All Articles: Alien: Isolation

This article includes MASSIVE SPOILERS for Alien: Isolation.

For a long time, it has felt like a curse has become attached to game adaptations of the Alien franchise… you could say like a facehugger on John Hurt. But it looks like Alien: Isolation has finally lifted the bad juju on the series with acclaim from both critics and the gaming public. Naturally, this has lead to speculation about a sequel, so AvPGalaxy went directly to the source. They recently sat down with Gary Napper, Lead Designer at Creative Assembly, and asked him about his thoughts on Alien: Isolation 2.

Napper responded that the possibility of a sequel is discussed within the walls of Creative Assembly “daily” and that the team has considered taking a prospective sequel in several different directions:

AvPGalaxy – The end of the game is left very open for a sequel. There’s quite a lot of fan speculation about what really happened. Did Amanda get infected in the hive, did she die in space? How much thought has Creative Assembly put into continuing Amanda’s story after the events in Alien: Isolation?

Gary Napper – The plot for a sequel is a daily topic in the studio sometimes. People have their own ideas for where it should go, our writers have some solid concepts and yes, we do have a great opportunity to continue her story. I personally think that Amanda did not get infected in the hive, as when she wakes, the closest egg remains closed…

What do you think happens at the end of Alien: Isolation? And are you excited for a sequel? Hopefully, Sega and Creative Assembly will figure out where they want to take their successful series soon.

Creative Assembly has said time and again that the guiding design principle behind Alien: Isolation is that the Xenomorph should be thought of as an unstoppable force of nature that cannot be killed. Instead, the developer went back to the roots of the film franchise and encouraged players to evade the star beast and pray they remain undetected.

But things are about to get much easier for all the Alien: Isolation players out there as Sega and Creative Assembly have made a new “Novice” difficulty level available as part of the game’s latest update. But what if you’re part of the vocal contingent that wants the Xenomorph to be more diabolical and even harder to hide from? You might be interested in the brand new “Nightmare” difficulty level that makes things considerably tougher:

One of the most requested features from fans, Nightmare Mode ramps up the difficulty to a frightening level. Gamers with a strong disposition are challenged to venture into Sevastopol Station with a broken motion tracker featuring a distorted display and unreliable information. Resources are limited, androids and survivors are more deadly and the map systems have gone offline. The Alien AI has been upgraded, ramping up its aggression to punishing levels. It’s more adaptive, learning players’ tactics faster, has heightened senses and will give players no ‘second chance’ encounters. Nightmare Mode is the ultimate Alien experience.

The “Novice” and “Nightmare” difficulty levels are part of a free update that is available today for Alien: Isolation on every platform (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One).

Just in time for Halloween, Sega has announced that the first Alien: Isolation add-on, Corporate Lockdown, will be released on October 28. Priced at $7.99, the add-on will add three new Challenge Maps and a brand new character in an arc that takes place before the events of Isolation:

In Corporate Lockdown, Seegson Executive Ransome has learnt that he has been abandoned by his paymasters. Knowing that the Torrens is on the way, he decides to make his escape and hitch a ride on board, taking decoded Nostromo data with him. However, while escaping he wants to tie up a few loose ends…

Across three new Challenge Maps (“Severance,” “Scorched Earth,” and “Loose Ends”), players are challenged to compete against others through Alien: Isolation’s online leaderboards, to escape the station in the fastest possible time or attain the top score through numerous side quests and hidden bonus objectives. New to Corporate Lockdown is the addition of Gauntlet Mode where players are challenged to top the Gauntlet Mode leaderboards by completing all three Challenge Maps back-to-back without dying.

Corporate Lockdown will also be available as part of the Alien: Isolation Season Pass, which can be purchased for $29.99, a 25% discount versus purchasing all give planned add-on packs separately.