Alien: Rogue Incursion – Part One: Evolved Edition review for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X

In the last five years we’ve seen at least three different video game takes on the iconic Alien franchise. 2021 saw the release of Aliens: Fireteam Elite, followed by Aliens: Dark Descent in 2023. Then 2024 brought us Aliens first foray into VR with Alien: Rogue Incursion (see our review of that here). This week marks the re-release of that game minus the VR component, available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC, now dubbed Alien: Rogue Incursion – Part One: Evolved Edition.

I’ve been on a bit of a high since the recent TV show Alien: Earth just wrapped up on FX, and I was ready for more Xenomorph action. In that regard Rogue Incursion certainly fits the bill. It’s a solid enough First-Person Shooter set against the backdrop of an abandoned, creepy outpost filled with light puzzle solving, cramped corridors, and plenty of slimy Xenomorphs jumping at the chance to take a bite out of protagonist Zula Hendricks.

For the hardcore Alien fans, Zula might be an already familiar face. Originating from the Dark Horse comic series Aliens: Defiance, Zula is a former Marine who essentially goes AWOL to hunt down Xenomorphs in order to keep them out of the hands of the ever nefarious corporation Weyland-Yutani. Just like the comics, in Alien: Rogue Incursion Zula is also accompanied by her synth partner Davis, who previously gained sentience and was able to separate itself from corporate control. Another neat story tidbit is that Alien: Rogue Incursion also has a connection of sorts to the excellent Alien: Isolation, in that Zula has previously partnered with Amanda Ripley, which comes up a number of times throughout your adventure in Rogue Incursion.

Removing the VR element from Alien: Rogue Incursion doesn’t seem to hurt the game all that much. Having not played the VR version, I never felt like I was missing out on a significant difference between the two editions. I’d liken it to watching a movie that was made for 3D but on a normal screen. It’s easy enough to see where the VR element would come into play, there’s plenty of instances where Zula is required to turn handles, press buttons, and so on, but using a controller to perform these functions works just fine here. The only element that feels sort of wasted without VR is the ability to just pick up random objects like boxes, screwdrivers, and so on. You can still pick them up and toss them if you want, but they really don’t add to the gameplay or perform any real function without VR. Occasionally you might pick up a box and find it has a health item in it, something that would have been easier to see and tip over in VR, but that’s about it.

For the most part Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition feels like a pretty standard first-person shooter set in the Alien universe. It’s less about the horror and the jump scare factor that you’d get out of something like Alien: Isolation, and more action focused, taking down waves of Xenomorphs at various points, often while you’re waiting for an invisible timer to count down and activate or complete whatever objective you’re currently trying to tackle. Over time the encounters do start to feel a little mundane, it becomes super obvious when Xenomorphs are on their way due to musical cues, which ends up eliminating much of the tension from these battles. However, the game does a good job of limiting your access to ammo and firearms, you never feel overpowered on normal difficulty, and most of the bigger fights will require you to make use of your supply of healing items in order to make it out alive.

Overall I enjoyed my time with Alien: Rogue Incursion – Part One: Evolved Edition. It’s not a particularly long experience, something you’d definitely be able to knock out over the course of a weekend, and offers some fun firefights and creepy locales to check out. The shift away from VR doesn’t appear to hurt the game in the least bit, and while I’d imagine it’s certainly more immersive in VR, it’s a completely passable experience without it.

Note: Survios provided us with a Alien: Rogue Incursion – Part One: Evolved Edition code for review purposes.