Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 Review – Still Better With Friends

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 Review

Sometimes news manages to slip by me, so I was surprised when Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 was released. Not because the first game was a bad one, at least for a trio of friends. But the original didn’t seem to necessarily cry out for a sequel. It was a modest squad-based survival shooter that did a good job of channeling the movie’s tone (and enemies). It wasn’t much fun for solo players, even though the game’s AI did a decent job of filling in for humans. Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is very much the same as the first game, but there are some key differences. And no, it still isn’t much fun for solo players.

Follow Along

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 takes place five years after the first game. Although approximately the same length as the original, the sequel is built on a single, multi-mission campaign. You are part of a Colonial Marine force investigating a massive Xenomorph infestation on the mining planet LV-558, which might be related to shenanigans by the Weyland-Yutani corporation. Those corporate types are never good, am I right?

You can probably guess that along the way to fighting the game’s Xenomorph Queen, your missions will ask you to rescue downed squad members, investigate secret experiments, and move deeper into the mining colony Storr’s Boon. This allows battles to take place in a wide range of dark military-industrial spaces, a few outdoor locations, and lots of steam-filled corridors.

For the sequel, the roster of enemy types has been expanded, adding at least three new Xenomorph variants. Returning from the first game’s DLC are varieties of Pathogen Mutants, and newly added are androids courtesy of Weyland-Yutani. One of the best and most engaging aspects of Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is figuring out the most effective weapon in a given situation.

Squad Mates

Classes have been remixed for Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, including the Duelist, Machinist, Hunter, Medic, Marauder (wielding the iconic Smart Gun). An unlockable Specialist class borrows major and minor abilities from other classes. Since squads have grown from three to four, there are even more opportunities to mix-and-match abilities, weapons, and gear. Speaking of weapons, most of them return from the first game with cosmetic or technical upgrades.

One of my biggest complaints about the first game was repetition. The loop of explore/dig in and fight waves of escalating Xenomorphs unfortunately hasn’t changed much. Although the parade of enemies might change and the toys at your disposal might vary, the rhythm becomes predictable. Eventually, while the shooting is fun and frenetic, over time Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 becomes a little predictable. Just to mix things up, however, an additional Horde mode is unlocked after the campaign.

Repetition aside, guns and turrets and grenades all feel punchy and impactful, and creating the perfect loadout is much easier this time, with the ability to hold multiple consumables, for example. The mechanized enemies don’t feel entirely natural to the Alien fiction. However, the fast, acid-spitting, witch-like screaming legions of Xenomorphs still feel tailor-made for a video game.

Draining the Talent Pool

Where Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 takes a major nosedive is in the quality and quantity of its writing. The radio chatter never shuts up, and it’s filled with bad military jargon and humor, delivered with an emotional flatness that undermines tension. The cast of NPCs is likewise a collection of action cliches and skippable dialogue. I’m not sure I ever felt that I was in the presence of believable, multi-dimensional characters. The believe the developers have been mute as to what extent generative AI played a part in the writing or voice acting.

Switching to Unreal Engine 5 certainly brings a bit more visual panache in the lighting, particle effects and environments. Human faces don’t fare so well. Weird animations and long journeys into the uncanny valley are common. The Xenomorphs themselves look appropriately terrifying and the screen is often swarming with them.

Superstar composer Austin Wintory has returned, scoring Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 with music that is uneasy, chaotic, brutal and dissonant. There are moments, however, where it feels like the music and action on screen don’t always mesh. Sound design in general is good, from disconcerting alien screams to gut-punching weapons.

Don’t Be Alone in This

My exact same qualifier from the first game applies to Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2: this is not a single-player experience, despite the inclusion of bot teammates. Your buddies Alpha, Beta, and Gamma have weapon specialties and are fine for learning the ropes. Beyond that, you need to play with friends, or at least random strangers.

Although it focuses on a single campaign and adds a fourth slot to the squad, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is only a minor advance from the first game. There are some quality-of-life fixes and a bit more variety to loadouts, classes, and enemies. The fundamental rhythm hasn’t changed much, and the writing can be painful. Just like the first game, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is fun with friends, and for short play sessions of a few missions and moving the campaign forward. If there’s a third game in the works, it really needs to change up the formula.

***PS5 code provided by the publisher for review***