Aliens Fireteam: Elite - Switch Review

In the year 2202, the USS Endeavor detects a distress signal from a refinery station that is orbiting a planet called LV-895. In Aliens Fireteam: Elite, a special team known as the fireteam elite which consists of hardened colonial marines is sent to investigate a strange signal, securing the immediate area by any means necessary. However once they land, they soon realise they are not alone and the entire station and surrounding planet is infested with xenomorphs.

The Good

Aliens Fireteam: Elite is an action-packed third-person shooter that sees you travelling across derelict stations, dark ruins and through alien hives in a non-stop shooting gallery of sorts. There are no endless options to explore here but instead, you’ll be moving from point to point activating computer terminals, opening doors, securing data while defending against hordes of bloodthirsty xenomorphs.

You may feel overwhelmed but you’ll never be outgunned as there are multiple classes to pick from, each with their own perks and special abilities. Each class provides a different combat option and has their own weapon slots that can be modified with attachments and unique perks, increasing factors like weapon stability, ammo or weak-point damage. The more you use a weapon, the more they level up and will unlock additional improvements over time, making them more effective in battle. You can even use special challenge cards that unlock throughout the game that can modify your experience, making things more challenging and allowing you to earn greater rewards.

There are three enemy factions that branch out to three distinctive enemy types: xenomorphs with the alien variety (such as facehuggers, drones and irradiated spitters), pathogens which consist of infected engineers, poppers, eight-legged stalkers and even security synths which are robots coming in many forms. Each class will test even the most hardened gamers.

One thing that really impressed me were the environments. The sheer atmosphere that is created is a big selling point. And while the environments look great, there has to be a special mention for the soundtrack too. Intense moments build the music up to a crescendo when a battle is about to end, and the screams from dying aliens are brilliant. It all helps to build the tension and makes the game all the more enjoyable.

There are also multiple difficult levels and an extra DLC mission pack to purchase on eShop if you want more content. In addition, upon completion of main missions, you unlock a quick play option along with a host of horde-based stages. This gives you the incentive to carry on playing after you’ve completed the game. You can play the game solo with AI bots and other players cross-platform, but I was unable to test this as the developers mentioned this feature will be working on release.

TL;DR

• Action-packed shooting!
• Lots of weaponry and equipment
• Great atmosphere and music

The Bad

One of the biggest issues with Aliens Fireteam: Elite is a cloud version, meaning that it requires a constant streaming internet connection. This is fine if you have a decent internet connection, however if you don't, then I suggest you rethink this purchase or at least try the demo beforehand to see if your connections hold up during gameplay. No matter the connection speed, there will be connection drops and this will in turn affect your experience. This often results in delayed input when playing. For example, I experienced this first-hand during a pretty intense combat section. I then had to log out, causing me to lose 25 minutes of progress. I understand that's the nature of cloud gaming, but it’s not quite there yet.

One thing I didn't expect was how linear it is. There’s always another marker that you need to reach and you're constantly ushered forward to reach it with very little deviation. Each mission has multiple sections throughout where you will have to either defend a location or retrieve an item, then defend a computer or door until it opens, and so on. There’s very little exploration; the game focuses purely on arena style combat which may disappoint some gamers looking for more.

Finally, the end mission was fantastic, but there was no ending cutscene or story beat, making it feel very anticlimactic. However, there is a DLC mission that could be the true ending, but without purchasing it, you'd never know.

TL;DR

• Internet connection required
• Strictly linear
• Anticlimactic ending

Final Score: 8/10

I've really enjoyed playing Aliens Fireteam: Elite on the Nintendo Switch. It's my first game I've ever played on the cloud and I have to say, I'm impressed by the experience. It's not going to be for everyone, and if you don’t have a stable connection, it's not worth the risk. On the other hand, the sights, sounds and constant fear of getting an alien facehugger attached to your face makes you feel alive! It's not the longest game out there but there’s plenty of stuff to unlock, and hopefully it can be expanded past its first round of DLC, capitalising on a pretty solid foundation.

Thank you for checking out our Aliens Fireteam: Elite Switch review, thank you to Cold Iron Studios for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

• Andrew Caluzzi (Inca Studios / Camped Out)
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