From the whine of the motion tracker, to the crackle of the pulse rifles and even the James Horner-adjacent score, every thread of Dark Descent feels pulled from the movie, making the game an exhilarating ride and even allowing you to customise your marines to reflect their on-screen counterparts (almost mandatory). The interface is clunky and the launch version had more than a few (non-Xenomorph) bugs to stamp out but there’s no denying how lovingly developer Tindalos’ title captures the oppressive atmosphere and particular aesthetic of the 1986 sequel. A real-time, squad-based tactical survival horror rather than the blazing shooter you might expect, this unbearably tense strategy game takes pages from the Xcom playbook, but gives them a unique and effective twist as you and your squad climb aboard an express elevator to hell.
It might have taken the better part of four decades, but this year we were finally presented with an Aliens adaptation worthy of the title. It took almost a decade for Ishin! to make it out of Japan, but this modern remake was worth the wait. Factor in all the compulsive side-games the wider series is known for, and it's a good time in the (very) old town. Ryoma seamlessly switching between four combat styles – Swordsman, Gunman, Brawler, and the gun/sword dual wielding ‘Wild Dancer’ – makes for beautiful carnage, while a new ‘Virtue’ system unlocks more abilities. It's that sort of bonkers approach that has won fans’ admiration over the decades, but this doesn't rely on gimmicks – it packs in some of the series’ best action yet.
That's its actual in-game cast, mind – which means Yakuza's Kazuma Kiryu ‘starring’ as ronin Sakamoto Ryoma (both voiced by actual human Takaya Kuroda), and a host of other familiar faces cropping up in new roles for Ishin!'s 1860s setting. A spin-off of the wider Like A Dragon series (formerly Yakuza), Ishin! takes its cast of noble criminals and transplants them to the Bakumatsu era for a tale at the end of Japan's Edo period.
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