The Alters Is An Ambitious Genre-Blending Survival Game
The Alters is a strange, genre-blending sci-fi survival game that’s centered around cloning its protagonist. After Jan Dolski–a spaceship engineer–crash-lands on a desolate, uncharted planet he must clone himself to survive. It’s an odd premise, but it’s one that developer 11 Bit Studios tackles earnestly. Cloning Jan is built around a series of “What If?” questions: What if Jan pursued chemistry instead of engineering, or what if he stood up to his abusive father? 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 Alters has a strong visual identity, with the almost-monochrome world punctuated by bright and colorful flares lighting up the sky as rain pours down. The world looks beautiful, ferocious, and alien all at once. As Jan makes his way to the Mobile Base–a giant wheel-like structure–he learns that his whole crew, including the captain, died on impact. He’s alone and very, very far from home.
Upon reaching the Mobile Base, Jan learns that he must relocate the base before sunrise, otherwise the sunlight will fry everything it touches. In order to get it up and running, Jan needs natural resources and a technician. And to accrue the necessary resources, Jan must set up mining outposts on top of mineral deposits in the surrounding area. 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.