BUG RAPPORT
PC Gamer|October 2023
ALIENS: DARK DESCENT takes a more tactical approach to xenomorph blasting
Rick Lane
BUG RAPPORT

Many games have tried to replicate the slow burning tension and chaotic action of Aliens, but Dark Descent is the first game since Monolith's AvP 2 to really nail it. Developer Tindalos Interactive has thought intensely about how to get the best out of James Cameron's film in a virtual context, and their solution is a scintillating real-time tactics game that blends stealth, strategy, and nail-biting gunfights.

Dark Descent plays its weakest card first. The game takes place on Lethe, a xenomorph-infested moon owned by Weyland Yutani, and where the Marine frigate USS Otago has the misfortune to crash-land. The cause of the crash is detailed in a story-driven tutorial prologue, is a mess conflicts dialogue, a draining parasite that plagues the game thoughout.

Once stranded on Lethe, the stories you create compensate for but the script of forced and awkward dialogue, a draining parasite that plagues the game throughout.

Once stranded on Lethe, the stories you create compensate for the narrative shortcomings. Each mission sees you dispatch a four-person team of Marines to locations around Lethe, either to improve your situation or investigate why the Moon is overrun with bugs. The first takes you to a facsimile of Hadley's Hope named Dead Hills, a sprawling shake 'n' bake colony with numerous buildings laid out across multiple floors. There's a bar, an armoury, a clinic, a command centre, and underneath it all, a twisting warren of mining tunnels.

TACTICS GAMES

This story is from the October 2023 edition of PC Gamer.

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This story is from the October 2023 edition of PC Gamer.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.