Full video review: https://youtu.be/W6iV6ZsM0iw
Over 20 years since the original Alien Hominid released and we’re getting not just a port of the HD version for modern platforms, but a full-blown sequel on top of that.
Despite this one appearing as a sequel to the original game, it plays entirely different from it. We went from a level-based side-scrolling shooter to an arcade action roguelike with an emphasis on multiplayer. It’s a drastic change, but it’s not necessarily a bad one, even if it comes with some major faults.
Instead of straightforward levels, you get missions, which are a collection of randomly generated maps that you can progress in any way you want. These maps are then full of individual levels that contain randomly generated objectives, ranging from “collect intel from downed FBI agents” to “destroy five purple enemies” and even “observe this guy eat a snack”. And that’s kinda where my first complaint lies. It feels like there are maybe 10 of these objective types total and they just keep recycling over and over on maps that don’t feel all that different from one another.
This is only held up by the gameplay, which has seen numerous improvements over the original game. Mainly, the shooting feels much better, dodging is far more responsive and actually gives you iframes, and the weapon selection is far more expansive. You get a bunch of different weapon types to use, including lasers, miniguns, energy blades, shotguns, and flamethrowers just to name some. A lot of the fun was simply finding a new weapon and trying it out. That coupled with the improved movement made for some fun gameplay.
The multiplayer focus does add a bit of chaos into the mix though. Even with just two players (the game allows up to four), we still occasionally lost where we were on screen due to the sheer insanity that the gameplay can devolve into. Bullets, enemies, and aliens flying all over. It is like 10x more chaotic than the original game which can be either a good or bad thing depending on what you’re looking for. I personally found it to be very engaging, even if it was a bit much at times.
Overall
I would say Alien Hominid Invasion is worthy of a light recommendation. It's a fun evolution on the original formula and comes with vastly improved gameplay, but does suffer from its lack of mission variety and occasionally overly chaotic combat. Might not be an immediate buy, but worth a look if you can catch either on sale or if you’re just a big fan of the genre.
Over 20 years since the original Alien Hominid released and we’re getting not just a port of the HD version for modern platforms, but a full-blown sequel on top of that.
Despite this one appearing as a sequel to the original game, it plays entirely different from it. We went from a level-based side-scrolling shooter to an arcade action roguelike with an emphasis on multiplayer. It’s a drastic change, but it’s not necessarily a bad one, even if it comes with some major faults.
Instead of straightforward levels, you get missions, which are a collection of randomly generated maps that you can progress in any way you want. These maps are then full of individual levels that contain randomly generated objectives, ranging from “collect intel from downed FBI agents” to “destroy five purple enemies” and even “observe this guy eat a snack”. And that’s kinda where my first complaint lies. It feels like there are maybe 10 of these objective types total and they just keep recycling over and over on maps that don’t feel all that different from one another.
This is only held up by the gameplay, which has seen numerous improvements over the original game. Mainly, the shooting feels much better, dodging is far more responsive and actually gives you iframes, and the weapon selection is far more expansive. You get a bunch of different weapon types to use, including lasers, miniguns, energy blades, shotguns, and flamethrowers just to name some. A lot of the fun was simply finding a new weapon and trying it out. That coupled with the improved movement made for some fun gameplay.
The multiplayer focus does add a bit of chaos into the mix though. Even with just two players (the game allows up to four), we still occasionally lost where we were on screen due to the sheer insanity that the gameplay can devolve into. Bullets, enemies, and aliens flying all over. It is like 10x more chaotic than the original game which can be either a good or bad thing depending on what you’re looking for. I personally found it to be very engaging, even if it was a bit much at times.
Overall
I would say Alien Hominid Invasion is worthy of a light recommendation. It's a fun evolution on the original formula and comes with vastly improved gameplay, but does suffer from its lack of mission variety and occasionally overly chaotic combat. Might not be an immediate buy, but worth a look if you can catch either on sale or if you’re just a big fan of the genre.