Main menus in games are basically opening sequences of movies. Its there to set the mood, to prepare you for what you are about to play and dive into. Most game don't hit the nail here but some do and Alien Isolation is one of them. A lone space station is seen as a speck in distant orbit of a massive Jupiter like planet. The string quartet begins followed by drowning giving you a sense of something unknown. That to me is the hallmark of game presentation and the main menu of this game achieves everything it needs to for a horror experience. Putting you into a state of unease. Letting the player know that they are going to be isolated and far from help.

Almost all of the player base knows of the infamous IGN review done by Ryan McCaffrey who is now Executive Editor. Ryan gave Alien Isolation a score of 5.9 out of 10, remarking the good consisting of the level design and the immersive environment. Ryan is correct on this matter, due to the team at Creative Assembly gaining access to endless production material for the 1979 feature film. The materials would have included tons of H. R. Giger sketches and also Harry Lange's futuristic space designs and interiors. With this amount of resources, the team was able to craft a space station set in the retro future of the 80s. The level designers understood lighting and how to use areas to make you feel on edge, such as implicating sharp edges to almost look like predator teeth and smooth objects that can almost be mistaken for the aliens creature. The remix of Jerry Goldsmiths score weaves itself through the ship, music tenses or sometimes just stops as though the game to you is indicating danger. However, Ryan then began to list the negatives of the game and one of the major ones he lists was the monster itself. The alien.

One of the most talked about aspect of the game is its main antagonist, Mister Alien. Personally, one of the most terrifying creatures to grace the silver screen and my gaming monitor. Spending many hours in the game you would think that one would eventually get use to the creature. To tell the truth, when I hear that thing enter my domain I am instantly filled with dread. Kudos to the team for making this stress inducing creation and this is where Ryan had his problem, the AI. During a round table discussion where Ryan gathered his review friends to help defend his final score for the game, most of them had indicated the frustration with the AI behavior, its unpredictability. Brian Altano during the discussion started referring to Splinter Cell, indicating set patterns of enemies and knowing where things are. Brian then states the unhinged AI and not knowing its patterns, always being a roadblock. I think all of you know what I am trying to state here. This is the most defining feature of this game. Ask any player who had finished this game and they would always have some nightmare story of their encounter. Its always different. The AI is designed in such a way to adapt to your behavior. The game is survival horror. You have to survive by adapting to an adapting enemy. I guess for video game journalists, they just want a horror house experience. Get locked in a tramp ride where things just jump at you to finally reach the end and just leave. You can have your little Outlast fat men chase you down hallways all you want, but nothing will equal to when the Alien enters the room you are in and starts tip toeing around after goose stepping over to your location. There nothing more terrifying when the bastard stops moving and becomes silent as a mouse to hear more clearly and awaiting for your move. That to me, is horror.

Ryan lastly stated pacing issues. Pacing he is half right on, but I would disagree considering there are points of the game where it does slow down, but even during those moments you are on edge. I think the game does have an issue with some padding. The biggest issue the game has is its story and characters being sidelined. Even then the other two aspects of the game are such a strong foundation that you kind of accept the lack of character or better narrative because so much time was spend on other factors. I could touch on the crafting mechanics of the game and the tools you use for your survival but they also feel sidelined by other elements. The most important things are you, the alien and the ship. Everything else is secondary and that's fine.

Now there are other problems the game faces that players dislike, not everyone is going to enjoy the stealth. The game is also a slow burner which players would also have an issue with. There is a good reason the game developers recommended the hard difficulty, you get the full horror experience. To me, with all its flaws, Alien Isolation will remain peak horror. I will never forget the one moment that made my sanctuary vent adventures turn into a vent nightmare. No other game has never made me feel so unsafe and terrified in my life. Now whenever I go into vents, I am on edge. This is what a true horror game is. Its when I have no safe space and I must scream.