I got a feel of this new approach from the game’s prologue, which acted as an extended tutorial. As Blake, I had to maneuver through the dead woodland area of the planet to reach the crashed module. Compared to the eerie silence of Sevastopol Station, the colony is loud and chaotic, with limited visibility into the world beyond. With the clock ticking to reach the module before a flood came in, I had to carefully maneuver through the debris field to reach the crash site.
Inside the module, my memories of playing Alien: Isolation came rushing back. Just like the original film and the 2014 horror game, the interior was that familiar blend of low-fi/high-tech design with working-class workspace. There was even a great jump scare with a wrecked Working Joe android giving one last bit of aggression before powering down. As I explored for scrap to repair the power system, I noticed to the strong sound design, which captured the eerie quiet of the ship and the storm outside. With the power back on, I was able to activate that familiar, slow-acting save station to record my progress. Once I got into the computer room, the alien appeared, which then kick-started the careful sneak back to the exit.
Much like the original game, maneuvering past the alien requires patience and careful attention to your surroundings — one wrong move or an ill-advised sprint can alert the beast and send it your way. By hiding under desks and in crawl spaces to avoid its gaze as it lurked about, I was able to reach the exit. As the demo closed, the alien spotted me and went in for the kill, but I was saved by the ensuing flood, which reached the module and sent it careening down a hill. And that’s where the demo ended.
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