As a superfan of the “Alien” franchise, Alien: Rogue Incurison was literally my dream VR game. Being able to step into a sci-fi universe that means so much to me via the Meta Quest 3 was a truly spine-chilling experience, and I’ve been recommending it non-stop ever since.
Of course, recommending Alien: Rogue Incursion always came with the caveat that it requires an expensive VR headset — either a Meta Quest 3, PSVR 2, or PC VR. Or at least, it used to.
Thanks to the new Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition, this VR action-horror game has been converted into a “traditional” gaming experience for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
This version has been developed by Survios, an L.A.-based team that has been creating VR experiences for more than a decade. (Other titles include Creed: Rise to Glory and The Walking Dead: Onslaught.) I caught up with game director Eugene Elkin and creative director/chief product officer T.Q. Jefferson to talk Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition ahead of its launch today (September 30).
The benefits of playing outside of VR
When I first heard that Alien: Rogue Incursion was being converted into a non-VR title, I worried the intense immersion that comes when playing in virtual reality would be lost in the transition. But Survios has worked hard to ensure the Evolved Edition isn’t a downgraded experience.
“When we first set out to make [Alien: Rogue Incursion] for the consoles and PCs, we knew we wanted to capture the game that was already out,” explained Elkin. “We spent a lot of time trying to perfect the Xenomorph’s movement and their behaviors, and bringing them into the traditional console space.
“There was quite a challenge to it because the player moves at a different speed, and their precision is different. It's no longer how well you can aim downsights; it's much easier to aim with a mouse or a controller. So we took great care to really ramp up the challenge.”
But this increase in challenge wasn’t just about making the game’s extraterrisal adversaries harder to kill: “It's not just, let's make them more bullet spongy," Elkin said. "We’ve modified their behavior because in VR, the player is not able to move really quickly. It's much easier to spin around on a flat screen. So we worked into that advantage. Xenomorphs will now hide in plain sight more often. They will stalk their prey. They will cover large distances throughout the environment.”
As Jefferson explained, while some immersion is lost in the shift from VR to playing on a flat screen, there are benefits to a more traditional play experience: “There are areas of authenticity that VR particularly lends itself to, but there are always trade-offs.
“For us, the trade-offs were: how many Xenomorphs can we put on screen? Because we are rendering twice as many [in VR], how realistic can they seem? And once we recaptured some of that horsepower from moving to larger devices, it gave us the opportunity to be more authentic when it came to the actual Xenomorphs themselves. They're terrifying in the VR game, but now they're more numerous. They have different behaviors. They're doing creepier things.”
Evolved Edition will appeal to returning players
Having already experienced the original Alien: Rogue Incursion game earlier this year, I was curious what Survios thought returning players would take from the Evolved Edition.
Naturally, one of the big changes when creating a game outside of VR is the additional graphical power offered by consoles and the best gaming PC setups. “In VR, you have to render twice, once for every eye," Elkin said. "And there is a certain quality that you wish you could hit, but you have to lower it because there's a limit to computational power. [In the Evolved Edition], we're a little bit more unlocked, and we've got added visual effects.”
“It’s not just the general fidelity and performance and the additional behaviors; there's even fine-tuning that we've done on a per-platform basis. For example, on PS5, with the PS5 DualSense controller in particular. It has an accelerometer. It has the gyros in it. So what the team has done is unlocked potential there and a greater sense of immersion, like using the gyro to aim your weapon, that feeling alone is going to make it seem different,” Jefferson added.
I wondered if Survios had to rework any sections of the game to account for the switch from VR to a traditional controller-based gameplay experience, but the team has been able to keep all of the game’s best moments intact and make them more cinematic in the process.
“All of our cinematic moments were enhanced in some fashion,” Elkin said. “We can express the idea much closer to our original intention, because when it's VR, we don't know what the player is doing. They might not play along. Somebody in VR might be completely goofing off, and it might be kind of funny, but the moment is ruined. Here we are animating the player and the enemy, and the whole moment carries a lot more weight and power.”
Stepping into the boots of a familiar face
Fans of the expanded Alien franchise media might recognize the star of Alien: Rogue Incursion, Zula Hendricks. This heroine has featured in various Alien comics and novels over the years, and I wanted to ask Survio why they settled on this returning figure as their game protagonist.
“Zula was essentially the first and only choice,” Jefferson said. “We wanted to capture the third act of ‘Aliens,’ where Ripley goes down into the hive, locked and loaded, and starts kicking ass. We wanted a hero who reflected that attitude, not a character that is unequipped and has to run and hide, but a character that is there to push back. And Zula was a ready-made character already in the franchise.
“And I think it was important to see a diverse hero in this world. So someone who looked a bit more like me, a bit more like a large portion of the fan base. We felt there was more value in leaning into Zula than developing a completely original character.”
What’s next for Alien: Rogue Incursion?
You might notice that when you boot up Alien: Rogue Incursion, there’s a “Part One” subtitle on the title screen. Yup, a sequel is already confirmed and currently in development. I was eager for details, but as I expected, the good folks at Survios weren’t ready to share much. (Of course, I still had to ask.)
"We can't really talk too much about Part Two,” Jefferson explained. “But the one thing I will say is we read every comment, and we try to address as much as we feel that we can. I think Part Two is going to feel like a true sequel. It’s going to be the beneficiary of all that we've learned on this version of the game. Beyond that, I could only say that I can't wait to talk about it more.”
And I can’t wait to hear about Part Two when that time does arrive!
The big Alien question (you know the one)
When it comes to the Alien franchise, there’s one question that always pops up. Yes, I’m talking the eternal debate: “Alien” vs. “Aliens.” And with my allotted time speaking to the Survios team almost up, I was eager to conclude by asking Elkin and Jefferson this very important sci-fi question.
Jefferson opted for the original movie: “Credit to the one that started it all. ‘Aliens’ is an incredible film, and they're neck and neck, as far as I'm concerned. But we wouldn't have that if we didn't have ‘Alien.’”
“To me, it’s definitely ‘Aliens’,” Elkin said. “I grew up watching 'Aliens,’ and I saw it without any kind of trailer. I knew nothing about it, and then I saw it, and I was like, ‘This is the greatest thing I've ever seen.’ There's a horror element, but it leans more into the action. Obviously, our game is heavily inspired by ‘Aliens.’ So I was very happy about that.”
This interview has been edited for clarity without altering meaning or context.
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