Review of Aliens: Dark Descent, Thrilling Without Mercy

Survival due to being stranded in a strange place has been a long-standing story theme and is still quite popular today. The reason is that such extreme situations can present a variety of conflicts and intrigues that become special spices for viewers. It is not uncommon for stories of survival due to being stranded in an isolated foreign place to be flavored with horror and thriller genres, such as being chased by cold-blooded killers or zombies.

In video games, this story format can be found in famous action games such as Resident Evil, where you have to survive half-monsters and zombies. But what if the survival, thriller, and horror elements were presented in a strategy game? And what if the main story was how to survive on an alien planet filled with Xenomorphs, the horrifying monsters from the Aliens series? That's what you'll face when you play Aliens: Dark Descent.

Overview of the Aliens Series

As the name implies, Aliens: Dark Descent is a game that uses a story from the Aliens series that first appeared as a movie in 1979. The movie was very well received and managed to popularize the science fiction and horror movie genre. After the movie, the Aliens series was developed in various formats ranging from books, video games, to toys.

One of the most important characters in the Alien series is the Xenomorph, which is a form of the alien itself. The Xenomorph is a very agile and strong monster, has two mouths with sharp canines, and a second mouth that can be used to break the bones of a human skull. It's so horrifying that the Xenomorph has become one of the symbols of horror in space to this day. In Aliens: Dark Descent, you can learn more about the types of Xenomorphs and their various characteristics

In addition to Xenomorphs, you'll also hear characters in the game talking about Weylan Yutani, the mega corporation that pioneered space exploration. Weylan Yutani is a corporation that is portrayed as very greedy and had wanted to exploit the Xenomorphs. Weylan Yutani also has a lot of colonies in space to support its various businesses, which are mostly in the mining sector.

Stranded on the Wrong Planet at the Wrong Time

Aliens: Dark Descent is a game with an unusual survival theme. Not just stranded on an alien planet called Lethe, the game's story is taken to very extreme conditions.

Taking a third-person perspective, you don't play a specific person in this game. In other words, Aliens: Dark Descent is not a role-playing game. However, the story is quite interesting with detailed intrigue typical of the Aliens series that adds a gripping feel to the game.

Aliens: Dark Descent takes place in 2198, when Xenomorphs suddenly appear on Weylan Yutani's colony planet Lethe. The appearance of the Xenomorph starts from the Pioneer space station orbiting the planet Lethe. Starting from the unloading of alien cargo that turned out to contain Xenomorph eggs, the space station was instantly turned into a mass slaughter ground.

To prevent the Xenomorphs from going to other planets, Administrator Maeko Hayes, who was on the space station, activated the Cerberus Protocol, a system that ensures no planes leave or enter the planet Lethe. Hayes assumed that the Cerberus Protocol could quarantine the planet and prevent more casualties. Unfortunately, Hayes' assumption was wrong.

Unfortunately (or perhaps it was destiny), a military ship, the USS Otago, was in orbit around the planet Lethe, which was directly affected by the Cerberus Protocol. The USS Otago crash-landed in an undisclosed location far from any populated areas. It was in bad shape and could no longer be used to exit the planet Lethe.

Meanwhile, Hayes, who was still on Pioneer, managed to escape the Xenomorphs and was rescued by the USCM (United States Colonial Marines) led by Sergeant Jonas Harper. Hayes was then evacuated to the USS Otago and together with Harper they tried to save the citizens from the Xenomorph threat as well as find a way out of planet Lethe. Of course, it's not easy and they also have to deal with the mystery of how Xenomorphs can be present on planet Lethe.

Real-Time XCOM with a Spice of Gripping Horror

Playing Aliens: Dark Descent reminded me of XCOM, a turn-based strategy game that focuses on micromanagement. Instead of controlling a large army or fleet, in Aliens: Dark Descent, you're asked to command a four-man battle squad (which can later be expanded to five). The difference is that this game isn't turn-based, but real-time, so every second is a life-or-death moment for your squad.

The combat squad is made up of USCM soldiers whose main job is to protect the citizens on United States colony planets like Lethe. They are trained and professional soldiers, not rebels or volunteer squads. But ultimately this is a game with Aliens in the name which means that these soldiers will be facing off against Xenomorphs which are far more terrifying than any other threat.

In Aliens: Dark Descent, you'll act like a commander even though the perspective is third-party. Sometimes you'll be Hayes, and sometimes you'll be Harper. The game also has a fairly complex resource management mechanism where the USS Otago is the command center and main base. Similar to XCOM, you can upgrade soldiers, upgrade combat equipment including weapons, and conduct research. There's also a Medbay or clinic where wounded soldiers are treated and even suffer from "mental attacks" (remember, you're fighting monsters!).

After rising to a certain rank, each soldier can be promoted to specialists such as Gunner who is a heavy weapons specialist, Medic who is in charge of ensuring all soldiers can fight without being seriously injured, and Recon who has a wider angle of vision and can shoot enemies silently. Yes, noise can cause the Xenomorphs to rush to you!

What's most interesting about Aliens: Dark Descent is its combat mechanics. You'll be asked to explore the map provided with specific tasks such as finding certain people, or even finding special materials so that the USS Otago can be repaired. Of course, you'll be dealing with Xenomorphs which I highly recommend avoiding as much as possible. Why?

Xenomorphs are not only difficult to fight, but they can also make your soldiers more stressed every time they encounter Xenomorphs. The level of stress will affect combat performance and a stressed soldier will not only get trauma points that can build up into a phobia, but also his shooting accuracy will be drastically reduced. In other words, Xenomorphs will be even harder to kill... Hehehehe!

Fortunately, Aliens: Dark Descent isn't that cruel. You can still rest in certain empty rooms by barricading the entrance. Resting not only relieves stress, but can also increase your ammo count. Speaking of ammo, you can also only carry very limited ammo in this game. However, ammunition and other combat equipment can be found on the map. So you have two choices: go straight to the mission site with limited ammunition, or you can explore first but with a greater possibility of fighting against Xenomorphs.

Finally, it wouldn't be the Aliens series if it didn't have horror elements in it. Aliens: Dark Descent manages to bring that element through gripping music, horrifying cutscenes, and an excellent map design that makes it easy to get tense instantly. The signature motion sensor in the Aliens series is also back, allowing you to see where Xenomorphs and other enemies are on the map, with a very limited range of course.

The motion sensor makes the image of horror in this game even stronger because your adrenaline will increase when you know that there is a Xenomorph. Not only that, but you can also see how the Xenomorphs come hunting for you with incredible running speed just through the motion tracker. So... Yes, even though this is a tactical game, the horror feel should not be underestimated.

Slight Bugs and Constraints When Using the Controller

Moving on to the gaming system, overall I was quite comfortable when playing this game even on various types of devices ranging from laptops to ROG Ally handhelds. The performance of this game is also very good which can still be played without a hitch on the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme at 900p 18W resolution with high graphic details.

Nevertheless, there are some flaws that I need to address in Aliens: Dark Descent. Firstly, the quality of the graphics and character animations are quite outdated, although the detailed environment maps are excellent. Secondly, the menus in this game are sometimes inaccessible when using a controller, so I sometimes have to force them with my mouse and keyboard. Lastly, there are some bugs and glitches in the game, although they don't affect the gameplay mechanics and are only visually distracting.

New Experience

What Aliens: Dark Descent is a new experience, as I've never played a real-time tactical game with a tense horror feel. The game also feels very authentic and does a great job of representing the Aliens series, from the soundtrack, sound effects, to the visual design that takes me back to the classic movie.