The Aliens franchise is a science fiction phenomenon that has spread well beyond the original movies. The terrifying creations of James Cameron and H.R. Geiger appear in a variety of books, comics, and video games, and the universe of Ripley, Newt, and the Weyland-Yutani Corporation continues to expand. Video games have been influenced in a variety of ways by the Alien movies. Genres that include FPS games, horror, and science fiction in the modern world of video games owe some of their pedigree to early adaptations of Aliens.

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There are a multitude of games that are part of the official Alien franchise, but the following list contains none of those various titles. There could be hundreds including canceled and peripheral games, and they really need a separate catalog. Instead, the following list includes games that borrow, copy, or pay tribute to some of the distinctive features of the Aliens universe. This can include obvious parallels such as fighting a malevolent alien race, but it can also include other details that defined Alien at the time of its release: female protagonists, visceral otherwordly gore, or an image of a heavily industrialized future.

6 Horizon Zero Dawn (2017)

Horizon Forbidden West DEMETER metal flower connection

This game combines the beautiful with the horrifying in a depiction of a grotesque union between nature and technology, a design reminiscent of the Alien movies. The game also features a female protagonist, Aloy, on a quest to uncover the secrets of her past as she explores the world and fights machines.

A difference is that the setting for this story isn't on another planet or a spaceship, but an apocalyptic version of Earth in the 31st century. Aside from the action and adventure, Aloy has to uncover not only her own origins, but also discover the nature of the mysterious disaster that drove humanity back to a primitive time.

5 Halo Infinite (2021)

halo infinite co op

There are various titles in the Halo franchise that Aliens fans would appreciate, but one of the most recent entries is also one of the best examples overall. It's an FPS first and foremost and also includes a multi-player option if the player wants to share the experience with others, which might depend on whatever Alien movie is their personal favorite.

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The main character is still the supersoldier Master Chief, and he continues his fight against the alien threat in this installment of the video game series. The location of Zeta Halo, also known as Installation 7, has been taken over by the Banished. Not only does Master Chief have to defeat them, but also his former ally Cortana, now gone rogue with several other AI programs.

4 Control (2019)

Jessie using her powers in Control

Jess Fadden is an agent working for the Federal Bureau of Control, or the FBC, a secret government organization that investigates events that seem to defy the laws of reality. The player isn't told much more than that, and the protagonist has to explore the paranormally disturbed headquarters of the FBC to uncover more of the story.

The setting is interdimensional, part of the genre known as "the new weird" which can be just as surreal as a setting in outer space. The game received critical acclaim for the music and voice acting, along with the unique storytelling and hyper-realistic graphics.

3 Metroid: Samus Returns (2017)

paper mario leak

The original Metroid game dates back to the console dawn of time. It was first developed in 1986 for the Nintendo, and the protagonist Samus Aran has been tirelessly fighting aliens on behalf of humanity ever since. It used to be an unknown twist that Samus was a woman, a secret that was only revealed at the successful end of the classic platformer, but that secret is out, and it's openly a part of the plot these days.

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Metroid: Samus Returns brings back the platform style of the earlier days, but the modern version of 2D platforming has all kinds of extra perks. Samus' options for aiming her weapon are no longer as limited, and she also has the ability to deal critical hits to her enemies.

2 Returnal (2021)

returnal tower of sisyphus gameplay trailer

Returnal combines a couple of different types of gameplay for those players that prefer some variety. It's a third-person shooter combined with a rogue-like, and the camera and characters can move in three dimensions. Aliens fans will enjoy the surreal environments, dark settings, and psychological horror.

The main character is Selene, a member of the ASTRA Corporation, and she follows a signal that she's nicknamed the White Shadow to the forbidden planet of Atropos. While there, she discovers a number of disturbing things, such as numerous corpses of herself and artifacts left by the now-extinct advanced civilization that used to inhabit the planet.

1 Doom (1993)

A screenshot from Doom showing an approaching imp being killed by the shotgun.

The original "kill 'em all" FPS, it's easy to forget that Doom is the humble game that began a sprawling media empire as much as Aliens did. There's a lot here that resonates with fans of the Alien movies, such as the wide variety of exotic and often ridiculous weapons, and the ample blood and gore. Doom relies on the survivalist theme that's also omnipresent in Aliens.

There's a science fiction angle here, but like some other games, it uses different dimensions and portals between them instead of being set in outer space. In fact, the underlying story is that the player, known only as Doomguy, is supposed to actually be in Hell. It's never really clear whether the enemies are aliens, demons, genetically engineered animals, or humanoids.

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