We Played Aphelion, A Weirdly Successful Alien: Isolation and Uncharted Mash-Up

Aphelion is not at all what I expected, but that’s not a criticism. In fact, its unique blend of inspirations has truly captured my imagination. French developer Don’t Nod has a wonderful habit of surprising me.

It’s a studio perhaps best known for its choice-based formula. Projects like Life is Strange, Tell Me Why, and Lost Records: Bloom and Rage spring to mind. Just when you think you know what to expect though, Don’t Nod will create something totally left-field like Jusant or Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. I’d say Aphelion is another divergence from the expected path. My initial summation was ‘Uncharted in Space’, but the title soon revealed its true nature with developers citing Alien: Isolation as a key inspiration.

Developed in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), Aphelion is an upcoming third-person action-adventure. By 2060, Earth has become inhabitable, but humanity’s salvation may be Persephone, a planet discovered sitting at the edge of the solar system. Astronauts Ariane and Thomas’ expedition to survey the planet results in a crash landing. The duo become separated and are tasked with finding one another, discovering Persephone’s haunting secrets in the process.

Aphelion’s First Chapter Features an Uncharted-esque Platforming Set Piece

I recently had the opportunity to go hands-on with two early segments of the game, gaining insight from Aphelion’s executive producer Dimitri Weideli and creative director Florent Guillaume.

There are no choices in Aphelion. This is solely an action-adventure game which requires players to engage in both platforming and stealth. I began by playing through the game’s opening which sees Ariane attempt to escape the burning ship she’s crash landed on - and it’s here that an Uncharted feel comes into play. Ariane will climb, balance, grapple, and slide her way to safety in a set piece that wouldn’t look out of place as an Uncharted opener.

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Aphelion does implement the classic trick of using yellow to indicate the way forwards in that opening sequence, but that’s just whilst you get your bearings with later platforming segments opting for a more naturalistic look. It’s an engaging opening that doesn’t allow you to rest on your laurels. You cannot simply press one button to jump from one handhold to another. You’ll need to press another button to actually grab hold, with Dimitri and Florent explaining that they wanted to add a sense of agency to traversal.

I felt that was in the case with balancing too, which functions much the same as it does in The Last of Us Part II. On several occasions, I had to guide Ariane across thin paths, guiding the analogue stick to stop her from toppling to the side. Aphelion doesn’t necessarily make life easy for you. You’ll need to react both carefully and quickly. It isn’t the walking simulator it may appear to be online. Within that opening, I had to outrun an explosion and dodge obstacles whilst sliding. That all happened very quickly with poor Ariane perishing on a few occasions. Aphelion may be simple in what it asks of you, but Don’t Nod appears to have found a way to simultaneously make it incredibly engaging.

Stealth Is Required To Escape Aphelion’s Unsettling Alien Entity

After escaping the crashed ship, Ariane’s mission is then to find her missing crewmate Thomas. I was subsequently dropped into the game’s fourth chapter where Ariane first stumbles into the game’s key enemy, a strange alien entity. In that fourth chapter, Ariane becomes trapped in a cave where she is stalked by the being, a large slithering black mass that reacts to sounds but cannot see.

It’s here that the Alien: Isolation inspiration becomes clear. As Ariane, I had to find my way out of the maze-like caves as the creature constantly shifted about in an unsettling disjointed nature; it almost felt like it was crafted using stop-motion. Don’t Nod has certainly nailed the creation of tension in Aphelion. The alien isn’t frightening to look at in a traditional horror sense, but if you’re not clenching your jaw as you sneak your way around it, I’d be impressed.

As I said, the creature reacts to sound, so there’s no traditional combat in Aphelion. You’ll just need to evade. Jumping or climbing, of course, make noise so it's not all about treading quietly. You may have to study the creature’s movements, waiting for it to get far enough out of earshot so you can make a few noisy jumps before you descend into stillness whilst it investigates what it heard.

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My time with the game drew to a close shortly after escaping the alien threat, but I did get to venture slightly further on to discover that Ariane can use her scanner to sync up with frequency traces left behind by the mass. In the only instance I sampled, this opened up the path forwards, so I’m definitely interested in seeing how else Ariane might be able to make use of the planet’s strange quirks as the game progresses.

Dimitri and Florent did explain that throughout Aphelion, which lasts for eight to 10 hours over 11 chapters, the alien will gain new abilities. This will, of course, throw up new challenges for Ariane in terms of evading it, but the duo were hesitant to elaborate much beyond this. They did tease though that even if you’re not directly facing off against the alien threat, it’s always quietly stalking you, adding an eerie sense of anxiety as you traverse Persephone’s desolate snowy landscapes.

Ariane Will Explore, Whilst Thomas Takes on Investigative Duties

What I didn’t get to see in my preview is what Thomas adds into the mix, despite the fact that players will alternate between the two characters. While Ariane is the explorer, I was told that Thomas is more investigative in what he adds to the gameplay, although that wasn’t elaborated on either. All I know is that Thomas becomes injured during the crash landing, hence why his contribution is different. His side of things will reportedly introduce new mechanics but we’ll have to wait and see what those are.

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Dimitri and Florent cited Arrival, Alien: Isolation and Interstellar all as key inspirations, and I sense that’ll pay off. Aphelion doesn’t feel like your typical sci-fi game, much to my great relief. So often, the genre can feel formulaic. As I said, the team has clearly excelled in the creation of tension, especially as Aphelion doesn’t have any UI. You’re totally immersed in the action. I did experience some stuttering and lag during my preview, but I’m not going to overly worry about that. This was an alpha build, after all, and I’m hopeful Aphelion will be optimised come release day.

The European Space Agency’s involvement only increases the tense mood created within the game. While there’s no creature of this nature in space, Aphelion is otherwise plausible. Don’t Nod worked alongside the ESA to root this experience in truth. It’s not a game set within an alternate reality. It’s a game set within our own, and you can sense their attention to detail in every corner of the universe.

Aphelion has all of the right ingredients for success. It's a simple formula that relies on an eerie fraughtness to keep players pushing ahead in their quest to reunite Ariane and Thomas, and uncover Persephone’s secrets. Yet, despite its simplicity, what I’ve sampled was incredibly engaging. Aphelion already had my attention, but I’ll now be theorising about its mysteries right up until launch day.

Aphelion is set to launch on Xbox Series X/S (version tested), PlayStation 5, and PC this spring. A launch date is yet to be announced.