Developed by French studio Tindalos Interactive and published by Focus Entertainment, Aliens: Dark Descent was released on June 20th. We couldn’t wait to test this new game set in the dark and spooky universe of the Xenomorphs. Was it worth the wait? Will we be able to cling to its host like the Facehugger? All answers now!
The problems are just beginning
Arriving on the title screen of Aliens: Dark Descent, Tindalos Interactive immerses us in the atmosphere. The typical music from movies and images around a Xenomorph catch our eyes (and ears). Since the main menu screen is very sober and you can choose between a new game, options and credits, we decide to start the game directly.
This one offers multiple difficulty levels: Story, Intermediate, Hard, Nightmare and Custom. To significantly increase the level of difficulty, we can even customize the save system. The first, Permissive, logs our progress very regularly, while the second, “Nobody Will Hear Her Scream,” only performs two autosaves per mission.
Before we even begin, a crate jumps out at us. This shows us that Aliens: Dark Descent is a difficult game with unique mechanics and that taking the time to read the tutorials well would be welcome, even essential. We are warned! We start the story with a cutscene accompanied by the soundtrack from the Aliens movies. A crate from the Weyland-Yutani Corp. is delivered to the Pioneer Station loading dock, which is in orbit around a mining moon called Lethe. As the USS Otago prepares to dock at the station, we learn that a massive hurricane is severing the Pioneer’s connection with the moon. Obviously things escalate when a malicious person knocks unconscious the clerk in charge of receiving the boxes and illegally opens a box. As I’m sure you understood, its contents are large, glossy black, drools, and especially likes people for breakfast. Then we meet Deputy Admin Maeko Hayes who wants to report a loading anomaly to Main Admin Hal MacDonald. Of course, it will be kindly sent on the roses. This is where we’ll start the tutorial by taking control of Hayes, but he doesn’t want to stop there.
During the assimilation of the bases, during our handling, on her journey to the loading docks she discovers the small “crumbs” left by the Xenomorph, in this case the remains of the crew. Hayes is then forced to activate emergency protocol for destruction including the freighter Bentonville, the Pioneer station and the USS Otago.
Luckily for them, a squad of Marines dispatched from the USS Otago arrive to help the Deputy Administrator escape the clutches of their predator. Unable to deactivate the protocol, the group of survivors use a rescue shuttle to escape from the Marines’ ship, which was severely hit by a barrage of missiles. Then the real challenges begin for Hayes, Sergeant Jonas Harper and all survivors.
management at all levels
Aliens: Dark Descent is a solo isometric 3D familiar game that takes place in real time, as opposed to XCOM which is turn-based. It is still possible for us to slow down time by 70% by pressing the button in the skill menu, which allows us to perform very specific actions against command points and recharge over time. Another very interesting fact, chosen by the Tindalos Interactive studio, is that the team of four characters that we control is considered as a single group. Every time we meet one or more enemies, perform an action or confirm an objective, the game will automatically choose the right character to perform the interaction according to their skills.
Aside from being a combat and infiltration game, the Parisian studio has incorporated a management system during and outside of missions, to say the least. In fact, during operations, we not only have to look after the lives and supplies of our force, but also manage the stress of the soldiers that make it up. Various fear or shock factors can appear (number of enemies, wounds, trauma) and greatly affect the marines’ abilities. Luckily, it’s possible to rest by condemning parts, heal yourself with a Naprolève (medicine using a medical device unit), or simply abandon the mission. Because yes, this is the great interesting point of Aliens: Dark Descent: we can evacuate our squad when it is in bad shape to come back later to complete the main and side objectives with another squad. The USS Otago serves as the base of operations, we have the command bridge, the medical sector, the workshop, the barracks and the laboratory at our disposal.
The command bridge is used to start a mission, select the marines that make up the squad, the supplies (medical equipment, tools and automatic turrets), the bonuses related to the Xenic technology that we will deepen by exploring talk to you about the lab, and finally let a day pass.
As the name suggests, the medical service enables us to treat soldiers injured in combat. Each patient requires more or less rest time, counted in days, although we can shorten the convalescence by assigning a doctor to each patient. However, please note that the number of doctors is limited. In addition to physical injuries on deployment, the Marines can also suffer psychological trauma due to stress, which is why a psychiatric nursing ward is available.
The workshop unlocks new weapons by using materials found on missions. This is a point that we should not overlook, because as our soldiers gain experience we have the possibility of specializing them (medic, scout, rifleman, technician, etc.) and each class uses a specific type of weapon.
In the barracks we can equip, improve and customize our marines. Each soldier is accompanied by a description sheet that tells us about his life points, his character traits, his improvements or his equipment. It is also possible to customize appearance, voice and gender. In addition, a training hall allows “resting” soldiers to gain a little experience. Either we’re Marines or we’re not!
Finally, the Laboratory is where research on Xenomorphs is conducted. During missions, our squad can collect xenic samples from the enemies, which, after returning and analyzing them, grant us bonuses during squad deployment.
Report Marines!
To survive the hell of the xenomorph, the game offers us different actions that we can use during the missions. The flashlight in particular is very important because it allows us to highlight objects that we wouldn’t have seen at first glance, such as doors, objectives, supply boxes or collectibles. Located in the Mission Sector Headquarters, the Scan Com proves to be essential to discover, since it allows establishing a satellite link with the USS Otago, thus unlocking the key points of the mission with its main and secondary objectives.
During missions, our marines can perform various actions that allow them to advance through the different parts of a mission area. For example, an ammo box can be used as an explosive to open a blocked path, or a tool used to weld a door to create a resting place. As in the attached photo, it is always possible with our tools to reveal the layout of the floor. It goes without saying that our resources can be exhausted very quickly if we are not careful, although it is always possible to find some in the various sectors visited.
As I’m sure you understood, a map is available and proves to be our best friend during missions. In addition to displaying the targets, the alien nests and resources are also visible after they have been scanned or viewed via the surveillance cameras. Above all, it shows the movements of enemies if a motion detector was previously placed. After all, what would an Aliens game be without the unforgettable beep of the proximity radar? Here the radius of action extends to a radius of 60 meters around the squad, and light signals are visible on the mini-map indicating the enemies.
Some very good things and some not so good…
Now let’s move on to Aliens: Dark Descent. This is very good on a mission once you have memorized the various keys. On the other hand, we’ve found that navigating the base administration menus is a little more difficult. Some actions do not work, e.g. B. increasing or decreasing the number of supplies that must be taken before starting a mission. Another point that the Paris studio could improve with an update would be to highlight more the boxes where our cursor is located to make them more visible. Nevertheless, the title is quite easy to learn and does not affect the sometimes very quick decisions in intense action phases.
Now let’s move on to the artistic direction, which emerges as a black dot, particularly on the cutscenes page. After hours of marveling at the small details, the variety of scenes, the particularly successful lighting effects, especially when using the flashlight (thanks to the Unreal Engine), everything falls apart with the numerous cinematics. Even if special care has been put into the ships, space or planets, the faces are almost expressionless, quite boring, not to mention the display issues that appear unexpectedly even after exiting and restarting the game. A pity…
As for the soundtrack, fans (or not) of Aliens will be delighted! Everything is there, be it the music, the beep of the motion sensor, the sounds so characteristic of Xenomorphs and weapons. Now let’s talk about the problems encountered. Yes, you can’t have one without the other. When it’s raining, we noticed that the rain sound disappears when our squad enters a building, which makes sense. Outside we hear the rain again after a few seconds while inside which is quite annoying. Again, a solution would be very welcome. Despite these small imperfections, the sound that penetrates our ears immerses us in an oppressive atmosphere. Since the game comes from a Parisian studio, it would have been nice if the game had been dubbed in French because yes, only the VOSTFR is available.
For Achiever Hunters, much of this is achievable by completing the twelve missions available. Few of these will prove difficult, such as completing on Nightmare difficulty or selecting the “No one will hear her scream” option, which reduces the number of autosaves. Aside from those two achievements, the others aren’t really a problem.
Tested on Xbox Series X (optimized version)