I had to make a point of finishing this... this... TERRIFYING game! 9/10 Score!!! Get a good head set for the best experience. Sound is a must!

So I don't typically play a great deal of horror games, however I love the movies and the world that revolves around the protagonist Ripley. So with a chance to play as the Daughter of Ripley, Amanda, mentioned in the directors cut of Alien, I jumped on it like a Xenomorph with rabies... if they can even ge-- never mind! The point I want to make is if you love the movies? Then you need to play this!!!

The construction of the world is top tier. I can only imagine the time it took to painstakingly craft every item in the game to look like it came out of the movies. Simply the best callback to movies in games I can think of in recent years.

The story is cut from the same cloth as all the alien movies, and without spoiling anything you would be wise to adhere to the common knowledge of that world. You will find it difficult to advance confidently through the halls of the space station you are trapped in. No longer a human only territory and instead something ELSE's hunting ground, every turn of a corner is like a brush with death's shoulder... you almost expect him to look back at you... Only by wise management of resources chanced upon will you be prepared to face the horrors that await you... and dare I say it, even the most savvy players will find the intelligence of the A.I challenging without time to study it. NO MATTER WHAT! Know this... ESCAPE, is your best option.

MECHANICS
Okay now that my little story is over, lets delve into the mechanics. Just a quick note - Not going to talk about the AI of the alien specifically but it does learn throughout the game and is touched on below at points.

Crafting
This game has crafting, and although it seems tedious, really, you don't have to spend a great deal of time on it. You don't need to craft anything, you could probably get through the majority of the game just on crafting health kits and that it. However, everything else you, CAN craft, is of considerable help with the situations you come across. A diverse range of tools designed for different situations allows the player to navigate the danger with ease if you use the right.

Movement & interacting with the environment
So movement in the game is well balanced. You don't move like the flash, and the camera is quite generous with field of view and turn speed, well except at some specified times. Keep in mind it is a horror game and there is a reason why it may feel clunky at first. It is important to know your movement in the environment can make your whereabouts known. Walk into a gas canister? Well pray it doesn't fall over, because you may want to leg it to the nearest locker and hide! Slow movement, that is careful and calculated rewards the player, but too slow and you may be caught, too fast and you may be noticed through sound or sight. The environment also has a lot of ques and interactible points to allow you to close off or open parts of the map This can reward the player with a new route, hidden stash, or a way to delay the monster. Which is which? You will have to find out.

Combat
So combat is... hmm... it is okay. Designed to be challenging and not really unforgiving, but you aren't playing as a marine here, and Ripley is an engineer by trade. Play to HER strengths and soon combat becomes a lot easier, and is completely *OPTIONAL* throughout the game. Most things in the room are stronger, faster, or more able than you are. Use your head and you will prevail.

Progression - Story and Gameplay
This is a linear story... That's it really! All I can say is the game doesn't make sense if you carry a shotgun, a blow torch, a jack and everything else from the start. Ripley doesn't know what she is walking into. The game does a really good job of teasing, "The right tool for the right job". As you progress you get new tools that can help with previously inaccessible parts of the station, and as you progress you gain new ways to outsmart your enemies through combat or evasion of said combat. Knowing your ins and outs is the best way to survive an encounter with the beast. Knowledge is power in this game and it has never been more true... especially when you realise the alien can learn to combat your actions as well... MU-HAH HAH HA!!!

SOUND - The best is saved till last - Oh and lighting
So all in all I give it a solid 9/10. This game has got the BEST audio cues I think I have EVER seen. The way the music is composed to affect the atmosphere, and in turn how you interact with the Xenomporph/Alien within the environment around you, throughout the game, is just palpitating. I spent so much of time on the edge of my seat, almost unwilling to move until I learnt the movements of the beast by sound alone!... and then I still spent it on the edge of my seat, but this time I had my eyes open! Ha ha hah! Everything in the game has you flinching at the slightest sound, or movement in the environment. The dark, damp, musty station has so many corners and places to hide, it is unnerving! And precisely why the sound is so masterful in its execution.

I can see why the game won so many awards... If I had one regret, it would be that I don't have the heart in me to play it again... I loved it but, I don't want any more heart attacks! ha ha ha!