TheRetroArcade
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Posts: 1,980
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
It sounds like an ironic gag title from an early-aughts sitcom, but no, this is just how things are now.
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It was 31 years ago, somehow, that Bart Simpson uttered his classic Christmas wish: Buy me Bonestorm or go to hell! A lot's changed since then, including our capacity for interactive violence and ironic hyperbole, which leads me to my point: Rebellion unveiled its new game during today's Xbox showcase, a first-person sci-fi horror romp called—brace yourself—Alien Deathstorm.
Alien Deathstorm is not related to the famed Alien franchise, although there are some similarities: An off-world colony has been ravaged by a deathstorm and overrun by aliens, and you—just you, nobody else—have been dispatched to figure out what's going on and get it straightened out.
There's also apparently some visual inspiration at work in the game, although names are never named. "We’ve been inspired by the slightly more analogue world of 1980s sci-fi, which is much more mechanical keyboard than it is touchscreen," Rebellion design head Ben Fisher said on the Xbox Wire.
"We think it’s given our colony a chunky, lived-in aesthetic that has a genuinely unique feel. We’ve taken influences from everything from Lovecraftian eldritch horror to 1980s VHS sci-fi, so we think that people will be intrigued by what we’ve built."
Unlike that other Alien, though, players won't be entirely overpowered and screwed by this game's enemy creatures. As combat engineers, players take on the role of a "highly trained first responder who is proficient in search and rescue, combat, demolitions and engineering," and Fisher made it clear that at some points in the game, it'll be the player hunting the aliens.
The Deathstorm will also be a persistent threat, and not one you can fight back against. "It’s a planet-wide, seasonal atmospheric cataclysm that has torn through the colony without warning, causing absolute havoc," Fisher said. "The player will have to learn how and when to seek shelter, if they want to survive these hurricane force winds that are tearing the world around them apart."
In gameplay terms, Fisher said Alien Deathstorm is a "true hybrid" of survival game and shooter: "An ‘action horror’ game with a layer of constant threat and environmental discovery that fully supports the second-to-second ballistic action," to my ears a very carefully-crafted statement that doesn't s...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
It was 31 years ago, somehow, that Bart Simpson uttered his classic Christmas wish: Buy me Bonestorm or go to hell! A lot's changed since then, including our capacity for interactive violence and ironic hyperbole, which leads me to my point: Rebellion unveiled its new game during today's Xbox showcase, a first-person sci-fi horror romp called—brace yourself—Alien Deathstorm.
Alien Deathstorm is not related to the famed Alien franchise, although there are some similarities: An off-world colony has been ravaged by a deathstorm and overrun by aliens, and you—just you, nobody else—have been dispatched to figure out what's going on and get it straightened out.
There's also apparently some visual inspiration at work in the game, although names are never named. "We’ve been inspired by the slightly more analogue world of 1980s sci-fi, which is much more mechanical keyboard than it is touchscreen," Rebellion design head Ben Fisher said on the Xbox Wire.
"We think it’s given our colony a chunky, lived-in aesthetic that has a genuinely unique feel. We’ve taken influences from everything from Lovecraftian eldritch horror to 1980s VHS sci-fi, so we think that people will be intrigued by what we’ve built."
Unlike that other Alien, though, players won't be entirely overpowered and screwed by this game's enemy creatures. As combat engineers, players take on the role of a "highly trained first responder who is proficient in search and rescue, combat, demolitions and engineering," and Fisher made it clear that at some points in the game, it'll be the player hunting the aliens.
The Deathstorm will also be a persistent threat, and not one you can fight back against. "It’s a planet-wide, seasonal atmospheric cataclysm that has torn through the colony without warning, causing absolute havoc," Fisher said. "The player will have to learn how and when to seek shelter, if they want to survive these hurricane force winds that are tearing the world around them apart."
In gameplay terms, Fisher said Alien Deathstorm is a "true hybrid" of survival game and shooter: "An ‘action horror’ game with a layer of constant threat and environmental discovery that fully supports the second-to-second ballistic action," to my ears a very carefully-crafted statement that doesn't s...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?