My review:
The Good:
1: An Aliens RTST (Real Time Squad Tactics)/RTS Game, we finally got one ( No, Extinction is AvP, a different franchise.).
2: Actually captures the feel of "Aliens". Suck it, Randy Bitchfork and Gearbox.
3: Controls are simple and intuitive.
4: The Story is freakin' neat. The Characters have a place and reason to be there.
5: Level Design is just freakin' great, probably the best part of the game.
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The Bad:
1: All marines look like presets from Dark Souls 1 for faces or have some kind of genetic deformities...
2: The game isn't hard, at all. Why? Because even on Nightmare, once you realize you have infinite MTs, Mines, Rockets, an APC turret, and all that. Because of "Command Points".. You realize the Devs gave you a lot of Infinity-Crutches. The moment you realize this, all the fear factor dies with this realization.
3: The game OVERLY holds your hands. From a big red circle around ambush vents, to being able to just box up with no worries. Not to mention, even if you select to skip the Tutorial, you still get handheld on the first mission in Dead Hills as the games second "Tutorial".
3b: YOur motion tracker is godly. 60 meters, through walls and rock, and never ever falters nor ever gives errors. Nor are there ever any environmental hazards that'll cause gear to malfunction. You don't even need the Deployable ones since the one your squad has already takes up a large range...
3c: Even on Nightmare, the game is very forgiving. All nightmare does is lessen deathclock days, makes aggression rise faster, and adds HP to enemies because hey, it's the lazy way to add "Difficulty"
3d: You can waste 2000+ days and much more to pass days for resources, recruits, samples, etc. The game only gets timed when you complete a mission to start the Death Clock.
3e: Infestation Level can be maxed out and it really doesn't change anything. It's like the devs are scared to really have an "Infestation".
3f: Aggression is only useful for grinding XP. Xenomorphs will NEVER learn to adapt to your playstyle, and thus you can just cheese them forever...
4: If you're used to games like this the game is about 30ish hours including all side missions and gathering PDAs, and is a One Shot story. While I love the story, it's way too short.
5: It's 2023, and no official modding tools because 20th Foxney hates money and hates the fanbase. Yes yes, I know, Mr.Disney reading this "You're scared of modders stealing assets". Well Mod tools aren't needed to do that, and Modders really just want to make things like new maps, weapons, classes, expanded mission zones. Official Mod Support = WAY more money in your pocket. So stop this madness.
6: Devs and Publisher refuse to give any answers on what's next. No Yes or No's. We don't know if there will be an expansion, a second game, or... If like Isolation "The good game didn't make enough money so just let it die".. Nothing. Is it just me, or is 20th Foxney overly protective and always pick teams that are scared of simple communication?
7: Adding more HP to enemies isn't real difficulty, it's silly. But this is how Nightmare is. Just more HP and faster aggression. No upped intelligence, no adaptations, no new variables, nothing that will challenge your tactics at all.
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Final Statement...
Aliens: Dark Descent is probably THE best "Aliens" title of a game I've played in well over a decade. It actually feels "Aliens" in both story and atmosphere when on your first playthrough going in blind. The Developers clearly cared for this title, and put a lot of love into it. You can tell this just how the world is designed.
But, that's the one shot. Once you complete it, there's not much else to it. But at least it's more Aliens than AFE (Which is a great Arcade Game) and A:CM (Which was such a failure, Michael Bein said it "Working on Colonial Marines wasn't fun at all")..
overall score: 7/10. PC experience hasn't had many bugs, a couple of patches a month apart took care of the gamebreakers. But the game loses it's "Feeling" and challenge very fast. Yet another "Safe Bet" game like AFE, no risk, quick cash for Foxney.
If you love Aliens the movie, you will probably love this game. Enjoy.
P.S: Why does the main character have a Giraffe Neck? Don't get me wrong, I love Hayes, she's an alright written character. But.. Lordy, that neck made me wonder if that was a bugged model or glitch lol.
