After just a few minutes, Alien: Isolation 2 had me feeling that very particular sense of tension and stress that only the first game could create — and I’m, perhaps strangely, incredibly excited for more.
Horror games aren’t usually my bag, but my love for franchises and series like Alien or Dead Space will always trump my fear of scares and fuel my interest in soaking up everything that games have to offer in such universes.
And that’s the case with Alien: Isolation 2. It’s shaping up to be an absolutely belting sequel, channeling all that Creative Assembly executed supremely well with the first game, as well as offering evolutions sure to enhance the experience. But there is still one thing that I really wish I’d seen in my preview that will transform this game in comparison to the last.
Familiar foe, familiar feeling
Taking place right at the beginning of the game, my preview saw me take control of a new protagonist, Blake, travelling in a rover on a dark and dingy planet right on the cusp of a storm.
The weather does indeed turn, and we step out of our buggy to investigate a crashed ship that fans of the first game will instantly recognise. Ignoring the advice of our pals, our character climbs aboard the small ship and proceeds to investigate and enter.
From here, we’ve all seen this movie before. Power needs to be booted back on, but, of course, it allows something to escape containment. Soon after, we get a familiar, but fantastic and hold-your-breath moment as the Xenomorph is introduced. I’m immediately transported back into the shoes of Ripley from the first game, and return to form, looking for maintenance hatches, crawling between desks, and trying to pick up anything of use, while my heart rate climbs, thundering on my chest, and I put all the effort I can into my peripheral vision.
It’s here that the very particular, almost unique mix of tension, stress, and fear that the first Alien: Isolation game oozes becomes tangible to me. It’s one of the most interesting and impactful feelings a game has ever had on me, and it’s back by the bucketload as I try and consider all the routes open to me to slowly and stealthily make my way back to the exit hatch while avoiding the perfect predator. Spoilers: my go-to approach of relying on maintenance tunnels, vents, and desks did not work.
While working my way through the demo, the retro-futuristic aesthetic is once again right at the forefront of the game, and there’s been a colossal leap forward in terms of fidelity and detail and execution. Combine this with some excellent atmospheric and environmental design in the exterior environment, as we say in the Summer Game Fest 2026 trailer, and this is going to be a visual treat.
However, as exceptional as all this is — and it really is — it’s still somewhat familiar territory to the first game, and has me almost wishing to see something brand new.
Inside out
It turns out that brand new element is the great outdoors. Alien: Isolation 2 is promising outdoor environments for the Xenomorph to now hunt players down in. It’s new territory for the franchise, as far as I can remember, and as such, is an extremely exciting (and terrifying) prospect.
How will the Xeno traverse the landscape? You have to assume that climbing and shooting through tunnels or caves isn’t going to be a problem, but how will it also decide where to go? How will it learn and develop from our actions in the open environment? Can the Xeno do it on a rainy Tuesday night in the dark in an unfamiliar place? (To somewhat use a UK football phrase.)
There’s just so much unknown here for Alien: Isolation 2, and with it being such a key evolution of the formula, I’m almost annoyed at Creative Assembly for not letting me get a look at it…
Equally, I’m dead keen to know how we might turn the open areas to our advantage. Are we going to be able to turn the tide at all given the scale of space the Xeno has to cover, or are we going to be in just as much trouble?
I can’t imagine there being a load of resources available in the landscape, and a human obviously has no chance in a foot race across a field or through a forest. My gut instinct is that it will feel relentlessly one-sided again — and I can’t wait to dive back in.
Alien: Isolation 2 doesn’t yet have a release date but will be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X and Series, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.
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rob.dwiar@futurenet.com (Rob Dwiar)
