New Sci-Fi Action Game Might Be One of The Best Shooters of 2027
Aliens, death, and one big ol' storm
What do you get when you introduce a whole load of aliens, an intergalactic colony seeping with death, and a raging storm? The aptly named Alien Deathstorm, that's what. After playing a half-hour-long demo at Gamescom 2026, I came away with the feeling that developer Rebellion, previously known for Sniper Elite, Zombie Army, and Atomfall, is onto yet another winner.
In Alien Deathstorm, you're dropped headfirst into a ravaged off-world colony dealing with a severe alien infestation. You have to discover what's happened to the outpost, rescue any survivors, and then get the heck outta Dodge. Only that's so much easier said than done, because, well, there's a ferocious storm taking place and the aliens are relentless.
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This is something slightly different when compared to Rebellion’s past games, though. Most of those are also shooters, but where Sniper Elite and Zombie Army focus on slower, more tactical gameplay, and Atomfall is more reminiscent of an RPG where you can choose whether to engage in combat or not, Alien Deathstorm is faster-paced and more action-driven.
My demo was limited to using an SMG; despite a noticeable lack of recoil, this fully automatic approach made it satisfying as hell to blitz through fleshy, stereotypical bipedal aliens. The mission I was presented with was fairly late-game, where I had to visit multiple locations in and around the reactor to help repair it and get it back online.
Much like previous Rebellion games, though, Alien Deathstorm isn't trying to bite off more than it can chew in terms of scope. Martin Willingham, a producer at Rebellion, told me in an interview that the final game will only run for around 8-10 hours. For a game that features crafting, weapon upgrades, and a non-linear, sandbox-inspired approach to levels, that may sound surprisingly short.
"Certainly from Sniper [Elite] we took a lot of the level design fundamentals and principles with the approach to Alien Deathstorm," Willingham explained. So if you compare it to the older titles that were more like corridor shooters, this is much more open. We're allowing the player to plan their routes and make choices for where they want to go rather than always being funneled down one route or only having a choice between two options."
There's also plenty of inspiration taken from Atomfall here, too: "People embraced that approach to objectives and investigating the world, giving the player the opportunity to work out the problem rather than being given the immediate answer. You can approach the objectives in any manner that you wish, and as you diagnose the issues with the colony, you can work out how to resolve those problems."
I approached the demo in an all-guns blazing fashion, because it seemed like the aliens were immediately set on making my life hell. But as it turns out, the player's approach actually determines how the enemies react. There are some scripted events where aliens will show up no matter what. One such scenario, when I rebooted a power substation underground, then had to fight my way back out in the dark, was apparently going to happen no matter what. But a prior encounter, where huge, deathclaw-esque monsters came at me from all angles, only happened because I'd been so gung-ho.
This means that if you are much more methodical and stealthier with your approach, you may have an experience closer to something like Alien, where enemies will skulk around and you'll have the option of either staying out of their way, increasing the tension as a result, or blasting them in the face… but risking bringing more heat your way.
In a gaming landscape where numerous games are seemingly endless, Alien Deathstorm joins the likes of Fable in promising a runtime shorter than is likely expected by many. But quality is king, not quantity, and Rebellion has that in abundance.
Alien Deathstorm is set to be released in Spring 2027 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.