Have you ever played a video game that you could objectively discern was very good, and yet you just didn’t like? That’s The Alters for me, a clearly excellent game, though one I found so unpleasantly stressful I slightly resented playing it.
Jan Dolski is having a very bad day. He’s just crash-landed on a hostile planet, and while he’s initially grateful to have survived, that’s before realising the rest of his crew have clearly not. Nope, they are all very dead, and Jan is stranded and alone. As he explores the planet from a third-person perspective, he – and you – discover a huge-wheeled mobile base that landed on the planet prior to the crew’s arrival. So, things are looking up then? Nope. Day is about to dawn, and the scorching flames of the nuclear-like sun will evaporate everything in its path, including Jan. Cue a desperate escape in The Alters’ thrilling prologue.
Jan has one hope: Rapidium. This badly named element that has some mysterious properties, the primary one being that it allows Jan to clone himself. The Quantum Computer aboard the mobile base allows Jan to see his own life branch, all the crucial moments of his existence that made him, him. His relationship with his father, his decision to leave University, his divorce from his wife, all the variables led to Jan being where he is today. Thing is, using quantum gubbins, Jan can see alternative life branches, the version of him that would exist if he’d committed to university, or perhaps stood up to his abusive father. Those alternative versions – those Alters, if you will – can then be cloned.
They awake with memories of their imagined lives, confused and afraid, but eminently helpful in keeping Jan alive. Each Alter is the same – they are clones of Jan, after all – but entirely unique due to their differing life experiences. One’s a scientist who can research new tech, another a miner who can gather resources from the planet, another a gardener who can grow food to eat, you get the idea. They can also be an unruly bunch, and a huge part of the game is keeping everyone happy. Telling them what they want to hear, guiding them, comforting them, fulfilling side-tasks for them. Fail to keep them on side and they’ll become rebellious and distant. Lose your the support of your Alters and you’ll be doomed to a fiery death when you fail to escape the sun’s path.
It’s a fascinating sci-fi concept, and one that is elegantly and intriguingly explored by developer 11 bit Studios. There’s philosophical navel-gazing aplenty, but things never drag, thanks to a sharp script, engaging characterisation, and sterling voice acting from Alex Jordan who manages to provide each of Jan’s clones with a distinct personality. Indeed, the emotional beats really deliver, as Jan learns about himself, and perhaps, ultimately, maybe even learns to love himself too. The narrative is punchy, fascinating, and deeply compelling. It even kept me going through all the stress of the rest of the game.
Other than all of the cloning and getting to know yourself – both literally and figuratively, I guess – your time will be spent surviving. There are numerous resources to gather from the planet’s surface by setting up mining rigs, you’ll need these to keep constructing all the items that keep your mobile base rolling to safety, radiation filters, repair kits, all that stuff. You’ll also need to make food, construct new rooms, and overcome numerous obstacles that you’ll meet on your travels. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on the game, more demands are placed on you, more systems to balance against each other. 11 Bit Studios demand you make a house of cards before repeatedly and masochistically blowing at it.
It’s all incredibly tense and claustrophobic, in latter stages of the game, one wrong choice – perhaps one you made hours ago – can mean disaster. It is, of course, intended to be that way, and is no doubt an authentic take on surviving on a hostile planet. Indeed, the game is built to be replayed, and it even reminds you which dialogue choices you made in a previous play through so you can try something different.
I found myself feeling increasingly harassed. Managing dwindling resources, making difficult choices, trying to keep your Alters happy, the sun getting closer and closer and closer, never being able to quite get on top of things, despite how hard you try… it was all a bit too much like being a mid-level manager for my liking. Perhaps I was just having flashbacks to my time as a retail manager in a popular UK shop, but playing The Alters was more stressful than an enjoyable undertaking. The pressure keeps on getting cranked up and up until it’s all too much.
Now, don’t get me wrong, The Alters is brilliant. Finely balanced gameplay mechanics and an engaging narrative are to be celebrated. In fact, other than a few silly glitches, such as Jan getting stuck on scenery exploring the environment, this is something of a masterpiece. It’s just an unrelenting masterpiece that you’ll be happy to have survived.