So an Alien Isolation sequel is in production, and I couldn't be happier! Now, admittedly it's probably several years away at a minimum, and admittedly we don't know anything about it, and admittedly the industry being what it is, there's about a billion things that could derail the project before it's completed, but look, don't kill my buzz right now.
Alien Isolation absolutely rules, and even ten years later, remains my benchmark for high-budget survival horror: it's atmospheric, ruthless, organic, and stars a nauseatingly intelligent adaptation of one of cinema's greatest monster designs. But it does beg the question… where would a sequel go from there? One of the more valid criticisms of the original game was that it was just too damn long for its own good and didn't know when to quit, so just doing more of the exact same thing isn't what anybody needs. On top of that, going more action-heavy just feels unnecessary: there's already plenty of games like Fireteam and Colonial Marines inspired by the militaristic ethos of the second movie. I don't pick up the stealth-oriented survival cosmic horror game to start mowing down foes like it's nothing.
Let me instead suggest an alternative: picture a cinematic trailer showing a hapless human fleeing a Xenomorph, sprinting through a Weyland-Yutani facility. They burst out through the building's main doors into a shadowy, moonlight-dappled jungle, taking cover behind a tree, breathing hard, finally safe!
… Which is when a triangle of red laser dots appear on their chest. And in the rustling treeline above, a telltale shimmer moves in for the kill…
If it bleeds… we still can't kill it, actually
Yeah, I'll say it: bringing in the Predator for Alien Isolation 2 could be a gamechanger for all the right reasons. I know that the Alien vs Predator movies are not exactly good (well, not unless you're six beers deep) but that hardly matters. It's not like Alien Isolation's story is the timeless part of that game that people remember it for, it's an experience driven by moment-to-moment organic encounters. I couldn't name a single character in that game beyond protagonist Amanda, and the only two traits I remember her having are "not wanting to get eaten" and "white sneakers". You can't spoil the story of a game that barely had one in the first place.
I'm also certainly not suggesting a one-to-one translation of those AVP "classics", only a fresh, lean narrative about a long-suffering nobody trying to navigate around two monstrous horrors until they can finally find a way to escape. The Predator famously has its own unique hunting methods different to the Xeno: it has ranged attacks, doesn't bother to hide in cover when it can just cloak itself, and uses mimicry to lure and throw off targets. It means players' strategies would have to change depending on which of the two enemies you're going up against.
One of the more valid criticisms of the original game was that it was just too damn long for its own good and didn't know when to quit, so just doing more of the exact same thing isn't what anybody needs.
But when God closes a door, He also opens a sphincter-like air vent into abyssal blackness. Two enemies might mean twice the peril, but they're hardly allies. If a Xenomorph sees you, your best bet might be to sprint out into the open… at which point a laser blast knocks it flying, and the two monsters proceed to furiously tear into each other while you sneak away in the confusion.
My point is that Alien Isolation 2 (if it even ever happens) deserves more than to simply linger in the shadow of the original. Introducing a second, meaningfully different but equally lethal antagonist – especially an iconic one like ol' crabface – is the chance to not only forge a unique identity even in the current glut of survival horror games, but to prove that the whole "AVP" concept wasn't quite so doomed as we all thought.
Did you catch the Alien Isolation easter egg in Alien Romulus?
