Summary
Film-to-game adaptationsare, mostly, things of the past. Long gone are the days of releasing four different games with eachTransformersmovie. When a game does release based on a film, it often does so to mixed reviews at best, especially horror games ifThe Blair WitchandA Quiet Placegames are anything to go by.
Despite this, many gamers want games that emulate the feeling of their favorite films, and one in particular that has done a lot to inspire many games isAlien. This list looks at eightgames worth playing for fans ofAlien.Fromsurvival horror, to co-op FPS games, there are games for every gamer that capture some essence of the film, and all of them are well worth picking up.
There really is no better game to recommend for anAlienfan thanAlien: Isolation.This game is as close to a direct adaptation of the film as is available on the market. Most of this game is spent hiding, creeping, and avoiding, managing resources to find a way through the nearly abandoned Sevastopol space station.
As in the film, a Xenomorph lurks around the corner at all times, out of sight but never quite out of mind. If it does find the player, then it’s game over, as the player iscompletely unable to fight the Xenomorph, unlike the human and android threats present on the station. The best they can do is (briefly) ward it off with a flamethrower. The game perfectly embodies the original film’s claustrophobic feeling and creeping dread.
GTFOis completely different from the previous entry on this list, embodying the more action-oriented vibe of the filmAliensrather than the minimalist horror of its predecessor.GTFOis an intenseco-op FPSexperience, in which players take control of a squad of four prisoners with one simple objective: GTFO.
Players must fight their way through hordes of humanoid creatures to complete tasks given to them by “The Warden”, which often leads to a hardcore, bloody firefight.GTFOis a difficult game, best undertaken with friends who are ready to work together or die trying, just like the marines inAliens.
Switching up the vibe completely,Lethal Companyis another game where players will need a few friends to help out. Most gamers will have at least heard of this game, but for those that haven’t, inLethal Companyplayers take control of a group of “Company” employees who must travel from moon to moon collecting scrap to sell to meet the Company’s profit margins.
Their attempts are hampered, of course, by a host of traps, creatures, and other environmental hazards, often resulting in the deaths of several players, usually accompanied by some hilarious screaming.Lethal Companyis the perfect way to feel as though players are a part of theNostromocrew; scrappers and cargo haulers hampered by the appearance of an alien. Except this time it’s a little more fun.
The Callisto Protocolhas been a controversial game to say the least, leaving both critics and gamers divided. Despite this, it is a fantastic game that takes direct inspiration from bothAlienand another game that will come up later in this list. At its core,The Callisto Protocolis a third-person survival horror game set on the prison moon of Callisto.
The player must make their way through tight corridors, vents, and frozen courtyards to find a way off the moon after an outbreak occurs causing most of the staff and inmates to become horrific alien entities set on consuming the player. While the game may not be the best of its kind, it is a fun, gory romp through prison that’ll leave the character splattered with blood, and the player ready for more.
Developed by Arkane Studios, known forDishonoredandDeathloop,Preyis yet another game that strands the player on a space station with aliens. This time, however, the aliens — called the Typhon — are much harder to find, as they can take the shape of any inanimate object on the station, blending in to stalk the player as they explore.
While it is a tad more action-focused than other entries on this list, there is a deeply unsettling feeling about not knowing where an alien may be hiding, even if it can simply be shot once revealed. Fans ofAlienwill feel right at home withPrey, both in its esthetics and its atmosphere, and beneath it all is a satisfying narrative with multiple endings to uncover.
Genre
Adventure, Horror
We Went Backis a difficult game to recommend, as it takes under an hour to 100% complete. For what it is though, it perfectly captures the creeping dread of not knowing anything, other than that there is a non-human creature lurking somewhere nearby. InWe Went Back, the player takes control of an astronaut who is woken from cryosleep and must figure out the code to the exit door.
The only thing is, every time the player does a lap around the circular space station, things change, growing more and more disturbing.Similar toReturnal,We Went Backsticks the player in a time-loop, except here the player is locked in a cramped space station with an unknown entity, and must try everything they can to figure out how to leave.
Mouthwashingis a unique game, both on this list and in general. There is no evil alien on board this spaceship,merely a crew going mad as they reconcile with the fact they will all die after crashing. The main reason to play this game as a fan ofAlienis the atmosphere, taking place on a confined, dingy spaceship that was hauling cargo before the catalyst event that started the end.
This game will make anyone question reality, messing with the player’s mind through unreliable narration, strange time loops, and surreal visuals. It’s an experience worth going into blind and will leave any horror veteran feeling both disturbed and thrilled.
Dead Spaceis the quintessential sci-fi horror game. It is practically impossible to look into horror games without finding countless mentions of the franchise, and there is a good reason for that.Dead Spaceis a gory, atmospheric, grungy sci-fi experience that feels almost as close toAlienasAlien: Isolationdoes.
The major difference betweenDead SpaceandAlien: Isolationis that, inDead Space, the player isn’t helpless. Taking control of Isaac Clarke, the player must dismember their way through the Necromorphs aboard theUSG Ishimurato find survivors and uncover the truth about what is going on. There is no better time to get aboard theDead Spacetrain with its well-received remake having been out for some time.
