Over the years, many video games have been devoted to the Alien franchise, with most in agreement that the greatest of all was Alien: Isolation, released in 2014 and now playable across nearly every format. If you haven’t played that first-person game, the Cliff Notes are you’re Amanda Ripley, Ellen Ripley’s daughter, who is forced to deal with a Xenomorph encounter of her own. With its strong storytelling and reliance on atmosphere and fear versus guns a blazing, there’s a reason why Alien: Isolation is a classic. Any game following in its footsteps would have much to live up to.
Since the release of Alien: Isolation, there have been other Alien games, but those have featured the colonial marines who made an impact in the 1986 film Aliens. Alien: Rogue Incursion is the first in the franchise to be designed for VR; in this case, I’ve been playing it on the Meta Quest 3S.
Here’s the logline:
Alien: Rogue Incursion is an all-new action-horror VR game that transforms you into ex-Colonial Marine Zula Hendricks on a dangerous mission to the uncharted planet Purdan, featuring innovative real-life motion gameplay, a whole-body loadout, and the most cunning Xenomorphs ever encountered.
I’ve been using the Meta Quest 3S for a few months now, and I can safely state that it’s the best home VR experience I’ve had. I previously had a first-generation PlayStation VR, and while the VR itself was cool, the tethered and weighty headset took me out of virtually every game I played. The Meta Quest 3S has no wires and is much lighter to wear, though I’ll admit that I tend to take it off after about 40 minutes of gameplay.
That being said, it’s safe to say that Alien: Rogue Incursion for the Meta Quest 3S is the most immersive Alien game out there; you feel the Xenomorphs could be around every corner, as you’d hope. You’ve got a lot of ground to cover on Purdan, exploring buildings, solving puzzles, and taking down aliens drawn to your movement and sound. My first encounter with a Xenomorph occurred outdoors, with lightning flashes augmenting the moment. It was thrilling, especially when I grabbed my classic plasma rifle and started unloading into the alien.
However, while pulling out your guns is pretty obvious and intuitive, the mechanics were the biggest drawback to playing Alien: Rogue Incursion. Loading bullets into your handgun isn’t intuitive, and while you may get some help at first, I didn’t remember the process when I needed it. The same could be said when picking up found items like keycards, bullets, and tools. Yes, you can place them in pockets on your body, but I dropped said items regularly. I couldn’t get the hang of storing them. I don’t know how much of that issue is me as a gamer or the game mechanics itself; I would argue that it should be more straightforward and more obvious than it is so any neophyte doesn’t run into these issues.
If you’re playing any game in VR, you are ultimately looking for that all-immersive feeling and want to be put in the game. Even with its mechanical issues, that’s what Alien: Rogue Incursion does. While it doesn’t quite have the fear factor of the beloved Alien: Isolation, you’ll definitely find your heart pounding and your trigger finger itchy when a Xenomorph gets right in your face.
For that alone, Alien: Rogue Incursion is worth playing until it’s game over.
