The Alters Review
Official Score
Overall - 95%
95%
The Alters will leave you with pondering thoughts long after the credits roll. It’s a brave and daring take on the survival genre and one that will keep you coming back, hoping to answer just one more 'what if.'
The Alters by 11 bit studios promises an emotional and engaging take on the survival genre, one with a heavy focus on branching narratives and surprisingly strong replay value for a game so story-centric.
It’s a game that, even after completing fully twice, I’m not really sure where to put it.
It has survival elements, base management elements, a very intricate story and cast of characters, but it never really commits fully to any single genre.
The Alters is a melting pot of ideas and concepts that come together to deliver something truly one of a kind.
While I see that as its biggest strength, some may see it as its biggest weakness.
The Alters Review
The survival aspects, centering around gathering resources and managing the construction of a rather impressive only-in-science-fiction base, are simple but effective.
Players are free to research and construct many modules that help to progress with the story, manage the health and wellbeing of the Alters, and unlock new tech options and opportunities.
It does feel somewhat segmented, with no real intent or meaning behind the design other than “can I squeeze this module in here”. There are no interaction options or benefits between modules and inhabitants, making the base construction one of the areas that struggles most with multiple playthroughs.
Your base is your base. There’s no real incentive to switch it up, no real change in reward or destination, you typically just cram in everything you can and optimize for ease of access.
Exploration is similar, with only very minor changes to map locations on new save files, although this is more a welcoming change than a hindrance. This allows for speedier progression on following attempts to leave the planet.
My first save file was fraught with tension and panic, constantly trying to make sure I would beat the rising sun and leave the area before we all got turned to ash. Subsequent efforts were more efficient, streamlined, allowing for much faster progress to get to the real meat of the game, the story.
The story of The Alters is one with many branching paths, many choices, and decisions to be made.
Sent on an expedition to find Rapidium, a rare mineral that mankind hopes will solve its food and energy crisis, Jan is the last surviving member of his crew after they perished on landing.
A terrifying concept in of itself, but throw corporate greed and espionage into the mix, with a sprinkle of never-before-tried cloning, and it’s exactly what you’d expect.
An emotional rollercoaster of cause and effect with a multitude of alternate endings, scenarios, and events all playing out differently depending on a collection of variables – some obvious, others, not so much.
As Jan, players are free to create clones based on branches of Jan’s life where other decisions could have been made. What would life be like if he stood up to his abusive father? What would happen if he didn’t take that big job?
Players answer these questions directly by creating Alters from those moments in time, as they live an entire existence in a machine, born with the memories of a lifetime despite being seconds old.
Each Alter brings with them a distinct personality, a series of life events that differ from Jan’s, and completely unique goals and desires for their future.
They interact with the story in different ways. They interact with one another in different ways. It’s an impressive system, and one that warrants at least two complete playthroughs to really experience it all.
My time with The Alters was a profound experience. One moment, I was tackling the complexities of base and resource management and the next, I found myself contemplating the very meaning of my existence and the consequences of the choices I’ve made in life.
It’s a stark and oftentimes jarring experience, the switch between mechanical and meaningful, between game and experience, it’s a unique adventure I won’t soon forget.
You can play through the game enjoying the base construction and management aspects, skipping all dialogue and ignoring the story. You’ll probably enjoy it this way, but there’s so much more to it.
Alex Jordan, the VO talent behind Jan, Jan, Jan, Jan, Jan, Jan, Jan, Jan, Jan and Jan, does a fantastic job. From the man’s man of The Technician to the dude bro Refiner and the lunatic Miner, each character carries enough of Jan to deliver and enough of their own personality to shine.
Taking the time to explore Jan’s Alters. Learning of their past mistakes, their goals, and ideals for the future, engaging in their unique stories and optional tasks, it’s a layer of depth we don’t often see in survival games, and the excellent VO work really drives that home.
The Alters will leave you with pondering thoughts long after the credits roll. It’s a brave and daring take on the survival genre and one that will keep you coming back, hoping to answer just one more ‘what if.’
The Alters Review
Reviewed On: PC (A digital code was provided)
Release Date: June 13, 2025
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S,
Developer: 11 bit studios
Publisher: 11 bit studios
Aggregate Scores: Metacritic, CriticDB, OpenCritic
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