Alien: Isolation saw several vignettes in the last week or so, but with each of them being around 30 seconds, we opted to wait until they were all done and offer a complete write-up. Then a trailer for Survivor Mode came along, and that piqued our interest. Unfortunately, one of the vignettes also showed firearms. Something which has actually been known since June, but was only recently brought to our attention. How do you feel about this? Does the inclusion of guns make any impact, or did it miss the mark? Well, Survivor Mode seems to be primarily devoid of them, so let's look at that first.

As the name suggests, it's about surviving a series of smaller challenge like encounters. Unlike the name suggests, it's not one of those fighting off hordes of enemies and seeing how long you last. Instead, it's all about making your way through a certain section as quickly and efficiently as possible. With timer and global leaderboards, it feels...honestly, a little on the gimmicky side. But it certainly fits the premise of being alone and hunted by an unstoppable apex predator.

Now, about the guns. I, for one, am decidedly not pleased. We have been assured that they will have no effect on the alien itself, and even using them to dispatch other residents of the station is more likely to lead to the alien jumping out and killing you so...why the fuck are they there in the first place? Worst of all, why did it take so long for anything about this to be revealed? Excuse me, but wasn't this supposed to be the game we've always wanted to play? All alone being hunted by an intelligent alien monster. Our only option to stay put of sight and hope for the best? No, it was not implicitly stated, at any point, that there would not be firearms. But it was never clearly stated that their would. The store listing on Steam (for exxample) makes no mention, at all, of firearms. Only a vague reference to crafting and resource management.

It seems then, my earlier misgivings were not misplaced. Does the inclusion of guns really make a huge impact on what the game is? Probably not. It's still primarily a stealth survival/horror experience. But the fact that previous information released was so deceptive is something that should not be tolerated. At best it's deceptive and dishonest. This was not the game I was expecting, is not the game I want. And the underhanded way in which this was handled is not acceptable.

Other than that, worst part is, it still looks like a great game. I just cannot abide misleading advertising.