Alien: Rogue Incursion - Part One

It’s fair to say that, like a lot of legacy series, Alien has had its fair share of ups and downs. But when it comes to the gaming space, the last decade has been quite fantastic! We’ve had the likes of Alien Isolation, which was a much-needed breath of life since 2013’s awful Colonial Marines spoiled the franchise. And since then, we have had the likes of Fireteam, Dark Descent, and finally, we have a game which Colonial Marines should have been with Alien: Rogue Incursion. Does it stack up with the greats of the franchise?


What is Alien: Rogue Incursion?

Alien: Rogue Incursion was a VR exclusive in 2024, but has been translated into a format more traditional and easily accessible. We take on the role of a rogue Colonial Marine named Zula Hendricks, who, with her trusty android companion Davis, is investigating a distress call on the remote planet of Purdan. Their ship crash-lands near a massive Weyland-Yutani blacksite, overrun by Xenomorphs.

It's time to use your wits and tools of the trade as a skilled engineer and soldier to survive the horrific nightmare deep within space. Rogue Incursion aims to bring one of the most immersive Alien experiences in gaming, with frights, intensity, and all that Alien goodness we can hope for!

This is the first part of the epic story, and indeed, it is a bloody brilliant first act!


The perfect organism

What we get is a tightly woven action-horror experience bringing together elements of survival horror and Metroidvania gameplay, all within a brilliantly crafted Alien environment. As Zula, we will traverse the mega-complex searching for clues, tools, and fighting off an invading Xenomorph army as it takes over. We’ll be crawling through vents, unwelding doors open, and roaming through nests with a pump-action shotgun. It’s the ultimate Alien fanfic in gaming, and it’s bloody amazing.

The vibes and atmosphere are absolutely on point, making this one of the most chilling and authentic Alien experiences I’ve played since Isolation. The dynamic lighting, the sound design, the world design, and small details all add up to a phenomenal journey that any fan will adore.

I loved every step I took on Purdan, but also had heavy, restless breath with the fear of Xenomorphs constantly on my mind. I was looking in every direction, at every open vent and constantly checking my scanner for that ever-dread-inducing beeping, and utterly paranoid about what would suddenly appear before me. The dynamic lighting and sound design tricked me, putting me on edge, making Rogue Incursion an exhilarating gaming joy through my 7-hour stay.

The combat is simple, yet effective, as blasting Xenomorphs is, again, joyous and thrilling. We have the staples of the franchise here with the Plasma rifle and heavy pump-action shotgun, making for some good Xenomorph carnage. The pacing of combat encounters, and the general randomness of where the enemies would appear kept the momentum going, and while there are only a couple of enemies to deal with, their unpredictable behaviours and the great level design meant there was never a dull moment.

I will admit, I did feel there was a sense of “floaty-ness” when firing my weapons, and the impact felt when striking a Xenomorph. There could have been more of a punch when enemies were hit, and less of that “VR vibe” in the general movement and gameplay. I still thoroughly enjoyed fighting, shooting, and running for my life otherwise, and this was due to a few other factors.  


In space, no one can see you play VR

Rogue Incursion is a nice infusion of familiar and lovable gameplay elements, with backtracking, key items leading to progression, risk and reward style exploration, and save rooms, which can be a haven from an overwhelming Xenomorph presence. This is an action game with strong horror vibes, and while playing it on the lower difficulties still presents a good sense of challenge. I would say you'd best play this on the harder ones to gain the most from what the developers had in mind.

You will be searching for resources, checking every corner, and praying for a safe room, even if it means a breather for just a minute. The combination of action, intense survival mechanics and gameplay elements brings about a truly magnificent gameplay loop.  And with the tight pacing that brings about a thrilling action set-piece, or a “nice” moment of exploration and discovery, you will surely feel that every minute is enjoyed immensely.

My only main gripes were seeing the odd visual bug or seeing the enemy AI not do what it should be doing. One moment during an intense siege saw a Xenomorph just chilling on the ceiling above, when he should have come down, thus ending the wave. This only happened once, but there is a small bit of jank where sometimes health items will float where you used them, and ragdoll effects look a little silly. And also, I wished there were some more meaningful items to find in exploration, such as weapon upgrades or useful gear to make me stronger. It didn’t matter overall, as exploration still felt vital. I truly wanted to find a hidden room/discovery and obtain something other than an audio-log … it was quite underwhelming.

But these were next to none regarding impact on my play time, as everything else was so damn good! Other elements, such as the level design, were so engaging, with exploring vents, dark rooms, and nests overcoming adding to the intensity. Never has crawling through a vent made me so anxious, really nailing the vibes from the films. And hot take, but I felt the level design was much better here than in Isolation, and while that game lives in my heart till the day I die, it never caught the true feeling of crawling through a vent in the Alien universe. Rogue Incursion felt just like the famous scene in the first film, second to none.

The only minor setback is that Rogue Incursion can feel a little “hand-holdy” as it always points or tells you very head-on where to go, with some points having a repeating reminder of what to do and where. It wasn’t so bad compared to other games, but the overuse of exploitation dialogue and reminders didn’t feel so natural. And the game does a wonderful job at getting you to be ruthless, and kicking into survival mode with the save rooms, and picking every bit of ammo you can find. Rogue Incursion does make up for some handholding with the compelling survival gameplay for sure.


Game over, man! Game over

While the gameplay is standout brilliant, I will admit the writing was where it was coming up short. Again, it’s still quite strong in places, but there’s an over-reliance on finding and reading documents (there’s an achievement for reading all 100 messages on the computer terminals throughout the game, and that’s not including other logs), and an abundance of exposition when a quiet moment or two would’ve worked.

At first, I wasn’t keen on Zula, but she grew on me as a meaningful character when she revealed more of herself with Davis, becoming a wonderful pairing by the late game. I also found some of the darker thematic elements very disturbing and intriguing. I love that Weyland-Yutani never cease to amaze me in how awful they can truly be, and there’s some deeply twisted and fascinating stuff here to read on. But not much that is shown … but that could change in chapter 2?

The overuse of messages, where 90% of them are fodder, is infuriating! I truly dislike when games such as Alien Isolation do this, as it interrupts the flow quite a bit. The fewer notes and messages, just leave so much more impact. Just look at Resident Evil; they’ve done this right for the last 30 years, and yet no one else seems to know how to replicate. It’s quantity over quality for Rogue Incursion and other games, sadly.

The plot itself is fine, a typical Alien/horror affair with some neat twists and turns that kept things quite interesting. As I mentioned, there wasn’t anything standout-ish for this narrative, aside from some of the logs, but maybe there will be something much darker and bolder in chapter 2?


Overall?

Alien: Rogue Incursion took me by surprise, if I’m being honest with you. I liked the look of the trailer, and I’m a massive Aliens fan, but I had my doubts about whether this VR game could be translated into another form for a wider gaming audience.

And I’ll admit, I was wrong, very wrong to doubt the studio in the slightest. Rogue Incursion is a compelling and immense Alien experience that we have been sorely needing for quite some time. Everything from the level design, great attention to the Alien aesthetics, the tightness of the actions, and the survival horror vibes all equate to a fantastic gem of a game. And while there were some minor hiccups, these were overshadowed by the solid gameplay loop and the love for the Alien franchise in every small detail.

I can’t wait for chapter 2, and anyone, fan or not of the Alien franchise, should check out Alien: Rogue Incursion right away!

+++ Fantastic gameplay loop combining action and survival horror
++ Beautiful Alien aesthetics, world building, and vibes
++ Great sound design, lighting, and very scary!
+ Excellent level design, setpieces, and puzzles

- The writing can be a little lacking
- Exploration could have brought about more interesting rewards
- Way too many documents to bother reading


A PS5 review key for Alien: Rouge Incursion - Part One was kindly provided by publisher Survios