The Alien franchise has long been a source for video games from nearly every genre you can imagine. That includes everything from the fan-favorite horror game Alien: Isolation to the most recent game in the franchise Aliens: Fireteam Elite, a third-person shooter that served as a sequel to the original film trilogy. Next up for the series is something a bit different with Aliens: Dark Descent. It’s a real-time strategy game that puts you in the shoes of a colonial commander leading a squad of marines against hordes of Xenomorphs on an alien planet. Today, the publishers at Focus Entertainment dropped a brand new trailer showing off gameplay and giving us a better idea of the story.
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Aliens: Dark Descent is set 20 years after the events of Alien 3. Your squad is stranded on the moon Lethe and needs to repair their ship. Unfortunately, Lethe is overrun with Xenomorphs who don’t seem to be happy to see you. You play as either Mako Hayes or Jonas Harper, two people from different walks of life who are both just trying to survive. Focus Entertainment is promising that we’ll be going up against “a host of horrifying creatures new to the Alien franchise.” In short, expect to see a lot more than just your standard Xenomorphs.
We also got a peak at gameplay, which takes the Alien franchise to the real-time strategy genre for the first time in recent memory. Focus talked about how these massive open levels will have several different decisions for you to make as you explore them. For example, you could seal a door shut to keep Xenomorphs off your back, but that also closes that option for when you need to exfiltrate the area. This push-and-pull decision-making should pave the way for each playthrough to feel unique. Plus, each marine has several different specializations, abilities, and weapons you can spec into, further highlighting the possibilities for replayability.
Outside of Alien: Isolation, the Alien franchise has been underwhelming in the gaming sphere. That isn’t to say there haven’t been some solid titles, but the hits are few and far between. Hopefully, Dark Descent can be another breakout hit for the franchise. Aliens: Dark Descent launches on June 20 on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms.
