Alien: Isolation fans have been begging for a sequel for over a decade, and Sega finally relented late last year with an official — although, relatively detail-free — announcement of a true follow-up. A lot has changed in the horror genre since then, and the first game, while masterful in many ways, left a lot of room for improvement. As such, here are five things we want to see in Alien: Isolation 2.
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A Shorter Campaign
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Like the first film, Alien: Isolation slowly teases out the reveal of the Xenomorph. It doesn’t pull the big guy for at least an hour or two. This kind of slow tension is what this game thrived on, but it’s exhausting to stretch that out over 20 to 25 hours. Tip-toeing around in the dark for that long is draining and there’s a reason most horror games are, at most, half that length. Isolation has peaks and valleys — it’s not a non-stop adrenaline spike — but being under duress for that long without a climax or endpoint is a bit too tiresome.
The longer campaign also does a disservice to how intelligent the Xenomorph is, which is something Creative Assembly rightly spoke so highly of. It’s an unpredictable creature and some of that unpredictability is visible when reloading after a death, but the true test of its capriciousness would be seeing how it reacts differently from playthrough to playthrough. But it’s not enticing to replay a game with that long of a runtime. A shorter, more tightly packed sequel would be more appealing to replay than its great, yet overly long predecessor.
A Roguelike Mode
Roguelikes thrive when they have a ton of variables that bounce off each other and create endless possibilities, and that genre seems like an excellent fit for Alien: Isolation. The cunning and ever-changing Xenomorph alone would likely ensure that no two runs would be the same, but that’s not the only tool this series has, assuming the second game walks in the footsteps of the first one. Constantly cycling through the pool of gadgets, weapons, maps, and other enemies from run to run would also contribute to a replayable mode that highlights the unpredictability that makes Isolation so unique.
The first game had challenge maps that tasked players with completing certain objectives while being stalked, and those are a step in the right direction. But an abridged and more randomized roguelike mode with a solid path of rewards would be a more modern way to realize this idea. Games like Prey, The Last of Us Part 2, and God of War Ragnarok that have a wide, liberating set of interwoven tools have shown that big-budget games can thrive in this space, and Alien: Isolation is more than deserving of a spot in that pantheon.
Official VR Support
Alien: Isolation was released before virtual reality was just about to truly hit the gaming scene; the PSVR and first retail Oculus headset wouldn’t come to store shelves for another two or so years. There are unofficial mods that rigged VR support into Isolation, but they’re a bit janky, locked to PC, and require some tinkering. That should change with the sequel, as Alien: Isolation 2 should officially support VR.
The immersive qualities of VR would benefit a game like this — assuming it wisely takes after its predecessor — that is so focused on immersion. Creeping around a dimly lit spaceship while being stalked by a barbed-tail killer is already tense, and that tension would likely be ratcheted up in VR. The Resident Evil 4 remake, Resident Evil 7, and Resident Evil Village all translated almost flawlessly into VR and were made more intense by the point of view inherent to a virtual reality headset. Sega would be wise to follow Capcom’s lead to make its premier horror game even scarier.
A Better Story
The story in the first Alien: Isolation focused on Amanda Ripley, who was an admirable protagonist thanks to her tenacity and grit. She was a fitting central figure, and that made her personal tale easy to invest in.
However, she was often a glorified errand girl, and the overall narrative and additional side characters were not nearly as memorable. Horror usually requires a great emphasis on the cast since players need to care when a solid chunk of them eventually get torn in half or, in this case, cocooned by the Xenomorph. The first two Alien films and Romulus demonstrated how a likeable crew — while still having a strong lead — makes for a better overall narrative. Isolation 2 should still be centralized around Amanda, but developer Creative Assembly should also extend that love outward, too.
Remaster or Update the First Game
While not literally tied to the sequel, Sega should consider doing a slight remaster of the original Alien: Isolation. It has been over 10 years since it first came out, so some sort of refresh would make sense. Many people likely missed it to first time around, too, and sentiment for it has only gotten warmer in that decade.
Perhaps a new mode or some big update would also get more eyes on the game. Isolation was released before the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, meaning it doesn’t perform significantly better on the new generation of consoles. It at least supports FPS Boost on Xbox Series X|S, but PS5 owners are stuck with a cross-gen PS4 game from 2014. A native current-gen port with some modest technical upgrades and accessibility options would be incredibly welcome and prep players for the upcoming sequel.
