People want you to think that this is a horror game. Or that it's an Aliens game. Those people are what I like to call "wrong".

I'll start by saying this: Alien: Isolation is my game of the year 2014. You can tell, because of this effortpost. Other survival games give you freedom to build, try to be more Minecraft than Minecraft, make it clear that there is no goal but survival. Here, there is a goal: Escape the station. Alive. Destroy the Alien.

It's not easy. Everything from other humans desperate to remain safe in their own little claims in the mall to the poor quality control of SEEGSON's engineering teams will fight you. And then there will be the occasional bowel-gripping terror of encountering the monster itself. It learns. It will stop fleeing from you when you try to minimize fuel expenditure on your flamethrower, then it will start to recognize when you don't even have enough propane to keep the pilot light up. And at every turn, it will learn you're delicious.

You have tools, of course. IEDs, medkits, cobbled from whatever you can salvage. Do you let the alien eat that group so you can scavenge them for precious resources? Do you waste fuel scaring it off, or can you rig up a Molotov?

I met a dead man in an apartment. He had gotten raucous drunk while I waited for him to put his whiskey down so I could get the last precious ounces of ethanol, and once more have fire to drive the creature off. It heard his blubbering from the hallway and killed him. From the vents, I heard no more of it, and upon leaving thanked the dead man for the gift of flammables - He had been hoarding a tank of propane as well, and had a revolver with two rounds left in it.

Another time I had to beat a crew of bystanders to death with my maintenance jack. I thought I was so clever... Until I needed to pass through the area again and they were not there to distract the alien.

Lastly, the environment is AUTHENTIC. The Creative Assembly nailed the feel and look of Alien. Make no mistake - This is no action-packed romp. You will have guns, you will have tools. You will feel like a God sometimes, dispensing justice with your hull fastener with compromised safeties.

But your weapons are not your salvation. They are a means to get to the next save point.

Remember to HOLD E, and not just tap it.

People want you to think that this is a horror game. Or that it's an Aliens game. Those people are what I like to call "wrong". I'll start by saying this: Alien: Isolation is my game of the year 2014. You can tell, because of this effortpost. Other survival games give you freedom to build, try to be more Minecraft than Minecraft, make it clear that there is no goal but survival. Here, there is a goal: Escape the station. Alive. Destroy the Alien. It's not easy. Everything from other humans desperate to remain safe in their own little claims in the mall to the poor quality control of SEEGSON's engineering teams will fight you. And then there will be the occasional bowel-gripping terror of encountering the monster itself. It learns. It will stop fleeing from you when you try to minimize fuel expenditure on your flamethrower, then it will start to recognize when you don't even have enough propane to keep the pilot light up. And at every turn, it will learn you're delicious. You have tools, of course. IEDs, medkits, cobbled from whatever you can salvage. Do you let the alien eat that group so you can scavenge them for precious resources? Do you waste fuel scaring it off, or can you rig up a Molotov? I met a dead man in an apartment. He had gotten raucous drunk while I waited for him to put his whiskey down so I could get the last precious ounces of ethanol, and once more have fire to drive the creature off. It heard his blubbering from the hallway and killed him. From the vents, I heard no more of it, and upon leaving thanked the dead man for the gift of flammables - He had been hoarding a tank of propane as well, and had a revolver with two rounds left in it. Another time I had to beat a crew of bystanders to death with my maintenance jack. I thought I was so clever... Until I needed to pass through the area again and they were not there to distract the alien. Lastly, the environment is AUTHENTIC. The Creative Assembly nailed the feel and look of Alien. Make no mistake - This is no action-packed romp. You will have guns, you will have tools. You will feel like a God sometimes, dispensing justice with your hull fastener with compromised safeties. But your weapons are not your salvation. They are a means to get to the next save point. Remember to HOLD E, and not just tap it.