We shouldn’t trust reviewers anyway. Its only another person’s opinion and there’s no certainty that their opinions are right or even worthy. I trust reading gamers povs more. It was through listening to what was being said online that I discovered AI and also Days Gone, which otherwise would have passed me by. Both 9.5/10 games for me.
Watch your favorite RUclipsr, Twitch Streamer etc. much better way to get a feel for a game. I discovered this game from a guy named Tangent playing it on Twitch while i was home sick. Immediately purchased it. Most urilalists these days have no love or appreciation for games.
“Ryan 5.9 McCaffrey” was the asshole at IGN who ruined any chance of a sequel. He basically complained how hard it was (whilst playing on hard) long story short, he didn’t know how to play a survival horror, he was dying a lot because he was being dumbass playing, he said the “AI was too smart” which is what you should expect from a survival horror, play smart and outsmart the alien. There was times I got frustrated during this game, I died because I was careless and not cautious whilst proceeding, that’s the point you got punished by the alien for just running around not staying silent and out of sight. Ryan McCaffrey gave call of duty the same year a solid 9/10 when call of duty was complete ass back then with all its futuristic spaceman exo suit shit.
@@mjoestar7966 He was the wrong person to review the game and he never should have been playing on hard for a review copy, play it on easy or normal if you are new to survivor horror games or don’t like them.
Do these people have that much influence ? I don’t know how well the game did but I read many, many positive comments about it so the developers must know what the people who count think. Now would be a great time for a sequel with Romulus doing the rounds.
I wish they had made a sequel that was more like the second movie aliens so you could actually fight the aliens and didn’t have to sneak around so much.
@@DorisDay-lw4xs I didn't actually mind the end, I just wish we hadn't seen it as a baby first 😂 also, everything felt to quick. Scott told him to keep it short and he cut a lot, I kinda want to see the long version. Release the Alvarez cut!! 😅
10 years later Alien Isolation its a Overwhelmingly possitive reviewed game on Steam while IGN its dying with 0 credibiliy, you dont have to die on any hill you already won
Just _Alien_ and _Alien: Isolation_ . _Aliens_ is good, but it ruins the monster, turning it into an easily killed space insect that takes orders from central command (i.e., the video game boss monster queen).
You’re 100% correct. IGN was THE site back in the day. Their review is 100% the reason I stayed away because they made the game out to be a disaster. Which after Colonial Marines the year before, really sucked for the game’s chances.
@@ChazUBCSI think what he was trying to relay was how much reach IGN had back in the day. Although those in the know are aware that many other sites reviewed the game favourably, the average Joe really only looked at IGN. There certainly was not the amount of game review channels as there are today. Just trying to provide some context to the original comment. Peace.
@ChazUBCS to be fair back then IGN had a hold in video game reviews before the clownshow they are now. Didn't help when Alien colonial marines prior to isolation was still fresh on people's minds so... having those two combine it makes sense why people would trust ign back then. But again this was before we know they are jokes today
After 10 YEARS , I am finally conquering my fear and playing this for the first time. Creative Assembly wanted to do the Alien justice - and holy hell , the combo of hideously creepy vistas , pinpoint eerie sound and the most intelligent AI put to console. I'm still on mission 10 - and the fact I need to work myself up to give it another session tells you all you need to know about how legendary this game is.
FACT - it took me 6 years to pick up the pad again with this game after buying it on release day. What a game, for me IGN are a absolute DISGRACE with this review and alot of their reviews in general - I ain't got time for them no more, all credibility is GONE as far as I am concerned.
I recommend Medium difficulty. The difficulty changes the frequency of Xenomorph popping up to look for you. Medium is a decent increase without it popping up every 5 minutes. Two Pro tips: #1 When you find an ingredient that you have “full” place the excess in to a blueprint (even if you don’t have all the ingredients or have a maximum amount of) it acts as a ready-to-made item. #2 Never Run. Consider the fastest you can go is just walking, if you’ve ever played Arkham Asylum, the whole game is Killer Kroc’s Lair.
There are 2 ai for the alien. The first one allways knows where you are. And it gives the second ai, the alien itself, hints where you could be. Not the exact possition. But the alien ai learns where you hide. So it looks more in the spots you like to hide. Just insane
I was in the same boat with you , my fear took over me and I couldn’t play the game but after finding out the new alien movie was coming I had to conquer my fear
People who defend it saying "it's just one person's opinion" like that "opinion" was a blog post rather than a publication from a big name in gaming that lost Sega money on that game and essentially killed our chances of getting a well deserved sequel
It is just factually an opinion some people take reviews way too seriously like its a fact. HOWEVER the people that jizz for joy like its the greatest game on earth have made the game sooooo highly overrated. Its not all that great. Its not awful, but its nowhere near a "great" game. 30hrs is far too long, for being a inconsistent, "sneaking" simulator, it was weird the way it turns into a shooter halfway through the game before turning back into a sneaking simulator again. The average sneaking/walking sim is short because they literally go out of their way to not drag out a game where your constantly crawling at a snails pace doing nothing but menial tasks but not Alien Isolation The AI could be downright god awful at times nothing more aggravating than having to reload checkpoint when the "save points" are spread out way to far all because the Alien AI breaks gets stuck in a loop, your stuck in a locker for 5 minutes just praying that it breaks out of the loop because reloading means your going back 20-30 minutes. Since people ALWAYS try to bring up Resident Evil...RE1 is about 3hrs long not 30+hrs and your not crawling everywhere
@@lutherheggs451 this complaint is so ridiculous to me. its like complaining that the steak you ordered for the same price is too big. "oh the humanity, I got twice as much of an experience than other games" and your save point comment is factually untrue. theres not one point of the game that sends you back 30 minutes. I cant comment on your experience with the ai but it was great in my playthrough. with your exaggerations bordering on outright lying im not sure its factual anyways.
@@lutherheggs451 I reinstalled Alien Isolation last night and it's still as great as the first time I played it. I think the the game is great, and you don't for perfectly fair reasons. I still love the hell out of this game and think IGN did it dirty because the reviewer was bad at their job
I completely ignored the review as I was already a big Alien fan thanks to my dad. The 5.9 made me completely distance myself from IGN reviews. In fact I've never seeked their scores before buying a game after this. They killed this masterpiece
Same for me. I was always a huge Alien fan and just from the trailers before launch, I knew this game would be for me. I love this game so much and to hear someone at a game review company give it that low of score is appalling. I'm convinced half the people who review games at IGN don't even know how to play games.
Possibly a Controversial Take: The Developers of Alien Isolation didn't pay IGN for a good review, hence one of the best selling games of the previous decade, ported to numerous systems, getting a 5.9.
You shouldn't have to pay a company for a good review. You should have the right reviewer for the job! You don't send a ballet instructor to teach astrophysics.
Nah he was just a COD fanboy that wanted to do something else that weekend but got lumbered with a sophisticated survival horror. Although gamespot another big site at teh time also giving it a low score does raise eyebrows as basically every other reviewer reviewed it positively.
@@jamesknight3070 'one of the best selling games of the previous decade' - have you got a source for that? Genuinely interested, as I thought sales were low.
@@chatteyjim Not the Guy you asked but i googled real quick and i found 2.11 Million copies where sold (idk If it is one of the best selling games of the previous decade)
I can remember the 70's. There was this 70's retro future aesthetic that Aliens Isolation captures brilliantly. The furniture, the technology, the architecture, it all just reeks of the 70's. It reminded me of my childhood. I did not initially buy it because of the IGN review. A few months later a friend told me I should check it out. When I finally played it I absolutely loved it. One of the best things that has come out of the Alien franchise. I agree with you, because of IGN we did not get a sequel. I used to frequent IGN, but after the way I was influenced by the Alien Isolation review, I can't trust them.
Installed this game on my current PC 5 years ago. Never uninstalled it. Sometimes I start it and let Amanda just stand somewhere and enjoy the humming of Sevastopol, these throaty slogans by the Working Joes, while I work on something else. This game is the single best game ever to bear the name "Alien". And maybe the best game adaptation of any given pre-existent franchise. Simply a loveletter to the first movie. You can´t spell "ignorant" without "IGN".
It's definitely my favourite horror game. Still creeps me out. When I start a new game and I get closer to have to deal with alien I still get sooo nervous
Yeah bro the review was nonsensical. Dude was critiquing the game for having aspects true to its genre. A similar review by IGN was also made for Jurassic World Evolution. The reviewer stated that the game “lacked the action and thrill of the films”. Like I’m sorry but what game do you think you’re playing? It’s a simulation park builder and you’re criticizing it for lacking action!? IGN is full of clowns who apparently don’t understand that games operate within certain genres and therefore have an experience categorized by such. Alien Isolation is about as good as an Alien game can be. Is it perfect? Well that’s subjective. Personally I find it pretty damn close to perfect as a survival horror experience set in that franchise. The same way Jurassic World Evolution was near perfect for a park building experience in that franchise. In my honest opinion though while this review didn’t help the game I don’t think it was THE deciding factor in its sales performance. I’d give that credit to Colonial Marines. That game was such a flop and stain on the franchise that I feel like most people just disregarded Isolation due to it sharing the same property name. Although a sequel is definitely in high demand and considering the game’s cult following and recent boom in sales due to the film (which I loved) we might see one. Apparently there’s rumors of it already being in the works. I sure hope it happens because this game is truly one of a kind!
I agree with Colonial Marines playing a factor. When people saw the bad score for Isolation it was only a year removed from Colonial Marines which a lot of people probably just chalked it up to being another bad Alien game.
IGN won't admit to anything because that would make people ask how creditable are the other game reviews. I'm pretty sure the Alien community has shared its thoughts on wanting a new Alien isolation game' Disney is just collecting more fans before they drop another AI. Look at all the alien stuff coming out. A Movie' show' and game! If they all do well there will be AI2
Are we actually getting a Movie show? That's interesting. I read somewhere Romulus was meant to be a Hulu exclusive (much like Prey was) but ultimately decided to do a full theatric release. I wonder if we can expect the same vibe from the series
Oh no... I've just had a vision of a new A:I game made by people with no interest in the original film that producers try to tie into all the modern alien/Prometheus films...
Resources aren't even rare in Hard mode, only in Nightmare mode that was added after release. This guy was a complete failure reviewing games like this.
To be fair the game literally broke on the reviewer at the end and corrupted his saves. 4 is what it deserved, probably lower. A bug that bad makes the game bad. End of discussion.
@@coltonwilkie241IGN gave tears of kingdom a 10 and that had a game breaking bug that was later fixed. IGN just punished Bethesda for changing their review policy and not providing codes early for review. Seems like IGN was like well if you would have provided an early code we wouldn’t have scored it so low and waited for patch.
I agree, almost 10 years later, without exaggerating, this is the worst video game review ever. What makes it even more sad, they killed any hopes for sequel. And games like this are so rare.
I played this game back in 2020 on the PS4. As an Alien fanboy and ignoring the 30fps performance, this game is an absolute gem. One of the best survival/horror experience I’ve ever had. 5.9 is a war crime.
I can just see Hudson seeing this score and saying Game Over Man! Game Over! I thought the xenomorphs were supposed to be terrifying but that score scares me more.
6:46 This is like saying Alien is dumb because they didn't freeze Kane and take him back to earth. What kind of argument is this? It's super self-defeating.
@erzatitaniawins I'm glad you enjoyed the Romulus. I did not. I was just bored the whole time. I was at least expecting something interesting to give me something to dig into, but it never did. When they "reveal" that the face hugger chases heat, I was scratching my head. How is this bioweapon that's capable of wiping out colonies and space stations supposed to adapt to any other bio organism that has low body heat or none at all? Just left me baffled as to why anyone thought that was a smart addition. Sorry, I'm ranting.
@@gamervet4760 My problem is why did they have the headset with them on that could alert the face huggers to them and why didn't they just chuck that thing the moment it went off or at least turn it off. My biggest flaw with the movie is I wish they had more time to develop all the characters. I think to this day that is the most underrated part about Alien and Aliens is the entire cast. Everyone talks about Ripley and rightfully so but everyone seems to forget the great actors and actresses playing the others characters especially the Colonial Marines. I would one day like to revisit the Colonial Marines in another movie.
the one thing that always drives me crazy is every time i see someone play this game they always run everywhere. i find myself yelling at the screen "stop running it will hear you... idiot." don't run walk lol
Alien Isolation will ALWAYS be the best in gaming history! No other Survival Horror game can top it! Alien Isolation has the atmosphere, the sounds/PERFECT soundtrack and the tension! It hits the entire TRIFECTA! This game is a Gorgeous Masterpiece! And not only is the Main Campaign Amazing but so are all the DLC’s - they are just as terrifying (and amazing to play) as the Main Campaign! This game is 💯 10/10! -Welcome to Sevastopol Station -You’re Home Away from Home /-\ |_ | 3 |\| I S O |_ /-\ T I O |\|
10/10 is a wild take imo. I don't see how AI even comes close to a rating that I'd associate with perfection. I did like it though, definitely would like to see a sequel.
This game is absolutely magical! Its captures the feeling, vibe, atmosphere & sheer terror of the original movie & is a worthy sequel! Now if only they could do a sequel capturing what Aliens brought .
@@WH250398 it is i think the length is fine just i know people always complain this game is too long and maybe some areas are a bit padded but I think it's because the time the game was made people would complain about short games at full price.
Remember to dislike and block IGN posts on any social media platform. They commit crime after crime. Alien Isolation is the best horror game I've ever played up there with Resident Evil 7, Re4 remake, Dead Space remake and outlast.
Didn’t even know ign did this game dirty, but holy fuck after my grandma got me this game i was hooked. Never once have i finished a horror game by myself. But something about this game had me BY THE BALLS… it’s sad that basically none of my friends even tried this game
Issue with this game is it’s for a very niche market , not many people like horror games especially when you can’t kill what your against , gives people too much anxiety. Wish people would give this More of a chance
The game was too long for me in my first playthrough because I was just worried about burning through trophies. Upon replay, the length of the game is essential into making you feel just as exhausted and desperate as Ripley is in the endgame scenarios.
My first playthrough must have killed me over 300 times. I was talking to a friend about this and was saying that when do you ever watch a horror movie where the person who survives gets out virtually unscathed. That person is probably traumatized, beaten, bloody, scared, on the verge of death, and contemplating what they just went through.
A cool thing is that Alien Isolation isolation is also considered canon in the Alien novels and audio dramas. There are several times they reference Amanda, Working Joes, Sebastopol Station and other tidbits related to the game.
IGN's review for Alien Isolation is what made me no longer trust IGN for reviews. It really shows what happens when you give a survival horror game to an Xbox HALO fanboy to review. There were several reviewers at IGN that are fans of the genre. I really hope that IGN goes back to do a re-review with someone else for the 10th anniversary of the game. And then there was that review discussion video were Ryan doubled down on his review. It didn't help him at all just made it worse.
Finally someone makes a video about this IGN review. This review was so unprofessional it actually made unsubscribe and Block every IGN thing that popped up on my feed.
I feel now is the time for RUclipsrs to make more videos about this calling IGN out, hell even start a petition to re-review the game not have Ryan McCaffrey review it
In terms of the "Alien" universe, this game was pefect. I played it at launch and still play it to this day. I even have it installed on my phone. Like everyone else, I stopped taking IGN serious after their review of this game. The dude who reviewed this game needed to be disciplined. He ruined the chances of us getting a sequel by making the game look lackluster to many consumers who watch reviews before purchasing.
"It should've been one of the greatest survival horror games of all time" Just because you listened to a sellout companies review of a game instead of actually doing a tiny bit of research to find out it's good doesn't all of a sudden make it NOT one of the greatest survival horrors of our time. People still talk about the games AI as some of the greatest in gaming to this day. Everyone else with two electrons rubbing against their brain cells know it's easily in the top 10 of survival horror.
Honestly my biggest take away from isolation was how impressed i was with how it managed to use its length so well. Yeah it teeters on just too long but it never actually gets there imo. It packs a hell of a punch with that runtime, the backtracking wasnt super prevalent and made sense when it was. Working joes add some needed variety to the stalking dynamic, and a sense of security like you say. In no way does any of this make a bad survival horror nor a bad alien game, in fact its probably one of the best of both these spirits, so it really is baffling it got anything below an 8.
I loathe stealth games but I finished this on medium level in a fortnight and am on my second playthrough now. Up to level seven in 24 hours. To grab me with my dislike of stealth- well, it must be doing something right.
@DorisDay-lw4xs the stealth is another aspect I'd say they did well. As someone who sucks at any stealth, isolation had my respect so I was more keen to adapt.
I disagree with the length, I think it does overstay its welcome simply from the few chapters halfway through the game where you fight only androids. That entire section kills the pacing and ballooned the game to a ridiculous length. It should have been cut or massively trimmed down. We didn’t buy the game to fight androids, we bought it to shit our pants avoiding Hide and Seek Champion 2137
LMAO that review is so cringe! Its not even about the rating its just poorly written by someone with no passion for survival horror or aliens. And it shows, dude plays this like he's playing Bioshock or something. Its amazing that someone read and approved that garbaggio before publishing
I’m still MAD AF for what they did. I didn’t play it bc I trusted them. I played it first time in 2018 and boy i was pissed… what a great experience this game is
Don't forget God Hand was given a similar fate with poloralized reviews, casting it away from mainstream and ruined the chances of a sequel to one of the greatest beat em ups.
The one thing I agree with in the IGN review is the length of the game. In my opinion, it felt like the last few chapters of the game were needlessly drawn out. I think if you cut a few hours from those last few chapters, the game's pacing would feel a lot better and the experience would be more rewarding. That said, the review was terrible, primarily because I don't think Ryan understood the mechanics of the game properly. In both the written review and video review, he complains about being killed over and over again. Hundreds of times in fact, in the 13 or so hours he played, as he stated. If you watch the footage of the review, you see that he's hiding in lockers with his motion tracker out when the Xeno is right in front of the locker. Maybe he didn't piece it together, but the motion tracker makes audible noise that the Xeno can hear if it's close enough. Though his review does mention sound as being one such thing that the Xeno can use to track or find you, so I've no idea what he was doing. Ryan goes on to lay out his strategy which is to go from hiding spot to hiding spot and basically waiting there until the Alien leaves. As the game will tell you if you die by being found in such a spot, lockers and vents are only ever a temporary way to evade the Xeno. While the Xeno generally overlooks lockers and vents initially, if the game sees you're constantly hiding from it in these places, it'll gradually increase the likelihood of the Xeno checking those spots when investigating an area. To be clear, they are meant to be used, but they weren't intended for you to hide in them the entire time the Xeno is out stalking. They are meant as a last resort option, when it has you cornered or when no other method of distraction is available to you. If you watch a few let's plays, you'll see that people hiding in these spots for minutes at a time isn't at all uncommon, which makes me feel this issue was discovered during play testing. The developers want you to outsmart it, that is why they give you all those tools and devices to use, and the control boxes that give you an advantage, but seemingly so many people forget about or don't use. They don't want you hiding in lockers or vents all the time. It's meant to be tense and scary, but the confidence comes from facing that fear and eventually, outsmarting it.
I honestly believe he had no idea about a lot of these things in terms of avoiding or outsmarting the Alien. Hell one of the biggest advantages you can use in the game unlike in the movies is sound. It just seems like they wanted to do the same strategy all the time but the AI of the Alien will punish you if you don't change it up and evolve.
There's really only two things I'd do to tighten it up. I would let player skip the flashback section of Marley if they want, by asking him to keep it short and him telling what happened verbally and quickly. Second thing I would do is the skip the kidnapping section (or give player way to avoid it) just before you go out and try to leave the station, it's too much of a horror fun house park with multiple instances of accidentally not dying because of plot armor and not because Amanda made sensible decisions.
While I will admit the game dragged for the last couple of chapters, I'll also say I'm much happier getting more of a good thing than less. I'm in agreement that there could have been some ways to tighten the experience up - it's an open world, but a linear story. Maybe some of the missions could have been optional, depending on actions you take or logs you recover etc. I don't think anything in the game deserves to be on the cutting room floor as there's aton of amazing sequences and content there, and I'm much happier to have more of a good thing than less
Back then when it got released i remember many reviews where rating it rather mediocre. I was paying the game first day and thought they were nuts. It's a masterpiece that still holds up well today
I remember being extremely hyped for the game, but then the reviews came out, and I thought that this game is unfortunately just another flop in a long line of Alien games that turn out this way. So, I skipped this game on release. When I did eventually get round to playing it many years after, I found myself absolutely loving it. It's easily one of the best gaming experiences I have ever had the privilege of having. Whoever reviewed this game at IGN is quite simply a fool who should never be taken notice of when it comes to assessing the merits of a game.
It's not a shill score, he just didn't like it. RDR2 would get a similar score for me because I didn't like it. Opinions are subjective. I tried to love Isolation but I just found it a confusing mess, other than the atmosphere, sounds design and graphics I got nothing from Isolation. Gameplay wise I hit a wall. Not defending IGN but not everyone has to like things that are good. That's not how humanity works.
I know i didnt pick this game up because of this review back then. I only recently picked it up because of its recent popularity. Its pretty stunning. My only gripe is i wish they wouldve included the “acid blood” as a deterrent for shooting it. Maybe next time they could use a system where you use the control sticks and triggers as a way open and close the lockers and cabinets as fast and loud or slow and quiet as you need because getting out of the lockers have drawn it to me waaaaay too many times.
@@TheNamelessOne12357 Correct. Despite the lockers making loud noises, it doesnt attract the xenomorph. I was so angry at how loud Amanda is with the lockers until i realized that.
To new players: For the best experience, limit your FPS to 60 by some means. (There is no in-game option for that.) Symptoms of too high FPS include: - Increasingly often deaths to the Xenomorph are silent. (And they have good audio, so don't miss out. ;-) ) - Animations getting out of sync with their audio. (E.g. the sound of a passing train ends, but the train hasn't passed yet.) - Above ~300 fps, when pre-recorded cutscenes end, the game goes into slow-motion. - Above ~300 fps, gameplay speeds up. The easiest fix is to run it on a 60 Hz monitor and enable VSync in-game, but you can also use the AMD/NVIDIA/Intel gfx driver setting that limits FPS or use a third party FPS limiter such as Riva Tuner Statistics Server.
Excellent advice. I would add that you are still OK if you limit your fps to 100 fps. Anything above 100 fps will result in the issues you very well described. The easiest way to do this is by setting the maximum fps to 100 in the Nvidia control panel.
This game captured the atmosphere and horror that early resident evils (1 & 2) had back in the 90s… such an extremely hard task and this game did it. Pure terror, and then they rate it dogshit 🤡🤡 and now we know why they are very limited REAL survival horrors around because of bellends like this critic 🤷
wait, I am not good at horror, I will never play a horror game, but I do enjoy seeing people get scared as f00k, so I've seen basically this entire game in let's plays. Even as a viewer, how do you give this anything below a 7.5? It captures the vibe perfectly
It's such a well made game which did Alien proud. Easily the best film to game adaptation, incredible visuals and atmosphere and it felt like you were in the film. An amazing feat.
The game’s length was PERFECT. It’s whole goal was to bring you to the atmosphere of the original alien movie and become absorbed. It SUCCEEDED. Not every game needs to be some 3-4 hour quick trial run.
This is the VERY review that caused me to never even consider listening to IGN EVER again. Alien Isolation is a masterwork and I have bought this game for every console I’ve owned.
I made this comment on a different video. But I cannot get over this 5.9 grade. So that means no one else I guess looks at it to approve it and tell him that the review is wrong. The game is good and tough. Should have gotten a 7 at bare minimum or an 8. But 5.9 is ridiculous
IGN didn't get their "bribe money" from the publisher and devs. So they gave it a shitty review as punishment. For that, actual players put IGN on their shit-list. Every year I used to watch IGN's review of the game and the dislike votes kept on growing.
When did you even learn of Ellen's fate? You found a dead black box, then you found her message at the end of the game, where there was nothing left to do but get off the station because it was crashing into the gas giant. All you know is she survived the destruction of the Nostromo, and you still wanted to find her.
fk ign in general and that reviewer in particular, this game is unique till this day and it is a true true survival horror ( I love RE and the remakes, but this is still next level to me) - the guy was an amateur
Probably my second favorite fps just behind the og Bioshock. I was on a podcast a few years ago and when I listed this game as an innovative and a personsl favorite (after I bashed Elden Ring and stated it was trash) I was instantly flamed. They had brought up that ign gave it a low score and I immediately had to go on the defensive for it. Ryan McCaffery doesn't know his ass from a hole in the wall. The game holds up incredibly well to this day and is probably the scariest 20 hours you can put in any game. Graphics are fantastic, sound design is top notch. The tension just builds for soo long and then that amazing moment comes when you finally get brave to move around like a boss using utilities to take down droves of Joes and fuel to incinerate the Alien. It works incredibly well, all of it. The only gripe is the end escape. Sure its at a point where you're ready to just finish and be done but it definitely builds tension back up in that last 10 minutes. It's certainly a travesty that it got a 5.9 By the way are you a vr guy? Incursion is due out in December for vr.
My one complaint about Alien Isolation is that it's too long. The story and events just drag on for way longer without anything new or interesting happening gameplay wise for hours
It kind of upsets me because knowing how this game is actually a hidden gem in survival horror games. The devs spent years perfecting it and thanks to one ignorant gaming site, the devs must think we, the real gamers, are all ungrateful.
When i watched Alien Romulus i noticed that in few scenes there was really that Isolation vibe so I really want to believe that they had played or at least taken some inspiration from it.
Several sounds are also directly taken from Isolation, I swear I heard at least one of the Xeno sounds from the game and I definitely heard the save sound when Andy got the new directive.
Something I actually LEARNED in film school: when people complain something's too long, what they actually mean is that they lost engagement. Shortening whatever movie/show/game they thought was too long won't fix the problem. I love Isolation to death...but I will agree there are pacing problems.
I know several people who refused to play the game because of IGN’s review. We will NEVER get a sequel because IGN picked a Call of Duty player to review a survival horror game.
IGN criticized the game for having an AI that was "too smart" and for being too challenging and lengthy. Honestly, that sounds like they're complaining about the best aspects of the game! I still vividly remember the first time I picked up a gun, thinking I could finally take down the alien. I was dead wrong-it came charging at me, and I couldn’t help but scream! Such an intense and thrilling experience. Incredible game. Although as they did mentioned, after getting killed multiple times, you aren’t as afraid of the jump scares, but what can we expect like dahhh.
2014 was when ign reviewers went from gamers to journalists who reviewed games to try to break in to the industry so you weren’t getting fans of the genre doing the reviews.
I really dont agree with the "One time played"-Part. I would never expect a reviewer to play a game multiple times that doesnt offer a new experience on the second playthrough. I think you are really wrong with your expectation here. But yeah the review was pretty bad and they could have turned down the difficulty.
One of my all time favourite games, loved every second of it. I completed it on Nightmare. Gotta say I didn’t find the game even on that difficulty that hard, you just have to have patience and most of the time you will be fine. I wish the game was double its length, enjoyed it that much. Wish half was on the station and the second half had you escaping the station and landing on Fury 161 from Alien 3, that location would be incredible in this type of game.
I agree fully - I've never forgiven IGN for this either. Giving a game to someone who clearly wasn't into that kind of playstyle was a joke. It did huge damage to the game's success although thankfully it has become a cult classic since. I take IGN's reviews with a pinch of salt now.
Alien Isolation isn't only the best Alien game, it's also one of the best horror games in general. The fact that IGN recently decided to make a video on games based on the Alien franchise and most of the comments are people shitting on them for their Alien Isolation review is pretty much what they deserve.
You are incorrect. Games are about fun, not about frustration. Fun does not mean that you can play them without dying, but dying should not lead to frustration.
I definitely agree with you on this. Such a tragic score for this amazing game. Sure it has its flaws like some combat issues regarding the gun play but I don’t fault the game for it because it’s suppose to be a survival horror more than an action game. But wow I think a sequel for this definitely had potential to be 10/10. I hope despite everything that eventually we do get one.
There has to be something seriously wrong with you to give this game a low score, one of the best horror games ever. And we don't need a sequel, it was done great already
The review that killed IGN for me, was actually an anime review. There's a show called 'Gunslinger Girl'. It's about these little girls who are repurposed and used as assassins. It's a pretty dark and depressing show. The reviewer not only gave it a bad score, but said anyone who enjoyed it were pedophiles. I did a check. I'm not sure if you can find that review anymore or not. They do have new ones where they scored it a lot higher, but that one always stuck out to me.
To me, the fun of survival horror games are replaying them and learning the techniques in order to make your subsequent playthrough a lot easier. Without exaggeration, I've played this game over 10 times on nightmare (firstly, I played on medium and hard of course) and I've gotten to a point I'm having a swift experience compared to my first few playthroughs. That medical bay segment, came up with a solid strategy for that one. Even today I'm working on different tactics in order to do a nightmare permadeath. There are so few games I feel give the immense satisfaction of overcoming obstacles revolving an immortal foe who can insta-kill the player. As for patterns, while there is almost seemingly none in this game, I feel most of the patterns lay with the sound design rather than what you see in this game. The motion tracker is effectively useless besides showing you where to go, especially on nightmare. This is a game where good sound devices like headphones are REQUIRED. A friend played this for the first time just recently without headphones and had a miserable time lmao. And the pre-existing knowledge that the alien adapter to the player's behaviour is absolutely genius design as it makes the player realise they need to be flexible in overtaking every obstacle. Want to hide in a locker the entire game? Forget it. Might work once or twice, but it's a trap that lures you into a brief sense of security if you ask me. God I love this game.
While I agree with a lot of your points, the idea that a reviewer should play through a game on all the difficulties is insane. A full playthrough on the normal/default mode is plenty to experience what the devs intended for the average player. You don't have to know 100% of the game to give a reasonable review. That's a totally unreasonable expectation for the amount of time it takes to complete most games. A bigger problem is the unethical quid pro quos that go on behind the scenes and lead to manipulated scores. Or the lack of care for having appropriate staff play the right games (ie not having someone who only loves JRPGs reviewing horror games).
Can't spell Ignorant without IGN
boom
Damn, that's fire!
And that's why I don't trust IGN to this very day
We shouldn’t trust reviewers anyway. Its only another person’s opinion and there’s no certainty that their opinions are right or even worthy. I trust reading gamers povs more. It was through listening to what was being said online that I discovered AI and also Days Gone, which otherwise would have passed me by. Both 9.5/10 games for me.
This and their getting pegged by Anita Sarkeesian
Not all IGN reviews are reliable.
IGN REVIEWS AND REVIEWER'S ARE ABOUT AS RELIABLE AS A CHOCOLATE FIREGUARD 😅😂😅
Watch your favorite RUclipsr, Twitch Streamer etc. much better way to get a feel for a game. I discovered this game from a guy named Tangent playing it on Twitch while i was home sick. Immediately purchased it. Most urilalists these days have no love or appreciation for games.
“Ryan 5.9 McCaffrey” was the asshole at IGN who ruined any chance of a sequel. He basically complained how hard it was (whilst playing on hard) long story short, he didn’t know how to play a survival horror, he was dying a lot because he was being dumbass playing, he said the “AI was too smart” which is what you should expect from a survival horror, play smart and outsmart the alien. There was times I got frustrated during this game, I died because I was careless and not cautious whilst proceeding, that’s the point you got punished by the alien for just running around not staying silent and out of sight. Ryan McCaffrey gave call of duty the same year a solid 9/10 when call of duty was complete ass back then with all its futuristic spaceman exo suit shit.
Well the AI would seem too smart for a dumbass like Ryan McCaffrey
the guy hid in a vent and complained the alien found him.. the vent is where the alien spends most of its time in
@@mjoestar7966 He was the wrong person to review the game and he never should have been playing on hard for a review copy, play it on easy or normal if you are new to survivor horror games or don’t like them.
They should have had multiple reviewers including a fan of the franchise and a fan of the genre.
Do these people have that much influence ? I don’t know how well the game did but I read many, many positive comments about it so the developers must know what the people who count think. Now would be a great time for a sequel with Romulus doing the rounds.
I dare say that Alien Isolation captured the horror and atmosphere in a way that no other Alien property has done since the original Alien film.
It really is the ultimate homage to the original movie, and it makes me smile seeing references to it in Aliens Fireteam Elite and Alien Romulus
It was better in the game than in the movie
its a masterpiece, I just finished yet another playthrough.
Yep definitely need brown pants to play haha
I wish they had made a sequel that was more like the second movie aliens so you could actually fight the aliens and didn’t have to sneak around so much.
This game was the fans dreams realised.
We literally got everything we ever wanted.
..and they gave it a 5.9
It feels like a sick dream.
I liked Romulus, but this is still the best Alien sequel and like the first 2 movies, it'll never be topped
@@rampager1990I agree. Romulus had its moments but that daft thing at the end killed it for me. Isolation is a different league altogether.
Exactly as an Alien fan, it's literally perfect. "A perfect organism! It's structural perfection is matched only by it's hostility" lol
@@DorisDay-lw4xs I didn't actually mind the end, I just wish we hadn't seen it as a baby first 😂 also, everything felt to quick. Scott told him to keep it short and he cut a lot, I kinda want to see the long version. Release the Alvarez cut!! 😅
10 years later Alien Isolation its a Overwhelmingly possitive reviewed game on Steam while IGN its dying with 0 credibiliy, you dont have to die on any hill you already won
I never got my sequel.
Can’t even remember that last time I heard anyone talk about IGN there than to bash them about Alien Iso like this video dose
Alien's true trilogy is Alien, Aliens and Alien Isolation.
Agreed 👍
Absolutely. Now I’ve seen Romulus Im on the side of Isolation. Much better story and a much better atmosphere. No naff hybrid things.
YES!
Just _Alien_ and _Alien: Isolation_ . _Aliens_ is good, but it ruins the monster, turning it into an easily killed space insect that takes orders from central command (i.e., the video game boss monster queen).
All Alien movies are good
Ryan McCaffrey's Alien: Isolation review basically equates to him having a skill issue with the game and then him continually whining about it.
_cut to clip of game reviewer being unable to beat the tutorial of cuphead_
@@planescaped Oh My God I completely forgot about that until now!! 🤣
He hid in a locker with the motion detector which bleeps and then wondered why the alien dragged him out of the locker 😂
IGN's review of Alien Isolation made me blacklist them.
It's not that I gave them much credit at the time, it was just the final nail in the coffin.
damn straight!
Nah it was was the first of many more nails to come fuck IGN rest in piss you won't be missed
They let a Call Of Duty player review this...
It’s First Person, so that makes sense
@@jameskite8021 so Fortnite player should review Alan Wake because both use third-person???? FFS.
Actually he was a Halo bro.
Should of got a first person horror fan fuckin Tards
You’re 100% correct. IGN was THE site back in the day. Their review is 100% the reason I stayed away because they made the game out to be a disaster. Which after Colonial Marines the year before, really sucked for the game’s chances.
sounds like to me you're an NPC that can't think for themselves
your comment is embarrassing
maybe you shouldn't have been an NPC and took IGN's word over all the OTHER REVIEWS THAT PRAISED THE GAME.
learn to think for yourself, buddy.
Their review is also a likely reason the game never got a sequel.
@@ChazUBCSI think what he was trying to relay was how much reach IGN had back in the day. Although those in the know are aware that many other sites reviewed the game favourably, the average Joe really only looked at IGN. There certainly was not the amount of game review channels as there are today. Just trying to provide some context to the original comment. Peace.
@ChazUBCS to be fair back then IGN had a hold in video game reviews before the clownshow they are now. Didn't help when Alien colonial marines prior to isolation was still fresh on people's minds so... having those two combine it makes sense why people would trust ign back then.
But again this was before we know they are jokes today
After 10 YEARS , I am finally conquering my fear and playing this for the first time. Creative Assembly wanted to do the Alien justice - and holy hell , the combo of hideously creepy vistas , pinpoint eerie sound and the most intelligent AI put to console. I'm still on mission 10 - and the fact I need to work myself up to give it another session tells you all you need to know about how legendary this game is.
FACT - it took me 6 years to pick up the pad again with this game after buying it on release day. What a game, for me IGN are a absolute DISGRACE with this review and alot of their reviews in general - I ain't got time for them no more, all credibility is GONE as far as I am concerned.
I recommend Medium difficulty. The difficulty changes the frequency of Xenomorph popping up to look for you. Medium is a decent increase without it popping up every 5 minutes.
Two Pro tips:
#1
When you find an ingredient that you have “full” place the excess in to a blueprint (even if you don’t have all the ingredients or have a maximum amount of) it acts as a ready-to-made item.
#2
Never Run. Consider the fastest you can go is just walking, if you’ve ever played Arkham Asylum, the whole game is Killer Kroc’s Lair.
@@imaginarycorgi7312 spot on summary that. Sooo true
There are 2 ai for the alien. The first one allways knows where you are. And it gives the second ai, the alien itself, hints where you could be. Not the exact possition. But the alien ai learns where you hide. So it looks more in the spots you like to hide.
Just insane
I was in the same boat with you , my fear took over me and I couldn’t play the game but after finding out the new alien movie was coming I had to conquer my fear
>Alien Isolation: 5.9
>Dustborn: 7
That really puts it in perspective lol
*hears crawling from the vents*
"I better hide in the vents."
People who defend it saying "it's just one person's opinion" like that "opinion" was a blog post rather than a publication from a big name in gaming that lost Sega money on that game and essentially killed our chances of getting a well deserved sequel
It is just factually an opinion some people take reviews way too seriously like its a fact.
HOWEVER the people that jizz for joy like its the greatest game on earth have made the game sooooo highly overrated.
Its not all that great. Its not awful, but its nowhere near a "great" game. 30hrs is far too long, for being a inconsistent, "sneaking" simulator, it was weird the way it turns into a shooter halfway through the game before turning back into a sneaking simulator again. The average sneaking/walking sim is short because they literally go out of their way to not drag out a game where your constantly crawling at a snails pace doing nothing but menial tasks but not Alien Isolation
The AI could be downright god awful at times nothing more aggravating than having to reload checkpoint when the "save points" are spread out way to far all because the Alien AI breaks gets stuck in a loop, your stuck in a locker for 5 minutes just praying that it breaks out of the loop because reloading means your going back 20-30 minutes.
Since people ALWAYS try to bring up Resident Evil...RE1 is about 3hrs long not 30+hrs and your not crawling everywhere
@@lutherheggs451 this complaint is so ridiculous to me. its like complaining that the steak you ordered for the same price is too big. "oh the humanity, I got twice as much of an experience than other games" and your save point comment is factually untrue. theres not one point of the game that sends you back 30 minutes. I cant comment on your experience with the ai but it was great in my playthrough. with your exaggerations bordering on outright lying im not sure its factual anyways.
@@lutherheggs451 whats your favorite game?
@@lutherheggs451 I reinstalled Alien Isolation last night and it's still as great as the first time I played it. I think the the game is great, and you don't for perfectly fair reasons. I still love the hell out of this game and think IGN did it dirty because the reviewer was bad at their job
@lutherheggs451. When this first came out it $60.00. I would rather pay 60 for a game that is 30hrs long than a game that is 3hrs long
I completely ignored the review as I was already a big Alien fan thanks to my dad. The 5.9 made me completely distance myself from IGN reviews. In fact I've never seeked their scores before buying a game after this. They killed this masterpiece
Same for me. I was always a huge Alien fan and just from the trailers before launch, I knew this game would be for me. I love this game so much and to hear someone at a game review company give it that low of score is appalling. I'm convinced half the people who review games at IGN don't even know how to play games.
@@joelociraptorgaming80 Completely agree with you
Nearly 40 years playing games and this is in my top 10 favourites.
It's a great game. They nailed it. It's a 9 minimum
Possibly a Controversial Take:
The Developers of Alien Isolation didn't pay IGN for a good review, hence one of the best selling games of the previous decade, ported to numerous systems, getting a 5.9.
You shouldn't have to pay a company for a good review. You should have the right reviewer for the job! You don't send a ballet instructor to teach astrophysics.
Nah he was just a COD fanboy that wanted to do something else that weekend but got lumbered with a sophisticated survival horror. Although gamespot another big site at teh time also giving it a low score does raise eyebrows as basically every other reviewer reviewed it positively.
@@jamesknight3070 'one of the best selling games of the previous decade' - have you got a source for that? Genuinely interested, as I thought sales were low.
@@chatteyj You don’t have to politely ask for a source buddy. Just tell him outright that you think he’s blatantly lying. 👍
@@chatteyjim Not the Guy you asked but i googled real quick and i found 2.11 Million copies where sold (idk If it is one of the best selling games of the previous decade)
Thank you for this. I'll never forgive IGN
IGN ruined every the gaming media for the Alien IP forever and I'll never forgive them for that.
Cope 😂
I haven't watched or read an IGN review for like 10 years. Honestly, some of their takes in the past are just... Something else...
I see IGN, I IGNore.
IGN Reviews are still Something else and i stopped watching them because of this Reviews
I can remember the 70's. There was this 70's retro future aesthetic that Aliens Isolation captures brilliantly. The furniture, the technology, the architecture, it all just reeks of the 70's. It reminded me of my childhood. I did not initially buy it because of the IGN review. A few months later a friend told me I should check it out. When I finally played it I absolutely loved it. One of the best things that has come out of the Alien franchise. I agree with you, because of IGN we did not get a sequel. I used to frequent IGN, but after the way I was influenced by the Alien Isolation review, I can't trust them.
Installed this game on my current PC 5 years ago. Never uninstalled it. Sometimes I start it and let Amanda just stand somewhere and enjoy the humming of Sevastopol, these throaty slogans by the Working Joes, while I work on something else. This game is the single best game ever to bear the name "Alien". And maybe the best game adaptation of any given pre-existent franchise. Simply a loveletter to the first movie.
You can´t spell "ignorant" without "IGN".
It's definitely my favourite horror game. Still creeps me out. When I start a new game and I get closer to have to deal with alien I still get sooo nervous
The Joes sure are creepy bastards.
Chasing you down while spouting pre-recorded helpful phrases.
Yeah bro the review was nonsensical. Dude was critiquing the game for having aspects true to its genre. A similar review by IGN was also made for Jurassic World Evolution.
The reviewer stated that the game “lacked the action and thrill of the films”. Like I’m sorry but what game do you think you’re playing? It’s a simulation park builder and you’re criticizing it for lacking action!?
IGN is full of clowns who apparently don’t understand that games operate within certain genres and therefore have an experience categorized by such. Alien Isolation is about as good as an Alien game can be. Is it perfect? Well that’s subjective. Personally I find it pretty damn close to perfect as a survival horror experience set in that franchise. The same way Jurassic World Evolution was near perfect for a park building experience in that franchise.
In my honest opinion though while this review didn’t help the game I don’t think it was THE deciding factor in its sales performance. I’d give that credit to Colonial Marines. That game was such a flop and stain on the franchise that I feel like most people just disregarded Isolation due to it sharing the same property name.
Although a sequel is definitely in high demand and considering the game’s cult following and recent boom in sales due to the film (which I loved) we might see one. Apparently there’s rumors of it already being in the works. I sure hope it happens because this game is truly one of a kind!
I agree with Colonial Marines playing a factor. When people saw the bad score for Isolation it was only a year removed from Colonial Marines which a lot of people probably just chalked it up to being another bad Alien game.
IGN won't admit to anything because that would make people ask how creditable are the other game reviews. I'm pretty sure the Alien community has shared its thoughts on wanting a new Alien isolation game' Disney is just collecting more fans before they drop another AI. Look at all the alien stuff coming out. A Movie' show' and game! If they all do well there will be AI2
Are we actually getting a Movie show? That's interesting. I read somewhere Romulus was meant to be a Hulu exclusive (much like Prey was) but ultimately decided to do a full theatric release. I wonder if we can expect the same vibe from the series
Oh no... I've just had a vision of a new A:I game made by people with no interest in the original film that producers try to tie into all the modern alien/Prometheus films...
The studio that made this game is broken up and gone, the time has long past and no one else, especially in current day can do it justice.
This is one of the best games in the history of gaming. S+ class game. It's better than some movies.
Resources aren't even rare in Hard mode, only in Nightmare mode that was added after release. This guy was a complete failure reviewing games like this.
IGN review of PREY was criminal, they gave it a 4… then weeks later updated it to 8 but by then the damage was done and sales tanked.
To be fair the game literally broke on the reviewer at the end and corrupted his saves. 4 is what it deserved, probably lower. A bug that bad makes the game bad. End of discussion.
@@coltonwilkie241IGN gave tears of kingdom a 10 and that had a game breaking bug that was later fixed. IGN just punished Bethesda for changing their review policy and not providing codes early for review. Seems like IGN was like well if you would have provided an early code we wouldn’t have scored it so low and waited for patch.
I agree, almost 10 years later, without exaggerating, this is the worst video game review ever.
What makes it even more sad, they killed any hopes for sequel. And games like this are so rare.
I played this game back in 2020 on the PS4.
As an Alien fanboy and ignoring the 30fps performance, this game is an absolute gem. One of the best survival/horror experience I’ve ever had. 5.9 is a war crime.
I can just see Hudson seeing this score and saying Game Over Man! Game Over! I thought the xenomorphs were supposed to be terrifying but that score scares me more.
6:46 This is like saying Alien is dumb because they didn't freeze Kane and take him back to earth. What kind of argument is this? It's super self-defeating.
Yeah I have never heard someone complain about this in a "SURVIVAL" horror game. It's like they had to make up things to get mad at.
@erzatitaniawins I'm glad you enjoyed the Romulus. I did not. I was just bored the whole time. I was at least expecting something interesting to give me something to dig into, but it never did. When they "reveal" that the face hugger chases heat, I was scratching my head. How is this bioweapon that's capable of wiping out colonies and space stations supposed to adapt to any other bio organism that has low body heat or none at all? Just left me baffled as to why anyone thought that was a smart addition. Sorry, I'm ranting.
@@gamervet4760 My problem is why did they have the headset with them on that could alert the face huggers to them and why didn't they just chuck that thing the moment it went off or at least turn it off.
My biggest flaw with the movie is I wish they had more time to develop all the characters. I think to this day that is the most underrated part about Alien and Aliens is the entire cast. Everyone talks about Ripley and rightfully so but everyone seems to forget the great actors and actresses playing the others characters especially the Colonial Marines. I would one day like to revisit the Colonial Marines in another movie.
I got the platinum of the game after 10 years and Im telling ya'll this game is a fucking masterpiece
the one thing that always drives me crazy is every time i see someone play this game they always run everywhere. i find myself yelling at the screen "stop running it will hear you... idiot." don't run walk lol
On harder difficulties even walking will get you killed.
"Running causes Accidents", even the deadly dollar store homicidal androids are warning you XD
Maybe it was a speedrun video? :)
Alien Isolation will ALWAYS be the best in gaming history! No other Survival Horror game can top it! Alien Isolation has the atmosphere, the sounds/PERFECT soundtrack and the tension! It hits the entire TRIFECTA! This game is a Gorgeous Masterpiece! And not only is the Main Campaign Amazing but so are all the DLC’s - they are just as terrifying (and amazing to play) as the Main Campaign! This game is 💯 10/10!
-Welcome to Sevastopol Station
-You’re Home Away from Home
/-\ |_ | 3 |\|
I S O |_ /-\ T I O |\|
Dead Space was far better for actual scares and atmosphere.
10/10 is a wild take imo. I don't see how AI even comes close to a rating that I'd associate with perfection. I did like it though, definitely would like to see a sequel.
It's the best Survival Horror game ever made. And i've been playing for more than 20 years!!!
@@artemis1993Nope. Silent Hill 2 is the greatest survival horror game ever made.
@@JackWilkos Yeah, a lot of people say that. But i prefer Alien: Isolation tbh. I found SH2 a bit overrated, i liked Silent Hill 1 and 3 better
This game is the only survival horror game that made me feel truly hunted. It's a great game and deserves a better review than it got.
This game is absolutely magical! Its captures the feeling, vibe, atmosphere & sheer terror of the original movie & is a worthy sequel! Now if only they could do a sequel capturing what Aliens brought .
Liking before I even watch because IGN is 1/10 - Anyone who trashes IGN must be good people.
This is exactly what I was thinking!
IGN - Inconsistent Gaming Narratives.
I remember in the mid 2010s around the time of this game, gamers complained if a game wasn't long it wasn't worth $60
This game is long though. 20 hours.
@@WH250398 it is i think the length is fine just i know people always complain this game is too long and maybe some areas are a bit padded but I think it's because the time the game was made people would complain about short games at full price.
Remember to dislike and block IGN posts on any social media platform. They commit crime after crime. Alien Isolation is the best horror game I've ever played up there with Resident Evil 7, Re4 remake, Dead Space remake and outlast.
Didn’t even know ign did this game dirty, but holy fuck after my grandma got me this game i was hooked. Never once have i finished a horror game by myself. But something about this game had me BY THE BALLS… it’s sad that basically none of my friends even tried this game
You have a bad ass grandma
Issue with this game is it’s for a very niche market , not many people like horror games especially when you can’t kill what your against , gives people too much anxiety. Wish people would give this More of a chance
The game was too long for me in my first playthrough because I was just worried about burning through trophies.
Upon replay, the length of the game is essential into making you feel just as exhausted and desperate as Ripley is in the endgame scenarios.
My first playthrough must have killed me over 300 times. I was talking to a friend about this and was saying that when do you ever watch a horror movie where the person who survives gets out virtually unscathed. That person is probably traumatized, beaten, bloody, scared, on the verge of death, and contemplating what they just went through.
@@erzatitaniawinsI think I died the same amount on my first attempt. Im currently on level 7 on my second playthrough and Ive not died once yet 🤞🏼
Good game cannot be "too long". The only downside of a long game is harder post-game depression.
A cool thing is that Alien Isolation isolation is also considered canon in the Alien novels and audio dramas.
There are several times they reference Amanda, Working Joes, Sebastopol Station and other tidbits related to the game.
IGN's review for Alien Isolation is what made me no longer trust IGN for reviews. It really shows what happens when you give a survival horror game to an Xbox HALO fanboy to review. There were several reviewers at IGN that are fans of the genre. I really hope that IGN goes back to do a re-review with someone else for the 10th anniversary of the game. And then there was that review discussion video were Ryan doubled down on his review. It didn't help him at all just made it worse.
Finally someone makes a video about this IGN review. This review was so unprofessional it actually made unsubscribe and Block every IGN thing that popped up on my feed.
I feel now is the time for RUclipsrs to make more videos about this calling IGN out, hell even start a petition to re-review the game not have Ryan McCaffrey review it
In terms of the "Alien" universe, this game was pefect. I played it at launch and still play it to this day. I even have it installed on my phone. Like everyone else, I stopped taking IGN serious after their review of this game. The dude who reviewed this game needed to be disciplined. He ruined the chances of us getting a sequel by making the game look lackluster to many consumers who watch reviews before purchasing.
"It should've been one of the greatest survival horror games of all time"
Just because you listened to a sellout companies review of a game instead of actually doing a tiny bit of research to find out it's good doesn't all of a sudden make it NOT one of the greatest survival horrors of our time. People still talk about the games AI as some of the greatest in gaming to this day. Everyone else with two electrons rubbing against their brain cells know it's easily in the top 10 of survival horror.
Honestly my biggest take away from isolation was how impressed i was with how it managed to use its length so well. Yeah it teeters on just too long but it never actually gets there imo. It packs a hell of a punch with that runtime, the backtracking wasnt super prevalent and made sense when it was. Working joes add some needed variety to the stalking dynamic, and a sense of security like you say. In no way does any of this make a bad survival horror nor a bad alien game, in fact its probably one of the best of both these spirits, so it really is baffling it got anything below an 8.
I loathe stealth games but I finished this on medium level in a fortnight and am on my second playthrough now. Up to level seven in 24 hours. To grab me with my dislike of stealth- well, it must be doing something right.
@DorisDay-lw4xs the stealth is another aspect I'd say they did well. As someone who sucks at any stealth, isolation had my respect so I was more keen to adapt.
I disagree with the length, I think it does overstay its welcome simply from the few chapters halfway through the game where you fight only androids. That entire section kills the pacing and ballooned the game to a ridiculous length. It should have been cut or massively trimmed down. We didn’t buy the game to fight androids, we bought it to shit our pants avoiding Hide and Seek Champion 2137
The back tracking is part of the appeal to me, the feeling you're in an actual place and can learn the layout.
The only bad thing a can give the game how bad those cutscenes are they look like an early PS3 cutscene.
I can't believe it's been 10 years. Still holds up to this day. Hopefully we'll get an Anniversary Edition!
LMAO that review is so cringe! Its not even about the rating its just poorly written by someone with no passion for survival horror or aliens. And it shows, dude plays this like he's playing Bioshock or something. Its amazing that someone read and approved that garbaggio before publishing
I’m still MAD AF for what they did. I didn’t play it bc I trusted them.
I played it first time in 2018 and boy i was pissed… what a great experience this game is
Don't forget God Hand was given a similar fate with poloralized reviews, casting it away from mainstream and ruined the chances of a sequel to one of the greatest beat em ups.
The one thing I agree with in the IGN review is the length of the game. In my opinion, it felt like the last few chapters of the game were needlessly drawn out. I think if you cut a few hours from those last few chapters, the game's pacing would feel a lot better and the experience would be more rewarding. That said, the review was terrible, primarily because I don't think Ryan understood the mechanics of the game properly. In both the written review and video review, he complains about being killed over and over again. Hundreds of times in fact, in the 13 or so hours he played, as he stated. If you watch the footage of the review, you see that he's hiding in lockers with his motion tracker out when the Xeno is right in front of the locker. Maybe he didn't piece it together, but the motion tracker makes audible noise that the Xeno can hear if it's close enough. Though his review does mention sound as being one such thing that the Xeno can use to track or find you, so I've no idea what he was doing.
Ryan goes on to lay out his strategy which is to go from hiding spot to hiding spot and basically waiting there until the Alien leaves. As the game will tell you if you die by being found in such a spot, lockers and vents are only ever a temporary way to evade the Xeno. While the Xeno generally overlooks lockers and vents initially, if the game sees you're constantly hiding from it in these places, it'll gradually increase the likelihood of the Xeno checking those spots when investigating an area. To be clear, they are meant to be used, but they weren't intended for you to hide in them the entire time the Xeno is out stalking. They are meant as a last resort option, when it has you cornered or when no other method of distraction is available to you. If you watch a few let's plays, you'll see that people hiding in these spots for minutes at a time isn't at all uncommon, which makes me feel this issue was discovered during play testing. The developers want you to outsmart it, that is why they give you all those tools and devices to use, and the control boxes that give you an advantage, but seemingly so many people forget about or don't use. They don't want you hiding in lockers or vents all the time. It's meant to be tense and scary, but the confidence comes from facing that fear and eventually, outsmarting it.
I honestly believe he had no idea about a lot of these things in terms of avoiding or outsmarting the Alien. Hell one of the biggest advantages you can use in the game unlike in the movies is sound. It just seems like they wanted to do the same strategy all the time but the AI of the Alien will punish you if you don't change it up and evolve.
There's really only two things I'd do to tighten it up.
I would let player skip the flashback section of Marley if they want, by asking him to keep it short and him telling what happened verbally and quickly.
Second thing I would do is the skip the kidnapping section (or give player way to avoid it) just before you go out and try to leave the station, it's too much of a horror fun house park with multiple instances of accidentally not dying because of plot armor and not because Amanda made sensible decisions.
@@noway8662 its funny, those two sections are some of my favorite in the game. seeing the derelict ship in first person was absolutely incredible.
While I will admit the game dragged for the last couple of chapters, I'll also say I'm much happier getting more of a good thing than less.
I'm in agreement that there could have been some ways to tighten the experience up - it's an open world, but a linear story. Maybe some of the missions could have been optional, depending on actions you take or logs you recover etc.
I don't think anything in the game deserves to be on the cutting room floor as there's aton of amazing sequences and content there, and I'm much happier to have more of a good thing than less
I loved the length. Thought it was perfect.
Back then when it got released i remember many reviews where rating it rather mediocre. I was paying the game first day and thought they were nuts. It's a masterpiece that still holds up well today
I remember being extremely hyped for the game, but then the reviews came out, and I thought that this game is unfortunately just another flop in a long line of Alien games that turn out this way. So, I skipped this game on release. When I did eventually get round to playing it many years after, I found myself absolutely loving it. It's easily one of the best gaming experiences I have ever had the privilege of having. Whoever reviewed this game at IGN is quite simply a fool who should never be taken notice of when it comes to assessing the merits of a game.
Ill never forgive that shill for that score. isolation was incredible. the Ai was next level.
It's not a shill score, he just didn't like it. RDR2 would get a similar score for me because I didn't like it. Opinions are subjective. I tried to love Isolation but I just found it a confusing mess, other than the atmosphere, sounds design and graphics I got nothing from Isolation. Gameplay wise I hit a wall. Not defending IGN but not everyone has to like things that are good. That's not how humanity works.
I know i didnt pick this game up because of this review back then. I only recently picked it up because of its recent popularity. Its pretty stunning. My only gripe is i wish they wouldve included the “acid blood” as a deterrent for shooting it. Maybe next time they could use a system where you use the control sticks and triggers as a way open and close the lockers and cabinets as fast and loud or slow and quiet as you need because getting out of the lockers have drawn it to me waaaaay too many times.
AFAIK, Alien does not react to lockers.
@@TheNamelessOne12357 Correct. Despite the lockers making loud noises, it doesnt attract the xenomorph. I was so angry at how loud Amanda is with the lockers until i realized that.
To new players: For the best experience, limit your FPS to 60 by some means. (There is no in-game option for that.) Symptoms of too high FPS include:
- Increasingly often deaths to the Xenomorph are silent. (And they have good audio, so don't miss out. ;-) )
- Animations getting out of sync with their audio. (E.g. the sound of a passing train ends, but the train hasn't passed yet.)
- Above ~300 fps, when pre-recorded cutscenes end, the game goes into slow-motion.
- Above ~300 fps, gameplay speeds up.
The easiest fix is to run it on a 60 Hz monitor and enable VSync in-game, but you can also use the AMD/NVIDIA/Intel gfx driver setting that limits FPS or use a third party FPS limiter such as Riva Tuner Statistics Server.
Excellent advice. I would add that you are still OK if you limit your fps to 100 fps. Anything above 100 fps will result in the issues you very well described. The easiest way to do this is by setting the maximum fps to 100 in the Nvidia control panel.
they simply suck at it is why, those who suck at games call it a bad game.
This game captured the atmosphere and horror that early resident evils (1 & 2) had back in the 90s… such an extremely hard task and this game did it. Pure terror, and then they rate it dogshit 🤡🤡 and now we know why they are very limited REAL survival horrors around because of bellends like this critic 🤷
wait, I am not good at horror, I will never play a horror game, but I do enjoy seeing people get scared as f00k, so I've seen basically this entire game in let's plays. Even as a viewer, how do you give this anything below a 7.5? It captures the vibe perfectly
It's such a well made game which did Alien proud. Easily the best film to game adaptation, incredible visuals and atmosphere and it felt like you were in the film. An amazing feat.
The game’s length was PERFECT.
It’s whole goal was to bring you to the atmosphere of the original alien movie and become absorbed. It SUCCEEDED.
Not every game needs to be some 3-4 hour quick trial run.
I agree. And I’m on my second playthrough and have got to level 7 in less than a day. It feels a lot shorter second time around.
This is the VERY review that caused me to never even consider listening to IGN EVER again. Alien Isolation is a masterwork and I have bought this game for every console I’ve owned.
I made this comment on a different video. But I cannot get over this 5.9 grade. So that means no one else I guess looks at it to approve it and tell him that the review is wrong. The game is good and tough. Should have gotten a 7 at bare minimum or an 8. But 5.9 is ridiculous
What about GameSpot's review then?
IGN didn't get their "bribe money" from the publisher and devs. So they gave it a shitty review as punishment. For that, actual players put IGN on their shit-list. Every year I used to watch IGN's review of the game and the dislike votes kept on growing.
They should release a ps5 upgrade, everyone plays it and loves it and after a long decade we finally get a sequel.- The good ending
That would be a smart idea especially to capitalize after the movie's release.
When did you even learn of Ellen's fate? You found a dead black box, then you found her message at the end of the game, where there was nothing left to do but get off the station because it was crashing into the gas giant. All you know is she survived the destruction of the Nostromo, and you still wanted to find her.
Currently playing through it again for the first time since it released and am in awe of how good it is
fk ign in general and that reviewer in particular, this game is unique till this day and it is a true true survival horror ( I love RE and the remakes, but this is still next level to me) - the guy was an amateur
It doesn't need a sequel. Now the same developer need to expand and make the Aliens - with marines!
Thats called a sequel
But we already have game with aliens and marines at home...
Probably my second favorite fps just behind the og Bioshock.
I was on a podcast a few years ago and when I listed this game as an innovative and a personsl favorite (after I bashed Elden Ring and stated it was trash) I was instantly flamed.
They had brought up that ign gave it a low score and I immediately had to go on the defensive for it. Ryan McCaffery doesn't know his ass from a hole in the wall.
The game holds up incredibly well to this day and is probably the scariest 20 hours you can put in any game. Graphics are fantastic, sound design is top notch. The tension just builds for soo long and then that amazing moment comes when you finally get brave to move around like a boss using utilities to take down droves of Joes and fuel to incinerate the Alien. It works incredibly well, all of it.
The only gripe is the end escape. Sure its at a point where you're ready to just finish and be done but it definitely builds tension back up in that last 10 minutes.
It's certainly a travesty that it got a 5.9
By the way are you a vr guy? Incursion is due out in December for vr.
My one complaint about Alien Isolation is that it's too long. The story and events just drag on for way longer without anything new or interesting happening gameplay wise for hours
I'll agree but that doesn't make the game a 5.9, 7.9 maybe.
It kind of upsets me because knowing how this game is actually a hidden gem in survival horror games. The devs spent years perfecting it and thanks to one ignorant gaming site, the devs must think we, the real gamers, are all ungrateful.
Ill be the 1st to say but as an adult, Alien Isolation is still the scariest game ive played.
1:54 but did you catch the Alien Isolation easter eggs in the movie? The director added the same save stations throughout the station.
When i watched Alien Romulus i noticed that in few scenes there was really that Isolation vibe so I really want to believe that they had played or at least taken some inspiration from it.
Several sounds are also directly taken from Isolation, I swear I heard at least one of the Xeno sounds from the game and I definitely heard the save sound when Andy got the new directive.
This is the main reason I stick to independent reviewers now. People who actually love and understand games, not journalist shills.
Something I actually LEARNED in film school: when people complain something's too long, what they actually mean is that they lost engagement. Shortening whatever movie/show/game they thought was too long won't fix the problem. I love Isolation to death...but I will agree there are pacing problems.
I remember raving about Alien Isolation to my coworkers at the time and no one took my recommendation seriously because IGN said 5.9.
It sounds like IGN gave the game to a reviewer who absolutely hates survival horror and was simply expressing their hatred for survival horror. SMH.
I know several people who refused to play the game because of IGN’s review. We will NEVER get a sequel because IGN picked a Call of Duty player to review a survival horror game.
Back then was the “backtracking and linear are always bad and open world is always good” era…
IGN criticized the game for having an AI that was "too smart" and for being too challenging and lengthy. Honestly, that sounds like they're complaining about the best aspects of the game! I still vividly remember the first time I picked up a gun, thinking I could finally take down the alien. I was dead wrong-it came charging at me, and I couldn’t help but scream! Such an intense and thrilling experience. Incredible game. Although as they did mentioned, after getting killed multiple times, you aren’t as afraid of the jump scares, but what can we expect like dahhh.
The only thing worse than reviewing a bad game as good, is reviewing a good game as bad. IGN does both.
2014 was when ign reviewers went from gamers to journalists who reviewed games to try to break in to the industry so you weren’t getting fans of the genre doing the reviews.
One of the best horror games and one of the best movie based games ever. Yet they give online games like third person shooters higher ratings.
I really dont agree with the "One time played"-Part. I would never expect a reviewer to play a game multiple times that doesnt offer a new experience on the second playthrough. I think you are really wrong with your expectation here.
But yeah the review was pretty bad and they could have turned down the difficulty.
One of my all time favourite games, loved every second of it. I completed it on Nightmare. Gotta say I didn’t find the game even on that difficulty that hard, you just have to have patience and most of the time you will be fine. I wish the game was double its length, enjoyed it that much. Wish half was on the station and the second half had you escaping the station and landing on Fury 161 from Alien 3, that location would be incredible in this type of game.
I agree fully - I've never forgiven IGN for this either. Giving a game to someone who clearly wasn't into that kind of playstyle was a joke. It did huge damage to the game's success although thankfully it has become a cult classic since. I take IGN's reviews with a pinch of salt now.
Alien Isolation isn't only the best Alien game, it's also one of the best horror games in general. The fact that IGN recently decided to make a video on games based on the Alien franchise and most of the comments are people shitting on them for their Alien Isolation review is pretty much what they deserve.
You are incorrect. Games are about fun, not about frustration. Fun does not mean that you can play them without dying, but dying should not lead to frustration.
I definitely agree with you on this. Such a tragic score for this amazing game. Sure it has its flaws like some combat issues regarding the gun play but I don’t fault the game for it because it’s suppose to be a survival horror more than an action game. But wow I think a sequel for this definitely had potential to be 10/10. I hope despite everything that eventually we do get one.
There has to be something seriously wrong with you to give this game a low score, one of the best horror games ever.
And we don't need a sequel, it was done great already
They really needed to have someone with an IQ higher than the score they gave it review the game. Alien Isolation was a goddamned masterpiece.
lol - dude is blaming 1 review for killing an entire ip. IGN sucks but this is hilariously dumb.
The review that killed IGN for me, was actually an anime review. There's a show called 'Gunslinger Girl'. It's about these little girls who are repurposed and used as assassins. It's a pretty dark and depressing show. The reviewer not only gave it a bad score, but said anyone who enjoyed it were pedophiles. I did a check. I'm not sure if you can find that review anymore or not. They do have new ones where they scored it a lot higher, but that one always stuck out to me.
To me, the fun of survival horror games are replaying them and learning the techniques in order to make your subsequent playthrough a lot easier. Without exaggeration, I've played this game over 10 times on nightmare (firstly, I played on medium and hard of course) and I've gotten to a point I'm having a swift experience compared to my first few playthroughs. That medical bay segment, came up with a solid strategy for that one. Even today I'm working on different tactics in order to do a nightmare permadeath. There are so few games I feel give the immense satisfaction of overcoming obstacles revolving an immortal foe who can insta-kill the player. As for patterns, while there is almost seemingly none in this game, I feel most of the patterns lay with the sound design rather than what you see in this game. The motion tracker is effectively useless besides showing you where to go, especially on nightmare. This is a game where good sound devices like headphones are REQUIRED. A friend played this for the first time just recently without headphones and had a miserable time lmao. And the pre-existing knowledge that the alien adapter to the player's behaviour is absolutely genius design as it makes the player realise they need to be flexible in overtaking every obstacle. Want to hide in a locker the entire game? Forget it. Might work once or twice, but it's a trap that lures you into a brief sense of security if you ask me. God I love this game.
Preach!!! After this review I couldn’t take anything IGN said seriously, they lost all credibility that very day to me
My good friend James Mitchell was the main Level designers for this game he worked HARD on this and it possibly one of his crowning achievements.
While I agree with a lot of your points, the idea that a reviewer should play through a game on all the difficulties is insane. A full playthrough on the normal/default mode is plenty to experience what the devs intended for the average player.
You don't have to know 100% of the game to give a reasonable review. That's a totally unreasonable expectation for the amount of time it takes to complete most games. A bigger problem is the unethical quid pro quos that go on behind the scenes and lead to manipulated scores. Or the lack of care for having appropriate staff play the right games (ie not having someone who only loves JRPGs reviewing horror games).