General Gaming Aliens: Dark Descent | real-time tactical action game | 20 June 2023 - reviews posted

[Keyser_Soze]

 

In Aliens: Dark Descent, command a squad of hardened Colonial Marines to stop a terrifying Xenomorph outbreak on Moon Lethe. Lead your soldiers in real-time combat against iconic Xenomorphs, rogue operatives from the insatiable Weyland-Yutani Corporation, and a host of horrifying creatures new to the Alien franchise.

 

You are the commander. They are your weapon.

 

Infiltrate large open levels and annihilate enemies with your squad, dispatching orders strategically and intuitively at the touch of a button. Tread carefully, as death is permanent and your foes will adapt their tactics to your actions while hunting you down. Forge unique paths for survival, uncovering shortcuts, creating safe zones, and setting up motion trackers in a persistent world where your actions impact levels forever.

 

Customize your squad with a selection of different classes. Level up and specialize your soldiers with unique abilities and an arsenal of weapons, armor, and perks, for high stakes missions in treacherous territory. Develop your base to research new tech and improve your squad even further.

 

Manage your resources wisely and take calculated risks to outsmart the deadliest creature mankind has ever faced. Can you and your squad stop the outbreak before it’s too late?

 

• Face off in a gripping original Alien story against iconic Xenomorph creatures ranging from Facehuggers to Praetorians, Alien Queens and many more, including rogue human commandos and a brand-new threat unique to this Alien storyline
• Lead strategically and change squad tactics from mission to mission, carefully managing your soldiers’ health, resources, and sanity, to avoid permanent team losses and mental breakdowns
• Forge unique paths for survival in a persistent world, uncovering shortcuts, creating safe zones and setting up motion trackers to stay one step ahead of these creatures
• Assemble and level up squads composed of 5 starting Marines classes, with dozens of specializations, unique abilities and weapons.

 

 

 

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Aliens: Dark Descent is more than an XCOM clone - and feels surprisingly true to the movies

WWW.VG247.COM

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After a hands-off demo of Aliens: Dark Descent at Gamescom, it looks as though the game may be both surprisingly good, and faithful to the Alien filmography.

 

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For some reason, despite the fact that I rather like the Alien film franchise and absolutely bloody love the squad-based tactics best exemplified by XCOM, Aliens: Dark Descent wasn’t really on my radar. After a hands-off demo of the game, however, it’s rocketed into my most-anticipated list.

 

I’m not sure why I wasn’t on board before. It might have been because the Alien franchise has a fairly checkered history in games, and recently also in film - though of course, it also gave us Alien Isolation, so I shouldn’t write the franchise off without due diligence. Maybe, though, it is because XCOM is just so damn good that every time I see an XCOM-alike, I wonder why I’d play it over the strategy genre perfection put out by Firaxis in the form of XCOM 2.

 

But like I said, seeing this demo of Aliens: Dark Descent immediately drives home why I should shelve that attitude and give this game some love. There’s two key reasons - first is simply that it just looks really good. The second, however, is just as important: this game is much more than an XCOM clone with a movie license.

 

 

[Keyser_Soze]

Weird that he's comparing it to Xcom. I never got that vibe from it. Just more like an isometric shooter if anything.

[DarkStar189]

I'm not going to get excited about another Aliens game until after its out and been reviewed well. Definitely wasted my money on the last one.

[Keyser_Soze]

14 minutes ago, DarkStar189 said:

I'm not going to get excited about another Aliens game until after its out and been reviewed well. Definitely wasted my money on the last one.

 

I think Aliens games come down to a personal preference sort of thing, critical reviews are all over the place for them but seem to be better received by other people.

 

Alien Isolation was actually reviewed pretty poorly but over time people came to love it.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite also had some lukewarm critical reception but I think of the people that played it, they really enjoyed it and the game is still getting updated and better.

[skillzdadirecta]

38 minutes ago, DarkStar189 said:

I'm not going to get excited about another Aliens game until after its out and been reviewed well. Definitely wasted my money on the last one.

You didn't like the last one? Me @ARZ and @JPDunks4had a blast playing that one. New DLC drops for it next week in fact.

[DarkStar189]

Hmm maybe I should reinstall it. Is it cross play? I have it on Playstation.  I wonder what the player count is like. I remember getting paired up with randoms and having a horrible time. People would leave mid game. After 4 or 5 games of that I gave up on it. Honestly don't think I even got past the 1st level because of that. 

[Keyser_Soze]

19 minutes ago, DarkStar189 said:

Hmm maybe I should reinstall it. Is it cross play? I have it on Playstation.  I wonder what the player count is like. I remember getting paired up with randoms and having a horrible time. People would leave mid game. After 4 or 5 games of that I gave up on it. Honestly don't think I even got past the 1st level because of that. 

 

Yeah they added crossplay almost exactly a month ago. 👍

 

As for the rest, of course you'll probably hate it getting paired up with randos. Get a squad together.

[skillzdadirecta]

5 hours ago, DarkStar189 said:

Hmm maybe I should reinstall it. Is it cross play? I have it on Playstation.  I wonder what the player count is like. I remember getting paired up with randoms and having a horrible time. People would leave mid game. After 4 or 5 games of that I gave up on it. Honestly don't think I even got past the 1st level because of that. 

Should be some renewed interest when the Add on drops this week. It's one of the best Alien games so far. They probably could have included a single player mode but you CAN play with bots. They are decent enough.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

[Keyser_Soze]

So it's like a real time X-Com. It doesn't seem too bad but I know a lot of people were hoping for something different. Hopefully the price is right though.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

9 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

So it's like a real time X-Com. It doesn't seem too bad but I know a lot of people were hoping for something different. Hopefully the price is right though.

 

I changed the description in the thread title accordingly.

[AbsolutSurgen]

I really hope this one is good.

 

I don't understand the comparison to X-Com beyond an extremely superficial level, based on the video, it looks completely different.

[Keyser_Soze]

10 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

I really hope this one is good.

 

I don't understand the comparison to X-Com beyond an extremely superficial level, based on the video, it looks completely different.

 

Reminded me of X-Com Apocalypse without your AI squad running around like idiots, or maybe even something like Brothers in Arms. or Frozen Synapse, but I knew if I said Frozen Synapse some smart aleck like you would come along and say, "well actually..."

 

What do you think it looks like?

[AbsolutSurgen]

1 hour ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Reminded me of X-Com Apocalypse without your AI squad running around like idiots, or maybe even something like Brothers in Arms. or Frozen Synapse, but I knew if I said Frozen Synapse some smart aleck like you would come along and say, "well actually..."

 

What do you think it looks like?

I just don't feel that RTS games and turn-based strategy games are very similar in gameplay. RTS as a genre, IMHO, kinda disappeared in recent decades outside of MOBAs, base-building focused games and large scale war sims.

 

To me, gameplay wise, it looks closer to something like Shadow Tactics (but non-stealth based) or The Ascent (changing to a squad based control, rather than 1-player direct control).  (Or if you want to get old school, the Warcraft II levels that didn't involve building.)

I never finished an XCom game, but the 10 or so hours I played were very focused on tactical positioning, and very small levels with defined objectives.  I didn't get the sense from that trailer that this would be a thing here.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

I've Never Played A Game Like Aliens: Dark Descent

WWW.THEGAMER.COM

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X-COM in real-time is the best way to describe the next Aliens game, but that doesn't tell the whole story.

 

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By its most literal definition, Aliens: Dark Descent is a real time strategy game. You control a squad of four space Marines from a bird's eye perspective and direct them to move, fight, and use abilities, all in real time. There is strategy in how you move your squad, which fights you take and which ones you avoid, and how you prepare for attacks by staging the battlefield with defenses.

 

But Dark Descent has almost nothing in common with the RTS genre. It doesn't use any of the conventional mechanics we think of from games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, or Total War. There’s no base building, no army construction, and no resource management other than health packs and stabilizers to calm your squad down when their stress levels get too high. You aren't developing a city and going to war with the xenomorphs, but there is deep strategy in the way you command each unit in battle. It's technically an RTS, but calling it one doesn't feel right.

 

 

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It was a short demo and there's still a lot I don't understand, but I felt a little lost in the control scheme and mechanics, and I suspect that has a lot to do with the fact that this is the only game of its kind. I don't have any experiences to fall back on and none of my knowledge of RTS or X-COM games really served me here. It's uncomfortable to not have a foundational understanding of the controls and mechanics, but maybe it's supposed to be. It would certainly fit the themes of the series to be made to feel out of your depth and overwhelmed.

 

These impressions aren't exactly confidence-inducing.

[LazyPiranha]

Maybe it's an extremely meta take on the fact that Aliens is about the distance and incompetence of higher command creating an unwinnable clusterfuck?

[HardAct]

On 8/26/2022 at 8:34 PM, Keyser_Soze said:

Weird that he's comparing it to Xcom. I never got that vibe from it. Just more like an isometric shooter if anything.

   Yea this is NOT XCOM in anyway....lol weird, but I'm on board there have been some really good top down twin stick shooter in the last few years, I'll give this a try too.

[Keyser_Soze]

7 hours ago, HardAct said:

   Yea this is NOT XCOM in anyway....lol weird, but I'm on board there have been some really good top down twin stick shooter in the last few years, I'll give this a try too.

 

On 3/21/2023 at 7:32 PM, Keyser_Soze said:

So it's like a real time X-Com. It doesn't seem too bad but I know a lot of people were hoping for something different. Hopefully the price is right though.

 

On 3/26/2023 at 8:05 PM, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

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X-COM in real-time is the best way to describe the next Aliens game,

 

[AbsolutSurgen]

16 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

 

 

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I don't have any experiences to fall back on and none of my knowledge of RTS or X-COM games really served me here.

 

[Keyser_Soze]

 

Aliens: Dark Descent Puts You on an Express Elevator to Xenomorph Hell, Going Down - IGN

WWW.IGN.COM

 

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"I really should have explored more of the map." That was what I was thinking as waves of xenomorphs hurled themselves at my squad. They’d taken cover behind a large map terminal and, with the help of the three turrets I’d placed at the edges of the room, had mowed down the first few waves. My ammo counters were running low, but we were holding. Then the xenomorphs came out of the air ducts behind me. Game over, man.

 

I wasn’t sure what to make of Aliens: Dark Descent when I sat down to play it at Focus Interactive’s booth at PAX East. Alien has a dodgy track record no matter the medium, and aside from 2003’s Aliens vs Predator: Extinction, the franchise has tended to focus more on action than tactics or strategy. I shouldn’t have worried. Dark Descent is attempting something new, but what it’s going for fits the franchise perfectly.

 

 

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The attention to detail is more impressive given how big the map I was traversing was. There were several objectives available. I was hunting down a device called the Codebreaker, but there were also sidequests encouraging me to find the armory or discover more about what had happened. Mostly I explored, running into the occasional xenomorph. A single alien is no match for your squad, but even a single blip on your motion tracker can be stressful. Where there’s one alien, there could easily be more.

 

Stress is something your squad deals with, too. It builds over time in each individual marine, on a scale of 1-100. When it hits 100, the marine gets one of several debuffs that can vary between lowering accuracy or being scared and less likely to engage in combat. You can stack up to three of these debuffs per marine, and stress can quickly debilitate your squad if you’re not careful. That’s where Dark Descent’s resource management comes in.

 

 

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I enjoyed Dark Descent most when it was hurling xenomorphs at me and I had to manage everything at once: my squad’s position, my marines’ health and stress, what abilities I used, turrets I’d placed, and spots of fire on the ground, while challenging me to prioritize targets and manage close-range encounters. Every fight has stakes; you can pick up and carry any marine who’s been knocked out, but anyone who dies is gone for good. Battles are tense, hectic affairs; even with the ability to slow down time, thinking on your feet is crucial. Even killing an alien can be dangerous if their blood sprays onto one of your marines. When you manage a fight perfectly, Dark Descent feels incredible, and when I messed up, I always knew why.

 

I never managed to survive long enough to get that door open. I attempted it twice, but was beaten both times by choices I’d made earlier. Spending valuable resources to weld the wrong door, using a health kit to heal stress that I should have saved, positioning my squad in the wrong place, not deploying all of my sentry turrets. But I haven’t stopped thinking about it since, and I know, that given another chance, I could do better. Aliens: Dark Descent isn’t going to be easy, but it’s already gotten its hooks in me. If it can manage to do the license justice while providing the tactical action we’ve already seen, Aliens: Dark Descent will be a special – and unique – take on the franchise.

 

 

[AbsolutSurgen]

I didn't realize this was going to be a $40 game.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

[AbsolutSurgen]

I think I will end up getting this on Day 1. I’m not sure it will be great, but I think it will be a ton of fun. 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

[AbsolutSurgen]

Review embargo has been reported as 2:30PM EST on Monday.  One person claiming to be doing a review suggests it is running fine on Steam Deck.

[AbsolutSurgen]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Game Information

Game Title: Aliens: Dark Descent

 

Platforms:

• PC (Jun 20, 2023)
• PlayStation 5 (Jun 20, 2023)
• PlayStation 4 (Jun 20, 2023)

 

Developer:  Tindalos Interactive
Publisher: Focus Entertainment

 

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 77 average - 67% recommended

 

Critic Reviews

Spoiler

Try Hard Guides - Erik Hodges - 10 / 10

Aliens: Dark Descent successfully pays homage to the Aliens franchise by deftly incorporating fear and suspense into story and gameplay alike. It embraces the established aesthetics and lore of the series, delivering an immersive experience that’s sure to resonate with fans. With a story that clearly loves its originator and gameplay that’s fun for RTS and Horror fans alike, Aliens: Dark Descent solidifies its place as a faithful and masterful entry in the Aliens universe.

Worth Playing - Tony "OUberLord" Mitera - 9.4 / 10

I'm shocked with just how good Aliens: Dark Descent ended up being, and I could hardly put it down from the moment I loaded it up. It clearly respects the Aliens franchise, but it uses the elements in a way that is in service to the gameplay rather than as mere fan service for the player. Its gameplay is not only incredibly fresh compared to the other games of the franchise, but it's also so well executed that it stands as a high point among real-time tactical games, let alone for an Aliens game. Out of the franchise's entire history of games, there are only three games notable for how uniquely good they are; Aliens: Dark Descent is one of them.

Impulsegamer - Ali Arkani - 4.6 / 5

I believe the best way to describe this game would be a survival horror isometric tactical shooter in the Alien universe. Aliens Dark Descent perfectly establishes its own rules and stays true to the Alien franchise and what made it one of the greatest modern sci-fi works: the heart-wrenching fear of the unknown and the thrill of fighting against all odds.

GamingTrend - Ron Burke - 90 / 100

Aliens: Dark Descent is a masterful blend of atmosphere, tension, and terror, coming together with dangerous combat and well-paced progression. The end result is a game that keeps you on your heels while making you feel like you're "state of the badass art".

God is a Geek - Mick Fraser - 9 / 10

Aliens: Dark Descent is one of the most immersive and exciting tactical shooters I've played, and a worthy successor to James Cameron's masterpiece.

But Why Tho? - Kyle Foley - 8.5 / 10

Aliens: Dark Descent is a fun real-time strategy squad game that manages to feel tense and rewarding at the same time. It isn’t a perfect game, the loop can get a bit repetitive, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying every second of it.

The Games Machine - Marco Bortoluzzi - Italian - 8.5 / 10

Aliens: Dark Descent does a great job at recreating the pseudo-horror atmosphere that has made the movies such a cult classic. Your marines are hardened and capable, but they are against a threat that is out of the ordinary; for this reason, avoiding unnecessary encounters is more often than not a good idea. Sometimes it would be nice to be able to control each individual soldier, however.

Wccftech - Chris Wray - 8.5 / 10

Aliens: Dark Descent is an excellent real-time tactics game mixed with survival horror and arguably the best Aliens game around. Excellent tactical action in a world ever-succumbing to the Xenomorph threat, you will find resources scarce, leading to difficult decisions, ones made all the more difficult when time is also a factor. Add on an engaging enough story and an excellent atmosphere, and you have a game that I can't help but recommend to anybody and everybody.

Gert Lush Gaming - Jim Smale - 8.4 / 10

Aliens Dark Descent is one of the best, if not the best, Aliens games made.

PC Gamer - Rick Lane - 84 / 100

A powerful generator of gnawing tension and tough tactical decisions, Aliens: Dark Descent is a script pass away from being an all-timer.

CGMagazine - Steven Green - 8 / 10

Aliens: Dark Descent is a great strategy game with a lot of replayability and is set in the perfect horror franchise, even if long-time fans of the genre may have some minor complaints.

Checkpoint Gaming - Tom Quirk - 8 / 10

Aliens: Dark Descent is an excellent addition to the Aliens canon. The Darkest Dungeon-style stress mechanics end up fitting the setting like a glove, and the RTS combat and disposable marines definitely suit the tone and style of Aliens perfectly. Although the reliance on infrequent autosaves can often prove frustrating, the game is overall easy to recommend for fans of strategy games, survival horror games, or Aliens fans hungry for something which strongly evokes James Cameron's 1986 classic while adding its own new elements.

Game Informer - Anthony Jones - 8 / 10

Soaked in dark sci-fi environments and human personalities, Dark Descent nails the hallmarks of an Alien title and executes much of its squad-based gameplay. Despite some downsides and squad control during precise moments, plenty of its elements kept me jacked in to see its conclusion. It was a thrilling ride with ups and downs, but I left fulfilled and appreciated its experimental twists.

Hardcore Gamer - Fran Soto - 4 / 5

Aliens: Dark Descent is a fantastic, robust extension of the Aliens franchise that puts players in the middle of hardcore xenomoroph action.

PowerUp! - Adam Mathew - 8 / 10

Despite its rough edges, Aliens: Dark Descent has my thumbs up as the sleeper hit of 2023. It’s an addictive, unabashed love letter to one of the greatest action films of all time.

Pure Xbox - PJ O'Reilly - 8 / 10

Aliens: Dark Descent sees Tindalos serve up a cracking RTS that manages to capture the essence of this terrifying sci-fi series whilst giving players plenty of sweet strategy to sink their teeth into. Tweaking the established XCOM setup to better suit the nature of the enemy at hand, this is an Aliens adventure that leans into stealth, studious preparation, consideration of resources and slow-burn exploration as you manoeuvre through evocative environments whilst attempting not to disturb the deadly xenomorph hordes. There are a few rough edges here and there, and some strategy fans may mourn the loss of individual unit control, but overall this is one express elevator to hell we absolutely recommend taking.

TheSixthAxis - Steve C - 8 / 10

Aliens: Dark Descent is a fantastic Aliens game. It absolutely nails the feel of the films and brings exactly the kind of tense and thrilling strategy combat you would want. The iconic motion tracker and creature design fit perfectly with the genre and there is even an interesting narrative that introduces some new perspectives to the series. While game over can come far too swiftly at times, there is always something to draw you back in.

GAMES.CH - Sönke Siemens - German - 79%

With "Aliens: Dark Descent", Tindalos Interactive mixes one of the coolest sci-fi horror licenses of the last decades with an amazingly sophisticated tactical gameplay foundation that ensures high tension even after hours. Seemingly harmless situations can escalate dramatically within seconds, the permadeath and shelter mechanics make you proceed much more carefully than in many comparable genre representatives, the developers have balanced the resource availability surprisingly well and the AI keeps even experienced tacticians on their toes on medium difficulty. The fact that I can withdraw at any time - but have to accept other disadvantages - is also cleverly done and prevents possible moments of frustration in a meaningful way.

Hobby Consolas - Ángel Morán Santiago - Spanish - 78 / 100

Aliens: Dark Descent is a remarkable tactical action game like XCOM, respectful of the bases of the Alien universe, and that knows how to innovate in certain aspects. It is a love letter for fans, which can also convince lovers of the genre, although with somewhat unfair difficulty peaks and with graphics and mechanics that need to be improved.

INVEN - Kyuman Kim - Korean - 7.5 / 10

A top-down, real-time strategy that successfully implemented the tension unique to the well-known franchise. Except for the overall clunkiness, the game's combat system with tough resource management provide both immersive gameplay and a bit of horror.

SECTOR.sk - Branislav Kohút - Slovak - 7.5 / 10

The real-time tactical game from the Alien universe is both great fun and challenging... and frustrating. Like in the movie Aliens, which you will remember almost at every step.

COGconnected - Mark Steighner - 74 / 100

Aliens: Dark Descent nails the tone and tension of the movie franchise. Its genre-fluid mechanics are clever, too, and provide some unexpected challenges and opportunities. A very slow, creaky start and some consistent technical issues hold it back from the top spot, but Aliens: Dark Descent is still appealing for fans of the films and tactical action games in general.

Attack of the Fanboy - Matthew Kevin Mitchell - 3.5 / 5

Aliens: Dark Descent is a fantastic addition to the iconic Alien franchise's vast and often disappointing collection of video games. The story is seamlessly integrated into the universe, and you'll come face-to-face with the iconic Xenomorphs that have instilled fear in fans for decades. While the game may have flaws, such as limited squad commands, a lack of grandiose music, and poor sound design, it is still one of the best Aliens video games that immerse fans in the beloved universe while providing thrilling action that they'll remember for a long time.

Explosion Network - Dylan Blight - 7 / 10

Aliens: Dark Descent is an excellent Aliens game, and I hope it's patched quickly to address the issues some players like myself are running into so I can wholeheartedly recommend it to fans. Because what's here is some of the tensest Aliens action I've played in a game, with a surprisingly exciting narrative to pull it all together.

GamesRadar+ - Hirun Cryer - 3.5 / 5

Aliens: Dark Descent is a fresh and fun take on the series, with great tactical action supplemented with unique concepts like stress management. The writing and characters sadly don't amount to anything memorable, and boss battles can feel incredibly jarring to the pacing and tension.

IGN - Leana Hafer - 7 / 10

Aliens: Dark Descent is a fascinating, tense, inspired survival horror RTS with a few too many technical bugs to recommend it without caveats.

Metro GameCentral - GameCentral - 7 / 10

One of the best Aliens games ever made and a clever and innovative real-time strategy all of its own, that needs just a bit more polish and a lot less bugs.

Spaziogames - Marcello Paolillo - Italian - 7 / 10

Aliens Dark Descent is a good real time strategy game set in the Alien universe and equipped with some winning ideas that are hard to overlook, such as the feature of permanent death. It's not gonna become the next XCOM, but it's a pretty enjoyable RTS nonetheless.

Eurogamer - Edwin Evans-Thirlwell - 3 / 5

Aliens: Dark Descent is an occasionally wayward but on the whole, inspired movie adaptation, and a suspenseful real-time tactics game.

Gamersky - Chinese - 6 / 10

In Alien: Dark Descent, unfair mechanics, overly difficult challenges and numerous bugs have ruined what could have been a decent game.

We Got This Covered - Ash Martinez - 3 / 5

Despite being a solid real-time strategy game oozing with ambiance, 'Aliens: Dark Descent' joins the ranks of 2023's buggy releases.

ACG - Jeremy Penter - Wait for Sale

Video Review - Quote not available

Chicas Gamers - Álvaro Bustío - Spanish - Unscored

Aliens: Dark Descent takes us back to James Cameron's terrifying cinematic universe, this time away from the action and focusing on real-time strategy. We have to admit that a strategy game set in this world is an excellent idea, and Tindalos Interactive has been able to carry it out successfully. However, we must add that as a strategy game it can become very difficult, which can lead more than one to abandon it in the early stages of the game, in addition to the fact that it has thousands of options that can become overwhelming in At first, surely playing on PC and with a mouse and keyboard, things would change a lot. The in-game graphics engine is quite good, since in the distance we will feel that feeling of overwhelm and tension with which the xenomorph feature films enjoy, however, the facial animations of the close-ups of the characters when something happens leave much to be desired of history, quite robotic and stiff. For the rest, Aliens: Dark Descent is a good strategy game that we will enjoy if we are fans of the Alien universe and arm ourselves with a lot of patience.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Nic Reuben - Unscored

Aliens: Dark Descent is an authentically atmospheric campaign borrowing from both turn-based tactics and survival horror, stymied by a seemingly deep paranoia you might mistake it for one of those strategy games for nerds. It's not. It's not for nerds. It's for cool Aliens fans. You can use a controller. It's not for nerds.

 

[AbsolutSurgen]

So, this looks like it will scratch the RTS itch I have.  I really enjoyed Shadow Tactics when I played it, and this seems to have sort-of similar gameplay.

 

I didn't have a huge amount of time to play games tonight, so only played the tutorial (which took me just over an hour).  Lots of story/cut scenes in that first hour.  So far, enjoying it, and looking forward to starting the first "real" mission.

[Xbob42]

Alright, I think I've got a grip on the basics of what this is.

 

Basically, if it was turn-based, it'd essentially be XCOM. It is not turn-based, however, and it's clear that necessitated several changes which does indeed appear to have made, if not a new genre of game, at least a subgenre.

 

Think of it like XCOM by way of Dragon Age Origins. You do pause to issue commands (or slow down time in my case, you can choose which, and I think it fits Aliens better to not be able to fully pause while choosing) so that should be familiar to most. You also control the entire squad as a single unit, you're not individually trying to move 4 dudes around. Now if you want an action performed a single unit might do it (like if you use a shotgun attack, the unit closest to the enemy you're firing that has a shotgun will perform the action, if you send someone to loot, one unit will go do it, etc) but if enemies show up and become aggressive, your team will automatically start opening fire. You can either have them sprint away, which stops firing, or have them walk while firing, which means a real basic move is to backpedal while firing to avoid taking melee damage.

 

You can set up motion trackers, but like everything else (including ammo) you have a limited supply, so I'm sure smart placement becomes important. Most of the resources appear to have multiple uses, too. You can use expend a clip of ammo as a C4 charge (don't ask) to destroy barricades. You can use your technology tool resources to weld doors closed, or to use certain terminals. I believe you can use your medical resources to heal damage or relieve stress, so a touch of Darkest Dungeon to boot.

I'm still actually doing the first mission, which is way bigger than I expected. You explore quite large maps with multiple floors and buildings with dozens of rooms, so that's one way it's different than XCOM: its expansiveness. You look for loot to restore your resources, find datapads, open paths, etc. You also watch for xenomorphs, who have their own system that I can best describe as... stealth GTA police stars? So, xenomorphs patrol areas, so it's totally possible to sneak around them completely unnoticed, depending on the area. But eventually you're gonna have to fight something. And they're drawn to loud noise, and of course your weapons are all guns or explosives, so getting into fights alerts other xenomorphs. They're not terribly difficult to kill, but you're also nowhere near capable of just "clearing a stage," at least not where I'm at. As you kill more and more, you alert more and more and increase their hunt, and on my first failed attempt I was warned of a swarm (it was called something else but was basically a swarm) and the "easy/medium/hard" etc warnings changed to "closing in" in red text. I hunkered down in a corner thinking I could fight them off. Then I saw my minimap had like 15 white dots rapidly approaching me and I only managed to kill like 3 before we were wiped out.

 

I think this is cool, and makes exploring feel genuinely dangerous and like you need to be careful. But you also get into combat frequently enough to where it's not just a bunch of tedious stealth or anything. I mentioned stress earlier, and each of your marines has a stress level from 0-100%. Each fight increases it, and killing xenomorphs doesn't seem to lower it. What you can do is either use up med resources for stress pills, or seal off all the entrances to a room (so find a small one as it uses tech tool resources) which enables a rest command, that sets stress back to 0%, autosaves (I have restrictive saving on, which is only on the custom difficulty, but I don't think you can quick save even on lower difficulties) and restores your command points, which you use to issue those attacks I mentioned previously.

My guys actually got to 100% stress and got a debuff called anxious, not sure what it did but I'm sure it wasn't good. It also filled 1 of 3 pips, so I'm assuming your true max stress is 300% and the debuffs get worse and worse. Wonder if you eventually lose control or have a heart attack or something like Darkest Dungeon.

 

You've also got other tools, like the ARC, which is an armored car the leader of the squad (who is not on foot with you most of the time) drives, which can be called in for support so you can use its bigger weaponry, to extract people you save, or to extract your squad and/or redeploy a different one without leaving the mission, keeping the XCOM themes of accepting a loss of a mission over a soldier or a whole squad.

 

Because the maps are so large:

 

 

You will be exploring for quite a while, performing various tasks (you can see how many different objectives I have to choose from) and it's starting to feel non-linear in a really interesting way.

 

The game controls fine with either a mouse or a controller too. I saw that preview above about the guy not being able to figure out the controls and I think that person might just be kinda slow. You point-and-click (or point-and-press X on an Xbox controller) to move your squad. You can hover over an enemy and press Y to prioritize that target, you can press space/RT to bring up combat actions, or click on any clickable to get context sensitive actions like healing, hacking, welding, interacting, etc. There's obviously more actions but those're the basics and they're absolutely not hard to understand.

 

Cutscenes are fine but a bit jank, and while the voice acting is largely okay, it's made by a French company and you can tell they needed another localization pass. Again, most lines are fine but I've heard "open up sesame" a few times and that line in particular hurts my soul.

 

Probably some stuff I'm forgetting, and definitely stuff I haven't seen yet (like the base building/upgrades, I saw the base and the upgrade areas but have not been able to use them yet) but so far I'm quite interested.

[Moa]

This reminds me of Duskers, although a lot of the fun of that game was controlling it with frantic real-time command prompt use. 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

3 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

Cutscenes are fine but a bit jank, and while the voice acting is largely okay, it's made by a French company and you can tell they needed another localization pass. 

 

From PC Gamer:

 

Quote

A powerful generator of gnawing tension and tough tactical decisions, Aliens: Dark Descent is a script pass away from being an all-timer.

 

[GeneticBlueprint]

I picked this up a week ago and finally got to play it last night. I’m a huge fan of the first two films in this franchise and this game feels 100% in that same universe in a way the rest of the films do not. Played up through the first mission and it’s great as a game so far too. Definitely appears worth its price tag.