One of the best games from 2014 is making its way to the Nintendo Switch, to the delight of space horror fans everywhere.
During Nintendo’s E3 2019 Direct press conference, it was revealed that publisher Sega and developer Feral Interactive will be bringing Alien: Isolation to the Nintendo Switch sometime this year. The survival horror title initially released on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC back in 2014. Check out the teaser for the Switch release below.
As a big fan of Alien: Isolation when it first came out, I’m very happy to see it get some love now on the Switch. As imperfect as it was, Alien: Isolation was one of the few titles that really innovated the horror genre for video games, featuring a nearly unstoppable threat within the confines of a dead space station, in which your only salvation is to rely on your wits.
Alien: Isolation takes place between the events of the original Alien and Aliens movies, and focuses on Amanda Ripley, daughter of Ellen Ripley. Amanda gets word of something which may point to the reason for her mother’s disappearance 15 years earlier, and so she sets about with an android named Samuels to investigate the Nostromo’s black box aboard the Sevastopol Station.
In terms of what made Alien: Isolation so innovative, it’s the artificial intelligence of the Alien creature. Creative Assembly set out to make an entirely new engine built from scratch in order to power the game, which allows for great detail for the various scenes set in space, as well as fitting the Alien creature with an ability to learn from each and every encounter with players. It makes for a terrifying game in which if you hide too often in the same place, such as underneath tables and beds, you will see yourself get impaled with an Alien tail.
As revolutionary as it was, it did not get strong sales. However, what killed a potential sequel was the fact that the members of Creative Assembly responsible for Alien: Isolation left the company. I still hope for a sequel to be announced one of these days, maybe taking on a more Aliens approach the next time around.
Alien: Isolation will be released on the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2019.
