The winding steel corridors of a vacant space station aren’t likely to be featured in Thompson’s holiday brochures any time soon, but as the echelons of science fiction history tell us, they’re an excellent backdrop for a horror game.

With this firmly in mind, the fine folk at Sega and The Creative Assembly have teamed up to bring us Alien: Isolation. An entombing experience of fear and desperation, forged from the same core concept that Ridley Scott’s masterpiece was born some 35-years ago.

The game follows the exploits of the ever-so-unlucky Amanda. Who has found herself investigating the disappearance of her mother, Ellen Ripley, some 15-years after the events of the classic sci-fi/horror film. As is to be expected with any piece of intellectual property set within this cinematic universe, things go terribly wrong; as young Amanda discovers that the Sevastopol has an infestation issue unlikely to be solved by your local rent-a-kill.

The game assumes the role of realising all of your greatest nightmares with wonderfully dramatic style. Alien: Isolation is a survival horror game and Creative Assembly have been cautious that their product fully embodies that description; there are no hulking grenade launchers or hip-wielded assault rifles here. The objective here is simple: escape and survive.

You’ll be left, alone, with nothing other than a flashlight and a motion-tracker, both of which will be sure to get you-know-who’s attention if used within a certain proximity of said nasty. Hiding in all manner of claustrophobic spaces and running for sheer life are just some of the ways you’ll steer poor Amanda from becoming an appetiser at the Sevastopol restaurant.

There is only one of the infamous xenomorphs in the entirety of Isolation’s playtime and that means you’ll have plenty of time to acquaint yourself with this most undesirable dinner guest. The alien is adaptive and follows no predetermined path, cleverly morphing its behavioural design as it encounters you more frequently, meaning any hopes of survival rely firmly on your caution and reactions once plans A to Y go horribly wrong.

The importance of fear has clearly been a driving facto in the development of this particular Alien game. Gone is the overt action of previous Sega games, replaced by a silent remoteness that absorbs you into the crushing darkness of the ship. The intrinsic beauty of Isolation comes down to vulnerability. You’re not inhabiting the life of a Weyland-Yutani marine – you’re a young girl. And the piercing noises echoing from around the Sevastopol suggest you might well be in trouble.

Here at Zero1Gaming we’re fully aware that in space no one can here us scream, but come October 7^th we suspect we’ll be screaming anyway.

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