Alien: Rogue Incursion is not only a fantastic Alien game, it’s showcasing VR can finally move a step forward in gaming.
VR is starting to get polished really quickly now that multiple players are in the field. For a while it basically felt expected that VR games would be a clunky mess, often leading to funny or frustrating moments that would detract from the immersive experience. Alien: Rogue Incursion finally shows us that this isn’t to be expected anymore.
Alien: Rogue Incursion
Release Date: December 19th
Genre: VR Shooter
Platforms: PSVR2 / Meta Quest
Developer: Survios
Everything about this game showcases that VR can finally compete with normal flat screen titles in every area. Upon booting up the game I was impressed right at the first screen with how great it looked visually. Granted the game heavily utilizes darkness to its advantage, everything still looks clean and polished. The way light glistens against snowy backdrops, the fact you can pick up an object and hold it to your face without it becoming blurry, and the slimy look of Aliens that crawl around all over. This is the first time I felt like I was playing a “next generation” title on the PSVR2.
But the immersion doesn’t end visually because once you start to go through the motions of playing the game, everything feels not only natural, but it all works without much issue at all. I mean the most basic thing in VR shooters is holding your gun with both hands, and almost every other game I played was a janky experience. In Alien I actually feel more comfortable holding my gun steady, and actually being able to shoot what I’m aiming at. It feels natural to hold the gun with two hands, while having moments to release it to pull a door open or some random task, and then placing it back on my gun.
The game does a good job of utilizing aspects like this to increase its intensity too. When an alien jumps out at you and you reach for a gun, but don’t steady it, it will start to blast all over, making it harder to grab in a panic. It does a good job of making you take a breath, calm down for a second, then strategize. But this could have easily been a disaster if the game didn’t function as well as it does.
All the objects on your person are placed extremely well. Not once during my experience did I accidentally grab the wrong object. You have a scanner across your chest, your gun behind your shoulder, you secondary at your thigh, health on one arm, and a small object wheel you can open. Luckily the game limits the amount of objects in the wheel also, so you are never overwhelmed with options. This is all worth noting as a great accessibility feature also because everything works fluently while in a sitting or standing position.
But this level of accuracy seems to bridge across everything you interact with. In game there are older style computers that use a joystick to move around a mouse, and it moves so fluently with your hand that it feels authentic. On your data pad you can reach over with your other hand and use it as a touch screen, and you can do it as organically as real life, sliding around the map or pressing buttons. In game there are several puzzle like moments where you need to utilize tools to complete sets, and I can’t remember a moment where I struggled due to any technical limitation.
I even have to highlight some of the most basic of tasks, like climbing ladders. The first time I came across a ladder I was literally thinking “well fuck, here we go….” because I always get stuck on the damn things in other VR titles. Thankfully that isn’t the case in Alien. It has a little boost at the top of ladders to get you over the top, but even the motion of doing it was perfect. Everything regarding motion seems to just “work” like it’s supposed to, and the further you get into the game the more natural everything starts to feel.
I can honestly say that the game presented zero issues to me. The only time I ran into anything remotely wrong was the PSVR2 itself causing the problem.
Combining the visuals and gameplay makes the game all the more horrifying to play as well. With things working so naturally, you easily get sucked into the world and forget that, you know, Xenomorphs can jump out and kill you at any moment. It really allows the jump scares to take full effect because you might be so focused on doing something and then be fending for your life a second later.
To add to the stellar experience is godly sound design to amplify literally everything. You can hear Aliens crawling around or growling all around you, but that just makes any real sound startle you entirely. There were many moments where I quickly turned and it was just a box falling, or a wire zapping the wall. The game organically leads you into wanting to be quiet and when a loud sound happens you literally feel the terror and want it to stop. The game does a good job of utilizing sirens and door openings to trigger you at every opportunity. It’s worth noting that the game isn’t like past Alien titles where you absolutely need to be quiet, since combat is welcoming in some regard, but having that option is great.
What I find more important about this game is that it isn’t a straight “horror” game. It is mostly jump scares, but outside of that it’s a really stellar action game. There are stretches in the game where ammo is fairly limited, so you become afraid of running into enemies, and the jump scares amplify because of it, but there was never a moment of grief where I didn’t want to explore a new area. Most VR titles are either heavily action oriented, or horror, this game does a good job of blending them.
I love shooting rounds into Xenomorphs, it’s so damn satisfying, and I love the overall gunplay. Again it does everything so phenomenally well that the motions to loading guns is authentic and satisfying, and easy to do unlike other titles. You even have a revolver at your side and to reload it you open the chamber, flip it back, and put in a bullet one by one. Imagine doing that as an enemy is rushing at you….. Its frigging cool!
Everything is designed to keep you immersed in the experience and it does so beautifully.
The one and only drawback I really have for the game is that the Xenomorphs are not scary when they finally enter combat with you. They might crawl out of vents or around the roof and be scary when introduced, but once in combat they basically stand still or run in straight lines at you. Killing them in that regard is fairly easy since they are mostly stationary targets. There is overall no real reason to move around (in real life) to dodge or get away from them, and combat is basically just predicting their pattern and blasting them when the opportunity opens.
However the rest of the gameplay is extremely satisfying because the environments you are thrown into and the puzzles you come across are extremely fun. The game does a fantastic job of putting you into corridors, and then opening to big expansive areas. Over the 8 hour campaign this was the first VR title I didn’t want to put down. I never really felt sick playing the game, I was always engaged in doing something, and the intuitive gameplay kept my attention the whole time. They also utilized all the key features to keep VR Sickness at bay really well.
It might help that I went in thinking this was yet another Alien IP cash grab, and it turned out to not be that. Instead this is not only one of the best VR titles on the market, it’s one of the best Alien games I ever played. If you don’t have a VR headset this is one of the games you’ll be sad to miss out on. If you’re a fan of Alien you’ll likely be even more impressed, it literally feels like you’re inside of a movie.
