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Aliens: Dark Descent

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　　It feels like an absolute age since I first saw Aliens: Dark Descent at Gamescom last year. It's been ten months, and while I admit the game completely fell off my radar (my initial impressions were mixed-at-best), it's back on it now and with good reason. As I've said before, in that impressions piece I linked just there, the Aliens franchise has a mixed history in the gaming sphere. Aliens: Dark Descent, for me, is one of the highs.

　　Let's get a few comparisons out of the way. Aliens: Dark Descent has shades of XCOM in here, namely the persistence outside of the missions, with permadeath, squad levelling and classes, and so on. Actual in-battle gameplay isn't XCOM; it's real-time. Possibly the game that sticks most in my mind is Red Solstice 2: Survivors. Now we've gotten the name-drop out of the way, and the elephant has well and truly left the room, let's talk about XCOM: Enemy Xenomorph.

　　I jest. As mentioned, the only thing that could link the two games is a general HQ-like thing where you launch your missions, level up, upgrade, and even send your units into the med bay (or the psychiatrist's room). This HQ is the USS Otago, a now-crashed ship that you're using as your base of operations on Lethe, a planet now overrun by creatures who don't understand the meaning of personal space, particularly when, in their excitement, they knock out one of your marines and then decide they're going to drag them off, not understanding that no - you do not want to go back to theirs for supper.

　　Despite being set after Alien 3, this is far more reminiscent of Aliens, managing to balance action and horror without either suffering for the other. While my initial concern about Mr or Mrs, Two-Mouths and their family being a little too simple, charging at you when you've been detected and not being the sneaky buggers we've all come to love from the films, it makes sense from a gameplay perspective and does fit canonically. While they are slippery buggers in the build-up, Xenomorphs were not shy about having a few zerg-rushes.

　　Aliens: Dark Descent Xenomorphs' are a bit simple in the build-up; you won't find them randomly popping out from a vent above your head on random occasions (though in set-pieces, they can appear from vents right behind you), though they will use vents throughout the game, it's just that they'll show up on your motion tracker and it's easier to sit and wait for them to bugger off to another part of the map. So yes, there is little to no tension or fear that you will get brutally French-kissed from above.

　　The tension will come from a build-up of alien aggressiveness, measured by a meter at the top-right, one that increases every time the hive is alerted to your presence and sends out a few Xenomorphs to make you into their new breeding pod. On this meter, there are three stages, and at the end of each step, a random hive on the map will send out a veritable army of Xenos to do you in. There are also marks where a special Xeno, such as a crusher, will pop out to play.

　　It rewards careful and intelligent play because building up that meter also makes the regular enemies more erratic on their patrols, making you more likely to be spotted. Carry on like that, and you'll die or be forced to evacuate. There's a permanence to each map and mission, so you can evacuate and come to fight another day with the meter resets. Only every day makes the planet infestation level increase, and at some parts of the game, you're time-bound - for example, at one point, you're given twenty (or was it twenty-five) days to stop the nuclear cleansing of Lethe.

　　So that is the tension, an increasingly angry mob of bitey aliens. There are human and android enemies too. There is a story behind the humans, who now worship the Xenomorphs, some having even become an incubator by having a baby Xeno - in a glass jar - as part of their body. I don't get the science too, but it is the future. Either way, the humans and androids are enemies, and nobody cares because we're here for the aliens.

　　The story of Aliens: Dark Descent revolves around Maeko Hayes, a Weyland Yutani middle manager, and Colonial Marines sergeant Jonas Harper. There's a story behind both characters and how the Xenomorph infestation has occurred on Lethe, but I won't spoil any of that. It's not a bad story, though; better than I expected - indeed, the whole game is better than I expected. I want to cover some issues before I get to the meat of the gameplay and more good stuff.

　　First things first, there are a few bugs. I've had aliens pop through walls, but I've also had them get stuck on walls. I've also popped into maps to find aliens stood up, doing nothing, and not even showing on my movement detector, so just a random asset that is there but isn't for all the game knows. Another odd one, not one that matters but I couldn't help but notice, is the script (subtitles) didn't match the words being said during some cutscenes.

　　With that short list of negatives, let's return to the positives. Another negative first, I think the representation of stress, anxiety, or whatever, is a little overdone. It's also ridiculous that every marine you get has some mental disorder. It's also pot-luck if, when you level up, you can unlock the ability to eliminate the Kleptomania that your bloody gunner has (I didn't get it, for her). A minor issue; a blunt tool used ineffectively. A shame because stress is used well throughout the game. Your marines' stress builds as they are in combat or chased; as their stress level increases, adverse effects like reduced accuracy will rear their ugly heads. You can mitigate this in a mission by creating a safe room, welding all doors shut and resting, or recovering at the base by popping them with the psychiatrist for a few days.

　　So, how do you defend yourself with stress levels increasing and more enormous swarms of Xenomorphs plucking away? First, you control your squad of four marines as a cohesive whole, not separate units. This makes sense in context, as a squad of colonial marines move together, cover and protect each other. You can give more context-specific commands assigned to a specific marine best suited for a job; want to heal, it'll go to your Medic; hack through a door, it's the Tekker. There are five advanced classes; you can choose between two random ones when a marine hits level three.

　　However, you will give the essential commands during the game's slow motion. This is activated by pressing the space bar, slowing down the game and giving you several additional skills, you can use based on your Marines' skills and their equipment. From launching a grenade at the Xenomorphs to using a shotgun, flamethrower, or rocket launcher - and more - it will be your most valuable tool, giving you a bit of breathing space and time to think. It's also using this; you will set up defensive turrets or mines, which I would highly recommend as creating kill zones when a horde is coming is your only way to survive. I wouldn't recommend spamming abilities, though, as command points are finite and don't regenerate overly quickly.

　　Your final and most important ability is retribution. As the battle goes on, this gauge will fill. Once activated, your marines will heal a little, buff them, and refill your command points. Best saved for a fight against an alien queen. It all makes for a very tactical affair, one where your limited control over a single marine can lead to harrowing experiences if you have your other three wander off while one is looting a box, leaving them open to quick murder or abduction.

　　I would argue that Aliens: Dark Descent is the best Aliens game ever made. It's not the best Alien game; Alien: Isolation takes that crown, but Alien and Aliens are different beasts. Tindalos Interactive have done exceptionally well at capturing the feel of leading a group of Colonial Marines against all odds against the ever-growing threat of Xenomorphs, successfully adding a little horror and a lot of tension into a strategy game. It's also excellent how the map and resource permanence add a strong level of survival, leading to tough decisions in levelling up, unlocking skills and even how liberal you will be in using repair kits or med kits.

　　Would I recommend Aliens: Dark Descent? Yes, I would. While it has a few niggles here and there, they are few and far between. The very tight gameplay and excellent atmosphere are far more critical, putting this high up in the "games I want to keep playing" list.

　　PC version reviewed. Copy provided by the publisher.

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Aliens: Dark Descent

　　8.5

　　Wccftech Rating

　　Aliens: Dark Descent

　　Aliens: Dark Descent

　　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.

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