Picture the high-stakes climbing of Uncharted fused with the bone-chilling dread of Alien: Isolation. That is the unexpected reality of Aphelion, the newest project from French studio Don’t Nod. This sci-fi adventure ditches the studio’s famous dialogue trees for raw survival instincts, delivering a grip-tightening experience that feels both grounded and terrified of the dark.
Surviving the Crash with Gritty Platforming
Don’t Nod is famous for emotional stories where your choices change everything, like in Life is Strange. However, Aphelion takes a sharp turn into pure action and survival. The game is set in the year 2060. Earth is in trouble, and humanity is looking for a new home on Persephone, a planet at the edge of our solar system. You play as Ariane and Thomas, two astronauts on an expedition that goes wrong. After a crash landing, they get separated, and that is where the panic sets in.
The first thing that stands out is how the game feels to play. This is not a passive experience where you just push a stick forward to win. When Ariane climbs out of her burning ship, you have to work for every inch of progress. The developers have built a system where you need to press specific buttons to grab onto ledges. It adds a layer of stress that makes sense for a survival game. You are not a superhero; you are an astronaut trying not to fall.
I played through an early section where Ariane has to slide, balance, and grapple her way to safety. It felt very much like a set piece from an Uncharted game, but with a heavier, more desperate tone. This is not a walking simulator; it demands your full attention to keep Ariane alive. You have to react quickly to explosions and crumbling paths. If you miss a beat, Ariane falls. It creates an immediate connection between you and the character because her struggle feels real in your hands.
A Blind Enemy That Hears Your Every Move
Once you survive the crash, the game shifts gears from high-octane action to suffocating stealth. In the fourth chapter, I found myself trapped in a dark cave system. This is where the Alien: Isolation inspiration becomes undeniable. You are not alone in the dark. A strange, black, slithering alien mass stalks the area. It moves in a disjointed, almost stop-motion way that makes it look unnatural and disturbing.
The catch is that this creature cannot see you, but it has terrifyingly good hearing. There is no combat here. You cannot shoot the alien or fight it off. Your only option is to stay quiet and keep moving. This creates a tense game of cat and mouse. Every jump or climb makes a noise, so you have to be strategic. You have to wait for the creature to move out of earshot before you risk a noisy movement.
Here is what you need to know about surviving this threat:
- Sound is Key: The alien reacts instantly to noise, so running is rarely an option.
- No Weapons: You have to outsmart the creature, not outgun it.
- Visual Tension: Even though it is blind, the way the alien moves constantly keeps you on edge.
The developers, Executive Producer Dimitri Weideli and Creative Director Florent Guillaume, have nailed the tension. You will find yourself physically clenching your jaw as you try to sneak past the monster. Later in the game, Ariane can use a scanner to see frequency traces left by the alien, which helps navigate the environment, but the fear never really goes away.
Real Science Meets Immersive Mystery
What makes Aphelion feel different from other sci-fi games is its grounding in reality. Don’t Nod partnered with the European Space Agency (ESA) to make sure the space elements feel authentic. This is not a fantasy version of space; it is a plausible look at what a mission in 2060 could look like. This attention to detail adds weight to the experience. When you are traversing the snowy landscapes of Persephone, it feels like a real, desolate place.
The game also makes a bold choice to remove the user interface (UI). There are no health bars or mini-maps cluttering the screen. This forces you to look at the world and pay attention to visual cues. In the opening, they use subtle yellow markers to guide you, but eventually, you have to read the environment yourself.
While I mostly played as Ariane, the game features two protagonists. They offer different gameplay styles:
| Character | Primary Role | Gameplay Focus | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ariane | Explorer | Platforming, Stealth, Evasion | Active |
| Thomas | Investigator | Puzzle Solving, Analysis | Injured |
Thomas is injured during the crash, so his sections focus more on investigation and new mechanics that the developers are keeping a secret for now. The switch between high-stakes physical survival and cerebral investigation promises to keep the pacing fresh throughout the 8 to 10-hour journey.
Tension Builds Ahead of Spring Launch
The game is currently in an alpha state, which means it is not quite finished. I did notice some stuttering and lag during my time with it, but that is normal for a game still in development. The team has time to smooth out these technical wrinkles before release.
Despite the technical hiccups, the potential is obvious. Aphelion manages to blend the cinematic climbing of modern adventure games with the heart-stopping dread of horror classics. It is a simple formula, but it works because it focuses on execution and atmosphere rather than complex RPG systems.
This game has all the ingredients to be a sleeper hit. It is focused, scary, and backed by a studio that knows how to tell a story. By stripping away the dialogue trees and focusing on the primal fear of being hunted, Don’t Nod is showing us a new side of their creativity.
The game is scheduled to launch this spring on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
How do you feel about a survival game with no combat? Does the idea of a blind alien stalker excite you or terrify you? Share this article with your friends on social media and let us know what you think!
