? Similar to In Silence.
A Quiet Place looks really promising as well, and I hope they use a similar AI for the death angels (especially since managing the sound you make is a key metric). I think it's releasing in October, but I'm definitely going to give it a try!
Only way i can see a sequel work, is if we are isolated on a planet rather than a station. Which would mean, we'd be hunted by a bunch of aliens rather than one (we would also have deadlier weapons that could kill the xenomorphs too, since we no longer have to worry about hull damage)
In other words, the sequel would be more Aliens than Alien.
I COULD also see a multiplayer asymmetrical game working... But i'm sure 90% of the playerbase would've been massively disappointed with it
Oh my gosh, I love that idea! They could maybe even incorporate the Goo being released on the planet and then you also have to contend with mutants and potentially even mutated xenomorphs (like TLOU having different zombies requiring different tactics).
Can I ask what songs you used as the background music for this video? They were excellent choices 👌 I just found your channel today and an enjoying your retrospectives. Cheers
You need to try Alien Isolation in VR
I couldn't be paid to do this 😅
If you see this, a sequel has been officially announced! If you've been hiding in a locker for years (like me), this is our motivation to get out ❤️
x.com/AlienIsolation/status/1843305291322200488?t=nCVSIIYw4VGmcwthjel7Kg&s=19
So good, I’ve bought it four times. And the DLC. I’d give CA anything for a sequel.
Agreed! I need them to stop making Total War games for one second and focus 😅
I absolutely love Alien: Isolation! I currently have 2,339.5hr play time with it on Steam.
I'm assuming you have the heart of a horse with that 🤣 I really admire putting yourself in this situation for so long
Such an amazing video! The music and your voice make such a great ambience. 👏👏
Music is top tier!
Thank you! I'm so glad you mentioned the music because it took me two days of Frankensteining synth and bass together haha
@@thejesshinds You made the music yourself? Bro.
tbh the music i could do without, but probably in the minority here... rest is clas tho
@@parchemiarz it's mostly instrument stems and samples all cut and pieced together in the editing software, but it would be WAY easier to just make it all from scratch with a synth or music software next time.
i now understand why this game wasn’t as commercially successful as it should have been. everyone was too scared to play it 😂
Honestly, it makes a lot of sense hahah
Where can I find the clip at 8:00 in
It's from Dari Dude Gaming (@daridudegaming9239) here on TH-cam 😊🙏
@@thejesshinds thanks
There's never been a horror game since Alien Isolation that instills fear in me like AI does. The fact that you never know where the alien will come from combined with the sounds your constantly hearing, wondering if that was the alien or the ship. I always turn the soundtrack off on this game as I find the music distracting, so much better wandering a quiet ship.
Honestly I'm dying for another game to make me feel this way 😭 I have a personal vendetta against whoever did the sound design of the alien in the vents, specifically haha
13:00 I have no mouth and I must scream vibes
I still need to read this!
ALIEN ROMULUS WAS AMAZING WHATTT
No, I did enjoy it! I just didn't find it scary, and my hopes were high considering all the game inspiration 🙏 It's still a GREAT film
Maybe a bad take, but for me the game while being a good game is not as great as people praise it. Maybe that's just me not vibing as much with horror games tho.
For the ai I did spot some patterns while playing it, which turned some parts into very repetetive experiences for me. I knew how the alien would act and so it was just about repeating the same action and waiting out the alien do its thing over and over in that situations. It wasn't always like this, but I do remember some parts, where that was the case.
Making the alien completely invulnerable, while giving the player weapons, that should work and we know they should through the movies did draw me out a lot. It made it clear that the alien isn't a "real" organsim, but just a simple game element for me. My actions were irrelevant if they fell outside of what the game demanded me to do. There was a script to follow.
But honestly both critique points are just basically every single player horror game. And for one of those I do think the game was good.
I think your point on the weapons is a fair criticism. I get that they wanted us to strategize with stealth and craft items to lure the alien and sneak away, but I agree that when it did come down to a fight, it did feel pointless not inflicting ANY damage.
A nice fix would have maybe been to increase the menace guage dramatically if you wounded the alien, making it super aggressive?
@@thejesshinds I think this is probably a difficult to solve problem. To keep it feel real you'd prolly need to at least leave some lasting injuries on the alien, which would prolly eat up some dev time to make that work and feel meaningful.
Another way would be to let you actually be able to kill the alien, but it not being the only one. And it should be really, really difficult. But that would also require changing a lot of the game and maybe remove some of the perceived threat.
And finally the third way, which I think prolly works the best in horror games is to not give the players anything to fight back with. Tho this would also change the game a lot, especially against the non alien foes.
One thing I think that makes the alien movie work so well is that the threat feels real. It is a very imposing creature, but not magical or supernatural in any way. It feels real and you can try to defend yourself as the crew does. It's just very, very difficult. I think a lot of this tends to be lost in later alien movies. Especially covenant. The aliens there often feel a bit more like cgi constructs, that aren't real. I haven't read much of the comics, but from what I've heard a lot of those seem to suffer that aswell in a different way, where aliens are hyped up as to big of a threat. Having mlitaries be stupid for no reason. It makes you see that it's a story not something real.
@@thejesshinds The weapons were really made for fighting Working Joes and other humans. They weren't meant for the xenomorph (other than the flamethrower)
True! But with my bad aim, all I did was attract more attention haha
More than one alien is totally valid because we do see more xenomorphs towards the end :)
I think for a decade ago this game did a lot of ground-breaking things, but yeah if they made a sequel or something today, we'd definitely need more than chore-fetch quests while just hiding in between.
What a fantastic video
I love Prometheus 2:42
So you’re telling me the movie game takes place between the movies that’s kinda funny😅 2:43
It's much less scary if you play it without the music 😊
There’s a slight buzzing sound present in your microphone, just fyi
Thank you! I think it's my PC fan, I'll check that in the next one 🙏
Who is the streamer with the hilarious scream?
Dary Dude Gaming :) I found them after this clip went viral, it's literally my favorite moment.
Can you please provide the list of sources you've used when writing the script?
Is there a specific part you're looking for and I can help you out? Most of the info in the script is directly from the source material or from experience/knowledge of game dev.
@thejesshinds like the differentiation between npc ai 7:16 or the brain thing 10:03
@@parchemiarz For the NPC AI, I haven't drawn from a single specific source, it's info covered in academic resources and game development that I'm learning, and I've just summarized some of what is relevant here. But, I can totally send you some literature and names of courses if you're interested in learning more about the topic?
Then the Fight or Flight response when gaming is based off a few studies I've come across on the cortisol levels of participants while gaming (Namely measuring aggression to be fair). Like any good study, you'll also find opposing research saying the exact opposite, so this can definitely be contested. I chose to use the logic of playing a stressful game will cause some sort of stress, resulting in a level of physical reaction from the cortisol.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563216308731
www.nature.com/articles/s41380-018-0031-7
Subbed
Appreciate you 🙏🙏
Does it video contain Alien Romulos spoilers ??
Yup! Put the specifics in the description: All movie spoilers are avoided when mentioning Alien: Romulus, except for the mention of one reveal at 01:39-01:55
@@thejesshinds thanks...
i don't remember there being a xenomorph in P.T.
I never got to play it before it was removed 😭
😮
Aliens is my favorite movie ever. Isolation one of the best game i ever play/ But the scariest game - is Silent Hill 2.
The Silent Hill games are horrendous to play (in a great way)!
I just wish I could turn off the nausea inducing head bob off in alien isolation. Maybe I could actually play it.
Yup! I also hate this in games 😭
I'm confused. What was the point you were trying to make at the beginning regarding Romulus?
If the criticism is that the film "didn't contribute anything new"* to the franchise, I don't see how that couldn't also be said of Isolation? Romulus largely reinterprets or reuses ideas from older films/comics/books/games, with most of the standout qualities falling into the former category. Isolation does almost the exact same thing, with the obvious exception being that one is a strictly visual piece of media and the other is interactive. (I'd also argue Romulus took on a much more challenging task, trying to be a creative, coherent, well-integrated prequel to Aliens, AND sequel to Alien, Prometheus, and Covenant.
I love Isolation, but I'm just not sure how you're saying it differs from Romulus in this sense. Am I missing something?
p.s., the creature born at the end of the film was/is being referred to as the "Offspring" by the ppl who worked on the film.
My criticism didn't extend to the game as I was specifically speaking about the films then, but it's totally fair to say the same for Isolation not introducing any "new horror" 😊
I think the exemption for me personally comes from the game still being terrifying to play (based off the other points in the video), whereas I found Romulus a little routine in terms of recycling scares. Sometimes to the point of even mirroring shots of other Alien films (it could be argued as an homage, but still).
I get your point of it being a prequel, so introducing something new would be a challenge and possibly mess with lore, but we did get the Offspring (thank you!) and another reaction of the Chemical A0/Prometheus black goo, so it wouldn't be a stretch to introduce more consequential earlier on in the film and see the ramifications of this (yet we got another trapped with the xenomorphs and facehuggers in a ship battle).
I feel like they've maybe set it up to show a new use for the Goo and it's now potentially going to the colony? I really hope there is another film exploring this a bit more 😊🙏
@thejesshinds Okay, I get that now, I think. I just assumed there was a point being made in that section that was more relevant to the rest of the video or the game in general since it's how you chose to open the script/discussion. I could've just missed/misunderstood a transition of topics or something if that was the case, tho.
I didn't really notice much of the "recycling"/homage when it came to the gags/scares on my viewing of the film, although that might be because I've consumed so much Alien media that everything sorta looks kinda samey to me now. To be fair tho, are we really going to fault someone for not reinventing the wheel when it comes to a chest-burster scene at this point? The best you can really do is distract from the fact that everyone knows what’s coming and I feel like they accomplished that as best they could.
That being said, my biggest criticism of Romulus was all of the aggressively jarring calling back to well-known dialogue from earlier movies. I didn't mind how corny the film was in places, but the blatant copy+pasting of lines like "Get away from her, you b***h!", "I prefer the term 'artificial person’ myself.", and "I can't lie to you about your chances..." all felt needless when the scenes themselves would've stood on their own or even would've been improved if the reference(s) had been omitted.
To your point abt the movie being a prequel, I feel like it would have been pretty hard to get ppl to buy into the idea of bringing the “black goo” back as a point of focus for the series given how poorly received Prometheus and Covenant were and how they never arrived at any conclusion that tied them in with the rest of the series. Back-dooring that plot point into the greater series by couching it in a more traditional Xenomorph-centric story accomplishes addresses those issues, imo. Plus, now further projects can take advantage of it like you said you’re hoping for without that baggage.
Lastly (I swear I’ll shut up soon), I feel like the movie did a lot of original stuff given the limitations/goals they had. The ways they were still able to create tension in the Facehugger-centered scenes were really impressive given how banal they should be to the audience at this point. The cocoon scene leveraged a new feature of the Xenomorph life cycle to create some great uncertainty (in the moment at least) and the kill at the end was (and those throughout the whole movie) fittingly gruesome. The zero-gravity, acid-blood hallway sequence was super creative and so much fun (even if it wasn’t the scariest scene in the movie). Even though it was pulled from other media I also loved the new behaviors the Xenomorph exhibited (“saving” Rain so she could be Face-Hugged sticking out as a particularly disturbing example). Even though it wasn’t until the last 20-25 minutes of the movie that we see a new (if not wholly original) monster, I feel like the movie introduced enough new concepts/scenarios to keep the audience guessing.
We can agree to disagree, tho. 👍
@@lizdevine2525 (Please don't ever shut up, haha) We don't need to agree to disagree; these kinds of discussions are nice to have without needing a black-and-white answer. One of my favourite things about films and games is seeing the different interpretations, and I'm not an authority on anything, I'm a random Yapper on the internet who makes videos on what the inside of my head looks like so I can speak to others about it too, I don't need to be the most correct about anything, so dissecting every little point I've made on here with such specificity like it's an academic paper is maybe not necessary as it's just my little opinion :) At the time of making this video, I was a small 500 sub-channel with maybe four other videos (now a slightly less small channel); I didn't expect anyone to really even see this; I just made something about a topic I enjoy with a lot of room for nuance.
To try to answer you, the recycling for me were things like shot-for-shot repetitions of scenes like the alien coming in close to the hero's face, using x-ray to see embryos before they burst open, and the classic 'xenomorph is actually behind you' sort of thing. To your point, a lot of this, coupled with exact quotes from previous films, is what made me feel like it was layered on a bit thick. I don't think they needed to reinvent the wheel, I think they needed to stop walking their audience through the basics. While the characters may be discovering things for the first time, we're not, and I just personally feel like too much emphasis was put on moments of discovery, but this is completely subjective on how each person received it, my word is not law.
A way I think this movie would have been cool for me personally is if the Offspring was around early on, taking out characters along with the xenomorphs or even having some in-fighting. Similar to Jurassic World and the Indominus Rex? We've SEEN dinosaurs escaping in a park, it's old and tired, but this new threat hunting for sport and being a new type of dinosaur they couldn't handle brought a bit of freshness and interest in how the new problem would be solved. In Romulus as soon as they first mentioned the zero gravity when looking for the cryo, I immediately turned to my partner and said that's coming in a fight later (although, it was still very cool to watch) and we knew the station was going to crash up at some point anyways, so I personally just felt like I was watching another Final Girl run around a space station with xenomorphs :)
I love Alien Isolation-but the scariest game of all time is Dead Space.
I so wish I could be a part of the creation of a Union of Progressive Peoples series.😢
Make sure your bass isn't too high on some of the soundtracks you play it kinda overshadows your voice sometimes
Thank you! I'll keep that in mind for future
@@thejesshinds no problem :3
Scarier than P.T.?
I never got to play it before it was removed 😭 I have watched some playthoughs, but I don't think it's fair to judge based off something I actually played.
The scariest game ever made? That's says a lot about how numb I've become. To me the alien was an annoying obstacle, that I didn't enjoy at all. Just like Amnesia The Bunker, the game is best when the monster is in the walls and doesn't show.
A few people have had this sentiment, I totally get it 😊🙏 I think if you're big brain enough to figure the AI out or get used to the alien, it loses the fear factor.
I never got super into the Amnesia games because I have a personal disdain for "I woke up and don't know how I got here" horror 😅 But the one level with the invisible entity in the water was truly terrifying to get through.