a tribute to fans of the Alien franchise

Aliens Dark Descent gives us the chance to star in an authentic Alien movie that Ridley Scott would be proud of.

Aliens: Dark Descent is an action and real-time strategy video game based on the homonymous saga created by Ridley Scott. The game is developed by Tindalos Interactive and published by Focus Entertainment. Its market launch was on June 20, 2023 for Xbox Series, One, PS4, PS5, and PC.

Original but faithful story

The game gives us a original story Set in the Alien universe. We will have to lead a squad of colonial marines there to face a threat xenomorph (extraterrestrial) on the Moon Lethe. This squad of marines must infiltrate a base of the Weyland-Yutani company. In this experiment are conducted with xenomorphs, fearsome extraterrestrial creatures that lurk in the dark.

The story of the game is interesting and it’s good integrated in the gameplay, with memorable dialogues, scenes and characters. Aliens Dark Descent makes us feel like part of a secret mission that gets more and more complicated, with unexpected twists and shocking revelations. The game respects the basics of the universe Extraterrestrial and knows how to innovate on certain aspects, such as the introduction of a disturbing human synthetic or the possibility of exploring different scenarios within the base.

gameplay

Alien Dark Descentt combines elements of survival, with lots of stealth and strategy, since we have to manage the resources of our team, such as ammunition, stress and command points. These allow us to perform special actions such as firing bursts, throwing grenades or activating the flamethrower. In addition, one must avoid being detected by xenomorphs, which can alert the hive and unleash increasingly intense and varied waves of attacks.

The title is divided into two main modes: The mode campaign and the way skirmish. The campaign gives us the opportunity to follow the main plot of the game, which will take us to different scenarios and situations related to the saga. Extraterrestrial. In skirmish mode we can create our own personalized missions, choosing the map, objectives, conditions and enemies. In both modes we will have to manage the resources, the SKILLS and the equipment of our team, as well as making tactical decisions in real time during combat.

little variety

For some people, Dark Descent Aliens, it can become repetitive and linear after a while. This is because the missions are very similar to each other and there isn’t much freedom or variety in the gameplay. Regardless of how you approach the scenario presented to you and the approach to the secondary objectives, the gameplay is very guided. Another aspect to consider is that the game lacks a cooperative or competitive multiplayer mode, which limits its replayability.

classes and alternatives

Dark Descent Aliens It has a class system that defines the characteristics and functions of each marine. Four classes are available: Soldier, Medic, Engineer, and Specialist. Each class has its own weapons, tools, and special abilities, which can be upgraded throughout the game.

For example, he Soldier can use assault rifles, grenade launchers, and frag grenades; he doctor can heal allies, use pistols and shotguns, and throw smoke grenades; he engineer can repair objects, use machine guns and flamethrowers, and place turrets and mines; and the specialist he can hack into systems, use sniper rifles and rocket launchers, and throw EMP grenades.

you have to have the moral

In Dark Descent Aliens We have a morale system that affects the performance and behavior of Marines. Morale can go up or down depending on the actions we take or the situations we experience. For example, killing a lot of enemies, completing objectives, or finding useful items can increase the moral; by losing allies, suffering wounds or encountering xenomorphos dangerous can decrease it. This morale influences the Marines’ accuracy, stamina, and initiative. You can also panic or disobey orders if the stress is very high, so you have to think about how to spend the consumables to complete the mission without losing your mind.

graphically compliant

The game has some chart fairly well maintained, although not spectacular. We appreciate that it is an intergenerational game, where the modeling of the characters does not stand out. Physics are, in general, conspicuous by their absence and other aspects like xenomorphs or aliens, are quite flat. But despite this, it faithfully recreates the dark and oppressive environment of the Alien saga. The sets are varied and detailed, with elements interactive there destructible.

About the section sound We have a taut and immersive soundtrack, which accompanies moments of action and suspense. The sound effects are realistic and powerful, with the original voices of the actors who embody the characters of certain films of the saga.

It’s not for everyone

With all that Dark Descent Aliens it’s challenging and immersive, but there are also aspects that could be improved. For example, your difficulty. The game has difficulty spikes which can frustrate the player. There are parts full of resources and alternatives and others with a rather alarming rarity of it all. For this reason, we will have to manage them well and use stealth and ingenuity to move forward.

The game in general is difficult, even at the easiest level. Enemies are fast, smart, and deadly, and they will attack you from all directions. One thing I miss is that it doesn’t have checkpoints or autosaves, so if you die you’ll have to start over from the beginning. All of this is recoverable on Xbox Series thanks to the quick resumewhich will allow you to stop the game and resume it later without any problem.

As for the question of playing a RTS or XCOM With the command, we can say that the interface is simple and straightforward. In Aliens: Dark Descent everything is solved with a few buttons, one to mark the route and another button to interact, all in a contextual way and without too many complications. Furthermore, the time it sometimes slows down to make it easier to access menus such as special abilities.

CONCLUSION

Aliens: Dark Descent is an entertaining and intense game for fans of the Alien saga and the real-time strategy (RTS) genre or XCOM titles. The game offers us an original story and interesting Alright together in the alien universe. The atmosphere of tension and overflow is unique. The darkness is very well worked and applied to give us those thrills like in the original movies. The game isn’t perfect, one of its most notable flaws is being intergenerational and not to graphically offer us an adventure that lives up to what is expected. However, it is one of the most immersive there faithful to the original story that you can find and play. Its ease of use is perfectly combined with its great difficulty, which will sometimes make you have fun like crazy. However, in others, you’ll want to be part of the xenomorph pack and have it all end forever.