Alien: Descent Lets You Blast Xenomorphs in VR

Aliens (1986) is a film that is so iconic that scriptwriters and directors still draw influence from James Cameron’s scif-fi blockbuster today. The same is true for video game developers, who continue to find new ways to entice fans more than 30 years after heroine Ellen Ripley nuked an entire site from orbit… because it was the only way to be sure.

Now the Alien franchise will be playable in virtual reality, courtesy of Foxnext and Pure Imagination Studios. The game is Alien: Descent, which lets up to four players become Colonial Marines and square off against terrifying Facehuggers and full-grown Xenomorphs within a believable Weyland-Yutani mining facility.

One of the game’s most appealing features, and this will be of interest to people who own VR headsets, is the fact that players don’t need to wrestle with backpacks or wires. Instead, they’ll make use of wireless technology (motion tracking sensors on their arms and legs) that Pure Imagination Studios developed that allows them to freely move around in this environment. Additionally, they will come armed with custom weapons that will no doubt be handy for close encounters.

“Our goal at Pure Imagination Studios has always been to push the boundaries of what’s possible — VR attractions are the perfect medium to do just that. Partnering with the forward-thinking team at FoxNext made for a potent combination of storytelling minds and innovative thinking to set a new benchmark for destination entertainment,” said Joshua Wexler, co-founder of Pure Imagination Studios. 

Alien: Descent will be available to play on Alien day, April 26 (so named after the planet in Aliens, LV-426), but there’s a catch. There’s only one place in the world to play the game, The Outlets at Orange in Orange County, California. This will no doubt be bittersweet for Alien fans who live out of state.

If you live nearby or plan to make the trip to experience what might be the most intense Alien game of all time, book now to play Alien: Descent. Tickets cost $22.00 per person, and it appears that Alien: Descent will run from April 26 through the month of May. The game is only 15-minutes long, so you might want to buy more than one session. And if you have questions, the Alien: Descent FAQ features information on age/height restrictions, motion sickness, and operating hours.