Creative Assembly’s long-awaited Alien Isolation 2 has a lot to live up to. Over a decade after the original highly-terrifying game, the studio has largely reformed the game’s original team to bring players a truly horrific horror sequel.
One of the most impressive elements of the first Alien Isolation is undoubtedly the cleverness of its Xenomorph. With a complex AI system (not that type of AI), the iconic Alien could track and hunt players throughout the Sevastapol Space Station.
As players would expect, Alien Isolation 2 aims to expand on the Alien’s AI hunting systems. In the game, players are no longer confined to the inside of a space station, instead crashing on the remote colony planet of LV-921.
Similar to Hadley Hope from Aliens, the weather of LV-921 is volatile with storms and heavy rain. As players move across the environments, which the team describes as being “maybe 10 times bigger than what we had in the first game”, the Alien will make use of the extreme weather to hide and hunt you down more effectively than before.
“ We had to make sure that it would work outside,” they said in a recent Q&A. “We also gave it some new behaviors. It will be even more intelligent. It will react to the player better. It will react to all the new items, gadgets, and tools.”
They continued: “The creature is not going to stop hunting you when you go outdoors. It will use the fact that exteriors are exposed to hunt you more aggressively. It will use weather to hide its movements. It will have new things it can learn over the original game.”
Just like in the original, the Xenomorph will also “change its behaviour each encounter:. In the first title, you could maybe blast the creature with a flamethrower if it got too close, but throwing flames at the alien too frequently would cause it to learn, adapt, and overcome. Maybe it would quickly skirt around you and get you from behind, or maybe just charge through the flames and get you anyway.
While Alien Isolation was focused on tight, claustrophobic interiors. Alien Isolation 2 adds wide, expansive exteriors, and the Alien can be anywhere. “You’re exposed. The wind is howling. The storm is raging. You can’t see, you can’t hear,” the developers said. “Everything about that contributes to your senses. It contributes to the Alien’s senses and how it perceives you. This is the main area of focus for Alien: Isolation 2.”
Honestly, it’s a game you might need to wear your brown pants for. Creative Assembly’s first stab at bringing the Xenomorph to gaming was already one of the scariest game ever made. There are few things as terrifying as hearing the creature stomp around in the air vents beside you. Putting that feeling outside? Oh, boy.
