Amanda Ripley, daughter of Ellen Ripley from Ridley Scott's Alien , is on a mission to uncover answers about the USCSS Nostromo logs found on the Sevastopol space station. She joins a small crew sent by Weiland-Yutani Corporation to retrieve the data, unaware that a terrifying passenger has also arrived on the ship.
Alien: Isolation is a survival horror game where Amanda must navigate through the Sevastopol space station in search of the logs. The station is divided into multiple areas, and players have some freedom to explore and find alternative routes to their goals. As the game progresses, Amanda's tools are upgraded, allowing her to access previously inaccessible areas.
Amanda's skills as an engineer allow her to scavenge for resources from containers and bodies, crafting devices like noisemakers and smoke bombs to distract enemies. She also acquires a flashlight, motion detector, and various weapons to defend herself against humanoid survivors or androids. However, Amanda is not a fighter and must carefully plan each encounter.
When Amanda attracts the alien's attention, stealth becomes her only option for survival. The alien cannot be harmed without killing Amanda instantly. Instead, it relies on its senses to track Amanda down, making every action a tense and time-consuming experience.
The game features two main modes: main story mode and Survivor mode. In Survivor mode, players must escape from a specially designed map while completing secondary objectives, all while being pursued by the alien. This mode includes online leaderboards, adding an extra layer of challenge and competition.