In what might be one of the biggest surprises of this year’s Summer Game Fest showcase, Alien: Isolation 2 was confirmed for the Switch 2, expanding upon what is easily one of the finest survival horror games of all time with a full-fat sequel.
It’s still a ways off at this point, but some outlets have been lucky enough to go hands on with an early build of the game, jumping headfirst in the opening prologue section in which you play as a character called Blake – that’s right, not Amanda Ripley.
General consensus at the moment seems to be that this is a familiar experience that retains much of what made the original so great, so let’s check out some early impressions. We’ll start with IGN, who you might remember gave the original game quite a damning review back in the day…
IGN – “It’s unsurprising that this short demo was able to so successfully capture the spirit of the original – Alien: Isolation 2 is, after all, helmed by the same director, built by many of the same people, and its prologue specifically designed as a bridge between the two projects. And so it’s convinced me that it’s at least in the right hands. But I’m now more eager than ever to see how this against-the-odds sequel will build upon its predecessor.”
Kotaku – “What I played of Alien: Isolation 2 indicated that it’s a relentless horror game that refuses to let you get comfortable as you crouch behind anything that might, for even a second, obscure you from the creature’s line of sight. It’s a constant game of trial and error in which the odds are stacked against you because you can’t kill this monster, but it only has to catch the slightest whiff of you to bite your head off.”
Nintendo World Report – “If you weren’t a fan of Alien: Isolation, it’s likely that the sequel won’t be winning you over. But if you adored the original like we did, we’re happy to report at first glance this is more of the same. For us, that’s certainly a cause for celebration. Now, if we could just find out what happened to Amanda Ripley…”
Polygon – “That small taste of Alien: Isolation 2 was incredibly satisfying as a stealth-horror experience, and as an enticement for the full game. Creative Assembly has managed to find an exciting way into telling a new Alien story with Isolation 2, thanks to a clever new setting, some fascinating, well-written characters, and, of course, horror sci-fi’s ultimate antagonist.”
The Outer Haven – “Creative Assembly, even after all these years, has managed not only to recreate the experience that made Alien: Isolation so good, but also improve on it. That feeling of dread and helplessness was still there, and that was apparent even after only playing a very small slice of the game.”
Sounds promising so far, right? We’ve got a pretty lengthy wait on our hands though, so hopefully we’ll have much more information in the run up to Isolation 2’s launch on Switch 2.
Are you eager to see more from Alien: Isolation 2? How should it improve upon the original? Let us know.