We
get to do a lot of things in video games.
We get to throw fire out of our hands, in underwater cities.
We get to blow up zombies with rocket launchers, because why wouldn’t we?
We get to stomp on evil turtles, and burn their friends alive.
Kind of brutal, when you think about it, but that’s video games.
They let us be the badass.
But what if they didn’t?
What if the only fire in our hands was a flare?
What if, instead of the rocket launcher, all we had was a flashlight?
What if instead of making us powerful…
They made us hide.
This is a video game that’s not a video game.
I mean, obviously, it’s a video game…but it’s a video game that disregards everything
about video games.
Everything they’re supposed to be, it’s not.
And all the things I’d normally think about for a review, don’t really apply here.
In this entire game, there’s one real enemy.
That’s it, and everything happens in one place.
So normally, this is where I’d say something about, “Oh, a lack of enemies, needs more
diversity…game review.”
But that one enemy, is the most daunting game enemy ever.
So much so that, every step you take, you take with caution.
Like, genuine caution.
You walk around this one place, legitimately terrified of what you might see around the
corner.
And that’s the other thing.
A lot of this game is just…walking around.
Looking for things.
Like, a lot of it’s pretty quiet and uneventful.
That’s where I’m supposed to say it’s boring, because a game where you might not
even see anything for a long period of time?
How’s that a game?
But that’s what I mean.
This is a video game…that’s not really a video game.
This is Alien: Isolation.
Despite the name, you don’t have to be a fan of the Alien movies to appreciate what
it’s doing, either.
It’s not like this is good, for a video game based on a movie.
This is just good.
And it’s doing some incredibly cool things, regardless of what it’s based on.
Speaking of which, you play as Ripley.
Amanda, Ripley.
Her mom was Ellen, a lady who’s influenced everything from Contra to Halo to just Samus
Aran, in general.
I mean, so much of video games, from outright references to even general concepts, can be
traced back to the first two Alien movies…that it just makes sense.
That a movie that gave so much to video games, would continue to do so…only this time,
through a video game.
Like, that’s on a different level than most movie games.
Movie games go for “okay at best.”
Alien’s looking for something bigger.
And also you.
So what is Alien: Isolation?
Well…actually, I’m not sure.
I mean, technically, it’s a stealth game…but “stealth” would imply that you’re sneaking
up on people, right?
Hiding behind the box, waiting for the bad guy to turn around, knocking them out cold…like,
“stealth” implies you’re the hunter.
That couldn’t be further from the truth in Alien: Isolation.
I mean, it has the mechanics of a stealth game, but this isn’t a game about stealth.
It’s a game about hiding.
It’s a game that doesn’t patronize you with fantasies of power or strength.
There’s no bravery here.
And even if there were, it wouldn’t mean anything—you’d have a brief little moment
of adrenaline, of feeling good about yourself…a real moral victory.
And then, you’d be dead.
So don’t fool yourself, there are no heroes in this world…least of all you.
There are the survivors… and there’s this guy.
If you don’t want to be this guy…
Run.
And you know, speaking of fragility…what I’ve always loved about Alien…is that,
to me, it’s a really harrowing reminder of that fragility.
Of our place in the grand scheme of things, you know?
Isolation tells a similar story.
I mean, here’s this huge ship, this technological marvel.
A beacon of human ingenuity, and a symbol that represents all of the knowledge and wisdom
we’ve accumulated over centuries and centuries, as a species…
From fire, to the wheel, to prepackaged food.
Our entire existence…and we have this ship, you know?
We have this pretense, that we can understand.
That we’re in a position to understand.
And then we find this.
This one creature we don’t understand.
And that’s all it takes.
We tend to think we’ve got this sh*t covered, as humans, right?
We think a lot of ourselves.
This one creature makes you think otherwise.
And it’s that helplessness, that sudden reversion to an instinct we lost touch with
a long time ago…this taps into it.
It brings it up and leaves it like a lump in your throat…
And it’s terrifying, and uncomfortable, and that’s why it’s awesome.
I guess if you’re looking for an exciting, action-packed video game…which, look, I’m
with you, normally I am, too…this might not be a game for you.
In fact, it probably isn’t.
And it’s not like it’s perfect, either.
It is kind of slow, and it can be very unclear at times.
Plus, it takes some time to get into, and there’s issues with the AI…I mean, it
has some video game problems.
But like I said…it’s not really a video game.
At least, not in the usual sense, not the way we usually think of them.
This is something different, something that’s simultaneously more simple and more complex.
And for me, whatever faults it does have are offset by where it excels.
The atmosphere, that’s where it excels.
It’s thick, and suffocating…strangely beautiful.
It’s not a matter of jump scares, or gory monsters.
It has real dread…that’s where it excels.
It’s about what you see, and what you hear.
And what you feel.
In fact, that’s probably its greatest achievement.
I mean, in a world of big-budget video games that are all doing the
same big-budget video game, Alien: Isolation wants to do something else.
It wants to make you feel something.
Didn’t say it would feel good, though.