melmer

Alien Isolation - The nightmare of Milky Joe

Recommended Posts

I am about 13 hours in and getting rather tired of how much gating there is and how almost every objective is related to unlocking a path to where you want to go next. The levels seem designed with a degree of openness that is part-way between Bioshock and typical linear games, but your actual path through the levels is limited by so many different types of locked doors. I suspect this is done to facilitate the amount of backtracking it wants you to do but it just feels like filler, which is disappointing because in my view this game would be more effective if it was shorter. At this point I am just getting numb to the drama of the game. I am wishing I had just stopped playing the game after... I... uh... fulfilled my purpose as bait.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Currently stuck in the Medical Bay section, trying to find the office of Dr. Mordley (Mortley?). Gave it like 3 to 4 shots, my heart can not take anymore so I think I'll be done for the day. Once the Alien gets your scent it seems like it'll randomly patrol around your position. Considering the length of that whole section, the lack of checkpoints in that part sure is annoying. No biggie though, I'll get through it one way or the other. I wasn't expecting to be this thrilled with game, loving the shit out of it so far.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Last Survivor DLC:

 

When you're slinking your way to the escape shuttle and Ripley starts singing You Are My Lucky Star: absolutely perfect. What a wonderful touch.

 

I'm sure part of it is the nostalgia at work. But what a great way to instantly humanize the character and humanize the situation. I think after X amount of hours avoiding the alien, you do kinda start dismantling the alien into base game mechanics. It loses some mystery. But when Ripley started singing, that earlier sense of terror just snatched me back up. This is the kind of writing I love. Say it without saying it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Currently stuck in the Medical Bay section, trying to find the office of Dr. Mordley (Mortley?)

 

That's where I got stuck too, by far the longest Alien encounter I've had. Getting to the office is alright but specifically locating his body in the next hallway is a pain. It's not the best encounter.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'll be swapping down to easy to get to the Doc's corpse. I started the game on hard, but the Alien does tend to hang around for a very long time - seemingly just across from there the doc's body is supposed to be.

 

I've crafted several things like smoke bombs and flashbangs etc - but not really worked out how to use them yet. Any tips? Should I be luring the Alien away with a noisemaker thing? I have trouble not hiding straight away as the tension really gets me, so I'm not sure about whether I'd be able to get "around" the Alien!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'll be swapping down to easy to get to the Doc's corpse. I started the game on hard, but the Alien does tend to hang around for a very long time - seemingly just across from there the doc's body is supposed to be.

 

I've crafted several things like smoke bombs and flashbangs etc - but not really worked out how to use them yet. Any tips? Should I be luring the Alien away with a noisemaker thing? I have trouble not hiding straight away as the tension really gets me, so I'm not sure about whether I'd be able to get "around" the Alien!

 

The noisemaker will only work if you are inside a large space with multiple ins and outs because you can't normally tell where the Alien is going to be coming down from and you might just end up luring it towards you. So if you are in a hallway with no doors make sure you have an idea about where the Alien is and then use it that way. It'll get distracted by it for a few seconds which should be enough for you to switch hiding places. Honestly, that's the only that makes the stealth really hit and miss for me so far that the Alien hangs around as much as it does. It almost feels like you need a noisemaker on your at all times. I'm going to give that section another shot in a minute or so. Hopefully will get past it this time.

 

Also on a different note, I've heard concerns before the game came out regarding the length of it. It's hard to tell say at this point but I love the game so much right now that the lengthy nature of it is currently welcome. It's an opinion that can change depending on how you feel about the game but 20 hours plus the DLC? That's just value right there.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks - I used the noisemaker to make the Alien savage a few people, which was kind of interesting. It cleared out the area quicker than I could sneak around it!

 

This game could really do with an autosave function - at least when you hit a cut-scene type break in the action.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks - I used the noisemaker to make the Alien savage a few people, which was kind of interesting. It cleared out the area quicker than I could sneak around it!

 

This game could really do with an autosave function - at least when you hit a cut-scene type break in the action.

 

I guess they tried to add some tensions to the game by spacing them out the way they did and somehow integrate the saving mechanic in an immersive fashion. It can get frustrating but as you go you start to figure out what ticks it off or not and it becomes easier. The Medical Facility part especially I found to be the hardest part of the game because of the layout of the area and how they basically give you no checkpoints through three different objectives. I'm playing alongside my dad and he just got there and I can already see him struggling with it. That section is real tough.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm pretty sure the game autosaves at the beginning of missions.

 

Am I the only one that had no issue in the Medical Facility? Sure I died a few times, but I was always making progress. I guess it is just the sort of game that either clicks with you or you just bang your head against a wall until you brute force through it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So... did you guys make it through the medical section? I am stuck there and I hate it. I hate having to play the same part over and over; I hate that the alien won't leave me alone; I hate that I have to hear the same scripted dialogue every time I restart; i hate playing time quick-time events; I really just don't like it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just got there now. I'm dreading it, but not for the right reasons :(

 

The checkpointing in this game sucks. That is, if it even exists at all. I got past a really fraught section of the game, pulse pounding, by the skin of my teeth. Whack the button to transfer to a new area via an elevator, leaving android and alien behind me, keeping each other company.  Then, I get murdered by the alien almost immediately after stepping out of it at the other end. First of all, that irks me, because it seems like it basically teleported to a position ahead of me. Secondly, there was no checkpoint when I changed location, so I have to sit through a load just to find out that I'm back in the previous area at the save, all enemies restored, and I've got to run the gauntlet again.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm currently stuck in the medical center. It is a pretty shit level design. I've been forcing myself to give up for the day after getting killed 3 times so I don't get horribly frustrated with the game, but it does mean this is taking an absurd amount of time to get through the area.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The medical section becomes easier when you have to pass through later. It's probably the second most frustrating section of the game.

 

If you're still looking for the Doctor's corpse you might want to know that there is a save point in that middle room with the windows. You may be able to sneak in there, save and then move on with the game without having to watch the video.

 

Things I think about having finished the game:

  1. Great ladder work.
  2. I do really like the crafting, but I wish it was more obvious how the items could be used. To begin with you think they're precious and you hoarde these items. This is the one respect where it became a little bit too video gamey for me. Is it the game's fault, or some kind of response demanded from me from playing too much Diablo II? Either way, the game avoided doing gamey things for most of the time (and goes out of its way at the beginning to train you out of thinking like that), and this was the only system which broke form. They are  fun to use in the last half when meetings with the Alien are unavoidable.
  3. I love where it fits into the Alien mythology. Everything is undercut by knowing that she never meets her mother.
  4. I came round to the saving mechanic, it did allow tension to build up when you're a long way from a save. It was frustrating going through medical though.
  5. Great maps.
  6. The survival mode isn't all that fun. It seems I was only interested in surviving an Alien when there might be a chance I could get rid of it?
  7. That said, is up against this: playing the main story there was a moment where the tensions got to me. So much so that when I spotted and airlock I considered flinging myself out of it. Obviously you can't do this - but I can't remember the last time a game got to me like that.
  8. It's probably the best haunted house that isn't a house.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Still slugging away. The length and back-and-forth gets you down after a while but then the game will have a set piece or section that'll pull you back in.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm about halfway through, and I'm enjoying it enough, despite having similar problems with few save points and a bullshit death or two. My main problem is with Ripley's voice. It's not good. She sounds like a teenager trying to convince everyone that she's a no-nonsense adult so she can buy wine coolers or something. Every time she swears, it sounds unnatural, and I chuckle aloud to myself.

 

Oh, and the game apparently expects me to be surprised every time someone who is locked off behind a window gets attacked by something, as if it hasn't been a dead giveaway the whole time.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sorry to resurrect but did anyone see the article on RPS about the lockers in this game?

One bit stood out for me: the alien learns where you tend to hide and will search there more often. But...does the alien only learn this if it catches you there (and kills you, natch) or is it some omniscient AI bullshit? I guess the latter.

Anyway, there is some fine critique of this game in this thread, but I just acted to say again just how much the alien behaviour bothered me, and made the game much less enjoyable an experience

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I started playing this a few nights ago, got through what I guess is the first area.  Music/sound is fantastic for building tension, though I wonder if that will hold true through the whole game, given I hear it's fairly long for this style of game.  I started on "Hard", and so far I'm not sure at all what that means.  More aggressive Alien AI?  Less resources?  I know some kind of enemy besides the Alien shows up eventually.  Are they just like harder to kill? 

 

I'm somewhat split on if I really care about playing all the way through it though.  The faces are bugging the crap out of me (which is weird, because that thing usually doesn't bother me except in Bethesda games, but it is here).  And it's just...it feels like a curiosity to me more than that I'm really getting into it? 

 

I think I'm realizing that these style of horror games are interesting to me on an intellectual level, but don't engage me on the emotional level I want for some reason.  For a complete playthrough, I prefer the camp of ResEvil style, if for no other reason than have a wider vocabulary of verbs to use.  I've yet to ever finish one of these hide from the monster types (closes I got was original Amnesia). 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah, I'm back to the game after a long break. Mostly I'm intimidated by the apparent length. I do love the atmosphere though. I want to tell myself I can play another six hours and say goodbye but I'll get annoyed at missing out on the story I'm sure.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I bought this in the Humble Bundle. I'm like an hour in. Things I enjoy:

 

1. The aesthetic.

2. The aesthetic. Like holy cow I'm walking around inside Alien. It looks and sounds soooo right.

3. Fixing broken shit with cool 70s sci-fi tools.

4. The music's good.

 

Things I don't enjoy:

 

1. Being scared, so I modded the alien to be non-hostile. That worked fine and the game isn't scary anymore, which makes me happy.

2. Stealth. Hiding from people with guns is kind of boring. I turned the difficulty way down so maybe I can just shoot everyone from now on.

3. Scavenging crafting materials.

 

Basically to sum it up I don't enjoy anything except wandering around the station fixing things. I do enjoy that a lot, though, so I think I'm going to really like the game. I don't think wandering around in Alien is going to get old, at least not soon.

 

Oh also the checkpoint system blows chunks, quicksave please. Also the in-universe explanation for why Ripley keeps using the checkpoints should be that, each time she uses it, she picks up the phone and tries to call the space police or whatever, but it's always busy. That would be funny.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I recommend installing the mod that removes the alien from the game. It made the experience 1000% better for me.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I like the "alien ignores me" mod better I think because then sometimes there's just a little alien buddy hanging out with me in the station.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now