Aliens: Dark Descent Review | Attack of the Fanboy

Embark on an exciting journey with Aliens: Darkish Descent — a squad-based motion sport set within the iconic Alien franchise by writer Focus Leisure and Developer Tindalos. Because the commander of a crew of robust Colonial Marines, you’ll finish a harmful Xenomorph outbreak on Lethe. Expertise intense real-time fight as you face off in opposition to notorious Xenomorphs, rogue operatives from the insatiable Weyland-Yutani Company, and a variety of latest, terrifying creatures within the Alien franchise. When you’re a die-hard fan of the Aliens franchise, Aliens: Darkish Descent is a sport you merely can’t miss and turns into probably the greatest Aliens video video games, regardless of having just a few shortcomings.

The Story

The USS Otago is at the moment on its shakedown run because it enters the environment of Lethe, a moon, within the 12 months 2198. On the identical time, the Brettonville shuttle docks at Pioneer Station to ship its cargo. Nonetheless, an infiltrator unlocks the crates, revealing them to comprise harmful facehuggers and a fierce Warrior Xenomorph. After narrowly escaping, Hayes prompts the Cerberus protocol, which Weyland-Yutani created, to implement a planetary quarantine ought to an unexpected occasion like a Xenomorph infestation occur.

Sadly, the protocol additionally resulted within the partial destruction of the Otago, which crashed into Lethe. Throughout this course of, Hayes is attacked by a Warrior Xenomorph however rescued by Sergeant Jonas Harper and his crew of Colonial Marines. Collectively, they flee the station and head in direction of the broken Otago. Harper is then appointed because the chief of the remaining Marines, whereas Hayes takes cost of the bridge.

At this stage of Aliens: Darkish Descent, you’re taking cost of your squad of Marines, marking the beginning of the sport. With out giving an excessive amount of away, the storyline attracts vital inspiration from Aliens 1-3, staying true to the franchise. The writing is phenomenal, the characters fleshed out, and you’ll want to preserve taking part in to see what occurs to the Otago subsequent, giving it that “only one extra mission” issue.

Commanding Your Marines

In Aliens: Darkish Descent, gamers assume the position of a commander main a crew of 4 US Marines throughout totally different colonies and bases on Lethe. Nonetheless, the design resolution that requires you to manage the whole squad as an alternative of particular person Marines looks like a mistake. Though you’ll be able to problem particular orders to every Marine within the squad, there’s a limitation to what you’ll be able to management. As an illustration, you can provide people a activity outdoors fight however can’t deploy your squad round a room and give attention to a choke level from a number of angles. It’s because every unit makes up a chunk of your squad, and so they should transfer and assault as a bunch whereas in formation. To make up for this, you’ll be able to deploy turrets to cowl these areas, however they break simply when attacked by Xenomorphs, and your complete crew might want to journey collectively to repair it as a result of your squad is weak when not collectively.

Initially, the limitation wasn’t a lot of an issue, however as the sport progressed, it prompted extra problems. This was notably noticeable when making an attempt to rescue civilians, as they insisted on standing in entrance of the squad, performing as human shields as an alternative of following behind as they’d in actuality. Consequently, there have been some aggravating cases the place you needed to modify your technique or make the robust resolution to restart a mission if considered one of them was slain by a Xenomorph.

After finishing a mission, your Marines could have skilled accidents and trauma from battling Xenomorphs and cultists. This could trigger them to turn into drained and emotionally affected, which is able to trigger hostile standing results (or take them out of the motion altogether). To deal with these points, you could assign them to Medbay, the place their accidents could be healed and their emotional traumas could be labored via. Nonetheless, it’s essential to notice that this course of takes time, and you’ll have to strategize and rotate in more healthy Marines till your squad is again to full power. This sensible facet of Aliens: Darkish Descent is very appreciated, because it sheds gentle on the challenges and difficulties troopers face in struggle, particularly in opposition to foes as formidable as Xenomorphs.

Customizing Your Squad

In Aliens: Darkish Descent, probably the most thrilling options is the flexibility to customise your squad utterly. You’ve gotten full authority over every member, from their look to their identify. Furthermore, you’ll be able to choose from 5 lessons: Medic, Recon, Sergeant, Gunner, and Tecker, and assign every member with distinctive talents that make them an unstoppable unit. It’s no shock that they’re the final word Xenomorph killing squad within the Aliens franchise. As an illustration, the Tecker can deploy a drone that may weld/unweld doorways and assault Xenomorphs, the medic can scale back stress ranges when therapeutic harm, and the Sergeant can increase the stats of your complete squad. You’ve gotten full management over the way you assemble your squad of Marines, and there’s no incorrect reply, which is implausible.

You can even construct a big steady of reserve Marines stationed on the Otago when not assigned to your squad. Though your squad can solely consist of 4 Marines, you’ll be able to enroll the remaining Marines in rigorous coaching to robotically enhance their ranges when not getting used. This distinctive characteristic distinguishes the sport from different tactical video games the place items stay idle. Though you might not make the most of each Marine on the Otago, they are going to be useful when your squad must relaxation or if considered one of your Marines dies (RIP Recon E. Smith, you served me properly). Whereas the substitute Marines is probably not as skilled or highly effective as those they’re changing, they’re nonetheless a greater possibility than an unrealistic degree 1 unit.

You’ll develop a powerful bond along with your squad as you nurture your marines, molding them from inexperienced recruits into battle-hardened veterans. Personalizing their names, experiences, lessons, and talents to enhance these of their three squad mates makes shedding a squad member devastating, prompting a need to restart the mission to get them again (which is able to lose you hours of progress in the event you select the No One Can Hear Them Scream save system possibility).

Preventing Xenomorphs

In Aliens: Darkish Descent, gamers are given a preview of the Xenomorph kind they may encounter throughout a selected mission via well-crafted cutscenes. These scenes are awe-inspiring, corresponding to the films, leaving gamers anxious about their inevitable encounters through the mission. For instance, gamers witness a facehugger attacking crew members initially of the sport. Because the mission progresses, gamers should rapidly kill a wave of facehuggers to maintain them from impregnating their squad members.

The fight expertise is sort of pleasant regardless of the poor sound results. By accessing the talents menu of your squad, you’ll be able to both decelerate time or pause the sport fully. This lets you order your squad members to assault the Xenomorphs in varied methods primarily based on the present scenario. Nonetheless, you solely have a sure variety of Command Factors in fight, that are the variety of instructions you’ll be able to problem to your Marines, making each motion depend as they take time to respawn.

For instance, if there’s only a single Drone Xenomorph, you’ll be able to instruct your Recon Marine to take it down with a single long-range headshot utilizing her sniper rifle earlier than it sees you and alerts different Xenomorphs. Alternatively, you’ll be able to have the gunner arrange his good gun on a tripod whereas he completes an goal, retaining the remainder of the squad protected. Lastly, if you’re overwhelmed (which is certain to occur), you need to use explosives like a grenade that may harm Xenomorphs and trigger a stasis subject that slows them down in the event that they didn’t die within the preliminary blast, giving your marines additional time to mop up. Different enjoyable weapons embrace an RPG, Incinerator, Plasma Gun, Sub-Machine, Landmine, and so on… You’ve gotten many weapons and instruments to your particular playstyle.

Visuals

I performed Aliens: Darkish Descent on Steam Deck. As a fan of the sport’s cutscenes, I invested hours adjusting my settings to realize the very best graphics with out compromising efficiency. Regardless of the sport not being optimized for Steam Deck and receiving an Unsupported ranking via Valve, I pushed it to its limits and was completely impressed with the graphical outcomes. Curiously, my dad, who launched me to the Aliens franchise throughout my childhood, was captivated by the Xenomorphs and couldn’t assist however look at my display screen through the cutscenes.

For the rest of the sport, you’ll swap between a third-person overhead view to command your squad throughout missions on Lethe or navigate via graphical menus with animated backgrounds to handle the crew of the Otago. The artwork belongings used for each views are of excellent high quality, typical of comparable video games within the style. Although not revolutionary, the graphics are executed properly sufficient to keep up the immersive gameplay expertise and provides it that additional taste that brings Lethe and the Otago to life (Jonesy included).

If you’re taking part in Aliens: Darkish Descent on a standard PC, particularly with a high-performance gaming setup, you’ll be able to count on a formidable visible expertise with out main hiccups or configuration points. However don’t fret in case your machine is much less highly effective as a result of, as I’ve seen with testing on my mid-range Lenovo gaming laptop computer, the sport can nonetheless present an pleasant expertise.

Sounds and Music

Essentially the most in depth critique of Aliens: Darkish Descent is its sound design. The sounds had been inconsistent, as some elements are genuine to the franchise whereas others should not. This broke the immersion and was an enormous disappointment. As an illustration, the sounds of your squad strolling are janky, the loud sounds of the squad yelling out instructions acquired outdated in a short time, and the background noises of the settlements prompted disruption when the squad talked with the Otago. As well as, the sounds of the Xenomorphs and iconic weapons sounds, just like the Pulse Rifle and Sensible Gun, in Aliens: Darkish Descent is best than in earlier Aliens video games (Alien Vs. Predator 3, I’m taking a look at you), however they had been nonetheless off and never genuine to the franchise (and infrequently annoying).

The absence of music in sure areas of the sport, notably whereas on the Otago and through mission deployment and recaps, is puzzling. Whereas the music on the title display screen and through cutscenes are becoming and paying homage to scores from Alien and Aliens, it merely wasn’t sufficient. Followers of the Aliens franchise count on epic music that matches the sci-fi franchise, and the absence is noticeable. The one hope is that modding can be allowed, in order that sound results and music can enhance the almost-perfect expertise.

One redeeming high quality of the sound design is the witty one-liners from the Marines that recall to mind the Marines from Aliens. These strains are so pleasant that you could be even catch your self repeating them in your on a regular basis life. As an illustration, if you weld a door shut, one of many Marines exclaims, “You shall not cross, f#@kers!” One other humorous line is uttered after taking down a wave of Xenomorphs: “That gun’s a freakin’ garden mower!” Every Marine has a distinct persona, which shines via when deployed on Lethe.

Verdict – Recreation Over Man, GAME OVER!

Aliens: Darkish Descent is a implausible addition to the enduring Alien franchise’s huge and infrequently disappointing assortment of video video games. The story is seamlessly built-in into the universe, and also you’ll come face-to-face with the enduring Xenomorphs which have instilled worry in followers for many years. Whereas some could discover the inconsistent sound design, lack of epic music, and restricted squad instructions as main drawbacks, they don’t detract from the general expertise. Quite the opposite, it’s probably the greatest Aliens video video games that immerse followers within the beloved universe whereas offering thrilling motion that they’ll bear in mind for a very long time.

– This text was up to date on June twenty first, 2023

About The Writer

Matthew Kevin Mitchell has been a contributing author for Assault of the Fanboy and PC Invasion since 2022. Matthew primarily covers Manga like One Piece, horror motion pictures like Scream, and survival horror video games like Lifeless by Daylight. His favourite second got here throughout his first press occasion protecting Scream 6 for AotF. He hails from Denver, Colorado, the place he obtained his Bachelor of Science in Data Expertise from Regis College. When he isn’t scaring himself foolish or writing, he likes to play ice hockey, spoil his canine, and drink an unhealthy quantity of espresso.