Thanks to strong survival fundamentals, satisfying progression, and a clever, nuanced story,The Altersis arguably 11 Bit Studios' best game to date. At the very least, it’s the studio’s most interesting, taking massive narrative and mechanical swings that promise to pay dividends when audiences look back at it;The Altersis poised to age exceptionally well.
At least some of the game’s future-proofing can be chalked up to its melding of disparate genres, specifically management, survival, and social-simulation. The so-called “cozy” genre, composed of casual RPGs likeStardew ValleyandDisney Dreamlight Valley, is often associated with low-stakes stories and easily digestible writing, but the unsettling and often somberThe Altersactually leverages many of the same tricks. Nowhere is this parallel clearer than inThe Alters' base-building systems, which fill a similar role as the player’s farm inStardew Valley, serving as both a base of operations and a chance at personalization. But the second half of that equation—the expressive, city-building-adjacent half—might be hard to get a handle on whenfirst startingThe Alters. At least, it’s easy to overlook just how impactful base-building is for the role-playing side of the equation.
Why The Alters' Base-Building Is Actually a Huge Win for Its Social Simulation
Structure Is the Name of The Alters' Base-Building Game
Rather than allowing players to run wild with their HQ,The Altersprovides some key restrictions. At first, there are stringent size maximums that players must adhere to, alongside weight limits that threaten to halt mission progress once exceeded. But even once these restrictions are transcended, players still need to be cognizant ofTetris-like building guidelines, which dictate the degree of freedom one has over their in-game base. In other words, making the best base layout inThe Altersis an experience defined by structure and rules—a far cry from the open-endedpersonalization ofStardewValleyandAnimal Crossing.
But these restrictions help make base-building inThe Altersa far more enjoyable and robust experience, if only for the unexpectedSims-like gameplay dynamics they engender. For instance, players will regularly encounterJan Dolski’s Altersin the hallways and various facilities of the mobile base, going about their business in their usual fashion, thereby elevating the game’s bizarre social fantasy. These sorts of encounters wouldn’t be as common if players could simply arrange their bases however they pleased, placing all Alters-relevant modules in a sequestered area, for example.
Aesthetics aren’t totally thrown out the window inThe Alters' base-building, but they take a backseat to practicality. When players themselves are moving throughout the base, they’ll be thankful for well-reasoned module organization, as this serves the end of efficiency—an all-important tenet in the survival genre. This increases immersion in an unexpected way, as the Jan Dolskis of the mission are directly aligned with the player’s interests during the base-building process. The game encourages sensible base organization—like the social room being connected to the dormitory, as this makes talking with Alters a much smoother process. Of course, by leaning into this facet of the gameplay loop,The Altersplayers will inadvertently create a more realistic and plausible custom base.
It’s this interplay between gameplay practicalities and social-sim-RPG systems that makesThe Alters’s base-buildingso rewarding. In a sense, such features are emblematic of the broaderAltersexperience, as they perfectly balance micromanaging-style survival gameplay with nuanced, unexpectedly quaint storytelling moments. Bonding with Alters and handling their myriad complaints and requests becomes melded with keeping them alive and handling in-game crises; the line between these halves of the game’s design becomes blurred, which is precisely what makesThe Alterssuch an interesting experience.
WHERE TO PLAY
The Alters is an ambitious sci-fi survival game with a unique twist. You play as Jan Dolski, the lone survivor of a crash-landed expedition on a hostile planet. To survive, you must form a new crew for your mobile base.
Using a substance called Rapidium, you create alternative versions of Jan - THE ALTERS - each one shaped by a different crucial decision from the protagonist’s past.
