The Alters is a video game developed and published by 11 bit studios. A large part of this team also created the outstanding This War of Mine. That is the extent of what I knew about The Alters, going into my time recently spent in Warsaw with the studio, and it was honestly all I needed to know. From the Anomaly games to This War of Mine and Frostpunk, 11 Bit Studios is a developer I trust (also as a publisher, following titles like Moonlighter, Children of Morta and The Invincible), so my recent hands-on time with The Alters and the story mode of Frostpunk 2 (preview of the earlier beta here) offered an opportunity to see if that trust would remain after an early look.
The Frostpunk 2 coverage will be in a few days, so I won’t say more than my trust remains unsullied. Speaking solely about The Alters, from a game I knew nothing about except what was mentioned above and the nice amount of pink on show in the trailer, I’m now waiting for it to release because I want to play more.
So, what is The Alters? From what I’ve seen and been told, the best way I can describe it is that it’s a story-driven third-person adventure game with survival elements and base-building mechanics. The theme of the game is the question the title of this preview asks: “What if?” What if you had decided to become a fluffer instead of a politician – Would you be happier with your life and feel less dirty? What if you were less careful when burying the corpse of your latest Tinder date? These are essential questions we all face in life and those that Jan Dolski will face.
Jan Dolski, voiced multiple times by Alex Jordan (Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Dragons Dogma 2, Final Fantasy XVI, Troy: A Total War Saga, Blasphemous, and many more), is stranded on an alien planet and is all by himself. He needs others to survive, so he will create alternate versions of himself where the “What if?” question is directly altered. The first one you meet is a technician version of Jan, and he is created by changing that to escape his father’s abuse of his mother and himself; instead of running away, he fights back.
You’ll need these alternate Jans to progress through the story because they have the skills to fix something that’s broken, and simply because in the actual gameplay, they will need to man different parts of your base. It raised the question of whether you have some control over which Jan you get and when, which I asked, but with this being a narrative-focused title, you will create the Jan needed. This did worry me at first, but getting to see what’s on offer did alleviate that.
When you create Jan Technician, sadly not called Jan Hammer, he is understandably disoriented and angry. He was created because you needed him to fix something, nothing more, and he’s now facing the near-inescapable death you’re facing. He didn’t ask for this, but it also opens up the opportunity to win him and the other Jans over through the discussions you have, your shared memories, and, at times, what your alternate version did differently. It’s a compelling scenario and one that 11 bit studios seems to be handling well, though, after the use of emotions in This War of Mine, I’m not surprised.
But what of the gameplay outside of your conversations? Here’s where The Alters surprised me more than anywhere else. I expect a good narrative and emotional impact from the developers now. Still, I didn’t expect what could be a successful gelling of adventure, survival, and side-on base building (think Fallout Shelter). 11 bit studios has managed to do this quite successfully; at least, that’s what I get from the first few hours of the game.
The opening doesn’t start quickly, and it is arguably the only thing I think could put people off. The first hour, maybe an hour and a half, is all introductions. It sets the scene, introducing Jan and the giant wheel that is your base. I didn’t mind it, but it was the issue I heard from others at the hands-on event, and I can understand that, particularly as – in the current climate – the first few hours need to hook you to keep people going past the steam refund period.
Since these were the first few hours, I didn’t get to see all the rooms you get to build in your base, but what I did see started to expand quite quickly. You’ll also research expansions, manufacture tools, meals, and more. This is where the multiple versions of you come in, where you can task them with different base rooms, each with their strengths. You’ll even be able to send them out into the world to mine, but be careful to keep an eye on their radiation levels and overall health – physical and mental.
All in all, I’m interested. I started my time at 11 Bit studios with nothing. No knowledge, hype, or excitement for The Alters. I left with a game that I am looking forward to and fully intend to play, either reviewing it or purchasing it upon release. If that isn’t a sign of something, nothing is.
