When asking what the best Alien video game is, I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who would not say Alien: Isolation.
Released all the way back in 2014, the game is often praised as one the greatest survival horror experiences of all time.
It is also well known for its controversial IGN review, where the reviewer only rated it 5.9 out of ten.
Well, after first playing Isolation years ago, I found myself having a much more positive reaction, and my opinion on the game has only improved in the years since.
So, after watching in excitement as the sequel was revealed at Summer Game Fest, I decided to do another playthrough, but this time on Hard Mode since I’m still too scared to do a Nightmare playthrough.

Alien Isolation follows Amanda (voiced by Andrea Deck), the daughter of iconic heroine, Ellen Ripley.
After learning the flight recorder from the Nostromo has been recovered and taken to Sevastopol Station, Amanda travels there to hopefully find some closure.
Instead, she finds herself facing the same nightmare her mother experienced because a Xenomorph stalks the ship, determined to hunt her (and, by extension, YOU) down.
The story and characters of Alien: Isolation are pretty simple.
Nothing spectacular but they get the job done.
They are not the game’s selling point; the titular Alien is.
Over ten years later, this game is still famous for the creature’s AI.
It is programmed to be given hints about where you are on the map and constantly adapts to your escape or distraction strategies.
The Xenomorph also kills you immediately if it catches you, and all of these things combine to create one of gaming’s most terrifying stalker enemies.
I accidentally walked into the Alien at one point, resulting in me screaming like a child, firing my gun at it in a panic (even though I knew it would do nothing), ending with this being the last thing Amanda Ripley ever saw.   

Way back in 1979, Ash described the Alien as “the perfect organism.”
Well, Creative Assembly certainly replicated this with the Xenomorph in their game, and they deserve all the praise for it.
There are so many iconic cat and mouse moments in this game, from the medical wing, to the trap, to that god damn long hallway.
The Alien is not the only enemy, however, for there are also humans and androids
The humans are easily dealt with for the most part, but the Working Joes are another matter.
They take a lot of hits to kill on Hard Mode, and you almost always risk alerting the Alien when fighting them.
I cannot imagine what it would be like on Nightmare Mode.

That being said, it is also with the Working Joes where some players’ criticisms come in.
There are a few chapters in the game where you are only fighting androids, and some consider this to be the weakest part of the game.
I know I felt that way when I first played but, in my recent playthrough, I actually had a lot of fun finally having the freedom to take these guys down, without having to worry about the Alien dropping down and instantly killing me.
What I will not praise, however, is the space-walking segments.
There are three in the game, and the first gets a pass because we are exploring an interesting area.
The other two, however, are extremely tedious, and you move at a snail’s pace so that certainly does not help. 

At the least the visuals during these brief moments are still great.
That is another thing to praise the game for because the graphics have aged fantastically.
While the NPCs do look a little flat outside of cutscenes, the environment is flawless and a perfect replication of the environment from the original Alien.
It is no wonder this game inspired Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus.
Isolation is a fantastic video game.
While the story is basic, the graphics are excellent and the AI for the titular Alien is out of this world, making for a both terrifying and very difficult game. 

In space no one can hear you scream, but I am sure the neighbours heard me screaming in terror while I played this game.
I am both excited and afraid to finally get my hands on the sequel after all these years.
Alien: Isolation is certainly not a 5.9.
It is one of horror gaming’s greatest terrors.