Aliens, UFOs and extraterrestrials of all stripes are a rich seam of inspiration for popular sci-fi media. In this article we’re going to be taking a look at some of the greatest examples of these tropes being used in video games today. From tactical chillers to comedy killers, there’s something here for every gamer looking to find an experience out of this world.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite
- Recent popular game adaptations of the Alien franchise have taken the form of emphasizing the survival-horror qualities of Alien (1979), such as 2014’s award winning Alien: Isolation. In contrast to this, 2021’s Aliens: Fireteam Elite takes a leaf out of the Aliens (1986) playbook. Its gameplay is focused on squad based firefighting action. You take charge of a small, fully customizable fireteam and are tasked with fighting your way out of a congested alien hive. The game is built around team-play, and can be enjoyed in online co-op mode with friends. There are 6 character classes to choose from, covering a range of specializations from demolitions experts to stealth units. The game is set 23 years after Alien 3, and follows an elite fire team's experience of responding to a remote distress call on an outer colony which, they quickly discover, has been overrun by Xenomorphs.
Cashzuma and the Tomb of Wonga
One of the enduring thematic elements of the mythos developed in 2012’s Prometheus was the idea that intelligent life on earth was seeded by the Engineers. Early in the film, human archaeological crews discover ancient ruins across the world that bore witness to this fact. This type of ancient aliens theory has become a popular speculative diversion for film-makers and game developers alike. Many associate the ancient meso-American civilizations of the Aztecs and Maya with prophecies pertaining to distant worlds. If you want to dive into a gaming experience that offers all the intrigue and wonder of forgotten jungle civilizations and arcane mysteries, look no further than the slots title Cashzuma and the Tomb of Wonga, a game considered an all-star of a genre that has experienced renewed popularity in its online versions.
Destroy All Humans!
This next title takes direct inspiration from popular UFO lore and puts you in control of a grey-type extraterrestrial known as Cryptosporidium 137. This truly absurd game tasks you with, as its name implies, destroying all humans. With over-the-top arcade gameplay you battle your way across the globe razing cities with your retinue of sophisticated alien weapons. The game has more than a few allusions to probes with comedic cutscenes coming thick and fast and padding out the action. Destroy All Humans! is in fact a remake of the original 2005 title, now with updated graphics and new content. Whether you’re familiar with the original or any of its sequels, or are coming to the franchise fresh, this is the chance you’ve been waiting for to conduct a successful invasion of earth.
XCOM: Chimera Squad
Chimera Squad is the latest entry in the long running series, XCOM. The first XCOM (short for Extraterrestrial Combat Unit) title came out in 1994 and introduced the basic game mechanics that would come to define the series for decades to come. These are turn based tactical squad games that often play out more like a game of chess than an action combat title. Following a critically acclaimed reboot of the series in the form of XCOM: Enemy Unknown in 2013, the franchise has produced a number of compelling entries bringing added depth and storytelling to its solid turn-based combat foundations. Chimera Squad takes place in the aftermath of XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, and finds humanity living with the implications of an unstable peace with their former alien antagonists. In this game you take charge of a mixed group of combat units both alien and human and are tasked with ensuring that the peace accords in the experimental City 31 survive intrigue and opposition by rogue elements seeking to reignite war between the species.
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