Relive the great horror game with The Art of Alien: Isolation
God, I’ve fallen in love with art books. It’s one thing to play through a video game or watch a feature film, but it’s another entirely to take your time flipping through a book dedicated to the talent, time, and craft that went into the project. If you haven’t played the franchise-reviving 2014 game Alien: Isolation, the holiday season is the perfect time to get in on the horror and revisit the iconic canon. Although it’s a little late, I’m close to finishing the game, and I also recently got my hands on the fantastic The Art of Alien: Isolation (click to buy) from Titan Books. Not only is it a beautiful look behind the scenes, it’s also a nice breakdown and walkthrough of different techniques and elements that were mixed into the movie-inspired madness.
Flip through some snapshots of the book and read a short review after the jump.
As a confession, I’m an extremely casual gamer, playing very little and sporadically, so picking up Alien: Isolation for full-price when it was released was kind of a big deal. Being a film fan, it’s impossible not to be feel fondly for Ridley Scott’s genre-defining first entry, James Cameron’s ridiculously entertaining follow-up, and David Fincher’s misguided trilogy topper. There’s even a little love for the rest the xenomorph movies (Resurrection, AVP, AVP: Requiem) that might take some coaxing to show itself if challenged. So, when I stumbled across a gameplay trailer for Alien: Isolation in January and discovered the story focused on Ellen Ripley’s daughter and her search for closure, I was sold almost immediately. That said, I’d been tricked before (*cough cough* Colonial Marines *cough*), but all signs pointed to an amazing Alien game.
It did not disappoint. I find Alien: Isolation terrifying with its atmospheric blend of tension layered with an always-close and seemingly unstoppable antagonist. As mentioned, I haven’t quite made it through the game yet (I play it in small bursts), but I did recently get the chance to flip through a copy of the excellent art book that was released as accompaniment. It’s gorgeous when it means to be, technical when giving us glimpses of how the game was put together, inspiring when revealing some of the early artwork considered, and is just a great way to learn how the The Creative Assembly crew behind the scenes brought Amanda Ripley and her horrific experience aboard the Sevastopol to life.
The Art of Alien: Isolation takes readers through the creative process of crafting the newest chapter of the official canon, “from conception to execution,” and includes everything from simple sketches to jaw-dropping, fully rendered, full-page portraits of the creature that used to haunt my nightmares as a kid. The first page of the book is an up-close look at the baddie in all his glistening glory (you can see it in the gallery above), and I was stuck on that page for a few minutes before I dove deeper. Once inside, I found plenty of concept renderings and character almosts, weapon and tool closeups, and a large chunk of the middle section (easily 80 of the 176 pages) that was devoted to interior and exterior design details. Lots to take in for fans of the game as well as the franchise.
I’ve let Alien: Isolation sit on my shelf for a while now, cleansing my horror palate so to speak, but after flipping through the art book I’m ready to jump back in and finish things up. Again, if you haven’t given the game a chance, what better time than Christmas to pick it up. If you have played the game and enjoyed the experience, I recommend adding a copy of The Art of Alien: Isolation to your book shelf to enjoy the experience a little more!
