I put 460 hours into the first game—which I found repetitive and riddled with flaws, yet simultaneously full of merit, very fun, and promising for a young studio.
I don't know what kind of dark magic was at work, but after seeing the trailers for the sequel and reflecting on my time with the original, I genuinely expected a banger.
Specifically, I expected the first game's major strengths to carry over: impeccable art direction, stylish levels featuring memorable large chambers, simple yet effective gameplay, and a high-level tactical element.
Naturally, I also expected this second installment to serve as a vehicle for welcome new features and evolutions—such as an organic horde and enemy system (moving away from the first game's rigidly scripted encounters) to drastically boost replayability. This is exactly what titles like Vermintide and Darktide have been doing for years.
It is, of course, a disappointment on almost every level.
If I had to summarize the game's strengths: the first three levels. Thanks to their extraordinary "Hadley's Hope" art direction, they are an absolute feast for the eyes and the imagination—and, honestly, that’s about it. Coincidentally, these were the levels most heavily featured in trailers and gameplay videos, as if the developers had poured 90% of their total effort into them. Also worth mentioning is the card and consumable system, which represents a genuine upgrade over the first game.
The list of weaknesses, on the other hand, is incredibly long: every weapon seems to have suffered a downgrade in terms of feel and impact. The smartgun, pulse rifle, and heavy flamer all feel terrible; there’s no sense of recoil or kick upon firing, and the sound effects are weak and lackluster. The game casts you as futuristic soldiers with futuristic guns, unleashing heavy fire on hordes of monsters—and even that gets boring fast.
None of the levels after the first four left a lasting impression or made me want to go back. The game set itself misguided goals—like introducing a ton of new enemy types. Ultimately, these new enemies just distance us from the Xenomorph, diluting the Alien experience into a generic sci-fi hodgepodge; it feels like an attempt to cram in every element of the franchise just to please everyone. To me, that’s a terrible artistic choice. Aliens should have made up 70–80% of the bestiary throughout the campaign. And frankly, everything related to the Ridley Scott-esque mess of Prometheus and its successors could have stayed on the cutting room floor.
On top of that, the level design and combat layout feel like a chaotic disaster, seemingly calibrated to prevent tactical play. Let me explain: unlike the first game, I noticed countless rooms where the devs placed vents ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE—sometimes every 3 or 4 meters. It feels like they wanted to eliminate any "safe spots," forcing players to keep moving and engage in melee combat while constantly dealing with a chaotic mess of enemies—either right in their faces or at ridiculous distances. It’s a design choice that clashes badly with the game's core mechanics, in my opinion.
That’s already a pretty grim verdict, but if I had to nitpick further, I’d say the music is rubbish compared to the first game, and the plot is mind-bogglingly stupid—as are the characters involved. It’s all been done to death—rehashed and microwaved fourteen times over—and it’s tainted by some frankly heavy-handed DEI undertones. As far as I know, there’s still no in-game text chat—seriously, guys... I get the feeling that, just like in the first game, some perks are buggy and don't work as intended. Drones, Warriors, and Praetorians teleport around. The vents are basically absolutely hideous black squares. And I’m probably forgetting a few other things.
In some levels, you get wave after wave of enemies arriving in perfectly uniform squads—in a specific order, single file—giving the whole thing a really archaic, brain-dead arcade shooter vibe. This ties back to what I said earlier about the need to randomize at least some of the spawns...
Anyway. Selling this for 50 bucks is a total slap in the face. I used to like this franchise and this studio, but that was back then.
