Alien: Isolation is one of the scariest games I've ever played, and even its own writer admits that it's too scary for a lot of people.
Chat on FRVR podcastFormer Creative Assembly writer Dion Lay shared a “famous” story about a journalist who visited the Creative Assembly studios to “play for 20 minutes” and “talk” about the game, but ended up playing for an hour because they were too scared to leave the locker they were hiding in.
“I like it. I think there's a little bit of anxiety, like, 'Is this too scary?' ” AND [for] A lot of people, it's too scary,” Ley said. “And I know we probably could have sold more if we watered it, but I'm so proud that we didn't and that it's really scary.”
For me, one thing that E.T. does a masterfully crafted tension of isolation is that it is sustained over an unusually long horror game. Ley said during the same podcast that Roughly a 20 hour game is just that longas the Xenomorph AI has become better at adapting to players' strategies during progression, thereby extending playtime.
I'll also say that, as a massive horror fan with a miserable preoccupation with being an equally massive scaredy cat, I'm so glad for the alien: the isolation isn't held back for the sake of a more basic appeal. It makes everything more rewarding and it is truly unique in its ability to present mercilessly stressful scenarios. Remember when I said this one What's the scariest game I've ever played? I'm returning this, it's the scariest game I've ever played and I wouldn't want it any other way.
Find out where Alien: Isolation is on our list Best Horror Games ever done.
