Game News Aliens: Dark Descent, Focus’s game is not necessarily what you think
Revealed during the first minutes of Summer Game Fest 2022, Aliens: Dark Descent blew hot and cold during its presentation. The public first believed in a sequel to Alien Isolation, before thinking of being in front of a top-down shooter because of the last seconds of the trailer. In reality, the game published by Focus will be a survival game in isometric view with a considerable strategic/tactical dimension. It’s time to check his motion detector…
Aliens reveal themselves
The least we can say is that the Aliens: Dark Descent trailer misled quite a few players when it was shown at Summer Game Fest 2022. It must be recognized that the few gameplay excerpts shown at the end of the video generated more questions than answers. In order to bring more clarity to the situation, Focus Entertainment has published a press release providing some details while updating the title’s Steam page.
On the side of the scenario, the player will find himself at the head of a squad of colonial marines trapped on Moon Lethe, with the mission of annihilating the Xenomorphs present but also of repelling the deserters of Wayland-Yutani. Rather than opting for an action-packed FPS/TPS, the developers at Tindalos Interactive chose real-time tactical combat to tell this story.. It is therefore neither a top-down shooter nor a turn-based tactical-RPG.
Leader of his armed group, the player will be able to survey levels that we are assured “vast” and “open”. But be careful, you will have to proceed with caution: with a permanent death system, Aliens: Dark Descent will leave little room for error. The player’s objectives will therefore be to secure areas, to cover his back by sealing doors, but also to watch over his enemies thanks to motion detectors to be placed in a persistent world, “where actions impact levels permanently” we are told.
The choice of souls
A good commander would be nothing without seasoned soldiers ready to accompany him to Hell! This is why Aliens: Dark Descent will offer to choose its warriors according to five classes, warriors that it will be possible to improve and specialize, and with their own skills and abilities (for dozens of possible combinations depending on the studio) . The Focus software will also integrate basic management with repair, resource management, and research to be carried out in order to develop new technologies that will be useful to the squad.
Regarding the bestiary, the player will face classic Xenomorphs, Facehuggers, Praetorians, the Queen or even corrupt mercenaries. We’re also promised an entirely new threat to the Alien universe, yet unknown at the time of this writing. In addition to the choices to be made in the movement of his troops, the player will have the mission to ensure the physical and mental health of his soldiers. Yes, we’re a far cry from the 100% action game the trailer seemed to be selling.
Aliens: Dark Descent, developed by Tindalos Interactive and published by Focus Entertainment, will be released for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2023.
About the Summer Game Fest
What is Summer Game Fest?
No E3 this year, but we can still count on another world-class event: the Summer Game Fest, a big show dedicated to announcements of video games to come this year or the following years. It was in 2020 that journalist and host Geoff Keighley launched this now unmissable festival for the first time. Last year, the show featured stunning images from Elden Ring; so inevitably, the third iteration raises high expectations.
When does Summer Game Fest 2022 start?
The Summer Game Fest is this Thursday, June 9 at 8 p.m. The show will once again be followed by a Day of the Devs session devoted to the independent scene.
How to follow the Summer Game Fest 2022?
On JV, we will react live to announcements from the LeStream channel alongside Maxildan and Aymeric Lallée in particular. The show will also be directly visible as a teaser on JV’s homepage. And for those who prefer reading, you will of course find our news throughout the conference. A written summary will also be available
What is the program for Summer Game Fest 2022?
Among the games not to miss, there is in particular the heir to Dead Space, The Callisto Protocol, which shows us its first gameplay images. For its part Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 presents us with its first level. Also on the program: Gotham Knights, Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, the first game from Aaryn Flynn’s studio (ex-Bioware) Nightingale, the JRPG One Piece Odyssey, the free-to-play Warframe or even Planet of Lana. Geoff Keighley further announced: “We have a few new game announcements for this show and hopefully a few surprises if all holds together. But it’s definitely a show that mostly focuses on things that are foretold.”
