Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a little over a month away from release and developer Cold Iron Studios gave Screen Rant an early build of the game filled with most of the main content. After playing over five hours of the game and tackling multiple difficulties and several chapters of the game, it's safe to say that Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a game many people will recognize at first. As players progress, they'll realize it's much more than just a simple Left 4 Dead-like game with some Xenomorphs to fight; it's got layers to keep players engaged and encourages replay value.
Very frequently, just when players will think they've seen everything the game has to offer, it throws something new at them. Whether it be new enemies, set pieces, or even mechanics, it's clear that Aliens: Fireteam Elite has a lot to offer. The moment to moment gameplay sinks its hooks in quickly, allowing for a fast, frenetic experience that feels true to the on-screen slaughters in the action-oriented Aliens. It uses its action in both a fun suitably horrifying way. As the momentum builds throughout each level, that feeling of being a three-person army quickly fizzles out and the dread of an alien onslaught sets in.
Each mission usually has the players moving through corridors, doing small objectives, before needing to defend a bigger objective at the end. Although there are certainly points where it gets intense before the end of a mission, the tension ratchets up in the big finale as players set traps, work together to utilize their abilities in a collaborative and efficient way, and ultimately see their defenses fall to the feral space creatures. Given there's a lot of different types of Xenomorphs in Aliens: Fireteam Elite, it's never as easy as just point and shoot. Some explode, some spit acid, and some just charge right through everything in an effort to single handedly claw someone apart.
As squads learn of the threats they'll face, they can cooperate with ease. Players will know exactly how to prepare for a big threat such as Praetorians or Drones, which can withstand more damage and are far more brutish. For instance, the team can synchronize its abilities to effectively take down an enemy that may otherwise be much more difficult when fighting alone. Teamplay is also a huge factor when fighting the other enemies in Aliens: Fireteam Elite, the synths.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite is different to other supernatural co-op shooters which typically just place players against hordes of undead or alien enemies. Eventually, players will encounter synths which will begin to turn the game into a bit of a Gears of War-esque cover shooter. The synths aren't nearly as smart as the Xenomorphs, ironically, which seems to be based more on the AI rather than intentional design. That said, they're still competent and the variations of the android enemies ensures that they won't be easy to mow down. There's long-range snipers, ones that slowly move toward teams with riot shields, and some even run headlong into fire just to self-destruct.
This is where the game becomes varied, changing up its pace and making players think and play differently. It gets even more chaotic when the Xenomorphs start to fight the synths amidst a gunfight, creating a hectic three-way battle. It really elevates Aliens: Fireteam Elite beyond a typical co-op shooter and gives it a unique gameplay feel.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite is already one of the best games to come out of the IP. Where Alien: Isolation mastered the horror side of the franchise, Fireteam Elite conquers the action side and rights some of the wrongs of the ill-fated Colonial Marines. Whether or not it can compete with other co-op shooters such as Back 4 Blood and the new World War Z expansion later this year remains to be seen, but right now, it looks like it's going to give both of them a run for their money.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite will release on August 24, 2021 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5, and PC. Screen Rant was given a Steam build of the game for the purposes of this preview.