I'm glad Alien Isolation 2 will be a sequel instead of a remake, proving that survival horror has a future beyond rehashing its past

Oct. 10, 2024

Opinion | Alien Isolation 2 has the opportunity to achieve what the original fell short of

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Ellen Ripley’s believe it or not

Alien: Romulus director explains his new film’s big Alien: Isolation Easter egg

But Creative Assembly isn’t following that herd in particular. Rather, it’s doing anAlan Wake 2and promising to deliver a brand new terrifying adventure, building on its legacy rather than reconstructing it piece by piece. In a world where new horror IPs are hard to come by in the world of video games, I’ll take it.

There’s something special about a long overdue sequel that broadens appeal tenfold. Drawing in fans of the original is one way, sure, but more importantly, these sequels offer an entry point for new players to get on board too. With enough time having passed since the previous game, there’s enough room for developers to rehash, revise, or reinvent a series in a sequel to ensure the new entry feels relevant to modern audiences. I might be alluding to Alan Wake 2 here – specifically, itsmusical means of recapping eventsfor new players and those with fuzzy memories alike – but this isn’t something we only see in horror. TakeDragon Age: The Veilguard, for example, and howBioware’s confirmation thatonly a few player choices will be carried acrossfrom Inquisition effectively positions the game as a great place to start for newbies. If Alien: Isolation 2 plays its cards just right, opening up the field to temper the familiar with the novel, it could end up being a horror game for the many instead of the few.

That said, working with a blockbuster Hollywood IP like Alien indicates a level of assumed knowledge on the player’s part. Having even a basic grasp of the context, lore, and events of the Alien movies might be helpful, but it shouldn’t be a barrier. The inclusivity of the horror community has always been its biggest strength, and when the time comes that we learn more about Alien: Isolation 2, I’m hoping to see more of that welcoming spirit as we take on the xenomorphs again – or perhaps something else? – more than a decade later.

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