It’s impossible to quantify the influence that James Cameron’s Aliens had on the gaming industry. From inspiring enemies in everything from Ecco the Dolphin to Contra and introducing audiences to the concept of sci-fi pulse rifles, it’s amazing how one film almost single-handedly managed to define video game aesthetics for decades to come.
Though we’ve seen countless games attempt to emulate both the hardcore action and the blood-pumping terror of watching Colonial Marines face off against ravenous Xenomorphs in ill-lit corridors, there’s a more subtle kind of terror present in both Cameron’s sequel and Ridley Scott’s original that’s much harder to replicate in the world of gaming.
Naturally, I’m referring to the less obvious fear derived from anticipating a Xeno attack as characters observe amorphous blips converging on their position through a retro-futuristic device of some kind. It’s precisely this kind of minimalist tension that makes Traptics’ unexpectedly thrilling Xenopurge such an entertaining videogame, with this highly addictive bug hunt simulator proving that lifelike graphics and twitchy action are completely optional when it comes to memorable horror gaming.
Harkening back to titles like Games Workshop’s Space Hulk and even Lifeline on the PS2, the full version of Xenopurge was released on Steam earlier this month after a brief demo impressed players during this year’s Next Fest. And while this demo more or less introduced players to the title’s core ideas, the complete version of the experience has a lot more up its sci-fi sleeves than you might initially expect.
In the finished game, players step into the shoes of an unnamed Commander as he barks orders at a cloned squad of space marines embarking on a corporate-mandated bug-hunt. The twist here is that you only play as the Commander from the safety of his remote command center, with both the marines and their deadly enemies being represented by two-dimensional icons on a retro computer screen. While you initially only oversee the action as the Marines execute their mission on their own, it soon becomes necessary to micromanage your team and issue conflicting orders that will have you feeling like the world’s angriest Football coach.
You may not be the one pulling the trigger or recovering assets in this immersive little title, but you sure as hell celebrate each and every success as if you were right there next to your clones (which I affectionately refer to as “my Boys”). Of course, the game also features roguelike elements such as randomized mission selection and permanent upgrades that affect every run – resulting in an insanely addictive gameplay loop where no two playthroughs are alike.
I’d actually argue that Xenopurge owes a lot more to highly interactive puzzle games like Lemmings than any other auto-battler I’ve ever played, as harder missions will have you constantly and desperately trying to intervene as the Xeno scum push your marines towards suicidal panic. I always had Bill Paxton’s iconic “Game over, man!” line echoing in the back of my mind as I struggled to keep up with the overwhelming invasion, but failure is just part of the learning experience when it comes to this kind of game. That being said, I’d recommend starting out in Simulation Mode so you can slow down time in order to make better decisions, as there’s nothing passive about this so-called “auto” battler.
Unfortunately, while I admire the commitment to retro computer screens and the intentional lack of aesthetic polish, I would have appreciated at least a few more visual cues hinting at the appearance of our extraterrestrial foes. Blurry collectible photographs or even text-based descriptions can go a long way in reminding us that these shiny little rectangles are supposed to represent Lovecraftian abominations.
Xenopurge is also a remarkably short experience, as you can likely see most of what the game has to offer in a single sitting if you get hooked on its gameplay loop as I did. Though the procedurally generated elements mean that you can technically replay the title forever, there’s really not much there to justify clearing more than a couple of runs – especially since the narrative doesn’t exactly take full advantage of the title’s presentation.
That’s not to say that the game’s attempts at a cohesive story are bad (after all, the mechanics themselves do a lot of talking here), it’s just frustrating how the developers overlook obvious opportunities for diegetic storytelling. I mean, if we never really see the enemy, how do we know what we’re actually facing on the other side of the screen? Could this be a Starship Troopers situation where the bugs aren’t as evil as they seem? While I love how the cloned grunts begin to develop personalities as their combat experience takes its toll on their accumulated memories, the game could have taken this concept much further and maybe even ended in a mutiny of sorts.
Of course, it’s not fair to Traptics for us to dwell on the game that might have been, as Xenopurge in its current state is still one of the most addictive horror experiences I’ve had the pleasure of playing this year. This achievement is made all the more impressive by the game’s minimalist style, as I never thought I could feel so intimidated by a single red pixel on a simulated computer screen. There may be enough room for improvement here to justify a more polished sequel, but I’d still strongly urge fellow horror fans to check out this surprisingly stressful take on realistic Xeno warfare.
Xenopurge is available now on Steam.