The Perfect Organism – Alien: Isolation

Being a fan boy of the Alien franchise, Alien: Isolation for me ticked all the right boxes. I found the game terrifying and difficult, with the constant threat of the singular Alien hunting you down, which did not follow any set path and so was completely unpredictable.

This moment is when you finally see the Xenomorph for the first time in a non-cut scene capacity. It is while Ripley (Amanda, not Ellen) is in the medical centre of the Sevastopol space station. Since then we have only heard the creature, seen the destruction and death that it has caused, and fought and hid against only humans and a couple of Working Joe androids at this point in time. We did see the Alien in its fullest in a single cut scene about half hour in the game earlier, but it disappears and that is the end of that.

However, in the Medical wing of the ship, we have to retrieve something from an office. Once are we done, we head towards the hallway which leads to the next part of the objective, when suddenly a vent above you makes a strange noise, followed by an inhuman hissing sound. Steam pours out and my automatic reaction was to crouch beneath a bed. I watched in terror as the creature, almost liquid like, oozed its way out of the vent and dropped onto the floor. Among the mist it rose to its feet, towering terrifyingly high, before stomping off into the darkness.

From that point onwards, the gloves are off. You have only been playing the games hour and half long tutorial, and now the real game has kicked in. Here the Alien can show up at any point, and any noise you make can instantly draw him to you. You are ill equipped and (normally) lacking in skill, so the real challenge and the fight for survival has only just begun.

Here is the moment in all its glory:

Please follow and like us: