The Scariest Title In The Alien Franchise Isn't Even A Movie

"Alien" is one of the scariest sci-fi movies ever created, but the series as a whole moved away from the horror genre pretty quickly. But while "Aliens" and all the other sequels take things in a more action-oriented direction, there's one "Alien" project that's even more terrifying than Ridley Scott's original masterpiece.

2014's "Alien: Isolation" is a first-person survival horror game that will eternally haunt your nightmares. The game, developed by Creative Assembly, puts you in the shoes of Amanda Ripley, the daughter of Sigourney Weaver's character from the movies, and sends a bloodthirsty Xenomorph after you and your entire crew. The game's secret to making the Xenomorph so scary is a special engine with a revolutionary approach to enemy AI. Thanks to its unique mechanics and intensely detailed sense of worldbuilding, "Isolation" has become a fan favorite that still gets replayed today.

Since 2014, we've gotten other "Alien" games — including some incredible ones like "Aliens: Dark Descent" — but none of them have quite managed to live up to "Alien: Isolation." Here, we take a look at how Creative Assembly managed to create the scariest title in the entire "Alien" franchise.

Anyone who's played "Alien: Isolation" will tell you that the game feels completely unique. It's not just that "Isolation" has a sort of analog-punk aesthetic that comes right out of the 1978 "Alien" movie, but also that the gameplay, specifically the alien, responds in ways you'd never expect. The deeper you go in the game, the smarter the alien seems to get. As the horror grows, you start to feel like the Xenomorph is actually learning about your habits and responding to every one of your individual moves.

To create that sensation in players, Creative Assembly needed to build an entirely new engine. This was a huge undertaking in the game's development process, but it was also the key ingredient to making "Isolation" so terrifying. "Something we learned very early on is we couldn't make an enemy that was scripted," lead gameplay designer Gary Napper told MCV. "You're going to die a lot, which means restarting a lot, and if the alien was scripted, you'd see the same behaviour. That makes the alien become predictable, and a lot less scary."

Creative Assembly certainly made the Xenomorph unpredictable, but despite how the game makes you feel, the alien isn't actually learning as it goes. Instead, the developer created that sensation by making more and more behaviors become available to the Xenomorph as the game progresses. Essentially, the creature has an extremely elaborate moveset and response system, and those moves and responses get even deeper and more complex as the game goes on.

Let's be honest: detailed storytelling has never been the "Alien" franchise's strong suit. Sure, we've got movies like "Alien" and "Aliens," but we also have "Alien: Resurrection" and the "Alien vs. Predator" movies. Fans take what they can get, but "Alien: Isolation," shockingly, delivered one of the most powerful stories in the entire series. That's a big reason why it's still so well-regarded among gamers and fans of the franchise alike.

"We wanted to tell a story that was really closely associated with that first film," "Isolation" creative lead Alistair Hope said in an interview with PC Gamer. To help with that, 20th Century Fox gave Creative Assembly a treasure trove of "Alien" archive material to work with, from ship blueprints to early concept art to thousands of set photos. The team used all that data to create a game that has the core "Alien" franchise DNA, but they used their own enthusiasm as fans to shape the plot.

The success of the story in "Isolation" really comes down to Creative Assembly's choice of main character. Amanda Ripley is mentioned in a deleted scene from "Aliens," but most people who've watched the "Alien" movies don't realize that Ripley has a biological daughter. By focusing on Amanda, the game's developers were able to carve out enough space to tell an original story while still thematically and emotionally connecting with Ripley's stories from the movies.

The "Alien" franchise pre-dates all of the most popular games in history, so, unsurprisingly, there are plenty of franchise fans who aren't gamers. Because of this, a huge swath of the "Alien" fanbase is never going to experience the pulse-pounding adrenaline of playing through "Alien: Isolation." They'll never know the thrill of deciding in the moment what course of action leads to your best chance of survival, but, luckily, they can still experience the incredible story of Amanda Ripley.

There's an "Isolation" web series that retells the story from the game, and it's well worth checking out for gamers and non-gamers alike. The seven-episode series debuted five years after the game, so it flew under the radar for some fans. It also has few drawbacks (fans often complain about its animation style, for one thing), but it's a completely faithful adaptation of the game. The series is obviously unable to capture all of the major elements that make "Isolation" so beloved, but it's a great way to quickly experience Amanda's story.

Time has been incredibly kind to "Alien: Isolation." The game sold over 2.1 million copies, which publisher Sega reported as underperforming expectations. It also debuted to a shocking 5.9 star review from IGN, which is where many bitter fan comments online place the blame for the game's poor sales. Those numbers make it seem like "Isolation" should be a footnote in gaming history, but, of course, it's actually become known as one of the greatest survival horror games of all time.

Despite its rough start, "Isolation" ultimately found a following of gamers who absolutely love it, including the director of "Alien: Romulus," Fede Álvarez, who cites the game as an influence on his movie. In fact, he was so influenced by "Isolation" that the movie includes an Easter egg tribute to the game. "The movie is set up in a way [that] every time something bad is about to happen, you will see a phone," Alvarez told Total Film. "In the game, every time you knew there's a phone you'd go, 'F—, I'm about to go into some bad set-piece.' It's the same thing [in 'Romulus']."

"Isolation" is also the subject of many adoring blog posts and Reddit comments, and fans frequently praise its atmosphere, potential to terrify, and wildly innovative gameplay. "Isolation" is regularly called out on lists of incredible games from the 2010s, and its name is sometimes even floated on lists of the best games of all time. Gamers constantly revisit and recommend Creative Assembly's horror masterpiece, and what was once a flop has become a game that people will remember forever.

Fans of "Alien: Isolation" spent a decade hoping, praying, begging, and pleading for a sequel. Because the sales for "Isolation" disappointed publisher Sega back in 2014, most of those fans thought their hopes were in vain. Then, in October 2024, Creative Assembly proved that the legacy of "Isolation" had overcome the game's initially poor sales when it finally made the official sequel announcement.

On the 10-year anniversary of the "Isolation" debut, creative director Alistair Hope dropped a bombshell. In a statement posted to X, he said, "Today, I'm delighted to confirm, on behalf of the team, that a sequel to 'Alien: Isolation' is in early development." The replies, appropriately, exploded with enthusiasm and endless questions about the upcoming game.

Unfortunately, Creative Assembly and everyone involved with the game have been extremely tight-lipped about the sequel. In Hope's statement, he said, "We look forward to sharing more details with you when we're ready." That comment, paired with the fact that the sequel is only in early development, means we likely still have years to wait before getting our hands on "Alien: Isolation 2."