Virtual Star Beast: A Look Back at Alien: Isolation VR

Big things are in the works for the Alien franchise, with recent announcements of an upcoming TV series by Noah Hawley and a potential movie release by Fede Alvarez. Hence, I figured that now would be a good time to revisit Alien: Isolation (2014), the franchise's best video game and only virtual reality (VR) experience to date. Isolation is a great game to play in either 2D or in 3D VR. However, playing it in VR turns the game into an experience, immersing the player into the terrifying Alien universe. 

There are plenty of details that Creative Assembly gets right in Isolation, but the VR experience puts its excellent environment designs into focus that would otherwise be overlooked in flat 2D gameplay. I've always admired the set designs in each of the Alien movies, and I think that they have become just as important as the characters and monsters themselves. Along those lines, the space station Sevastopol (Isolation's main setting) is just as much of a character as the game's cast. Throughout the game, players learn about the station's history, which companies operated out of it, and who resided there. Each Sevastopol level feels like a functional part of a space station that would be in the Alien universe, complete with medical facilities, public transportation, shopping centers, and security offices.

Of course, the main draw behind an Alien VR experience is to share the same space with a Xenomorph, and Isolation does not disappoint. No matter how familiar you are with the Alien franchise, nothing really prepares you for a fully animated, life-sized 3D Xenomorph that wants to kill you. In case you need a reminder as to why H.R. Giger's monster design is still so memorable, Isolation is ready to provide you with one.

The VR version of Isolation also allows players to get a much more vivid sense of scale. There are many scenes in the game that are breathtaking in VR, two of which being the derelict space craft on LV-426 and the Sevastopol's core energy reactor. The derelict craft is a callback to the original Alien movie but entering it in VR makes it a much grander experience. Many of the Alien games have revisited the derelict craft before, but this is the only one I can think of that's both screen-accurate and an immersive expansion of what wasn't seen in the first movie. Likewise, stepping into the Sevastopol's reactor a jaw-dropping experience: This volatile environment is gigantic, as large as a sports stadium and its enormity becomes so much more visceral when players are in VR.

If you love the Alien movies and want to experience their universe in an immersive way, then Alien: Isolation is not to be missed. Isolation is frequently on sale on Steam, and there are plenty of instructions online that detail how to activate Isolation's VR features. Furthermore, Andy Kelly is currently working on a book about Isolation called Perfect Organism. You can learn more about it on its Unbound web page.