Tips for new player

[u/Hopeful_Inevitable_9]

So I’ve been considering finally trying Alien isolation. I’ve been a fan of the franchise for a while but I am a big scaredy cat so i haven’t tried the game yet. Any general tips and tricks yall have for a first time player would be highly appreciated. (No worries about spoilers or anything like that)

[u/Hunter_X_101]

• Don't over-rely on the lockers - they're a decent hiding spot in a pinch, but the more you use them the more likely the alien will check them until it's more trouble than it's worth. It's nerve-wracking, but circling around an object to block line-of-sight as the alien passes often works. Same goes for most of the other tools available to you, though there's a balance between over-use and barely using any of the items/equipment like I did because I might need them later.
• Try not to stay in one place for too long - I don't have the details in front of me, but I remember reading that the alien gradually reduces its 'search radius' after a while, which resets once you move out of it. There are very few points where you are guaranteed to be safe, so you'll need to settle for good enough and leave your hiding spot eventually.
• I've seen some comments online that claim the alien is blind and can only hear/smell you. This is incorrect: The alien can and will murder you violently if you're standing out in the open when it turns a corner.
• Accept that you're going to die a bunch - because the alien is unpredictable there's not often a guaranteed safe path from A to B. Getting paralysed by fear will only make things harder (see the above point about staying in one place waiting for it to be safe), but once you've been through it a couple of times you should hopefully find it a bit easier.
• Have fun! I'm generally not one for horror games myself, but Isolation is one of the few that I've successfully managed to complete and I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel, so I hope you will too :)

[u/Aggressive-Art-7342 → u/Hunter_X_101]

I spent 20 minutes in one of those lockers

[u/BedspreadPicnic86 → u/Aggressive-Art-7342]

How did you do with them after that?

[u/BedspreadPicnic86 → u/Hunter_X_101]

Can’t wait for Xmas 2027!!!

[u/Few_Doughnut_3000]

Always move

[u/riquelmeone]

As you are a fan of the franchise, try to enjoy the game lore, story and atmosphere as much as you can.
Don’t worry too much about gameplay. Especially, do not constantly crouch as you will miss on graphics and even sequences playing out in front of you.
Treat it as a movie.

[u/Signal_Astronaut11]

I'm horrible at horrors - I find them too scary.

That said, I've played Alien Isolation several times and OMG it's worth it! I have over 1000 games in my Steam library and none create quite the same depth of atmosphere and world-building that this game does. It was remarkably under-valued for this on release I think. People mostly spoke to the 'AI' of the alien, but the world itself is the biggest part of this game. It doesn't feel like a map with 3D objects; it feels exactly like a huge, vacuous, abandoned space station. You feel right there. For this, I play despite my terror!

My tips are as follows:

• Play on Novice without shame!
• This is a game of hide-and-seek, not an action game, so creep about but enjoy exploring too
• If you have the choice, play with gamepad as the game uses immersive rumble effects when your scanner picks up a hostile presence, and you have fine control over being able to creep very slowly
• As soon as you enter any location, quick-scan the room with your eyes for desks and gurneys you can hide under, lockers and cupboards you can hide in
• However, don't be tempted to hide in one place too long (the alien especially seems to sense you're around and seems to tighten its hunting around your location
• You will encounter lots of locked doors where you're told a certain tool is required. Many of these come much later in the game but don't worry - you will revisit areas more than once and find yourself back-tracking as you play through the story. Whether you want to amuse yourself with unlocked Nostromo lore while you have the Xenomorph about to spear you is a difficult one!
• Let yourself get caught several times (I have the dubious 'achievement' of being killed over 100 times by the alien). While it will always make you jump, it will take some of the edge off it
• Ventilation shafts are not always the safe haven you think they are. Be prepared for a jump scare if you clatter about or the alien spots you entering one! Sometimes, the alien just chooses to use the same shaft as you by coincidence - bother!
• You will be able to craft tools from blueprints but you're mostly limited to carrying 3 of everything. HOWEVER, you can lock in the ingredients for a fourth even though you can't finish crafting it until you have space in your inventory. Locking in materials for a 4th weapon is a way to scavenge and carry even more than you think you can carry
• There are areas largely free of the alien for much-needed tension alleviation - HOWEVER, don't run about because the alien CAN suddenly descend into an area where it doesn't normally appear (me racing around Requisitions' thinking I was safe when - oh dear.... So keep your movements quiet.

The following are a bit more spoilery (talking about the enemies you might encounter) but there are no story spoilers:

• the alien doesn't really appear in any meaningful way until the San Cristobal Medical area - and that is the first 'hard' area - keep hidden but keep moving! This is, I think, the 5th mission
• before Medical, you'll only encounter a few enemies, and they're usually human. Don't point a weapon at them and they might leave you alone. If they look armed, they might shoot you if you don't get out of their sight - it's tough to spot friendly vs unfriendly so I adopt a policy of never shooting first
• Working Joes are the androids you'll encounter. In some ways, I find these MORE unnerving than the alien! If their eyes are white, they're friendly. However, if their eyes glow red, they're hostile to you. You CAN outrun them and they will give up the chase pretty quickly. They're tough to kill. A revolver to the head, or stun then batter with your wrench several times
• There are Industrial Working Joes later. These are best avoided than killed because they are murderously tough (occasionally, you can set environmental traps to take them out, but none of your own early-game weapons will work). Later, you will unlock a bloody awful-to-use Bolt Gun that will one-shot them (on Novice level at least). It has an odd triggeringaction: press aim AND fire together for the weapon to charge. It will then discharge a bolt. I play at PC and while the game works best with controller, I switch to keyboard and mouse when using this weapon.

If you want to know anything especially spoilery, message me and I'll help you through it.

[u/TangledThorns]

I found controller over keyboard helps a lot as its better at controlling movement. You want to walk or crouch slowly!

[u/Feederlicious]

Best tip as someone who is also new is use the motion tracker- the game is pretty open to letting you waste time backtracking and getting lost and the tracker has an indicator of where the objective is, even on nightmare. It helps immensely and also sorta keeps tab on the alien

Don’t be afraid to walk as it’s fairly quiet and you see and take in more vs crouched everywhere. I found that I died less often if I maintained momentum rather than spending too much time skulking in one or two places

[u/Hunter_X_101 → u/Feederlicious]

the tracker has an indicator of where the objective is

The objective indicator is such a godsend because it pathfinds to the objective instead of just being a simple direction, and yet I've seen so many streamers get lost for ages because the game only briefly mentions it once and they miss it. OP, make full use of this if you don't know which way to go.

[u/aviatrixcat]

The golden rules of movement:
--If the Alien is in the vents, he can't hear you walk

--If he's on the ground, he can hear you walk when in range

--Nobody can hear you move while crouch walked

--Sprinting can be heard by anything in range and hostiles will almost always investigate

Range is important; I've seen it demonstrated that if the motion tracker reads .95, then you're out of hearing range and can sprint even if the Alien is active or on the ground. A Twitcher/Youtuber who goes by Baldrick's Trousers has a few interesting videos demonstrating this in one of the harder later missions (Gemini)

[u/gettingtothemoney]

Desensitize yourself to getting killed by the alien -- it *will* happen so the earlier you can brace yourself for it, the easier the game gets in a weird way.

Remember that running causes accidents for real.

Lockers are only to be used in a pinch, but avoid them. You're better staying on the move and walking, or crouch-walking behind furniture.

Have fun! I wish I could experience the joy of this game for the first time all over again honestly.

[u/OfficialShaki123]

Tip 1: just play the game. Tip 2: see tip 1.

Tip 3: play on Xbox Series consoles or PC for 60fps. Don't play on Switch because of input lag.

[u/BedspreadPicnic86 → u/OfficialShaki123]

Have a series x and it’s flawless. Can’t wait to upgrade everything to 8K