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,
I spoke to the developers of Alien: Rogue Incursion about bringing my favorite VR game to ‘traditional’ consoles and PC
