Alien: Blackout Reviews/Interviews

[Corporal Hicks]

In order to keep the forum organized and easy to navigate, try to use this thread for posting reviews, interviews or articles in general. For fan reviews please use this thread.

Current Metacritic Rating: 78

Positive
* Perfect Organism: 5/5
* Touch Arcade
* Yutani Blog
* ScreenRant (3.5)
* Gamespot
* Blue Moon Game (9.3)
* Venture Beat (9.5)
* Den of Geek (4.5)
* Bloody Disgusting (3.5)
* AvP Galaxy (7)

Mixed
* Pocket Gamer: (3/5)
* Polygon
* Kotaku
* HITC (6/10)
* Metro (6/10)
* IGN (6.3)

Negative
* Pocket Tactics: 2/5

[Corporal Hicks]

In Theory... Alien Blackout

When the opportunity to co-develop an actual Alien game with Rival Games was presented, there was no hesitation. As core PC/console developers we saw eye-to-eye from the get-go that we wanted to create a no BS Alien experience. Having played and deeply enjoyed (and a couple heart attacks suffered) Alien Isolation (played through with the Oculus Rift), our task wasn't going to be easy, especially taking the mobile platform into account. If one word would be used to describe the whole that is the Alien, it would be 'unknown'. Unknown what it is, where it is, what it does, where it came from. Its eyes concealed, our fate unknown. This is what all great Alien content, being it film, graphic novels, books, games understand and embrace and that was our starting point. From there onward we tackled the task of "how can we bring the fear of the unknown to the tiny screen".

Only skim read this one.

[The Old One]

"I'll take Ridley Scott's recent attempts at horror over 'Gotta Throw this Ring into the Volcano' buddy-flick, any day of the week."

And there goes the credibility of the only positive review.

Preferring Ridley Scott's interesting but flawed Prequels over say, Fast and the Furious, The Antman Films or Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle, is one thing but LOTR- you're joking right?

[Corporal Hicks]

Honestly, I find LOTR boring and over-rated. So are the Hobbits. And that's the books and films.

Alien: Blackout Review - Not Your Typical Mobile Game 3.5

[The Old One]

LOTR's a masterpiece. It's the only thing that eclipses Alien for me.
The Hobbit's a fantastic children's book and trash film adaptations.

[Corporal Hicks]

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/alien-blackout-taps-into-aliens-tensest-scene-to-f/1100-6464565/

For a $5 mobile game with no microtransactions, though, Alien: Blackout is impressive. It's surprisingly fresh in its presentation and use of the platform, and it captures a specific, frightening Alien experience that, frankly, deserved to be turned into a game a long time ago. It's not the full-scale sequel to Alien: Isolation fans were hoping for, but Blackout is still a smart, spooky return to its world in a bite-sized package.

[newbeing]

I think like Isolation this is going to be divisive due to the randomness of the Alien and lack of a clear explanation of mechanics. Basically all of the things I liked about Isolation.

It's kind of funny that we've gone from a niche market of FPS survival horror to an even more niche market strategy (?) survival horror.

[IIapagokc]

my best review on Alien blackout:
https://youtu.be/LZOCYBa6sEM

[Corporal Hicks]

I think like Isolation this is going to be divisive due to the randomness of the Alien and lack of a clear explanation of mechanics. Basically all of the things I liked about Isolation.

Definitely. There's a lot of Isolation's sensibilities in this - especially with the difficulty. For me, it also gave that same kind of satisfaction when you did succeed too.

Alien: Blackout Is A Great Concept But Falls Flat

Still, I commend Alien: Blackout for its experimentation with what an Alien game can be. In the thick of things, managing the team and keeping them safe can be engaging. But achieving successes in the game feels too random and too finicky to hold my attention. Alien: Blackout does nail the look and feel of the franchise, but it stumbles as a game.

[Corporal Hicks]

https://www.bluemoongame.com/alien-blackout-prepare-your-spare-pants/

Honestly, I was a bit skeptic when this game was announced. I don't mind mobile games, but sometimes developers don't make the difference and the game can easily fail to fulfill the expectations. However, in this case, developers knew what they were doing and did it in the best possible way that was respectful to the Alien franchise and its fans.

https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2019/01/24/alien-blackout-review-ios-android/page/1/

Alien: Blackout is a short and moderately sweet distraction that isn't too insulting. It's fun for as long as it lasts, but it's not scary like an Alien experience should be. Managing the amount of power available is easy enough as there's a plethora of options, but controlling the crew can be a hassle as they don't always respond, and they often run around like headless chickens when ordered to hide. If the game was a PC title rather than a mobile exclusive, the jumpscares would've been effective rather than pretty poor game over transitions. Basically, Alien: Blackout is Five Nights At Freddies in space, on mobile, and without the famous jumpscares everyone used to laugh at on YouTube.

[Corporal Hicks]

https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/28/alien-blackout-review-mobile-isolation-8400257/

In Short: Shallow and repetitive it might be, but this new mobile game can prove surprisingly tense and recreates the atmosphere of the first film very well.

Pros: Great graphics and voiceovers, that demonstrate a clear understanding of the original film's appeal. The tactical options may be limited but they knit together well and can be genuinely scary.

Cons: Slow-paced, shallow, and repetitive gameplay will barely hold your attention till the end. Too expensive, with little replay value.

Score: 6/10

[Hudson]

I really enjoyed this one, because while the conventions of this guy's interviews involve him regularly flying off the handle, his reviews of other Alien games have indicated he's a loyal and dedicated fan of the franchise and I find his opinions sincere. Although the part where his iPad dies makes no sense to me. Can't he just plug it in...?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Y-AsjTWlc

[SoggyDonutLV426]

I agree with both the positive and the mixed reviews, but the negative review seems a little ridiculous to me. I never felt so detached from the game that I could simply "drum my fingers" as I wait for a character to get to the next location. I'm too busy clicking through camera feeds and making plans for how I can corral the alien in a certain part of the map. Much like Isolation, this game will be more appreciated by fans of the franchise. That's natural. The only real frustration I have with the game is that I can't ever figure out which side the alien is entering into Ripley's vent, so I end up closing the wrong vent half the time. Maybe I just suck at these types of games (never played FNAF), lol, but it seems a bit random, and I don't like dying over and over again without being given a chance to learn or improve because of those deaths. If there are audio cues alerting me about which vent it's coming through, I'm not hearing them.

[skull-splitter]

Clunky interface, no tutorial so vertical learning curve. I'll have to try it more relaxed, but still...

[Corporal Hicks]

Alien: Blackout successfully follows the Five Nights at Freddy's formula with an authentic Alien style, complete with surprisingly well-done voice acting and xenomorph animations when things go wrong. However, once you've learned the ropes and figured out how to exploit the alien's AI it becomes much less interesting, and there's no reason to revisit it.

https://uk.ign.com/articles/2019/01/30/alien-blackout-review

Alien: Blackout is a cleverly crafted piece of work that shapes itself around the limitations of its mobile canvas, and then it takes ownership of its boundaries with uncanny confidence. As a total package, it is miles ahead of anything a straight Alien: Isolation mobile port would've been, and it is a strong enough concept to stand on its own as a separate game series.

So much so that I was left wanting more, which is one of the few negative things you want being said about a game. There's a blip in the pacing towards the end, and it could help to have adjustable difficulty, but these are minor things. Alien: Blackout is an amazing hour or two of horror-puzzle entertainment. Grab a pair of headphones, cozy up in a dark corner somewhere, and toss five bucks at this game already.

Alien: Blackout review — This is how you do a mobile spinoff