Alien: Isolation

Alien: Isolation is a horror game that, as one of the few, tried to faithfully follow the atmosphere of the original 1979 film, and it succeeded better than anyone expected. The player takes on the role of Amanda Ripley, daughter of the film's main heroine, and heads to a remote space station to investigate her mother's fate. Instead of the expected action, however, a decaying, dark complex awaits, patrolled by a single alien creature that cannot be killed, along with terrified people and glitchy androids with an unpleasantly calm voice.

The entire game rests on hiding, eavesdropping and improvisation. The motion tracker only shows an approximate direction, so the player constantly hesitates over whether to peek out or stay under the desk; the alien also reacts to sound and light and gradually learns from the player's tricks, so the same hiding spot stops working. Scavenged parts can be used to craft smoke bombs, noisemakers or flares that temporarily lure the creature away, but never get rid of it. Saving is done at terminals and takes a moment, turning every trip to a save station into a small drama. On Xbox One the game leans on darkness, smoke and flickering screens with the roughly styled graphics of seventies sci-fi, which makes it look very believable.

Sound is the strongest weapon here: hissing ventilation, distant footsteps and orchestral motifs from the film keep tension high even when absolutely nothing is happening. Contemporary reception was mixed mainly due to length and difficulty, but many quickly labeled it one of the best horror adaptations ever made. Its influence can be seen in many later games featuring a single indestructible pursuer. Today Alien: Isolation is considered a classic that players return to even years later. Anyone who enjoys slow, oppressive horror built on patience will find one of the genre's peaks here; anyone expecting an action-packed slaughter against overwhelming odds will be disappointed. Playtime runs well above the horror-genre norm, and the game genuinely earns it.