If you were alone on a radiated planet without the skills or manpower to find a way home, would you clone yourself? That is the question posed by The Alters, a resource-gathering crew management simulator full of hard decisions and incoming chaos that rarely allows for contemplation. As the sun approaches to wipe you and your base out, the gameplay becomes anxiety inducing deeper into each act. Every second counts. Outside the ship there are large maps full of important items and enemies, but dangers lurk inside the ship as well. For the alters – your alternate versions – need to be kept happy, full and entertained like siblings on a summer holiday to ensure all hands are on deck. If you allow your alters to grow troublesome, the sun may seem like a faraway star in the night sky in comparison. 11 Bit Studios chose the perfect time to launch an indie title covered in passion and hard work, with gamers still glowing in their praise of another small team’s success in the release of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. But few games combine narrative, gameplay and decision-making as well as The Alters, questioning the player with ‘what ifs’ in their own life cycle. Before delving into this process, let’s start from the beginning.
Jan Dolski is the lone survivor of a crash landing during a mission to find Rapidium – a highly valuable resource sought after by a mining company (AllyCorp). He’s not the captain or an extremely skilled individual outside of his mining capacity, soon realising that the ship and mission need his commitment to progress beyond destruction in a foreign world. The prologue shows the player the ropes – how to mine resources, how to navigate the planet, how to build new rooms in the ship and the general ‘daily’ gameplay loop where time is of the essence (go to bed too late, and you’ll wake up late the next day). This is manageable for Jan until it isn’t. To avoid the sun, he must clone himself using a quantum computer and the very resource in focus. As a great man once said, this is where the fun begins. AllyCorp wants that precious Rapidium, but Jan just wants to return home.
The alters – the label for the clone versions of yourself – specialise in specific roles due to differing choices in pivotal life moments. One alter may have focused more on a relationship, or protected a family member, or took that big job, or lived elsewhere. That flap of the butterfly wing sees alter Jan become a doctor, or miner, or scientist, or doctor (the list goes on). While the first two alter choices are locked into necessity, the player can then choose alters with skills that best fit their needs. Hungry crew? Create the botanist to grow crops. Unruly crew? Create the guard to keep them in line. The trick here is that you cannot create all the alters in a playthrough, opening a level of ‘person’ management to align with your focus at the time. Some alters are friendly and fall in line. Others spark rebellion and become annoyed very easily. Remember, they’re all ‘you’ armed with values based on opposing decisions. Main Jan soon realises that a crew of himself may not be all that cohesive.
The game delves into the social components of the crew well. Social rooms have beer pong and movies for entertainment. Conversations and requests are frequent. You’ll walk past other alters chatting or arguing, eager to listen in for any easy problem-solving to reduce escalation. You’ll choose sides. Every alter has feelings change based on your selected dialogue. This may sound deep, and having this alongside the need to venture onto the planet’s surface to find necessary resources before the sun wipes you out creates a juggling act that always becomes difficult at the exact moment when it all clicked into place. Across my 20-hour playthrough, I was aware previous decisions made hours prior saw my game become harder. With saving only occurring during sleep at the end of a day, planning ahead is vital and ensures this game is not one of comfort despite the sim components taking up large chunks of time.
Progression is very well plotted here. New blueprints in the lab or build options see constant changes to gameplay, carry capacity and possibilities in success. With every update linked to a timer, that vital addition to the base may be half a day away when you really need it now. With many different types of rooms on offer (hello, Blue Prince) one must decide which room will be more useful rather than simply adding all rooms at once. This may see a decision between an infirmary for healing and a social room for happiness. Both sound essential, but both may mean the base is too heavy to move to a safer location – which is only possible through your work on the planet.
The gameplay on the planet surface is reminiscent of No Man’s Sky in the focus on mining for resources. When first scouting the area, the key is to set up your mining posts then link them back to the base through pylons (think Death Stranding’s ziplines). Once all is set, the player must then decide which resources to mine for upgrades, food and more. Alters can be sent out onto the planet to mine or do other jobs, though each is best suited to the role in their name. In terms of danger, time is the greatest threat (though there are ‘enemies’ to avoid while exploring). Now, there is light combat in this game. Initially, the player has no means to fight the anomalies that appear as a haze on screen. But, as with any good Resident Evil game where the initial threat is always most alarming when first seen, the player will soon acquire tools through research and workshopping to remove the problem.
The voice acting from Alex Jordan (VA for Jan Dolski x 11) and his many versions is a performance to behold. Even though he’s essentially playing double-figure versions of the one character, the small changes in accent, approach, emotion and output ensure each Jan role is unique in personality and sound. The first two we meet – technician and scientist – are so different in approach that it’s hard to remember they are essentially the same man considering their dialogue. I found the technician to become quite angry based on my selections, while the scientist (long hair and all) could assess options with a level head. This only enhanced with other alters, and I quickly regretted a certain alter only an hour after creation. This is the mark of any good game – presentation captures essence and delivers. The soundtrack was equally impressive with electronic tracks alongside ‘chill’ tunes in the social rooms and dorms. I encountered no bugs in my playthrough, which is again testament to a dedicated team focused on all the parts to create an A-class package.
The Alters is a game full of philosophical questions and anxiety-inducing gameplay. Comfort and relaxation are not words used to describe the release, despite the sim management components and base-building. This is a deep, dark and progressive tale full of choice and consequence. Few games provide such a canvas to punish any fence-sitting or meandering. Jan must be direct, strong and focused on the task. You’ll laugh, curse and cry in all the wrong moments – a fantastic combination of unique gameplay and storytelling. Add in the performance of Jan and the replayability of playthroughs with different alters, and you have a title that will feature on many Game of the Year shortlists through sheer quality in every corner.
After each day, you’ll feel that urge for just Jan more.
Pros
- Brilliant performance from Alex Jordan
- A range of different gameplay options
- Fresh take on planet exploration and survival
Cons
- At times, all can feel unmanageable based on early decisions
This review was played on PlayStation 5 with a release code provided by the publisher.
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