So, I've been playing this for the better part of today. My impressions about 4-5 hours in (not including all the backtracking and death resets.)
It's pretty awesome. Excellent tension, PERFECT audio effects and the visuals are great.
I normally love survival horror games but this one is really intense. If you are a person that likes survival horror for the tension and fear elements, this is definitely one to pick up.
It's one of those games people say you should play with the lights off and with nothing else going on in the room. It needs to be quiet and dark so you can allow the visual and audio stimuli of the experience to sink their claws in.
The game has a wonderful balance of fast pace and methodical stealth. If you run too fast and draw too much attention, the alien will hear you. If you move too slow, you're giving it plenty of time to hunt you. Also, if you use the same hiding spots too often, it will learn and find you anyway. You won't always be able to hide somewhere and wait for it to leave. It seems that once it's on to you, there is no way to avoid it until you leave that zone. It's activity doesn't feel scripted except for its first appearance, which is triggered when you interact with a certain computer to complete an objective. Other than that, it feels very organic and random.
This game does not hold your hand. Other than the occasional message on the display telling you how a control works, you get nothing. This is an absolute virtue and should be praised.
There are other adversaries as well, and most of them can't be reasoned with. Other survivors, looters and even primitive androids called Working Joes that are supposed to work the computers and handle the administration responsibilities are also out there, and it seens they've been repurposed to keep you from going to places where their master doesn't want you.
So far, the only caveats I have are that the framerate during the cutscenes is very choppy, as though the game is loading the next stage at the same time and for some reason, my PS4 (!) can't handle all that activity at once. It's a pretty inexcusable shortcoming for the game, but it's only one small aspect of an otherwise great experience.
My other quibble is the use of Amanda Ripley as the protagonist. Look, I like Ellen Ripley just fine and she was great in the first three flicks, but playing as her daughter and finding yourself in almost the exact same situation as in the first movie has a very 'small galaxy' feel to it. What's next, you find out that she eventually had a baby that will one day turn out to be Carter Burke's mother? Did she create C-3PO?
I don't hate Amanda. She's a pretty cool protagonist so far (Anita Sarkeesian should play this game and, oh yeah, remember that ELLEN RIPLEY was the heroine in all four Alien films). And I suppose there is some cache associated with hearing the name 'Ripley' spoken through the course of the game, and I'm presuming this is why they chose her. Again, just another minor flaw that lends a slight bit of incredulity to the whole thing.
Overall, however, my complaints to this point are very minor and haven't really detracted from the experience as a whole.
If you love Alien, if you love first person stealth, if you love horror, get the game. Either now or during a sale. But do yourself a favor if you are fan of any of these things and find a way to play it.
