Exactly, a really underdeveloped part of the expanded universe is the haunting the survivors would face.
I completely agree and believe every survivor of an Alien encounter should suffer from horrible PTSD or other mental traumas.
It's hilarious how that was an established thing since Aliens yet it's ignored most of the time. Ripley was always levelheaded yet she was broken by her first encounter with the creature.
IMO that's how you make the Alien feel scary and powerful, not by making it invincible and a bullet sponge, not even just by showing it do actual massive damage to it's opponents and environment, but by the reactions of the people while they're encountering the creature and especially after, if they survived.
There needs to be some emotional and mental scars left if you survive. And it has to be conveyed convincingly. Story wise, you as character need to pay a price for surviving it.
Thinking out loud, that's probably another reason why I enjoy the first 3 films as much as I do. When we think about it, all of the characters have extremely visceral and haunting reactions when they're faced with the Alien.
In Alien, all of the characters show panic in an intense way, amplified by the score when they meet their demise.
In Aliens, Ripley is devastated and in extreme mental pain all up to the Chestburster victim popping. The marines are horrified and their sheer terror is brilliantly acted.
In Alien 3, the convicts do the same. They really express how terrified they are in their last moments. Except Ripley which I give a pass for since she's probably going through a stage of grief.
These moments and types of reactions are prevalent in the first 3 films. And while they're not completely gone, they are so much rarer in further instalments.
In Alien: Resurrection, the only such moment was the underwater scene. In Covenant it was the very first Neomorph brith and attack scene. In Romulus it was the whole lead up to the first Chestburster reveal, with that culminating scream.
With all of these moments, you're aware of that something actually traumatic is happening to the characters, it's actually convincing in those moments. And if they would've survived, you can imagine the trauma they would have to live with.
That's exactly why in AvP2 Dr Eisenberg's intro/flashback works brilliantly as well.
The first comcis played with the trauma and dreams (though having them be directly from the creatures messing with you could be a bit too on the nose for some), and how the characters would actually break in these situations. Those first comcis didn't forget that important aspect. But the later comcis, novels and a lot of the games completely forget to play with that aspect. It doesn't matter if the character is well armed or not, everyone should feel the terror when the Alien's face is inches away from yours. And the survivor's should have lifelong consequences after. That's also probably why I don't like the repeated use of characters here, not only cause it's improbable that they would've survived the Aliens for so long, but most likely because the nightmares and PTSD are so downplayed and unconvincing, or it's straight up ignored of even existing.
