It seems odd to describe Ridley Scott's version of the future as 'retro' but there's really no other word for it. The world of Alien is one where space travel is the norm but smartphones, holograms and LCDs are unheard of. It's a grounded vision built using only the technology available at the time, yet one that went on to influence countless movies that followed it. The interior of the Nostromo itself, as complex as the biological design of Giger's xenomorph, has had an enduring legacy.
And still, to date, no one's quite managed to translate Alien to the videogame format; James Cameron's sequel has understandably lent itself far better to the medium, though with arguably less brilliant results (no one mention Colonial Marines).
So enter The Creative Assembly, who are here to prove that it can be done by building the world of Alien: Isolation on the same foundations as Scott's - a 70s aesthetic, a dark, threatening soundtrack, and an overpowering and pant-soakingly scary foe.
This is a nostalgic world. One of chunky analogue buttons, not touchscreens. One of CRT, not LCD. One where your most essential tool, the motion tracker, is frustratingly limited in scope and usability. These intentional technological limitations are core to what makes Isolation feel like the Alien game we've long been waiting for.
But it wasn't just a case of placing the odd Apple II around to retain the film's consistency. From the distortion of the familiar 20th Century Fox logo at the start of the game to stripping back the game's UI, every effort has been put in to make this feel like a true homage to Alien's lo-fi world. "We really like that glitchy feel, so we tried to incorporate that," says Creative Lead Alistair Hope. "We did that physically with VCR, using magnets and crushing cables. So we took our assets, filmed those onto a VHS tape, and then played the VHS tape back through a standard-def goldfish bowl TV.
"We filmed that, and then as we were filming it we used magnets around the sides of the TV and crushed cables to get those glitches texturally. When we tried digital effects, they were ok but they didn't give us what we were after."
That said, from the brief intro spent on The Torrens (Amanda Ripley's starship), the game is filled with plenty of 70s tech trinkets and throwbacks. Old tape recorders, CRT monitors, arcade machines and telephone receivers litter the bowels of the Sevastopol space station.
Xenophobia
The alien is always there. Somewhere. You can shoot it. You can torch it with a flamethrower. Hell, you can go and smack the bastard if you've the guts. But you'll never kill it (though it can and will kill you). You can only try to outwit it, and that's not as easy as you might think. It adapts, you see. "You throw one flare… if you're lucky the alien will go and investigate allowing you to navigate your way around," Hope tells us. "Do it again, it might happen. Do it again and it probably won't happen. It will realise there's someone there throwing flares around."
But as the alien AI adapts to your behaviour, you in turn can try to outsmart it. "I don't know about outsmart, but outsurvive," Hope corrects us. "By constantly changing, moment to moment, making the right decision. Even as something as simple as 'should I stay or should I go?'. Each action has a consequence.
"With the motion tracker blurring the background, we wanted every action to have a risk associated, so the motion tracker gives you information on the box but we take away information in the background. There's no one magic bullet."
Ridley Scott's world may be built from the technology of four decades ago, but our's is not. So Alien: Isolation makes use of the PS4 and Xbox One hardware. Breathe too loudly and the alien will hear you through Kinect or the PlayStation Camera; switch on the head tracker and you'll be able to peek around corners to discover if your nemesis has disappeared back into the air vents - or if its just centimetres away, toying with you.
But appropriately, Isolation's best scare tool is also its simplest. The PS4's DualShock light bar blinks along to the motion detector, which is downright terrifying when you're playing in the dark (which we strongly recommend).
Then there's the opportunity for virtual reality. A portion of the game was demoed with Oculus Rift back at E3 2014, but Hope tells us that they're still working things out. "For us, it's our first steps into VR. We need to figure out where we go from there. We tried this thing, it was really cool and we're so pleased people liked it, but we need to figure out what it means." It's neither a yes or a no, but The Creative Assembly leave us with a feeling of 'watch this space'.
Audio resurrection
When you play Alien: Isolation, it's hard not to wonder why no one's tried taking the franchise back to its roots like this before. "It feels like no one really tapped into that," says Hope. "But it's so unique. It's weird, because I think a lot of games have been influenced by it, like Metroid, famously so. Everyone is focused on the alien experience, but no one's really tapped into that."
Which brings us to the other essential ingredient: sound. Jerry Goldsmith's original score was celebrated for avoiding narrative themes and instead focusing on providing a dark, dissonant soundscape - another hallmark that The Creative Assembly has honoured with Isolation.
"I was really adamant when we started that audio is such a massive part of any horror experience and Alien has its own distinct sound," Hope tells us. "It's a very tangible, physical world. But at the same time it has its lo-fi sci-fi 70s sound as well as the machines and technology.
"Then you've got Goldsmith's score which is a signature element. And we were really fortunate to work with his estate and licence the music, and so that's been weaved into the experience as well. So audio is a massive part of the experience."
Alien is a film about birth. From the moment the crew are awoken from stasis by the ship's computer, "mother", to the more obvious maternal metaphors in the iconic Chestburster scene. It feels appropriate that Isolation is one of several games to help mark the rebirth of a genre.
This is a game that is survival horror at its most essential. You are alone. You are vulnerable. Nothing you possess can kill this thing. Sure, maybe you can craft yourself a nice little EMP from some trinkets you found lying around the place. But that's little comfort when you're hiding under a table, desperately holding your breath as the gangly leg of Giger's creation stands just inches from your face.
As Hope puts it, "It's a world where technology won't save you."
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