My half hour with Alien Isolation 2 wasn't supposed to end like this. I've spent the last few minutes crouch-walking through a wrecked spaceship. It's dark in here – too dark to see more than an arm's length ahead. A storm buffets the vessel, the yawning groan of metal sheets slowly being pulled from the ship's carcass by strong winds – or straining beneath heavy, unnatural footsteps – setting my teeth on edge. Electrical sparks land in pools of stagnant water. Nearby, a control panel flickers weakly, just long enough for me to spy a slippery onyx-black tail slither out of the room just behind it.
My mission is to reroute the ship's power while avoiding a sinister presence stalking my every move. Sensing an opportunity, I make a break for a newly-unlocked door and promptly get a tail between the ribs. The music stops – wait, there was music too? – as my character gurgles a surprised gasp, staring down at the barbed and bloodied thing that's erupted from her chest. She falls to the ground. Blackout. Game over.
