‘Alien: Rogue Incursion’ Is a Great ‘Alien’ Game and an Even Better VR Experience (Review)

Sometimes, virtual reality can get a bad rap. Even with the most beloved of experiences, a level of jank is to be expected. For example, climbing up a ladder in most games is a chore and detracts from the overall experience. Even something as simple as trying to solve a puzzle can be turned into a tedium exercise due to the beast’s nature. That’s why I was so impressed with Alien: Rogue Incursion. It’s not only a stellar addition to the Alien franchise, it’s one of the best VR games I’ve played in a while.

‘Alien: Rogue Incursion’ Is Quite the Looker

It feels like VR games have one of two styles; an attempt at photorealism, or blocky characters and stylistic graphics. Alien: Rogue Incursion tries for that more realistic approach and nails Alien‘s spooky vibe without breaking a sweat. The environments, from the cramped interiors to the snow-covered exteriors, all look phenomenal. Texture work, in particular, was extremely well done. I was able to get up close and personal with any object and wasn’t treated to blurry and nasty-looking textures.

The amount of interactivity was also impressive. As with any action VR game, there are a variety of puzzles that I had to solve before I could proceed. Reaching my hand near an electrical box would cause my character to react, rather than my hand just phasing through the panel. Grabbing a door, a handle, or anything in between always felt true to life, too. Even something like using the virtual joystick to navigate the ancient computer systems felt responsive and intuitive — something I can’t say about every VR title I’ve ever played.

I was also genuinely surprised by the accessibility of the game. While VR games oftentimes require a ton of movement, certain aspects are stuck in the past. My brother, for example, is in a wheelchair. Playing games like Gun Club VR was difficult because of the inability for him to reach toward his hips while avoiding the wheels of his chair. Alien: Rogue Incursion has the secondary firearm more toward the front of the hip, making it much easier to grab if you’re playing seated — something most people would take for granted, but I am extremely thankful for it.

Even Something as Simple as Climbing a Ladder Is Done Well Here

Climbing a ladder in VR is one of the most painfully mediocre things I have had to deal with throughout many different experiences. It just clicks here. Sure, it’s still the same motion as always. Grab onto the rungs of the ladder and get to the top. But instead of fiddling with a janky motion engine, I was just able to grab the top rung and push myself up. Exploration feels just as polished as the visuals, making everything click.

Sometimes, VR games use silly gimmicks to try and “immerse” players further. Even another Survios title, Creed: Rise To Glory, required players to swing their arms to “run back” into the ring if they got knocked out. It always felt cringy and unnecessary, so I’m glad to say that those types of gimmicks are left to a minimum in Alien: Rogue Incursion. While the inventory system may require me to move my hands around a fair bit, it never felt cumbersome. It was rather enjoyable in nearly every way.

Using the Tablet as a map, inventory system, and everything in between felt nearly flawless. Poking at the screen to get to the next section was surprisingly intuitive, and made me feel much more immersed than swinging my arms around ever could have. Pair that with the fantastic visual design of Alien: Rogue Incursion, and I’ve found the perfect fear factor.

Having to balance healing with reloading and fighting off Xenomorphs is much more stressful than I thought. These creatures are tough. Easily destroying my health in a swipe or two, I needed to be careful with how I approached them. Should I get up close and dispatch them, or try to hunt them down from a distance?

Gunplay and Sound Design Amplify the Terror of ‘Alien: Rogue Incursion’

Alien: Isolation is a masterclass of survival horror. Alien: Rogue Incursion, while scary, is more action-based than stealth-based. Sure, I could try my best to avoid confrontation, but I must say: there’s little in this world that is more satisfying than unloading a clip into the face of one of these Xenomorphs. Grabbing the pistol off my hip, I could quickly unload some shots directly into the face of these terrifying creatures, watching them ragdoll to their deaths before my very eyes. Revenge is a dish best served cold, baby.

That being said, there is still plenty that made me jump during my time with Alien: Rogue Incursion. And that’s primarily due to the great sound design that made me question any noise that I heard. While I may have imagined that I heard the pitter-patter of the claws of the Xeno right behind my head, I would quickly turn to see nothing there.

Even from the standard speakers of my Meta Quest 3, I was genuinely surprised at how good everything sounded. Voice acting is also a strong point here. I can’t imagine how genuinely terrifying this would be with a good set of headphones. And I know I may need to make the plunge eventually. I’m just scared because of other VR horror games and how much they affected me. Alien: Rogue Incursion still offers plenty of scares throughout its runtime. Even if I can pop a few bullets into a Xenomorph and move on.

Even when I was surrounded, I could find ways to survive. Since the controls were easy enough to master, I could quickly grab my rifle or my handgun and survive as unscathed as possible.

A Great Horror Game and an Even Better Action Game

Sometimes, it’s difficult to translate a horror film into an action game. I mean, look at some of the other attempts that have been made in the past to turn Alien into an FPS. But, I’m happy to say that there is something to love for just about everyone with Alien: Rogue Incursion.

Alien: Rogue Incursion took me by surprise. I was expecting a shoddy half-baked experience that tried to profit off of the Alien license. Instead, I was treated to one of the best VR experiences I’ve had since jumping into the medium. Some games just benefit from the use of VR in ways that you can’t experience by playing on a flat screen. Alien: Rogue Incursion is one of them. Combining the tense horror that Alien is known for with incredible visuals and interactivity, it’s a must-play for fans of the franchise. And even for those who may not be as tuned into it as they’d like to be.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

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Alien: Rogue Incursion will be available on December 19, 2024, on Steam VR and PlayStation 5. It will be available via the Meta Quest store at a later date. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on PC via Meta Quest 3 and Link Cable. A VR Headset is required to play.