Tim Turi (he/him)
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The Alien franchise has left a long, deep acid burn on the video game medium ever since the release of the first film in 1979. Whether hiding in lockers in Alien Isolation, blasting waves of creatures in Aliens: Fireteam Elite, or guiding a Marine squad to tactical victory in Aliens: Dark Descent, the series’ rich legacy has left plenty of room for creative interpretation.
With Alien: Rogue Incursion, celebrated VR developer Survios is aiming to make another major contribution to the Alien gaming legacy. This big-budget, immersive PlayStation VR2 experience promises to make players feel like they’re actually inhabiting the dark, brooding world of the films, from navigating the shadowy hallways to wielding authentic Marine firepower against the titular threat.
Ahead of the game’s launch on PS VR2 this December, we went hands-on with a pre-release build of this single-player survival-horror adventure. Here are some highlights of our experience.
An immersive VR Alien fantasy
Survios set out to make players feel firmly planted in the oppressive Alien universe, so don’t expect a cakewalk. Ammo and healing items are scarce, xenomorphs can deliver fatal one-hit blows, and hissing steam vents keep you on edge throughout. Rogue Incursion’s high-fidelity VR presentation is a knockout, with a level of visual detail and polish that puts it among the upper echelon of VR titles. You’ll know what we mean when you stare an encroaching alien in its dripping face and it feels like it’s mere inches away.
The perfect organism
Xenomorphs behave how you’d expect: they’re ominous and unpredictable. Sometimes they’ll slink through a doorway, upright and imposing. At other times they’ll drop to all fours, scuttling forward malevolently. They’re also highly mobile and seemed to take different routes depending on our position, clambering along walls and ceilings or dropping down from vents behind us. Knowing these threats can hit from any angle will keep your head swiveling as you scan the murky environments for threats, keeping your M41 pulse rifle trained on suspicious shapes lurking in the shadows. It all looks and feels ultra faithful to the first two films.
On-body inventory
The stakes are high, but Survios has you covered with a slick on-body inventory powered by the PS VR2’s Sense controllers. Reach over your right shoulder to grab your pulse rifle, clutch a healing stim from your left wrist, or draw a revolver from the holster on your hip. In just a few minutes, the intuitive inventory system became second nature, allowing us to keep our attention focused on encroaching hostiles and staying alive for a little while longer.
There’s something moving and it ain’t us
While there’s plenty of alien-blasting action, Rogue Incursion leaves ample room for quiet, tense moments where we bypassed locked doors or reprogrammed security discs to proceed further. Luckily, we were armed with the iconic Motion Tracker from the second film, and it’s something we quickly came to rely on. Reaching to our right bicep equipped the device, allowing us to track enemy (and ally) movements as we prowled the darkened corridors. This life-saving device can even be placed onto a surface to act as an extra set of eyes as you explore or reload your weapon. Don’t go off-world without it!
Welcome to the retro-future
The Alien universe’s technological aesthetic was solidified from the first moments we saw the Nostromo’s CRT computer monitors, chunky keyboards, and assorted analog gear. Survios pays thoughtful tribute to this tech, so expect to get up close and personal with plenty of 80’s-style gadgets in Rogue Incursion. The PDA tablet is a perfect example. Retrieved by reaching to your right arm, this handheld device can help you save your game and can be slotted into computers to download data. It also clunkily unfolds to reveal a large virtual touchscreen map, which in a clever touch can be scrolled through using your in-game finger.
Elevator action
Our hands-on session culminated in a frantic battle against waves of aliens as we waited for an elevator to arrive. We called on all of our gear and skills to hold the line. We blasted flammable barrels to ignite xenomorphs, under the watchful eye of our strategically placed Motion Tracker device. There were many intense close calls, usually forcing us to flee and heal or fumble fresh shells into our shotgun. Suddenly, a spiked tail burst through our chest, ending our game. But we didn’t dread a restart because the unpredictable actions of the aliens made each new attempt feel fresh and interesting.
Devils in the details
Survivos’s VR expertise was on full display throughout our play session. We were wowed by some of the small, thoughtful details that made the world feel complete, such as using your hand to wipe blood from our eyes or off a computer monitor. The game’s physicality is a huge asset, and as we grew accustomed to removing and replacing weapons and gear from our body, muscle memory took over and the feeling of reality crept in. Reloading a revolver? Press the Circle button to eject the cylinder and shake out the empty casings before reloading each individual bullet. Firing a pulse rifle? Be sure to stabilize the stock with your other hand, or the 10mm explosive-tip caseless rounds will launch into the ceiling instead of at the approaching alien.
Needless to say, we were impressed. Get ready to step into the boots of space marine Zula Hendricks when Alien: Rogue Incursion deploys on PS VR2 on December 19.