Hands-On Impressions with the Alien: Isolation 2 Demo at Gamescom 2026!
We went hands-on with the opening chapter of Alien: Isolation 2 at Gamescom, experiencing a 20-minute demo that stays true to the original while introducing new environments like forests before trapping players in the familiar confined facility.
Every move could be your last
Early access to the game was provided to us by SEGA, thank you very much!
I'll admit I wasn't the biggest fan of Alien Isolation when it came out back in 2014. The reason for that was mainly because I simply don't like horror games—they scare me, and it did exactly that. Despite this, I put in a respectable number of hours (though I never finished it), and I can understand why it has such a devoted fanbase. The announcement of the sequel two months ago at Summer Game Fest was exciting, and here we are at Gamescom, where I'm forced to face my fears and try out Alien: Isolation 2.
I'll start by saying that the demo I got to try was the game's opening chapter, which was relatively short and lasted about 20 minutes. The sequel follows very much in the footsteps of the first game, and I think that's actually a good thing. Without spoiling anything, I'll say that once again we find ourselves trapped in a confined facility, but we're not alone—the corridors and rooms are stalked by the Alien (which we know from the eighth passenger). But in a way that surprised me, the game actually starts in a forest with a much larger and more open environment before we enter the facility and get trapped inside, which might indicate new environments we'll see in the sequel (?).
I have to say that compared to the previous game and how I remember it, Alien: Isolation 2 felt less scary to me—maybe it's because I've matured or the fact that I only played the beginning at a massive, noisy event. That said, it's still frightening, with some jump scares, and it was mainly creepy. Quickly diving into a hiding spot under a table and watching the Alien look underneath after the noise I made—that's a tense but also enjoyable experience at the same time. Once again, we'll need to use all the stealth skills we learned in basic training to survive, as every noise or light we create will attract the Alien to us, and if we're not careful, it'll end in our death. Still, we do have tools that can help us. In the demo I played, you could find cans on the floor and throw them in a certain direction to make noise and lure the Alien that way while you sneak past from behind.
