Atmosphere is everything in horror games. The second you no longer feel afraid about what awaits around the next corner is when the experience falls apart. You want to be constantly on edge, surprised, and ready to run and hide. Few games capture that feeling better than Alien: Isolation, the survival horror classic by Creative Assembly that has stood the test of time. For years, we’ve waited for a follow-up, and despite a sequel now being confirmed to be in development, Rogue Incursion might have beaten it to the punch.
Developed by Virtuos, this first-person shooter arrives on PS VR 2 and PC this week and is one of the biggest surprises of the year. I went in expecting a relatively predictable shooting gallery of Xenomorphs held together by a narrative closer to Colonial Marines than anything else, but it comes out charging with a fully-loaded pulse rifle and never lets up. While you’re far more equipped to dispatch the ultimate lifeforms with an arsenal of weapons and allies by your side, that doesn’t make exploring the snowy confines of Purdan any less terrifying.
We haven’t had time to dedicate to a full review of Rogue Incursion just yet, but from the several hours we’ve played, it’s already an accomplished horror gem worth your time.
Walking In A Weyland Yutani Wonderland
You play as Zula Hendricks, an ex-Colonial Marine who has left her corporate life behind to try and expose the evil experiments Weyland Yutani is performing right under her nose. It appears to be going swimmingly until her ship is shot down while entering orbit and she and her fellow android companion find themselves stranded in an abandoned complex where an awful lot of bad stuff has gone down. There’s little preamble as you’re expected to learn the ways of dispatching extraterrestrials on the move.
You pick up a pulse rifle and a revolver from your ailing ship and step out into the cold wilds of this unknown planet, where not a single soul is left alive except the creatures who doomed this place to ruin. The atmosphere is beautifully oppressive, to the point where I was walking hesitantly through each abandoned corridor praying that an alien wouldn’t jump out to attack me, knowing that a few rogue bites from its acid-tinged mandibles would mark my end.
Rogue Incursion is one of the most visually impressive virtual reality titles I’ve played outside of Horizon: Call of the Mountain and Half-Life: Alyx. On PS5 Pro it is packed with a range of details that reuse assets from Isolation while folding in nuances all its own.
Enemy behaviour is unpredictable too, much like it is in Isolation. The Xenomorphs will react to the noise you make by sprinting across locations, or by accidentally letting random objects collide with metallic floors. With the walls covered in vents and the majority of ceilings a maze of rusting pipework, they could come from anywhere. I developed a habit of hiding in a corner when a Xenomorph came knocking, praying I’d be facing the right direction with a fully loaded rifle if they spotted me. If not, I could always reload my save and try again. In space, no one can hear you save scum.
Speaking of, Rogue Incursion has the exact same save system as Isolation. From what I’ve played so far, there is no checkpointing, an omission I learned the hard way after an alien got me from behind while trying to solve a random puzzle. Instead, you must save your progress in one of many panic rooms where terminals, beds, and lockers containing resources await. I adore this mechanic, especially how these alleged sanctuaries aren’t truly safe at all if there is a Xenomorph on your tail waiting to break the door down.
In VR, Everyone Can Hear You Bump Into Nearby Furniture
The non-linear level design makes this anxiety-inducing mechanic all the more interesting. In the early hours, I got lost looking for a welding torch, turning back on myself constantly, and it was impossible to escape because the door I came through had locked shut behind me. But with the help of my PDA and dual-wielding my digital map with a pistol in hand, I was able to find my way out and not have a heart attack. Rogue Incursion is masterful at ensuring you’re balancing all of its different equipment and mechanics, turning what could have been a droll licensed shooter into one of the most inventive VR games I’ve played this year.
Where this comes alive most is in some of the puzzles. In order to access certain doors and computers, you will need to break open junction boxes to connect a series of wires – think the pipe puzzles in BioShock – but with all your attention focused on the puzzle, it is very easy to be assaulted from behind. So I resorted to holding a firearm in one hand and a tool in another, shifting my vision constantly to make sure I wasn’t about to get murdered. It’s so tense, and the rewards you earn from these puzzles and general exploration is worth the legwork.
I have yet to stumble upon facehuggers or meet many other characters, but Rogue Incursion is already a winner in my book. It captures the visual identity and horrific atmosphere of classic films and games in a way that comes to life so much more in virtual reality. It looks amazing, controls even better, and made me feel like I was stepping into this universe for the first time all over again.