Unveiling the Terrifying Depths: Aliens: Dark Descent Unraveled

Aliens: Dark Descent is a game that has its strengths and interesting concepts. However, it often hinders its own progress, despite its accomplishments. While the gameplay offers thrilling and exciting action, technical issues, slow exploration, and excessive waiting time hold it back. Nevertheless, if players persevere, they will find a satisfying and tactical experience on the other side.

Within the collection of Aliens video games, there have been several lackluster additions. Although there are a few standout titles like Alien Isolation, which impresses with its exceptional Xenomorph AI, and the classic Aliens Vs. Predator games, most entries in the franchise have been disappointing. Despite this history, fans had high hopes for Dark Descent, and in many ways, their optimism has been justified, despite the game's flaws.

Aliens: Dark Descent takes place from the perspectives of two main characters. The first is Maeko Hayes, an administrator for Weyland-Yutani. The second is Jonas Harper, a Colonial Marine from the USS. These two individuals are brought together by an act of betrayal, which leads to a series of chaotic events. Eventually, they find themselves on a troubled moon known as Lethe. This moon is home to struggling mining colonies, where the residents are facing hardships. Meanwhile, a sinister group is emerging, with sinister intentions for Lethe and its inhabitants.

The game is divided into two primary modes: missions on the Xenomorph-infested planet and activities back at the Otago (the crashed ship) where players can heal marines and develop upgrades. However, unlike XCOM with its extensive base customization, this game disappoints in that regard. There are only five static departments for actions such as healing, training, and weapon development, which remain the same throughout the game, except for a few early story beats that unlock new actions. Even without comparing it to XCOM, time spent on the Otago feels mundane.

The majority of gameplay is spent on deployments, primarily on Lethe's surface. Before a mission begins, the player chooses four marines and equips them with kits, along with squad-wide resources like medkits, sentry guns, and versatile tools. The marines start as rookies and can specialize into one of five roles as they level up. Each marine also has a negative trait, such as being "unfit," which reduces their maximum health. These traits add complexity to team composition, and balancing the team becomes a mini-game in itself. As the game progresses, upgrade options enhance this balancing act, allowing for strategic decision-making and effective groupings.

Missions in Aliens: Dark Descent involve players pursuing objective markers and engaging in combat with enemy units. However, it is often more strategic to avoid detection. The significance of the quest markers and their context is easily overlooked, as they do not hold much importance in the actual actions of the characters. The story progresses through cutscenes between missions, making the moment-to-moment details of the gameplay less significant. Fortunately, all progress is saved if a squad needs to retreat before completing the deployment, and there will be occasions where retreating is the optimal choice.

When an alien spots the team, the "Alien Aggression" rating begins to increase. The rating progresses from easy to medium to hard, determining the number of Xenomorphs that will be present. If the aliens have a direct line of sight on the marines, they are classified as "Detected" until the Xenomorph is eliminated or the marines escape. Once they are no longer detected, the squad enters a "Hunted" state, which gradually diminishes as long as they remain unseen. During the Detected and Hunted stages, the Alien Aggression meter continues to rise, pausing only when the hunting phase subsides.

As the marines encounter more Xenomorphs, their stress levels will escalate. Once it reaches 100%, a random stress effect is applied to each unit. The stress then carries over to the next level and resets back to 0%. If left unaddressed, the stress will continue to increase, once again reaching 100% and adding another effect. To alleviate stress in Aliens: Dark Descent, the squad can utilize a resource to securely seal certain doors, creating a safe room where they can rest. Resting not only alleviates stress, but also allows for saving the game and offers various other benefits that can be enhanced with upgrades. Discovering these rooms is always a relief and serves as an excellent opportunity for the team to regroup after intense encounters.

A helpful map displays the movement of numerous enemies within a specific radius of the squad, enabling extensive tactical planning. The squad possesses an initial ability to deploy a sensor that unveils enemies within its vicinity, even if the squad has already moved on - a crucial tool in the player's arsenal. Regrettably, a significant amount of time is consumed fixating on this map, observing and awaiting the casual patrols of enemies. Techniques like laying mines in the path of a unit or diverting it off course with the Tecker's drone companion can expedite the process, but oftentimes, as soon as one unit is eliminated, another swiftly takes its place, resulting in additional periods of waiting or retracing one's steps.

The squad functions as a single entity, so giving them a directive will result in all of them moving together. When the order is to interact with objects like opening chests, the game automatically assigns one team member to handle it while the rest continue on their designated path. This is generally a useful feature as it eliminates the need to micromanage each individual character and ensures smooth progression. However, there are situations where maintaining control over the team's speed is vital. Clicking once will make them walk, while double-clicking will make them run. There are often lurking Xenomorphs in vents who may not immediately attack but will strike if the marines run past. Therefore, it is wise for players to exercise caution and opt to walk when unsure.

Regrettably, this cautious approach and the need to monitor enemies can significantly slow down the gameplay, and not in an engaging or strategic manner. At its worst, Aliens: Dark Descent descends into an uncomfortably slow pace, lacking the sense of urgency and tension that the most exceptional science fiction real-time tactics games successfully capture. Adding further to the sluggishness, players have the option to save survivors and recruit them to assist in the campaign, but this process can feel burdensome.

Aliens: Dark Descent truly shines when it embraces strategic planning. Unfortunately, there are instances where a baffling turn of events throws players off guard, leaving them frantically fighting off Xenomorphs with shotguns. However, the game excels at foreshadowing intense firefights, both indirectly and directly. These subtle cues provide players with the opportunity to carefully examine their surroundings and leverage their skills, equipment, and tactical foresight. There's an unparalleled sense of satisfaction derived from witnessing a swarm of Xenos march into a meticulously fortified stronghold armed with strategically placed mines and sentry guns.

Aliens: Dark Descent can be incredibly frustrating due to its numerous glitches and bugs. The game often fails to save progress correctly or create safe zones when needed. Furthermore, the "select" and "interact" inputs sometimes stop working, requiring a reload to fix the problem. Although a graphics driver release did address some issues, the game still has significant flaws.

Despite the potential for an engaging sci-fi storyline, Aliens: Dark Descent falls short and becomes nothing more than a simple point-and-click experience. Even without these shortcomings, the game is still hindered by various problems that prevent it from standing out. While it does offer some enjoyable gameplay mechanics and strategic possibilities, it ultimately fails to leave a lasting impression and is overshadowed by other Alien games.

Aliens: Dark Descent is a real-time strategy game developed by Tindalos. It takes place several decades after the events portrayed in the 1992 film Alien 3. The game is set on a moon station and involves challenging missions where squads of colonial marines face off against both Xenomorphs and human agents. With permadeath, character classes, customization options, and a stress mechanic, Aliens: Dark Descent offers a thrilling and immersive gaming experience.

Aliens: Dark Descent is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Game Rant was provided a PC code for this review.