Alien: Isolation is less a game and more a stress test cleverly disguised as entertainment. You’re Ripley’s daughter, stuck on Sevastopol Station, where the décor screams “abandoned IKEA showroom” and the Xenomorph is basically customer service: always listening, never helpful.

Unlike most survival games I cover, you don’t worry about thirst or hunger here. Instead, the main resource is sanity — yours.

Atmosphere: Terror in a Vent

• Every door creaks like it’s auditioning for a horror movie.
• Every vent promises either salvation or a sudden teeth-through-face moment.
• And every “Working Joe” android is somehow scarier than the actual Alien — because they talk like Siri with a grudge.

Sound design is your worst enemy and your only guide. A hiss in the vents, the clatter of footsteps, or the flat monotone of an android in the dark can flip a calm moment into pure panic. On Switch, the claustrophobic corridors look surprisingly sharp. On Deck, headphones turn every noise into a personal heart attack.

The Alien’s AI: A Predator With a PhD in Stress

The Xenomorph isn’t on rails — it’s guided by AI that feels unsettlingly alive. It hears, it searches, it learns. Hide in lockers too often and it’ll start checking them. Sprint once in the wrong corridor and it’s already on its way.

This isn’t a monster with a set routine — it’s a roommate who knows you’re in the house and has all night to find you. Survival here isn’t about brute force; it’s about patience, timing, and praying the motion tracker isn’t lying.

Controls & Playability

Switch edition plays well, but sneaking around with Joy-Cons feels like defusing a bomb with chopsticks. The Steam Deck offers smoother aiming, but crouch-walking everywhere still makes you feel like you’re auditioning for Alien on Ice.

Top survival mechanic: the motion tracker. It’s your only friend, unless you count the flamethrower (which is basically a very angry lighter until you upgrade it).

Difficulty & Replayability

Even on easier difficulties, death is never far away. Permadeath bloggers (hello, it’s me) will find this game is less about if you die, and more about how many times the Alien will humiliate you in one evening.

Replay value is high if you like being stalked endlessly. Low if you prefer sleeping soundly at night.

Verdict: 4.5 Panic Attacks out of 5

Alien: Isolation is survival horror done right. It captures the helplessness of being prey and makes every save point feel like a religious pilgrimage.

If you want to experience the thrill of permadeath with none of the outdoorsy frostbite, this is the game for you.

Survivor’s Notes

• Best Moment: Finally torching the Alien with a flamethrower… and realising it only makes it angrier.
• Worst Moment: Walking into a room full of Working Joes and remembering I don’t have bullets, just optimism.
• Switch Verdict: Totally playable handheld, though crouch-walking with Joy-Cons is like performing surgery with oven mitts.
• Steam Deck Verdict: Gorgeous, terrifying, and highly portable panic attacks.
• Immersion Factor: Play in the dark with headphones if you want maximum terror — or in broad daylight with the volume low if you ever want to sleep again.

More from Survivor Incognito

• Survivor’s Review Hub — all reviews in one place.
• The Long Dark Hub — freeze instead of scream.
• Isolation Protocol Diaries — my ongoing Alien: Isolation permadeath run.
• Survivor Incognito Home — where chaos is portable.