Alien Isolation 2 will be a true survival horror, not an action game. That, at least, is what the developers at Creative Assembly insisted in an interview with IGN. Still regarded today as a masterpiece of science-fiction horror, Ridley Scott's Alien was followed by sequels, some of which leaned far more heavily towards action (James Cameron's Aliens, for instance).
« No, it's as simple as that, replies creative director Al Hope when our colleagues ask whether the teams at Creative Assembly ever considered making Alien Isolation 2 an action game. We really love Alien (and Alien Isolation along with it), and we think there's still a great deal to explore in the world of the first film. We wanted to tell other stories in the same setting and the same context. »
He then adds: « Really, the idea with Alien Isolation 2 is to take you back to that moment in the saga when the presence of a single Xenomorph was enough to inspire terror and posed a serious challenge. »
All eyes on the Xenomorph
Unsurprisingly, Ana Sopikova (the game's art director) explains that, thanks to 20th Century Studios, the developers were given access to a number of archives so that the Xenomorph in Alien Isolation 2 would match the creature from Alien. « It's the same monster you came across in the first game, now turning up on this new planet, she explains. So you can expect an experience similar to the one offered before, except that we've pushed things a little further, particularly where visual fidelity is concerned. »
She stresses: « Time has passed [since the first instalment, ed.], new technology has come along. That lets us include richer textures. Naturally, there are always things you can improve, but for us the key is not to stray from the 1979 film. That's our priority. »
The fact that Creative Assembly has chosen not to betray Alien Isolation's DNA is excellent news for fans of the first game. It's worth remembering that certain series – some of them major – have previously disowned their horror roots in favour of frantic action. Dead Space and Resident Evil spring to mind (even if Capcom proved it still had a grip on dread with Resident Evil 7 and its first-person view).
As a reminder, Alien Isolation 2 is due out on Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series, PS5 and PC.
