Alien Isolation 2 preview – at Gamescom, everyone can hear me scream

The rain is beating the forest into submission. What remains of the road sticks to the tires of our vehicle, a long-haul vessel as we ride deep into the night. Alien Isolation 2 sets the tone immediately in my Gamescom demo. But it isn’t just as simple as throwing you into a claustrophobic space and letting fear take hold. Creative Assembly is shifting the action to the ground, rather than the stars above.

For me, it feels special when a piece of Alien media branches into other territories beyond the halls of a spacecraft. Say what you want about Prometheus or Alien: Covenant, but I appreciate Ridley Scott translating his gruelling gaze into seemingly endless jungles and long-abandoned caves. To that end, Alien Isolation 2 already feels like it’s kicking off fresh. What’s even fresher is Blake, our new protagonist. After spending eight months in cryo-sleep, she’s on assignment on Weyland-Yutani alongside a ragtag crew.

What immediately strikes me here is how definitively ‘Alien’ the character designs are. It wouldn’t surprise me if one particular character is a homage to Tom Skerritt’s Dallas. These guys are effectively space truckers, but tonight is like any other night of cold darkness. In the darkness, debris, fire, and harsh industrial lights crack the sky. I’m making my way through the bramble, welcomed by fluid movement that’s a real treat. Walking, crouching, and mantling feels notably smooth, finding that balance between realism and agility. The latter will become important in the moments to come.

Before then, Creative Assembly’s best-in-class sound design rumbles, bounces, and reverberates through my headphones. Beyond the crunch of twigs under my feet, my crew’s voices play ping-pong with the air, echoing out into the brutal surroundings. It’s extremely tactile in the way only the Alien series can deliver. The audio dresses the crash site up ahead: remnants of the Sevastopol Station. Alien Isolation 2 is working miracles with its lighting here. I love how it merges cinematic touches and Creative Assembly’s twist on the Alien aesthetic. I can practically feel the anamorphic lensing of legendary cinematographer Derek Vanlint bleed into the frame.

It all forms into a jolt of blood-chilling terror, as I find a way to investigate the vessel. Inside, it’s a time capsule, albeit an absolutely grim one. There’s a history here, as life still flashes within its walls, requiring me to repair a power console with whatever scrap is nearby. The metal panels beneath my feet rattle with anguish, likely because of the aggressive current of water battering the vessel outside. It’s here where I’m sweating more, and not just because of the heat in Cologne. It really is impressive just how fast Creative Assembly can build its scares, forcing me to question whether the path ahead is as damning as I think it is.

Of course, in this case, there’s nothing but dread in the air. The last portion of the demo is a result of Blake’s naivety in exploring this forsaken wreck. Without warning or hesitation, the Xenomorph is here, and it’s out for flesh and bone. If my fellow journalists and developers in the room didn’t know I was on the edge, the not-so-light yelp I made probably gave it away. By now, the enormously impressive behaviour instilled into the Xenomorph is the fruit of countless video essays in my YouTube history, and yours too, I’m sure.

I’m watching it adapt in real-time, sussing out my plans, and eventually foiling my first escape attempt. I can’t comment on Nintendo Switch 2 performance just yet. Details are under wraps right now, and this preview was played on a developer PC setup. I’m hoping with the extra leverage the handheld provides, it could be an impressive addition to the console’s growing third-party library. I’d love a decent 40fps mode at the very least.

What I am curious to see, though, is how Alien Isolation 2 introduces variation beyond this demo. My core issue with the previous entry is how its last few hours fell into a repetitive loop. I understand that these aren’t action games. I’m not asking for a jarring twist in tone like the latter end of Alien: Covenant or the overlong climax of Romulus. But can Alien Isolation 2 find that balance of scares and ingenuity at launch?

If it continues to be as strong as this Gamescom demo, then there’s a major contender coming. Alien Isolation 2 is set to release on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, but a launch date hasn’t yet been announced.

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