5 Things That Need to be in the Next Alien Game - Article
by Jake Weston , posted on 01 March 2015 / 9,861 Views
The Alien film franchise is back in the news, thanks to the recent announcement that District 9 and Elysium writer/director Neil Blomkamp will be reinvigorating the series with his own take on it. For many, this is the best news to happen to Alien in nearly 30 years. For some of us, however, this is the best news to happen to Alien since last October, when Alien: Isolation came out and impressed everyone with its adherence to the original 1979 Alien and its terrifying yet satisfying survival horror gameplay. So, with all eyes on Alien at the moment, let’s take this time talk about what Alien: Isolation did right, and where things should go for a prospective sequel.
Spoilers for Alien: Isolation, all Alien films, and Prometheus follow.
Stick with Amanda Ripley
Alien: Isolation is set 15 years after the first film, and 42 year before Ellen Ripley wakes up from her cryosleep in Aliens. In Alien: Isolation, you play as Ripley’s daughter, Amanda, now a grown woman and searching for answers into her mother’s disappearance. Towards the end of the game, Amanda received much-needed closure on her mother’s fate, but shortly after was forced by a swarm of Aliens to jettison herself into deep space, stranded with only a spacesuit and limited air supply before the credits rolled. It was a dark ending, fitting with the series’ oppressive nature. But Amanda’s story is not over, as Aliens has shown us that she went on to live until old age. Amanda Ripley was one of the highlights of Alien: Isolation, and I hope her story is continued.
Increase Gameplay Variety
The majority of Alien: Isolation was an intense game of cat-and-mouse with the titular Alien, whose unpredictable and erratic behavior kept players constantly on edge. That said, for the most part, this was the only thing you did in Isolation, and the lengthy campaign’s pacing suffered as a result. While Alien: Isolation is a survival horror game, and its sequel should remain one, why not switch things up a bit? Alien’s 1986 sequel, Aliens, is considered by many to be one of the greatest action films of all time, and setpieces of a similar tone could help add excitement to dips in the pacing. Speaking of Aliens...
Draw from Other Films in the Series
Much of Alien: Isolation’s praise stemmed from its strict adherence to the original 1979 film, with its plot set-up, atmosphere, technology, and even the limited special effects of the era. That said, one can only ride that train for so long. Why not draw from Aliens? Like the previous point, this is not to make the game a full-fledged action extravaganza (look what happened with Aliens: Colonial Marines), but that film had its own completely unique tone and visual palette, which could help set an Alien: Isolation sequel apart from its predecessor.
Even Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection, considered by many fans to be competing for “worst” of the series, could have a positive influence on an Alien: Isolation sequel. Neil Blomkamp recently announced that his version of Alien will ignore the events of Alien 3 and Resurrection, which is a shame since those films - while flawed - introduced interesting new world-building and thematic elements that a hypothetical sequel to Isolation would do well to draw inspiration from.
Expand the Lore
Alien’s high profile prequel, 2012’s Prometheus, was meant to explain many lingering questions in the series, but ultimately raised more than it answered. While Prometheus 2 is set to release at some point in the future, why not have Creative Assembly pick up the slack in the games? Who were the Engineers? What was their society like? Are there any other ancient civilizations in the universe? This would not only increase storytelling possibilities, but give opportunity to have more enemy types, solving another common complaint from Alien: Isolation.
No Predators
Seriously. I bet it would be tempting for Creative Assembly to add Predators in a late-game twist - much like 2004’s Predators: Concrete Jungle did by bringing xenomorphs in towards the end of the game - but it would be ill-advised. Other than a couple of decent games and maybe some okay comics, nothing good has come from the Aliens vs. Predator cross-over series, and turning this exciting new take on Alien into yet another AvP-fest would be an ultimate disappointment.
