The events of Alien: Isolation take Amanda Ripley and her crew to Sevastopol Station, a space station swimming in chaos following an alien outbreak. The entire game takes place on board this giant station and its various facilities, all of which now remain mostly abandoned or overrun by bloodthirsty androids and aliens.
However, Sevastopol is more than just the backdrop for the horror show that Alien: Isolation is. It's a very well-designed environment, taking inspiration from the original Alien movie that started the franchise in the first place. Moreover, it's filled with secrets, references, and all sorts of cool details that even veteran players may not have noticed at first glance. Let's take a quick trip through the dark halls of Sevastopol Station to uncover its secrets.
8 Reference To Creators Of The First Movie
Walking around Sevastapol Station, you might not pay that much attention to the details in your surroundings. It's understandable, given that a murderous alien and a horde of androids are chasing after Amanda Ripley. However, if you do stop and look around for a bit, you might find this curious poster of a singer called Jean Mollo.
Jean Mollo is actually a reference to John Mollo and Jean Giraud. Both of them were involved heavily in the creation of the original Alien movie. John Mollo was the primary costume designer for the movie, while Jean Giraud provided concept designs and storyboards.
7 Inaccessible Rooms
Alien: Isolation has been said to be one of the longest horror games out there, and this isn't hard to believe given how time-consuming it can be to beat the entire story. The truth is, the game was probably meant to be much longer than most fans could even imagine.
This is because there are actually multiple inaccessible rooms and areas around Sevastopol Station that may have initially served a purpose but were later cut from the game. Some notable examples are rooms A-23 and A-24 in the San Cristobal medical facility, which are fully built but can't be entered.
6 Distress Signals
The sound design of the game is on another level. In terms of atmosphere, music, and ambient sounds, Alien: Isolation delivered fully, and then some. Every little sound, public announcement, or background hum just adds to the overwhelmingly oppressive and dark atmosphere of the game.
One of the lesser-known sounds is heard during the end of Mission 4 when players are inside Seegson Communications. Amanda might overhear various distress signals from other survivors around the station, but unfortunately, nothing can be done in the moment to help those in need.
5 Hints Of Multiple Aliens
When first entering the station, it's evident that there's something terribly wrong. A killer is stalking the station's hallways, and as it turns out, it's a xenomorph. At first, it's assumed that there's only one xenomorph slowly hunting down Ripley as she traverses the station, but upon entering the bottom of the reactor core, the truth is unveiled.
However, observant players won't have to wait until the reactor core to realize there might be more than just one alien running around. There are multiple corpses with chest cavities scattered around well before that, suggesting that there are chestbursters still in the process of growing into full-fledged aliens.
4 The Story Of Mike Tanaka
The marketing team for Alien: Isolation really decided to go big when advertising the game for the first time. A separate Twitter account for someone called Mike Tanaka was created, which ended up belonging to a character who was working onboard Sevastopol Station. The account would share concept art from the game regularly.
Mike Tanaka's actual in-game body is found in the spaceflight terminal, locked behind a door. To get the code for it, fans would have to check his Twitter page. Once you enter, you can check the multiple archives and audio logs that detail Tanaka's final moments onboard Sevastopol Station before disaster struck.
3 The Importance Of Backtracking
Those just beginning their adventure in Alien: Isolation should be aware of one crucial fact: backtracking is key. Although the station is huge, technically Ripley can go to any area that's open at any point they want. This means that it's possible to come back to previous areas in the game at nearly any time you find yourself at a transit station. Areas will also change and have new enemies, so tread carefully.
Why is this so important? There are many doors and areas that require a code, a keycard or a better torch to access, or even a level 3 security access tuner. You'll simply have to wait and come back to it. If you spot a locked door, take note of it, because it could make resource-gathering for the final parts of the game much easier, especially at higher difficulties where resources are scarce.
2 Useful And Friendly NPCs
Fellow humans in Alien: Isolation can seem like a massive disappointment. Inside the station, people have divided into surviving gangs who only care for their own, if even that. Due to this, Ripley is often hunted down by other humans as well who consider her a threat to their survival resources.
However, some rare NPCs are actually incredibly useful. For example, during Mission 10, a friendly NPC nearby the area where the flight recorder was found will give Ripley a code to a locked room near the transit station. Some other NPCs can even warn Ripley of the alien's movements.
1 The Rare Small Locker Death
The AI of the xenomorph has been highly praised due to how innovative and intelligent it can be. Although it might be dated now, the alien still has the ability to give goosebumps by appearing at the most inconvenient of times in the right location. Worse yet, if you aren't careful, it can even discover your hiding spot if you remain in the same area for too long.
One of the rarer deaths few have experienced is when exiting a small locker that Ripley must crawl into. There's a total of three death animation, but one of them is so rare that most players tend to not see it during their playthrough. This animation has the alien pull Ripley out and then climb on top of the locker while stalking them.