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whichwitch96's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
physiwiz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Very cool survival horror. People just keep going to LV-426 and having a bad time. Go to sunny beach planet instead my good people. Really enjoyed the Amanda flashbacks and felt those parts were where the book shines the most as it is completely new original story from DeCandido. Internal monologue for Amanda adds a lot which is appreciated as she is a very cool character. Some parts of the book you could feel was laid out to catch up to what would have happened in the game eg. finding equipment/materials which I think limited DeCandido somewhat as things needed to match a specific timeline. Can't wait to play the game though and get the other side of the story.
kestis's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
martin_19_88's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
hologram_reads's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I really enjoyed the context this brought to the game and the lore it added to the Ripley dynamic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Gore
seathegoll's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
4.0
For a video game adaptation... Not that bad. I enjoyed it.
rmunn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Other than gaining insight into Amanda's life, this didn't add much to the lore.
mcrowe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
hisghoulfriday's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Alien: Isolation is the novelization of the 2014 video game, where Ripley's daughter Amanda finds what happened to her mother.
Before I begin, I have a confession to make. I'm a huge wimp when it comes to horror video games, I don't know what it is about them but I get freaked out when I play them 😂. Alien: Isolation looked like a fun game, and when I found out that there was a novel version I opted to read that instead. But when I started reading it, I found the pacing really disjointed and I felt like I was missing something so I watched Markiplier play it so I could compare the two. It turns out the book version was missing parts of the game's story.
There was a whole subplot missing from the book about these creepy mannequin synthetics called Working Joes. They were a failed project that was being worked on before the Xeno arrived, and the bots start to go rogue. It was a big part of the game, since while you were also dealing with a Xeno, you're also having to deal with these 🔪 robots. They do exist in the book, however it wasn't anything like how it was in the book.
But the missing storyline wasn't the weirdest thing about this book was. It was the fact that there's no tension in the book, which is basically the premise of the game. The scariest thing about the game is that the Xeno learns how you play, so if you go and hide a lot, the Xeno will start to look under desks more. There was no sense of danger in the book, Amanda just breezes quickly through the "game missions" and then it jumps to a flashback. I don't think she ever narrowly escapes in the book like she did in the game.
I did, however, like that Amanda was more fleshed out in the book version, and this was the only thing that really added to the story compared to the game. I loved the flashbacks of Amanda and her mom. You got to see the disappointment and heartbreak of Amanda when she found out her mom was missing and how awful her step-dad was. You also got to see Amanda growing up and that her drive was trying to find her mom. And being a big fan of Alien it was also really cool to see Dallas again.
Overall, I'd recommend just playing the game instead of reading this.
Before I begin, I have a confession to make. I'm a huge wimp when it comes to horror video games, I don't know what it is about them but I get freaked out when I play them 😂. Alien: Isolation looked like a fun game, and when I found out that there was a novel version I opted to read that instead. But when I started reading it, I found the pacing really disjointed and I felt like I was missing something so I watched Markiplier play it so I could compare the two. It turns out the book version was missing parts of the game's story.
There was a whole subplot missing from the book about these creepy mannequin synthetics called Working Joes. They were a failed project that was being worked on before the Xeno arrived, and the bots start to go rogue. It was a big part of the game, since while you were also dealing with a Xeno, you're also having to deal with these 🔪 robots. They do exist in the book, however it wasn't anything like how it was in the book.
But the missing storyline wasn't the weirdest thing about this book was. It was the fact that there's no tension in the book, which is basically the premise of the game. The scariest thing about the game is that the Xeno learns how you play, so if you go and hide a lot, the Xeno will start to look under desks more. There was no sense of danger in the book, Amanda just breezes quickly through the "game missions" and then it jumps to a flashback. I don't think she ever narrowly escapes in the book like she did in the game.
I did, however, like that Amanda was more fleshed out in the book version, and this was the only thing that really added to the story compared to the game. I loved the flashbacks of Amanda and her mom. You got to see the disappointment and heartbreak of Amanda when she found out her mom was missing and how awful her step-dad was. You also got to see Amanda growing up and that her drive was trying to find her mom. And being a big fan of Alien it was also really cool to see Dallas again.
Overall, I'd recommend just playing the game instead of reading this.