New 'Alien: Isolation' Prototype Footage Reveals It Was Originally A Third-Person Game

Alien: Isolation is one of the best horror games this generation, despite a laundry-list of issues. That said, apparently it was almost entirely a different game.

Alien: Isolation released back in 2014 as a first-person survival horror game from Creative Assembly and Sega. The game was praised -- and criticized -- for many things, but it was perhaps the game's atmosphere and the tension it creates that won over the most. And the game's first-person perspective was key to both of these things.

That said, Alien: Isolation almost wasn't a first-person game. That's right, at one point, it was played in third-person.

The revelation comes way of YouTube Channel, NeoGamer, who recently shared a video showcasing some footage of a prototype version of the game with its original third-person viewpoint. Apparently, the footage was shown off and captured from Creative Assembly's presentation at GDC 2015.

As you can see, the footage doesn't look bad, but it doesn't look as good as it does in first-person. The best parts of Alien: Isolation was peeking your head around the corner only to see an Android or Alien marching your way as it looks for you. Or how about when Alien finds where you're hiding and all of sudden appears right in your face? That's another special moment that wouldn't have been nearly as impactful in third-person.

That said, one of the problems of Alien: Isolation was not being able to know your surroundings at all times, and thus a third-person perspective would have gone a long way in this regards. It was a crossroads of immersion and gameplay practicability, and Creative Assembly went with the former, which I think was the correct choice.

Alien: Isolation is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Below, you can read more about the game, courtesy of Sega:

"Discover the true meaning of fear in Alien: Isolation, a survival horror set in an atmosphere of constant dread and mortal danger. Fifteen years after the events of Alien, Ellen Ripley's daughter, Amanda enters a desperate battle for survival, on a mission to unravel the truth behind her mother's disappearance.

"As Amanda, you will navigate through an increasingly volatile world as you find yourself confronted on all sides by a panicked, desperate population and an unpredictable, ruthless Alien.

"Underpowered and under prepared, you must scavenge resources, improvise solutions and use your wits, not just to succeed in your mission, but to simply stay alive."