After a successful VR launch, Alien: Rogue Incursion in the Evolved Edition has arrived on flat-screen PC and PS5/Xbox Series consoles. This is a conversion that preserves most of the VR version’s strengths: the claustrophobic atmosphere, survival horror tension, and fairly intelligent Xenomorph behavior, while adapting them to traditional controls. Studio Survios did a solid job, though the game’s VR roots are still somewhat noticeable.
What to Expect in Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition
The plot in Alien: Rogue Incursion isn’t groundbreaking – you play as Zula Hendricks, a former Colonial Marine, who, together with the synthetic Davis 01, heads to the planet Purdan in response to an SOS from an old friend. The action mostly takes place in the Gemini Exoplanet Solutions complex, where every corner could hide a well-known threat.
The story presentation is rather minimal, mostly unfolding through radio messages, audio logs, and emails. Fortunately, the conversations feel natural, thanks largely to excellent voice acting. The characters are likable, and their interactions are smooth and believable.
The research complex is a perfect setting for a survival horror: it features small rooms, multi-level labyrinths, and some slightly more open areas. Unlocking access to new locations requires collecting keycards and repairing electrical circuits through simple mini-games. Manual interactions, such as inserting disks into computers, remain an interesting addition, though controlling them with a mouse or analog stick is understandably less immersive than natural gestures.
If you’ve ever played Silent Hill: Shattered Memories on Nintendo Wii or PlayStation 2, you know what to expect. The precision is noticeably higher here, but at the cost of the aforementioned immersion. The solutions proposed by Survios aren’t annoying, even though, for obvious reasons, you’ll encounter similar interactions fairly often.
Alien in the new version gains in pacing but loses some of the fear generated by the original. Xenomorphs still crawl along walls, emerge from ventilation shafts, and attack unexpectedly, but standard aiming makes the gameplay very straightforward. I personally recommend selecting the highest difficulty level, which in several spots manages to create a real sense of danger. Combat can be divided into scripted and random encounters – the former are flashy but predictable, while the latter require caution and appropriate reactions to the situation.
The shooting system remains quite dynamic, as the pulse rifle, revolver, and shotgun all pack enough “punch.” Aiming differs somewhat from classic shooters. It’s hard to describe, but the camera feels slightly smoother and more expressive, with some unusual field-of-view behavior – a clear legacy of the VR version.
The biggest weakness of the previous version of Alien: Rogue Incursion was undoubtedly technical issues. Evolved Edition boasts very polished visuals and surprisingly good optimization. The game runs on Unreal Engine 5, which is usually worrisome, but here it’s hard to find anything to complain about. Interior details, impressive particle effects, and significantly improved textures make the game a pleasure to look at. Additionally, improved shadows and lighting contribute greatly to the claustrophobic atmosphere – even without VR goggles.
Performance is very solid. Options allow for detailed quality adjustments, including ray tracing and Nvidia DLSS/AMD FSR resolution scaling with frame generation. On a PC with an RTX 4080, 32GB RAM, and AMD Ryzen 7800 X3D, I could enable most settings to maximum and still maintain roughly (true, not generated) 100–120 FPS at 4K with balanced DLSS. Typical UE5 stutters were minimal, and the strong optimization is also evident on the Steam Deck, achieving a stable 30–40 FPS depending on settings.
In conclusion, Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition on PC is a successful VR-to-flat-screen conversion that retains the original’s strengths. It remains a dark tale in the Alien universe capable of giving you goosebumps. Optimization is top-notch, allowing enjoyable gameplay on both high-end PCs and handheld devices. Overall, it’s an engaging survival horror that will appeal to both series fans and newcomers, although it doesn’t completely hide its origins. It’s a shame we’re still only halfway through the story, with the finale coming in Part 2.
Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition: is a very solid VR-to-flat conversion, offering a claustrophobic atmosphere and engaging gameplay, though it loses some immersion. The game impresses with its visuals while remaining well-optimized. Recommended for fans of the genre and the Alien franchise. – Great on Deck
