Aliens: Dark Descent – Trailers, platforms, gameplay, more

Nathan Warby
Aliens: Dark Descent

Eight years after Alien: Isolation burst onto consoles and PC, the Xenomorphs are at it again in Aliens: Dark Descent – a new top-down action game set in the iconic sci-fi universe. Here’s everything we know about it so far, from how the gameplay looks to which platform you can play it on.

The Alien franchise is one of the most beloved IPs in popular culture and Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic spawned five sequels and countless crossovers and tie-ins.

It’s a series that has even ventured into video games with widely varying results. Aliens Colonial Marines was largely panned as a lackluster FPS, whereas 2014’s Alien: Isolation captured the horror vibe of the films perfectly, and made the Xenomorph the terrifying foe it should be.

The latest attempt to bring the creatures to life, Aliens: Dark Descent, was announced during the recent Summer Game Fest event. Here’s everything we know about it so far.


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Aliens Dark Descent gameplay
Aliens: Dark Descent lets players experience the sci-fi series from a new perspective.

Is there an Aliens: Dark Descent release date?

There is no official release date as of yet for Aliens: Dark Descent, but developer Tindalos Interactive did confirm the game is coming in 2023 in the reveal trailer.

Sadly, they didn’t go into specifics on when in 2023 fans could expect to see the game. We’re expecting more updates to follow in the coming months.

Aliens: Dark Descent trailer

There has only been one Aliens: Dark Descent trailer so far, the reveal trailer shown off at Summer Game Fest 2022. There was no actual gameplay in the footage but it goes a long way to setting a dark, sci-fi horror tone, which will be a relief to fans of the series.

Check out the trailer below.

Aliens: Dark Descent platforms

Aliens: Dark Decent will be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC at launch, meaning that players across both console generations will be able to tackle the Xenomorphs.

There is no word yet on whether or not the game will come to Nintendo Switch. Alien: Isolation did release on the platform years later, so there is hope for Switch players.

Aliens: Dark Descent gameplay

Aliens: Dark Descent characters fighting Xenomorphs
There are hordes of Xenomorphs to battle your way through.

In Dark Descent, players are put in control of a team of Colonial Marines as they try to stop a Xenomorph outbreak in a top-down action game. As the leader, you will be expected to build the perfect squad by mixing and matching different classes and abilities, then dish out orders in real-time combat.

The aliens have overrun Moon Lethe and your marines will face Facehuggers, Praetorians, Alien Queens, and more as you look to clean up the mess. There will also be rogue human commandos and a “brand-new threat” to put your tactical thinking to the test.

Player choices will leave lasting impacts on each area of the game, as the Aliens: Dark Descent Steam page says: “Forge unique paths for survival, uncovering shortcuts, creating safe zones, and setting up motion trackers in a persistent world where your actions impact levels forever.”

It remains to be seen how this will look in practice, but we’re expecting more in-depth gameplay to be revealed in the coming months.


That was everything we know about Aliens: Dark Descent so far, be sure to check back here for all of the latest news. In the meantime, take a look some other upcoming titles:

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