Me, Myself, and I…
The Alters is a strange, genre-blending sci-fi survival game that’s centered around cloning its protagonist.
It’s an odd premise, but it’s one that developer 11 Bit Studios tackles earnestly.
Now Playing:The Alters Is An Ambitious Genre Blending Survival Game
Cloning Jan is built around a series of “What If?”
These “What If?”
questions are at the heart of The Alter’s themes and narrative.
The demo begins as Jan crash-lands on a black sand beach with jagged cliffs and rough water.
The world looks beautiful, ferocious, and alien all at once.
He’s alone and very, very far from home.
You need a javascript enabled online window to watch videos.
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
to make it get it up and running, Jan needs natural resources and a technician.
The materials can then be transported to the Mobile Base by daisy-chaining pylons together.
It’s a rather straightforward process with just enough quirks and intricacies to keep it engaging.
However, recruiting a technician is a bit tougher considering Jan is on the planet all by himself.
This is where cloning comes in.
As you create more Jans, more game systems open up and your odds of survival increase.
However, cloning Jan comes with its own set of repercussions that 11 Bit Studios seems eager to explore.
Jan’s decision to clone himself doesn’t come easily, either.
Chatting with Jan’s alter is surprisingly novel.
Sometimes thats through dialogue and other times its by creating a Jan that can compliment or uplift another.
Too much sim management might muddle the experience, and too little might make it feel superfluous.
The Mobile Base–at least in the first few hours–only moves for plot reasons.
While this may turn some survival fans off, this linearity feels intentional.
If anything, the gameplay diversity lies in its management-sim mechanics.
As you create more alters, you’ll need to build more facilities to appease the growing demand.
Eventually, your ship could become a small self-sufficient colony populated by Jans.
If we can make these work together its going to be something else.
Got a news tip or want to contact us directly?
