Alien: Rogue Incursion reveals Unreal Engine 5 has a terrifying new use

Alien: Rogue Incursion is a new horror VR game for PlaySation VR2 that gives me reason to think Sony's headset has a future, the teased video (above) also showcases how perfect Unreal Engine 5 is for creating virtual reality games.

I reviewed PSVR 2 at launch and love the headset, but there's been few good games to play on it since launch. The announcement of Alien: Rogue Incursion means I'll be dusting down the PlayStation VR headset, and it really puts forward a new use for Unreal Engine 5. Games including Firewall Ultra, Synapse and Ghostbusters: Rise Of The Ghost Lord all make use of UE5 to bring VR to life, but there's something about the lighting capabilities on show in Alien: Rogue Incursion that really delivers on the promise of a VR horror game.

Survios is one of the best VR devs around, so it coupled with UE5 and the Alien franchise feels like a perfect match. This new next-gen Alien VR game is described by the Survios' chief product officer, TQ Jefferson, on the PlayStation Blog, as "a single-player, action-horror game featuring an all-new storyline. A high tension shooter developed with Unreal Engine 5, players will need to stay frosty as they explore an overrun facility on the inhospitable planet Purdan".

Alien: Rogue Incursion looks to put players on edge with some crafty AI. TQ says the game will offer, "Dynamically spawning and pathing with countless unique possibilities, even we couldn’t tell you exactly where and when each Xenomorph will strike, let alone what strategies it might use or if it’ll bring some friends". This makes me think of the legendary Alien: Isolation, one of the best horror games ever made.

It's the small details and the use of Unreal Engine 5's Lumen lighting features that really looks like it will elevate the tension. The teaser trailer begins with the glowing pinging motion tracker, perfectly recreated from Aliens, and then reveals how shafts of light, glowing retro computer screens and the beam of a torch perfectly illuminate portions of a room. It all just feels right. I can't wait to see more.

Alien: Rogue Incursion is due for release this 'Holiday' season for PSVR 2, PCVR via Steam, and Meta Quest 3; and you can read more about these in our best VR headsets guide. You can read more about the game on the Survios website.

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Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creativebloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and leading video game title Official PlayStation Magazine. In his early career he wrote for music and film magazines including Uncut and SFX. Ian launched Xbox magazine X360 and edited PlayStation World. For Creative Bloq, Ian combines his experiences to bring the latest news on AI, digital art and video game art and tech, and more to Creative Bloq, and in his spare time he doodles in Procreate, ArtRage, and Rebelle while finding time to play Xbox and PS5. He's also a keen Cricut user and laser cutter fan, and is currently crafting on Glowforge and xTools M1.