The Alters Review
I didn’t expect a survival game to leave me staring at a clone of myself, wondering which one of us made the right decisions in life, but here we are. Developed by 11 bit studios, this isn’t your average survival title. It’s a tense, emotionally layered sci-fi journey that blends resource management, branching narratives, and philosophical weight into something genuinely thought-provoking. You play as Jan Dolski, a technician stranded on a hostile planet after a failed expedition. There’s no traditional crew, no backup on the way. Instead, Jan turns to a strange substance called Rapidium to generate “Alters,” alternate versions of himself shaped by the paths he didn’t take in life. One might be a physicist, another a cook, and a third a botanist, each one representing a fork in the road from Jan’s past. And each one brings their own baggage, opinions, and skills to the table.
Managing these Alters is where things get tricky. They’re not just there to press buttons or do tasks. They argue, get depressed, grow suspicious, and push back. Keeping them alive and working together isn’t just a logistical challenge; it’s an emotional one. Conversations can turn tense, and the more Alters you create, the more fragile the dynamics become. It’s like watching a one-man ensemble unravel and then try to hold itself together under impossible conditions. The survival mechanics are solidly implemented and reinforce that ever-present sense of pressure. Your mobile base needs resources to function, metals, organics, energy, and you’ll have to venture outside into a world filled with bizarre anomalies and deadly radiation to get them. Daylight is dangerous, the sun’s rays will melt your suit in seconds if you’re not careful. You’re constantly checking the time, planning ahead, and deciding which risks are worth taking. Sometimes that means leaving a job half-done. Other times, it means losing an Alter because you pushed too hard.
Crafting and base-building give you ways to mitigate the danger, but not without trade-offs. Every piece of equipment, every new room, and every upgrade you choose comes at the cost of something else; maybe it’s an item that could have boosted morale for an Alter, or a system that could have advanced your research. There’s rarely a perfect answer, and that weight hangs over every decision.
What really pulled me in, though, wasn’t just the gameplay; it was the storytelling. The narrative in “The Alters” digs deep into the consequences of choices you didn’t make. Each Alter isn’t just a gameplay mechanic; they’re pieces of Jan’s psyche, shaped by regret, pride, shame, or dreams left behind. Through dialogue, backstory segments, and the use of the quantum computer onboard your base, you get glimpses into the many lives Jan could have led. It’s not just clever; it’s often haunting. One moment I was coordinating tasks between my engineers and cooks, and the next I was learning about a traumatic memory from an Alter who gave up science to care for a dying loved one. That interplay between mechanics and meaning is where the game shines brightest. You’re not just keeping meters filled; you’re actively reflecting on identity, autonomy, and fate. The question of whether we shape our lives or are shaped by them isn’t just a theme; it’s embedded into the structure of every mechanic and story beat. And when an Alter refuses to work because of a personal conflict, it feels more impactful than any scripted plot twist could.
Of course, not everything works perfectly. I ran into a few technical hiccups, mostly in pathfinding and menu responsiveness. Nothing game-breaking, but enough to remind me that this is an ambitious game built by a relatively small team. The pacing can also be slow at times, especially in the early hours, when the full narrative arc hasn’t yet taken hold. If you’re a gamer looking for more immediate gratification or heavy action, you may bounce off it. This is a game that asks you to settle in, to think, to sit with uncomfortable thoughts, and that’s not for everyone. But for those willing to engage, there’s a rare kind of richness here. The environments, while mostly functional, have some striking moments: biomes distorted by anomalies, floating debris, and time-warping singularities. There’s a constant visual tension between the grounded and the surreal, which matches the emotional tone perfectly. Even the more subdued segments, like prepping meals or checking in on your Alters’ moods, carry an underlying current of unease and reflection.
By the time I reached one of the game’s multiple endings, I didn’t feel triumphant. I felt changed. “The Alters” doesn’t just ask “what if?” it asks who are you really, beneath the layers of your own life story? It’s not a game that gives you neat answers. It gives you a mirror, then asks you to build a future from the pieces of what could have been. It’s not perfect, but it’s special. And in a landscape full of survival titles that focus solely on efficiency or spectacle, “The Alters” dares to slow things down and ask the big questions. That, to me, is worth the journey.
8.5/10
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Related: Reviews by Nick Navarro
Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87
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