Alien: Isolationwas developed by Creative Assembly and released in 2014 on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the PC. The game was set 15 years after the events of the firstAlienand 42 years before its sequelAliens. Isolation’s protagonist was Amanda Ripley the daughter of the film’s lead character Ellen Ripley and she is investigating the disappearance of her mother.
The game is asurvival horrorthat relies on stealth and just like the film Ripley is being hunted by the Xenomorph. The creature can’t be defeated with force and the player is forced to run and hide long enough to break its line of sight. What made these moments so tense was just how clever the Xenomorph’s artificial intelligence was and avoiding it induced a sense of fear not often seen in modern survival horrors. However, it isn’t just the mechanics that makeAlien: Isolationsuch a good but its atmosphere and level design. Here are ten games to play one should try if they want something similar.
10Prey (2017)
Preyis a science fiction horror FPS that was released in 2017 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the PC. It was developed by Arkane Studios who were also responsible for developing theDishonoredseries.
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Preyis more focused on action thanAlien Isolationbut exploring and trying to survive in the atmospheric space station evokes a similar feel to theAlienfranchise. Furthermore, there are plenty of scares and moments of dread as hostile alien entities called the Typhon can take the shape of any items.
9Observer
On the surface,Observerdoesn’t have much in common with theAlienfranchisebut it does inspiration from another Ridley Scott-directed movieBlade Runner. What it does have in common withAlien: Isolation,though is the use of psychological fear and atmosphere to create a feeling of dread in the player.
The game featuresBlade Runner’sRutger Hauer in the starring role as a detective also known as an Observer that is capable of entering the tortured minds of murder victims using a device called the Dream Eater. There are even moments where the player will find themselves in similar hide and seek scenarios toAlien: Isolation.
8The Exorcist: Legion
The Exorcist: Legionis a horror VR game released for the Oculus, HTC Vive, and PSVR. It was originally released as episodic experience but the full game is now available in its entirety. Being a VR game the psychological scares and atmosphere are at the forefront of the game’s scare mechanics.
It’s a very different experience toAlien: Isolationdue to its VR platform, but the overwhelming feeling of dread as you’re dealing with an entity that defies comprehension is inescapable.The Exorcist: Legionis one of the highest quality licensed games available as well as a truly terrifying experience.
TheDead Spaceseries is a third-person action horror game that was released on the Xbox 360, PS3, and the PC. The first two entries took inspiration from theResident Evil 4,and films likeThe Thing, Event Horizon,and of courseAlien.
Given its inspirations,Dead Spaceis an easy recommendation for fans ofAlien: Isolationand the franchise as a whole. Unfortunately, with the protagonist being armed to the teeth it doesn’t quite have the scare factor of a game likeIsolation,but its level and sound design are some of the best ever experienced in a horror title.
6The Persistence
The Persistenceis a VR game available for the PSVR, Oculus Rift, and Vive and it was released in 2018. Visually it shares a lot in common with the third-person action-horror seriesDead Space.However, it is a vastly different experience not just because it is in VR but because it is a Roguelike with procedurally generated levels.
The sci-fi horror title puts the player in the shoes of Security Officer Zimiri Eder aboard the starship The Persistence and just like Ripley she is on her own after the entire ship’s crew has been wiped out. The player is also required to rely on stealth to make it through the game and deal with its many mutated enemies.
5Resident Evil VII: Biohazard
Resident Evil VII: Biohazardwas released for the PlayStation 4, PSVR, PC, and Xbox One in 2018. It was the first game in the series to use the first-person perspective and implement virtual reality.
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REVII’s atmosphere is one of the most intense and dark ever seen in a videogame. This is only emphasized even more with the successful implementation of VR mechanics which transferred perfectly from a normal FPS to VR without a cost to the overall experience.
4SOMA
Somais a science fiction survival horror developed by Frictional Games who were also responsible for one of the most influential horror games of allAmnesia: Dark Descent.The game takes the plater to an underwater research facility called PATHOS=II in the North Atlantic Ocean in the year 2104.
The player is tasked with exploring the facility whilst trying to avoid and deal with the monsters that are in the facility with them. The game isn’t quite as terrifying asAlien: Isolationbut the unnerving level design and a great story andSOMAare on par with the best of them.
3Hello Neighbor
On the surface,Hello Neighbordoesn’t look like it would have much in common with theAlien: Isolation. However, the looks can be deceiving as the colorful art style hides a surprisingly tense and jump inducing game of cat and mouse.
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The player is placed in the shoes of a young boy called Nicky Roth as he’s trying to investigate his creepy neighbor for the suspected kidnapping of his friend. Nicky has to get into the house and into the basement without being caught and this is where the similarity toAlien: Isolationbegins. The neighbor’s artificial intelligence is incredibly adaptive as it learns from the player’s actions in the previous attempts and is even capable of surprising by predicting the player’s escape route.
2The Amnesia Collection
The Amnesia Collectionbegan withAmnesia: Dark Descenton the PC in 2010 and was followed by its sequelAmnesia: A Machine For Pigsin 2013. Both games eventually made their way to consoles as part of the collection in 2016 on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
It was one of the first games to implement the hide and seek style gameplay with the protagonist Daniel being completely defenseless against the monsters that chase him and he must stay out of the light to go unnoticed. Furthermore, Daniel’s sanity must be kept in line too because if it gets too low then he will begin to hallucinate and draw the attention of the horrific monsters he’s trying to hide from.
1Outlast 1 and 2
The firstOutlastwas originally released in 2013 on the PC but arrived on consoles in 2014. It was developed by indie studio Red Barrels and its success saw it followed byOutlast: The Whistleblowerand the sequelOutlast 2.The games are praised by horror fans as being some of the most terrifying videogames ever made.
Just likeAlien: IsolationandAmnesia: Dark Descent, Outlastis a survival horror that puts the player in the shoes of a protagonist who’s only defense is to run and hide. Adding to the atmosphere is the first-person viewpoint that requires the use of a camcorder in the style of horror films likeRECandThe Blair Witch Projectto see in the dark run-down psychiatric hospital.
