I’ve watched Alien: Romulus several times now and I’m absolutely convinced it should’ve been a video game…
Find out what elements from the film would’ve worked really well as a game adaptation.
Transcript
So Alien: Romulus came out recently and I bloody loved it. It somehow managed to link so many parts of Alien lore that I never thought would be able to fit. Finally, grubby space peasants and magic black goo can exist comfortably together.
But wait, I hear you cry! This is a video game channel, why are you talking about a movie? Don’t you have a whole channel for chatting films? Well, yes. But hear me out.
After a couple of weeks of seeing Romulus, ravenously consuming all the video essays and mulling it over, I can comfortably say that while it was a great movie, it would’ve made an even better video game.
Let me explain.
Now there’s been so many games featuring Xenomorphs; seriously name a genre and it’s probably been done. RTS, platformer, squad shooter – that little second mouth has been sucked dry.
But the game that’s captured the sheer pant-wetting terror of the first film has to be 2014’s Alien Isolation. Not just the best Alien game, it might be one of the best games of the 2010s, and one that still gives me chills just thinking about it.
The only reason I bring it up is because I wanted to assure you that Alien: Romulus – The Game wouldn’t be a rip off of Isolation. I think the movie leans into so many other elements of gaming that it’d definitely be its own thing. Let’s assume it’s still going to be a survival horror at its core, but I think there’s so much more room for elements of RPGs, crafting, decision making and so much more.
Obviously I’m going to touch on some major spoilers (so fair warning), but I’m also not just going to run down the synopsis, so hopefully you’ve already watched it. I’m just going to ramble about some of the things I think would work well in a game format.
And it all starts with Andy.
The most loveable synthetic in the entire franchise starts as a fragile, knackered brother, only really good for a cracking dad joke and putting his finger in things. But after he gets the right mini disc popped in his head, he suddenly becomes intelligent, strong and British.
I couldn’t help but think he’d be a great upgradable companion in a video game. Strength and intelligence are classic stats, and I could easily see him developing as you play through the game. His Britishness could go up to. Give him a cup of really milky tea and a little Weyland-Yutani bowler hat.
You could even work in the twist where clever Andy only works for the business. Have him as a surprise boss, or even just a section where you fly solo and have to find a way to get inside that delicate brain slot.
And with that stupid thought, I started thinking about how other parts of the film could work into a game.
You’ve got the film’s other notable android Bishop, Bilbo, Rook. I know bringing back Ian Holm-bot was a divisive choice, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t let out a quiet “Yoooo” when he appeared on screen.
Whatever you think of him, his knack for exposition dumps would do very well in a game. Being a stationary torso and head, I can’t see him being a companion like Andy, but as a hub, I can. You could have to go to Rook to save your progress, store stuff or whatever else you might need to do to make life easier. With each visit, you’re given more information needed to continue, whether it be missions, clues or just juicy lore. He might not be the most reliable source of information, but all the while you’re useful, the least he can do is save your place while you toast some Pop Tarts.
I really need to get more hobbies.
If we’re leaning into the levelling up, RPG-y angle, you could even throw in some crafting with the station’s lab. You’re on a massive, abandoned spaceship, almost definitely littered with all sorts of useful junk. Take it to the lab, and you could make anything and everything you could need to survive.
Heck, there’s a whole part of the film where they’re trying to fix the stasis pods. Tell me that’s not a crafting mission.
Take this further in the video game format, and you could make your own armour, a flamethrower or even make some sort of explosive out of the silly drinking bird toy that have remained popular for well over 300 years.
If you’re willing to take some artistic licence, you could throw in the black goo into the crafting system. One of my favourite games as a kid was Far Cry: Instincts, well before the series became objective marker simulator. While it starts off as a pretty standard narrative shooter, there’s a point where you’re injected with a serum that gives you feral super strength and speed, allowing you to tear baddies apart with your bare hands.
You could try something similar with the black goo injections. Rather than making you give birth to the worst thing I’ve ever seen (don’t worry. We’ll get there), they could give you some Xeno-inspired powers. Alongside strength and speed, I’m thinking the ability to climb walls, maybe razor sharp claws or even a cute little second mouth.
I think it’d have to be on a timer to stop it becoming overpowered, and it might take away from some of the scarier, more horror elements, but let me have my scaly power fantasy.
So I’ve talked about some of the features and gimmicks that could be worked in from the movie, but what about the actual hands-on gameplay? Well, I think Romulus would allow for a load of variety, quickly branching out from its survival horror foundations.
Sure, we’re sticking with the linear corridors and claustrophobic contained stages, but we can do some creative things with them.
There’s that whole scene where the Facehuggers can only sense humans through heat and noise. You could do something similar in a game, where nearby cuddly-space-crabs need to be snuck around to avoid detection. It’d be kind of like Alien Isolation, where you have to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge your way past the Xeno, but the threat of a swarm of Facehuggers just feels more icky to me. And I quite like that.
Then like the movie, you could also throw in sections with big meaty guns. Straight up FPS games set in the Xeno-verse have been surprisingly pants (I’m looking at you, Colonial Marines), so the bar is pretty low, but we could have some fun with some firefighting here.
We know the Renaissance space station has at least a handful of full-grown Xenomorphs, meaning we could go for a full on shootout if you wanted to go full James Cameron’s Aliens. Alternatively, we know from Romulus that shooting aliens in space can be super risky, what with their blood burning holes into outer space that no Flex Tape could seal.
You could then make using guns an absolute last resort, where you have to flee an area after mowing down a Xeno and before their blood breaches the hull. Then there could be some sci-fi hull shields that kick in after a while so you can go back the way you came. I’ve only half-thought some of these through so stick with me.
And like I said before, we’ve got ample opportunity for boss battles too. Evil British Andy is a given, but it all has to climax with the alien/human hybrid, which might be one of the most disturbing things ever committed to film. I think it’s listed as ‘The Offspring’ in the credits, so if a minimalist, spacy version of ‘Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)’ starts playing, you know poop’s about to go down.
You could go down the Soulsbourne route, with multiple stages as the black goo transforms it from evil foetus to lanky nightmare fuel. Give it wings too, that’d be fun. Either way, it’d be a great crescendo to an experience that’s taken us all sorts of places.
And I think it’s exactly this that sums up why Alien: Romulus would make for such a great video game. Like the movie, it’d have elements of and influences from so many genres, themes and standouts from gaming history, that it could be a real celebration of what’s come before. Movie tie-in games are a bit of a relic of the past themselves, and I don’t see this changing anytime soon. But if they did want to kickstart the trend again, I can’t think of many better movies to do it for.
But what did you think of Alien: Romulus? Would you like to see it turned into a video game? Please let me know in the comments below; I’d love to read your thoughts. And while you’re down there, don’t forget to like and subscribe for plenty more on all things gaming, check out our movie channel UDS Films, and you can always visit upsidedownshark.com for everything else we’ve got going on.
Until then my name is Tom, this has been UDS and we’ll see you next time.
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Tom Baker
I like Star Wars, heavy metal and BBQ Pringles.
