Alien: Rogue Incursion Part One Evolved Edition Review

[Reviewed on PlayStation 5]

When we reviewed Alien: Rogue Incursion late last year, we quite enjoyed it as the first full VR Alien game. Developer Survios created a well-crafted and authentic Alien experience which I had a great time with. We were asking about a non-VR version since before that release, as it’s something I was personally hoping for as an option, but also so the game could reach a wider audience. It seems like Survios heard those requests with this new non-VR Evolved Edition of the game. So how does this new version stack up in a standard format?

I feel like Survios has made the transition of the game from VR to non-VR very nicely and Evolved Edition is a great way to experience the game. Rogue Incursion doesn’t feel like a game that was just haphazardly ported from VR, but rather one that’s been well-adjusted to become a solid first-person survival horror. The FPS gunplay is also fast-paced and thrilling. I think those who have previously experienced the game in VR will appreciate the option to play without it, and new players will get a new Alien game they may have felt they missed out on last year.

Captured on PC – Virtual Photography Credit: RidgeTop

From the moment you exit your lander ship, appropriately named “The Defiance,” and step onto the dark and stormy surface of Purdan with a massive atmosphere processor in the distance, it’s clear that this game nails the atmosphere of exploring a colony gone dark. This eerie feeling only increases as you enter and explore the facility of Castor’s Cradle. Like another fantastic game of the franchise, Tindalos’ Aliens: Dark Descent, Alien: Rogue Incursion gets the Aliens-authentic balance of horror and action right. The game is the first Alien title created in Unreal Engine 5, and graphically it’s quite impressive. The fog, flickering lights, and subtle sounds of Xenomorphs scuttling as they try to find you really can build some tension. If a Xenomorph does get to you while your health is down, you’ll be face to face with an intense and gruesome death animation.

Sarah Barone’s dynamic musical score is also great. There’s a lot of ambience, with more intense tracks coming in as a fight occurs. The Deluxe Edition of the game comes with the soundtrack, and though it has unfortunately not been released outside of that, it really should be, as it’s quite fantastic and really brings together the atmosphere of Dread. The track of “Zula Hendricks” which plays during the credit roll was probably my favorite.

Captured on PlayStation 5

The core of what makes Rogue Incursion great remains its story, world, and characters. Zula Hendricks and her synthetic companion Davis 01 are played extraordinarily well by their voice talent of Andia Winslow and Robbie Daymond. These two and their dynamic is the heart of the story, and they feel authentically brought to life from their tales in the expanded universe. There’s also allusions to Alien: Isolation, making me wonder if Rogue Incursion Part Two might have some convergence with the upcoming sequel for that game. Speaking of Isolation, I feel that Survios have succeeded in channeling the spiritual successor energy they said they were going for, but Rogue Incursion also has its own identity as a survival horror where you are more empowered to fight back.

While we’re on the topic of survival horror, those who know me know that I love Resident Evil, and I was quite happy when Resident Evil 7 was a return to form for that franchise and brought back the old school feeling of exploring an environment to discover its secrets and unlock new areas you previously couldn’t. It’s backtracking done right, and it’s something I also feel with this game. There’s really only one backtracking segment where you’re rerouting power for your ship and must go back to the far side of the facility that I considered a bit excessive. And like any true survival horror, even though you can fight back, you’re still counting your rounds and constantly searching for supplies. Old-school manual saving also adds to that tension. There’s also some hidden rooms which I’ll elaborate on shortly.

Captured on PlayStation 5

Though this is truly a “rogue incursion” as you really don’t have interactions with other characters through the story beyond Davis 01, the dark facility of Castor’s Cradle itself becomes somewhat of a character. Enticing with its mystery where you learn more of the people who lived here, their frustrations with the company and how things ultimately fell apart. You can tell that Writer Alex White really took their time in crafting a well-thought out world which feels naturally part of the Alien Universe. I found myself reading through emails on the various terminals to learn more about the interactions of the facility’s ill fated residents. You just gotta watch your back as you never know when a Xenomorph might rudely interrupt you.

There’s also the audio logs, which give further story clues and are nicely voice acted. I didn’t realize this on my earlier play-throughs, but the audio logs you find on drives are actually part of series of plot threads. If you find all of the drives in an intel chain, you can unlock one of a few secret rooms. So far I’ve only gotten into the Employee Lounge which is accessed from the outside. I’ll have to keep searching to see what other rooms I’ve yet to explore.

Though there are some secrets, one of my main issues with the game is a lack of replayability and variety in its content. For a game that nails the atmosphere and story so well… just having your standard Xenomorph warrior as the main enemy type, with the only others being facehuggers and the final boss encounter, feels a bit too slim. There are limited weapons too: the pulse rifle, shotgun, grenades, and revolver. I guess you might actually count your plasma torch as another one, as I impulsively attacked an Alien with it. I found the shotgun and grenades to be my go-to choices.

I really think the game could’ve benefited from additional weaponry, upgrades, and more enemy types, and I hope we see those in Part Two. I think extra unlockables like a model viewer, or other replayability factors such as a horde/survival mode could’ve helped too. And given how impressive this game looks in Unreal Engine 5, I really must insist that an Alien game add an official photo mode already, so I don’t have to keep resorting to third party tools.

Captured on PC – Virtual Photography Credit: RidgeTop

Though my experience of overly-persistent Xenomorph encounters have seemingly reduced in both versions of the game, in the final location of the story they still kept showing up quite a bit on what felt like a timer. While I felt this was a problem in the second half of the original game, I really only noticed it being too much during the end sequence now. Overall the Xenomorphs do make for intense encounters, and I really love the way they look, a frightening incarnation based on the designs of the second film.

The hive of the creatures is also one of the most creepy and immersive ones I’ve seen since Alien: Isolation, and the in-your-face sequences there remain a standout of this campaign. I also started playing the PC version a bit, and in my experience it also runs quite well. I was able to crank up the graphics even higher to “epic” settings, and this really brought the game to the best level of fidelity that I’ve seen it. I didn’t run into too many bugs, though some were indeed encountered. While most of them were silly model floating or twitching instances, one later in the game prevented me from progressing where an alert lockdown wouldn’t life and I had to reload my save. I imagine those will likely be fixed up in short order with patches.

The achievements for the game can also be a bit fun and cheeky. I’ve gotten a few already by just messing around, so it’s nice to see that the developers expected some of this. While I was so impressed with the physicality of the VR version, actions from that have been adapted for Evolved Edition well. You can select your weapons from a weapon wheel using the shoulder button. Instead of reaching for something on your body as you would in VR, your D-Pad is used for quick selecting essential items such as your flashlight, motion tracker, and Armat data tablet. I was a bit worried about the data tablet in particular as it was so involved in VR, but I found it easy to navigate here regardless.

Last year when we reviewed the VR version of Alien: Rogue Incursion, we gave the game a 7.5 out of 10, but for Evolved Edition, I’m bumping that up a bit. With the exception of the final location of the game, I feel that overall the Xenomorphs excessively pursuing me during exploration was toned down enough and that was really my main complaint with the VR version. I also feel that the game has translated to a solid FPS experience, with the boosted Alien aggression exciting to go up against. Having spent more time with the game, I’ve also become more familiar with its secrets and and logs which really flesh out the world beyond what I originally realized.

Survios has built a solid foundation with Alien: Rogue Incursion Part One Evolved Edition, and now that I’ve finished the game both in and out of VR, I really can’t wait to see what else is in store for Zula and Davis in the depths of the Castor’s Cradle research facility. I also hope that Survios can use this foundation to pay off some of the mysteries that have been set up in Part One, and expand on elements that were missing in this game. Adding more weapons, upgrades, enemy types, characters, and new locations could really make Part Two one of the greats when it comes to Alien games. Though you can’t beat VR in terms of immersion, Evolved Edition is a compelling survival-horror fps, and a fantastic journey into the Alien Universe. For that, I award the game an 8 out of 10.

I’d like to thank Survios for providing us copies of the game to review. For more information on Alien: Rogue Incursion, check out our interview with developers TQ Jefferson & Eugene Elkin of Survios, our original review of the VR version of the game, and our early gameplay impressions of this Evolved Edition.

Alien: Rogue Incursion Part One Evolved Edition is now available for PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.