Liam Waddington gets hands on with Xenosis: Alien Infection…
Alongside Negative Atmosphere, I was stunned by another indie horror title at EGX Rezzed – this time, the game was Xenosis: Alien Infection.
Currently under development at NerdRage Studios – a small UK indie studio started in 2016 – Xenosis: Alien Infection is a story driven action RPG that implements a top-down perspective and blends together a retro 2D pixel art style with 3D depth.
The aim of NerdRage Studios is to create a fun and engaging retro experience, and with my brief hands-on with Xenosis, they are completely meeting these expectations and is hugely impressive – even after 18 months of development already.
The game takes place on an Interstellar Starship called the Carpathian, that was destroyed 50 years beforehand. You play as a deep space salvage hunter, who has discovered the remains of the Carpathian adrift in space. As you dock the vessel, you uncover there is no breathable air, no crew to be found, but a harrowing transmission with a warning that you are not alone and an unidentified toxin has consumed the wreckage.
You can watch the teaser trailer here…
After playing the demo at EGX, the game has clear inspirations from titles including System Shock, Alien, and (once again) Dead Space. Although, not too much was shown off during my brief hands-on with the game, the tension and atmosphere the game creates was on another level. On several occasions, I would be hesitant to enter a dark room and switch on the lights in case there was some manner of creature waiting within the darkness (and I don’t get scared easily at horror games).
From my short experience with the game (which I am sure is not a full representation of the final product), I found myself walking through the pitch-black hallways of the starship, equipped with a flashlight and a pistol, whilst completing a set of predetermined missions. To apply more tension to the already atmosphere-filled title, your flashlight is in constant need of extra batteries, you have a limited amount of ammunition and there are plenty of mutated creatures dragging their half-bodies across the floor. You also have close quarters melee combat for a secondary tactical option if you don’t want to tackle the inhabitants from afar. Although, there wasn’t a great emphasis on stealth in the demo, according to the developers you can use stealth to bypass enemies by creating your own darkness and shadows for a sneakier approach.
Although, there wasn’t a great emphasis on crafting in the demo, the game is designed to have a large emphasis on scavenging and crafting to aid in your survival. You can scavenge what you can from the Carpathian and use these items to craft supplies, ammo and upgrades for your weapons. I can’t wait to play more on the games release and was massively impressed on the game at this point in its development.
SEE ALSO: Hands on with Negative Atmosphere
NerdRage Studios used a FIG campaign to fund development of Xenosis and even though, they have met succeeded in their campaign, you can still pledge here if you like the sound of the game. The developers aim to release the game on Steam (PC, Mac, Linux), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in Q1 2020.
If you are interested, you can follow the development progress of Xenosis by visiting the official website or check out James Stone’s Twitter profile.
Liam Waddington
