While I’m not the most experienced in reviewing video games, especially compared to movies and television, I do have my own opinions on games. I’ve been playing games since I was five years old – I’ll be forty next year, so when I get a chance to demo a new game Alien: Rogue Invasion VR gaming during NYCC, I jumped at the chance.
Despite owning a PSVR and PSVR2, I don’t play VR games very often, but I enjoy the games I do. Now, I have the chance to play the full and final version Alien: Rogue InvasionI must say I am very impressed with this game. To me, this game feels like the perfect mix of action horror and survival horror. When I played the game, it gave me the right balance of tension while also wanting to explore the environments the game throws at you. Zula Hendrixa former Colonial Marine on a mission with her sentient artificial intelligence companion, Davis 01to track friends who messaged her. That’s how the game puts you in a very familiar setting from an alien story on a planet called Purdan. Although Zula and Davis 01 are not new characters alien franchise that I believe will feel foreign to most people, myself included, playing this game.
Even after playing the demo a few months ago, it took me some time to get used to playing the game in VR. Now, I know there are VR versions of the Resident Evil games, but I just choose to play them as non-VR games. Controls are very good and responsive to controller movements. I think it’s not too far removed from the first-person shooters people are used to, but it also works well enough to feel like you’re actually using the weapons and tools. I have to say, it’s very different to move around and shoot when there’s stuff all around you and you’re not just sitting down and looking at a screen. Developer Survios chose to create a full body, adding to the immersion. Just as your hands shake in real life, they do in games too, and boy oh boy can Alien make you tremble sometimes. You don’t want to have your face eaten out or get impaled on their tails. It’s no fun to look down when you’re being killed. However, repetition can make you feel like Tom Cruise in Tomorrow’s Edge. I play games on PSVR2 while standing or sitting; I get tired after about 20-30 minutes of standing. Sitting, I can walk for hours and then my hands get tired.
Zula is a very livable character navigating this desolate, ruined base; her reactions to these events are realistic and believable, as you’d expect from someone dealing with these aliens with acid blood That way. The relationship between Zula and Davis 01 is cool and different than what we see in most situations Alien story. He also plays a supporting role in artificial intelligence control, It’s interesting because he’s also the artificial intelligence in the story. The metaness in this tidbit is interesting to me. The game is very challenging on the first two difficulty settings. For those who are more concerned with enjoying the narrative than the difficulty of the game, the easiest difficulty is called “Story.” It may be the simplest, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to overcome. When your gun is out of ammunition and you have to reload on the fly to try not to die, I don’t know if there’s an easy mode. I found playing Zula open enough that it was a character that I followed while also having agency in what I was doing. It doesn’t feel like the fast action is in an R-rated animated movie or show.
My main criticism is the lack of melee capabilities. I don’t care how I can’t win a fist fight with an alien; I just want to fight stuff. Maybe some kind of melee weapon to push them back a bit. While I think not having the ability to jump makes sense in terms of solving puzzles, and for a character with back issues, maybe having the ability to do limited climbing could alleviate some of the frustration in certain areas you explore in the game . It would be nice if some parts could climb up the container like a ladder. I think this is a problem with VR because it’s a problem of grabbing and moving objects. I guess if you don’t like it or feel uncomfortable because we can’t actually feel what you’re touching and you’re using a controller. It’s easy for me to get over my frustrations with reloading and shooting because most of it is just me and how the game makes me feel, which I must say is a great thing. It’s so exciting to be so flustered that you can’t reload your shotgun fast enough because the game will shock you with the idea that the alien is right in front of you. Most other Alien games don’t let you experience this.
When I played the demos I thought they were nice, but felt like PS3/360 era graphics, but also VR, and I can see why it might work for the whole VR world – you know, draw distance, full 360 view, heads Track, at the time, it was also a demo version, and I was playing MetaQuest, but I wasn’t impressed with the MetaQuest graphics. When I started playing the game on PlayStation 5 and PSVR2, I was really impressed, they have some of the best graphics experiences in VR. I was like, Oh my gosh, this looks like this generation! Textures pop, the framerate is smooth, and the different environmental effects like snow, smoke, and other particle effects are great. Aliens look both surprising and disturbing, as they should. They’re so real when they’re in front of you, and you don’t want to look at those scary monsters for too long.
Honestly, I read other game reviews to see how others write about them because I haven’t read a video game review in years. I don’t think I want to go on about super specific thoughts and personal preferences about games, or people who may or may not like or play them. I’m also not going to go into every nook and cranny of the story because I don’t want to spoil it and taste in stories is very subjective. I know this from thirteen years of reviewing movies. I think Alien: Rogue Invasion is a really good game that made me really try and enjoy a VR game that’s more than just playing GT Racing 7 constantly. I feel like it captures the feel and spirit of a great alien experience. It’s not a terribly long game, and I can see replaying it on a higher difficulty in the near future. I think this game is something people should play and they’ll have a great time. It has the perfect blend of action and horror without requiring you to do a ton of boring puzzles or mazes. However, if you’re easily scared, be careful because seeing Alien in theaters, on TV, or even in other games isn’t the same. I don’t want to take any blame for your dream about them stalking you in your sleep. I’m looking forward to playing more games with Zula and Survios, as I’ve been impressed by both of them.
Alien: Rogue Invasion Now released on PSVR2 and PCVR via Steam. This was reviewed via review code on PSVR2 (connected to a PlayStation 5 console).
