A sci-fi management sim from the team behind climate crisis fable Frostpunk, The Alters turns the classic video game concept of the “extra life” into a source of manpower. Protagonist(s) Jan Dolski is the sole survivor of a crash-landed mining mission, trapped on an airless planet in a mobile base that resembles an East End boxpark strung to the inside of the London Eye. To run the facility, Dolski must spawn and collaborate with alternate versions of himself. These aren’t just doppelgangers, but independent characters with diverging personalities and skills (and haircuts) born of different life choices: one is a dreamy guitar player, another seems to have anger issues, a third is the boffin type, a fourth carries himself like Captain Kirk.
Teamwork is crucial, but despite – or perhaps, thanks to – being genetically identical, Jan’s parallel selves may not get along. “[Their] paths branch at different stages or certain ages, defining their personality and – most importantly – identity,” says director Tomasz Kisilewicz. “The result is a different being that is annoyed by [different] things and driven by different motivations. Understanding them correctly is key to success in the game.” Mismanaging Dolski’s selves may lead to outright conflict; Kisilewicz declines to go into detail, but it’s certainly possible for them to die.
