So I beat it at 22 hours if Steam is to believed, but I blew through the game and didn't really explore or 100% anything. I had like 15 days left, so I guess I didn't really need to rush. Hard difficulty except for enemy HP.
I'm not sure how to feel about this one. I like it. It's definitely a sleeper hit from an old IP with little marketing. But it's also held back by a ton of bad design decisions that's exacerbated by bugs.
This game seems like it came straight out of the 90's/early 00's. It's a full game, complete at launch, with no modern monetization gimmicks. A lot of it reminded me of older games, especially it's narrative-driven, mission-based structure.
Unfortunately, that's kind of where it falls apart. This game really shines when you're just stuck in a maze of corridors, guiding your marines through while watching the motion tracker. It's essentially the best squad-based dungeon delver I've played in years. Probably ever of a type like this.
If I was given a million dollars or whatever the budget was for this game, I would've just made it a freeform campaign where you can select missions from a global map, each with its risks and rewards, and just pepper the story in.
Instead, Aliens: Dark Descent takes the other route, where it drags you kicking and screaming
to an egg through an agonizingly boring, c-tier Aliens movie script involving characters you won't care about and plot points that are generic in the extreme.
Dozens of unskippable cutscenes, annoying railroaded sections, that entire disaster of a final mission. All of it feels like someone grabbed you by the collar and shoved their script in your face, saying "isn't this cool?!" I should know, that's something I do.
I wouldn't mind as much if the story was good or at least interesting, but it's serviceable at best and head-scratchingly bad at worst. I'm not an Aliens fanboy by any means, but I know a little something about the setting, and this game offered absolutely no twists or new lore (that I care about).
But the gameplay is more than good enough to make up for it. It is surprisingly well-balanced, from the actual tactical puzzle of the missions, to the ship mechanics and even the classes. Each of the classes brings something vital to the table (except possibly the tecker, since I found the battle drone too high-cost and not worth the investment). Sgts in particular are especially necessary, as you'll be spamming their morale ability as much as you remember to.
If I had to change one thing, it would be to remove the motion sensor and the automapping. Maybe there's a setting that does that. You play differently when you know where the enemies are and where you have to go. Most of the game you basically have wallhacks and just sneak around stuff.
But being in the dark and lost, with aliens crawling around you, that's terrific.
Anyways, good game. Could've been much better. But it's 2023, so I'll take what I can get.
