As anyone that’s been chased by an eight foot alien will attest, stayin’ alive ain’t as easy as the Bee Gees once made it sound. However, we’ve been sharpening up our stealth skills in Alien: Isolation on the PlayStation 4 of late, and we’ve got some tips to help you to stay safe on the abandoned Sevastopol space station. For those out of the loop, the game – which is also due out on the PlayStation 3 this week – places you in the industrial boots of Amanda Ripley, and challenges you to escape from H.R. Giger’s anti-social Martian menace. Here’s what you need to know to get through the game with all of your appendages intact.
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Irrespective of whether you secretly harbour Olympic ambitions, you should cut your marathon training down to a minimum in Alien: Isolation. Unlike in other first-person shooters, sprinting makes a serious amount of noise in Creative Assembly’s survival horror – and the last thing that you want to do is pound through the game’s metallic corridors when you’ve got a snarling space invader on your tail. Outrunning the extraterrestrial is pointless, as it’ll almost always catch up with you, so it’s better to follow an old adage instead: less haste, more speed. Try to crawl as much as possible, as this draws less attention, and will also allow you to change direction quicker should you spy a threat in the distance. Sure, we know that life on all-fours can get tedious – but follow this simple rule, and you’ll thank us in the, er, long run.
One of the biggest lessons that you’ll learn in Alien: Isolation is that it very rarely registers checkpoints for you. This means that you’ll have to manage your progress manually, using telephone booths scattered throughout the Sevastopol. Saving regularly is imperative if you don’t want to replay sequences several times over, so make sure that you store your progress any time that you’re in the vicinity of a save station. Waiting several seconds for these to do their business can feel tedious, but you’ll be thankful that you took the time should you make a mistake a little later and lose upwards of 30 minutes progress. In fact, if you’re in a particularly difficult section, we recommend taking regular trips to your nearest phone box just to make sure that you’ve got your progress logged.
Man’s best friend may be his dog, but in an abandoned space station rife with hostile life forms, you’re going to be much more thankful for your map. Remember to bring this up regularly in order to learn your surroundings, and try to take in as much of each environment as you possibly can, as you never know when this information may come in handy. Tunnels, for example, make great hiding places, as do workstation desks and hospital beds. Learn to use these regularly, and if you don’t need them immediately, try to remember where they are in case you do at a later point. It also helps if you know exactly where you’re travelling at all times, as when you’re under pressure, the last thing that you’re going to want is to be lost. Your map will always help you should you forget your way, but try to memorise your way around different districts in order to get from A-to-B as fast as possible.
You may end up equipped with a flamethrower by the end of Alien: Isolation, but this is not the greatest weapon in your arsenal. Instead, the ability to lean is your most potent skill, as it seems to render you invisible to enemy threats. Picture this: you’re stationed behind an object, but you need to see where your extraterrestrial adversary is. Poking your head around the side of the item that you’re currently crouched behind will allow you to get a good look, without your foe ever spying you. We suppose that it helps that Amanda Ripley also appears to have an abnormally elastic neck.
Like so many other video game characters, Amanda Ripley is conveniently capable of fashioning a multitude of interesting items out of old bits and pieces. While resources are limited in Alien: Isolation, a scavenger’s mentality will see you through the single player campaign safely. As such, you should always craft items at any given opportunity, as you’ll pretty much always happen upon additional supplies to replenish your stocks. If you’ve reached the maximum quota of a particular item, remember that you can commit all of the parts to another one, you just can’t complete the manufacturing process until you have a spare inventory slot. It’s important to do this, as it not only allows you to essentially carry extra gear, but it also clears up your backpack so that you can pick up additional parts.
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Have you managed to escape the Sevastopol alive? Do you have any other Alien: Isolation tips to share? Scream where no one can hear you in the comments section below.
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