GamesSurvivalThe Alters feels like a perfect mix of sci-fi survival with the multiversal chaos of Everything Everywhere All At OnceWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesSurvivalThe Alters feels like a perfect mix of sci-fi survival with the multiversal chaos of Everything Everywhere All At OnceWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: 11 Bit Studios)
If you ever wondered what might happen if you combined the multiversal chaos of Everything Everywhere All at Once with base building and survival mechanics in a sci-fi adventure, The Alters is your answer. 11 bit studios has been cooking up something truly unique since The Alters was announced in 2022, and after spending around two hours hands-on with it, it’s quickly become one of my most anticipated games of the year.
Summer Games PreviewWe are diving deep into the hottest upcoming games out of Summer Game Fest. To find all of our coverage, visitGamesRadar’s What’s Hot 2024 hub.
Summer Games PreviewWe are diving deep into the hottest upcoming games out of Summer Game Fest. To find all of our coverage, visitGamesRadar’s What’s Hot 2024 hub.
Summer Games PreviewWe are diving deep into the hottest upcoming games out of Summer Game Fest. To find all of our coverage, visitGamesRadar’s What’s Hot 2024 hub.
Summer Games PreviewWe are diving deep into the hottest upcoming games out of Summer Game Fest. To find all of our coverage, visitGamesRadar’s What’s Hot 2024 hub.
Summer Games PreviewWe are diving deep into the hottest upcoming games out of Summer Game Fest. To find all of our coverage, visitGamesRadar’s What’s Hot 2024 hub.
Summer Games PreviewWe are diving deep into the hottest upcoming games out of Summer Game Fest. To find all of our coverage, visitGamesRadar’s What’s Hot 2024 hub.
Clone crew
(Image credit: 11 bit studios)
Staying alive(Image credit: Iron Gate)Here’s our pick of the 10best survival gamesyou can play right now
Staying alive
(Image credit: Iron Gate)Here’s our pick of the 10best survival gamesyou can play right now
(Image credit: Iron Gate)
Here’s our pick of the 10best survival gamesyou can play right now
Although there’s a larger mystery afoot in terms of how Jan ended up being the only survivor of the mission, how Rapidium works, and what the hell the deal is with the deadly sun, the alters are definitely the most interesting part of the story to me so far. You can read through their entire backstories from the point where their decisions branched off from Jan’s – one early alter you meet, for example, followed a different life path after defending his mother from his abusive dad, ending up as a more courageous person with an engineering job. Meanwhile, another alter devotes himself to his studies and career as a scientist, pushing away all of his personal relationships with his family and wife to become someone who feels like an entirely different, self-absorbed individual.
Relatability
(Image credit: 11 bit studios)
“We wanted this person to be relatable. […] We wanted a person who was very unfulfilled and has regrets in life"Tomasz Kisilewicz, game director
“We wanted this person to be relatable. […] We wanted a person who was very unfulfilled and has regrets in life”
“We wanted this person to be relatable. […] We wanted a person who was very unfulfilled and has regrets in life,” Kisilewicz says of Jan. “That’s why we made this white guy in his mid 30s. And we felt like you know, ‘But how do we make it relatable for more people?'”
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From this point, individuals on the development team were asked about their personal regrets and biggest “what ifs” to gather ideas from a more diverse pool of people. “Through all of this, we created this life of Jan,” Kisilewicz continues. “So we hope that everyone – no matter their gender, race, or anything – everyone will have at least one that is really relatable to them.”
“I hesitated with watching Everything Everywhere for a long time, because I was like, ‘Okay, I love these guys. I love their movies, and I’m nervous it’s gonna be the same as The Alters,'” Kisilewicz admits. Thankfully for the director, this wasn’t the case, as he found that the two were “totally different” in how they explored their ideas.
Survival
(Image credit: 11 bit studios)
“We want this to be engaging, we want to create tension, and we don’t want to overwhelm"Tomasz Kisilewicz, game director
“We want this to be engaging, we want to create tension, and we don’t want to overwhelm”
In its current pre-launch state, the game’s performance was consistently smooth on PC, although the world does feel rather barren. Admittedly, I didn’t have enough time to explore extensively to uncover any secrets that could be out there, but so far, it doesn’t appear that there’s an enormous amount to see while out traversing the planet other than the occasional mining spot. However, the story so far is genuinely gripping, and I had no qualms pushing forward, completing objectives to see what unfolds next.
Throughout the duration of my play session, ensuring Jan’s survival was a pretty straightforward task, but Kisilewicz was quick to say that in terms of all the gameplay systems on offer, there was still “a fair amount of stuff” ahead of me.
“Of course, we didn’t want to overcomplicate it, that was always a tough balance for us,” Kisilewicz adds. “Because we want this to be engaging, we want to create tension, and we don’t want to overwhelm because when you overwhelm you stop caring about the alters, about the story.”
(Image credit: 11 bit studios)
Although things were going well for Jan and my two alter Jans throughout my hands-on session, failure may well have been waiting around the corner had I made a wrong turn. Thankfully though, if youdofail, the punishment isn’t harsh – Kisilewicz reveals that players are able to choose exactly which day they want to wind the clock back to if they die, allowing them to correct their mistakes or try a different approach.
With that said, there’s no ‘correct’ way to ensure Jan’s survival – Kisilewicz notes that players “have a lot of freedom” to choose which strategies they want to employ when progressing. The story – which is broken up into a three-act structure, will contain obstacles to overcome, such as an enormous lava river blocking the base’s path in the first act. “The solution might always be to cross the lava river, but how do you do this? What tools will you use? You can do that in a different way,” Kisilewicz says.
The Alters still doesn’t have a release date, but even in its current state, it offers something truly engaging, with a plot so intriguing that I have no idea where it’s going to end up. It’s set to launch simultaneously on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S later this year.
For more games like The Alters that you can dive into right now, be sure to check out our pick of thebest sci-fi games.
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