Last spring, I flew to Thailand to visit the set of Alien: Earth, the upcoming FX and Hulu TV series based on Ridley Scott's beloved series. As a horror fan, it was incredible to place myself in the middle of some iconic imagery from the series. A VR game like Alien: Rogue Incursion offers a similar promise: Immerse yourself in the world of Alien in a way no game has previously allowed--natively anyway, as Alien: Isolation does enjoy some player-made VR mods today. But Rogue Incursion can't quite capture the essence of the series for a multitude of reasons, but chief among them is a starring monster who feels suddenly toothless.
Alien: Rogue Incursion is a VR-only entry in the long history of video games based on Alien. Typically, those titled Alien--singular--look to the slow-paced original for inspiration, while those prefixed with the plural, Aliens, go for a more action-oriented take akin to James Cameron's sequel. That's the first oddity of Rogue Incursion. It's not necessarily beholden to this naming convention, but the game has you spraying-and-praying at so many Xenos that it feels more like an action game than the survival-horror experience you might expect.
This is despite the fact that the developers clearly looked toward Alien: Isolation for inspiration, from the look of the androids--which Creative Assembly had introduced to the mythology back in 2014--to the signature movement scanner that you can now physically pull from your inventory in VR. Isolation protagonist Amanda Ripley is even name-dropped at one moment, so it seems Rogue Incursion wants to harken back to its predecessor... until it doesn't.
Early on, the game feels prepared to move into that same space of creeping dread that made Isolation such a cult classic, but it doesn't take long to see why it couldn't really commit to that style: Here, the enemies just aren't the superintelligent hunters they're shown to be previously. My first encounter with a Xeno was lackluster, given protagonist Zula Hendricks is an AWOL Colonial Marine who has apparently already dealt with the Xenomorph threat. There was no build-up to the showdown. At one point, a Xenomorph just entered the room with me, I pointed my gun at them, and I killed them before they could kill me. Hendricks didn't seem to think much of it, but I wished she did.
For what's meant to be such a terrifying, nearly unkillable enemy, it felt far too easy, and that's despite the alien crawling around on the walls and ceiling in a way that felt hard to predict. Because ammo is scarce and aiming at a Xeno while they're scurrying around is liable to go poorly, I learned in this very first encounter to simply wait for the monster to eventually stand in front of me, at which point I unloaded my clip into them before they could pounce.
That's how most encounters go in the roughly four-hour game. I'd collect a new tool, like a blowtorch that could cut through the welded-shut door that had closed off a corridor, or I'd solve a puzzle, usually involving rearranging electrical circuits to open locked doors. An alien or a few would soon after interrupt my mission. I'd stand still while they approached me, and then I'd shoot them dead at point-blank range.
To try any other method was both a waste of ammo and making it too hard on myself. Why do anything but wait? Moving around before they approached just made things harder, too, so I learned to keep my shoulders pointed toward them, circling in place when I needed to, until they rolled out the red carpet and walked into my gunfire. There's no stealth element, no real sense of avoiding the danger to better your situation.
I could squint and see a better game at times. Some of the fun of VR, in general, is the tactile nature of gameplay. Pulling out my movement tracker, quickly switching to my sidearm when my rifle was empty, or interacting with the map held in my own hands to navigate the world are things that every VR game of this kind naturally offers, but it also remains enjoyable for me even years and many games into that experience, especially in settings close to my heart.
Thus, doing these things in an Alien setting should be foundationally interesting, even if not incredible, given the series' strong art direction. To a point, it was. Some moments gave me the same sense of place as being on the set of the TV series. But the game's atmosphere is held back on Quest 3, which can't offer the level of visuals from which Rogue Incursion benefits on other VR platforms like Steam VR and PSVR 2.
Shadows lack the intended (and, elsewhere, achieved) density, making lighting much less immersive. Visual clarity in the environments has been reduced to make it run on this particular headset. Everything looks fuzzier and less nuanced. Characters' faces are mushier. In the right setting, seeing a Xeno's massive head emerge from the darkness may well be petrifying, but on Quest, the mood suffers because the headset just can't oblige. Of course, even in a stronger atmosphere, it seems likely the encounters fall shy of the same (admittedly lofty) heights of the series' best efforts.
I didn't get to play those better versions of the game myself, mind you, so my comparisons only come via what I could see online, but I'm comfortable saying the platform's lower specs shortchange the game's Quest version. Maybe a Quest player who is an Alien fan understands and accepts that they're trading visual fidelity for wireless freedom, and I get that. I've run that calculus many times and come to the same conclusion. Quest is my preferred VR platform, but in this case, the thicker atmosphere would be worth the trouble of a wire hanging from your headset.
Though the Quest hinders the game's vital atmosphere and combat encounters aren't varied or deep enough to stay interesting, the story is definitely worthwhile--though it should be noted this is considered Part One, with a second half in development, so the game ends rather abruptly. Without delving into spoilers, there are plot points this game explores that are familiar to Alien devotees but will be seen here from new angles.
This extends to both Davis, the android crew companion, and some other unforgettable imagery that you'd know if you've seen the movies. The way Rogue Incursion takes these series staples and tweaks them to its advantage is very cool, and it makes sense that this becomes a strength of the experience, given it was written by Alex White, an author with two lauded Alien novels under their belt. The decision to cut the game in half seems like an odd one, but at least what's here now is narratively interesting enough to inspire dealing with the game's worse parts.
Alien: Rogue Incursion is perhaps a decent Alien game on some VR platforms, but if you're playing it on Quest 3, that should be because it's your only option and you really want to play it for yourself, much like playing an otherwise gorgeous game on the Switch because you prefer some of its unique features over visual fidelity. Even with better visuals on other headsets, Rogue Incursion would still suffer, given its lackluster monster encounters. The VR tools at your disposal are fun, albeit not novel, but more than anything, the game is best enjoyed on the merits of its story. If you're not willing or able to mod Alien: Isolation to play it in VR, then this is the de facto best Alien VR game available, but that doesn't exactly make it a good one.
