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GamesRadar
GamesRadar
Technology
Ashley Bardhan

15 years after the first game made horror history, Alien Isolation 2 unleashes a smarter, meaner Xenomorph

The xenomorph attacks, drool glistening as its multiple mouths open, in Alien Isolation 2's prologue, with the orange GamesRadar+ Summer Preview 2026 frame.

I suppose there are worse places to be than a spaceship; Earth, for example. So I'm happy to become Alien: Isolation 2 protagonist Blake during a preview of the horror game sequel at Summer Game Fest 2026. Though, it's obvious developer Creative Assembly doesn't want me easing into any cathartic sense of "escapism" with the franchise's apex predator, the Xenomorph, skulking around. Nearly 15 years after the first Alien: Isolation game made horror history, Alien: Isolation 2's unkillable, highly intelligent monster is even more adept at drooling over each crunch of your knuckles – this is a game about escaping.

So, I need to stop wanting to die. That's something I like to do in horror games – it's the closest I can get to finding out what the real thing is like – which I passively yearn for during both minor inconveniences, like running out of salt, and larger, life-altering tragedies. Horror games let you indulge in death and dying without any of the real drama. I can tell Blake has a sad fuzz around her, too, as she chooses to explore a piece of the infested Sevastopol station from Alien: Isolation, even though it's an obvious trap.

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