
Horror games come and go, but what stays behind is me comparing every monster I meet to the xenomorph in Alien: Isolation. I have played way too many horror games and, while I don’t find many scary, the xenomorph sits atop a pedestal. 10 years after playing the game, I still crave more from enemy AI because of the everlasting impact Alien: Isolation has had on me. But what is it about this monster that makes it so unforgettable?
Few monsters manage to terrify me. Demons and ghosts do absolutely nothing for me, and while home invasion and crazed serial killers get a reaction out of me, it never lasts. Sure, there are instances where enemies have made me panic. There’s the unsettling anxiety of Stay Out of the House, Nun Massacre, and Dead Space’s Necromorphs, or the gnawing tension of Resident Evil’s Mr. X and Amnesia: The Bunker’s beast. There’s a handful that rise above the many, but the core rules tied to their model are what makes them scary. For instance, Puppet Combo games scream and charge at you, inducing panic and anxiety for the impending doom these entities bring. The isolation in Dead Space is suffocating, where every breath feels as though it can alert the Necromorph to your location. The continual chase of Mr. X and the beast is always on your mind, creating tension where either could appear any moment and ruin your run.

But the horror has a chance of dissipating once you learn how each enemy works. The monsters listed above have rules set in place to immerse you into the setting, where trial and error or clear instructions are given on how to evade or defeat them, yet the xenomorph doesn’t have these strict rules — and that’s what makes it so terrifying. Sure, you can cower in the lockers, but you will never make any progress, for the xenomorph adapts to your playstyle. There’s so much to think about when navigating around the cat-and-mouse world of Alien: Isolation — being fearful of the hostile humans, malfunctioning robots, and the apex predator itself.
The xenomorph stalks its prey from inside the vents. It’d wait for you to wander underneath one of the ceiling vents, salivating at the thought of having you in its grasp. I’d hold my breath as it checked lockers or slowly walk past the cover I hid underneath, dragging its tail behind as a flex on one of the many ways it could kill me. There was nothing subtle about it as the alien clanged and thudded against mental, dropping down into a room to leap into action, meters from my current position. Yet somehow, this predator was mostly silent a lot of the time, making it all the more horrifying to avoid.

The AI of the xenomorph was so unbelievably impressive that I actually thought it was smarter than me — teasing and mocking my futile escape attempts. Then came the dreaded moment when I couldn’t manually save because danger was nearby. I channelled Amanda Ripley so well that she became an extension of my personality, appearing as I crouch-walked across Sevastopol Station gulping and mouth breathing the entire way.
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What made the xenomorph so terrifying is not only its unpredictability, but the brilliant use of the motion tracker that linked directly to its source material. I often found myself relying on this item like the heartbeat sensor in Call of Duty’s Cliffhanger mission, relying on the flamethrower as a last resort. With my stamina and flamethrower tank full at all times, I actively avoided or used humans to lure the Alien to one place, and hid in lockers to watch the xenomorph dart around the ventilation shafts above, tracking on the monitor. It became a ritual for me and equalled the playing field in a way that, although I couldn’t kill the xenomorph, I could strategize and plot my route to avoid its bloodthirsty gaze.

You couldn’t outrun it, and that only made Alien: Isolation all the more terrifying. Fleeing from other entities or engaging in battle were choices you’d have to make depending on the xenomorph’s current position. Even when it was scripted that the alien couldn’t spawn in, I still felt a strong desire to check the motion tracker whenever I could, just in case it appeared again. The xenomorph has never left me, but I hope something else can replace or reach the high bar Alien: Isolation has set for enemy AI. I still hear the sound of a vent slowly opening.
It’s been 10 years since Alien: Isolation came out and no vengeful spirit, grotesque monster, or twisted human has managed to put me on edge like the xenomorph did. The intense one-versus-one was thrilling, and I found myself both hesitating and in awe of its spectacular coding. Even though I had weapons in hand, I felt completely powerless — I guess the xenomorph really is the apex predator.
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