I’ve had more exposure than most to 11 bit studios' upcoming narrative survival gameThe Alters. In late 2023, I attended a hands-off preview of the title, presented by lead designer Rafal Wlosek and game designer Marcin Lazowski, that focused more on the prologue and the basicsurvival systems ofThe Alters. I thought it was a very different game back then. Come mid-2024, I was invited to Warsaw, Poland to play a larger slice of the game, amounting to a little over two hours' worth of gameplay (alongsideFrostpunk 2before release). I knew for sure then it was a very different type of game, but I struggled to qualify whether it was a good different or a bad different. It was very creative, it was very interesting, and it did things I don’t normally see in this space, especially as a genre-bending narrative-survival game. But that question lingered.
I recently attended the second 11 bit studios' Hands-On Event in Warsaw, Poland, representing my third major exposure toThe Alters. This time around, I was given roughly six hours or so to play the game, and I went in with this question in mind: is it good different or bad different? I played through the prologue again, getting further into Act 1 than I had prior. We were also given a chance to play a little of Act 2. I quickly found myself hooked on its systems and narrative as they developed more than I had previously experienced, but the moment that cinchedThe Altersas “good different” in my mind was a surprising systemic story beat: one of my Alters, so fed up with me, decided to take the life of the others and themselves. I’ve dubbed this mass murder-suicide, all of whom have the same face, an Altercide.
Systemic Alters of Storytelling and Gameplay
For my full thoughts on the early game, please read myoriginal hands-on preview of The Alters.
It’s worth noting thatThe Altershas a very clearly defined structure. Players will complete the prologue, accomplish different major objectives in Acts One, Two, and Three, and experience a little journey in between each of them, each journey essentially being an interlude. The overall objective doesn’t seem to change: using the Alters, get off the planet before the sun rises and erases protagonist Jan Dolski and his ship. Ally Corp,an obviously evil corporation, doesn’t necessarily care about rescuing Jan, but it does want the valuable resource he’s found: Rapidium. This resource is capable of incredible things, including creating bodies that a quantum computer can then inject fabricated memories into. Hence, the Alters are born.
What’s remarkable about this structure is that it not only delivers an interesting main story but also helps regulate the game’s various systems. There’s the overarching narrative, but there are plenty of storytelling devices beneath that. Every Alter has a different life experience and expertise, like Jan Miner, Jan Scientist, Jan Guard, and Jan Botanist, who all have their own unique storylines intertwined into the main narrative. As such, players get a different story and gameplay experience based onwhich Alters they create(not all can be made in a single playthrough) but also how they interact with these Alters. Players have a few contacts on Earth (including Jan’s ex-wife, who is either still married or never existed in the life of some Jans), and how players interact with these contacts also opens new stories. Beyond that, the various survival systems determine how players engage with the planet they are trapped on, how they develop their base, and how they develop their own emergent storytelling.
There are tons of resource management features, narratives, and objectives inThe Alters, and at times, it can feel like everything is happening all at once. However, that’s where this overarching structure is the most important. Not only does it help 11-bit studios regulate the main story, but it also helps players regulate and adjust their objectives and gameplay. In each major Act, players must set up new methods of obtaining resources, effectively hitting a reset button on everything they need to accomplish. Last year when I played the game, the day limit was more obvious and foreboding, pushing players to accomplish their tasks faster than necessary. Players are now only informed about their distance from the sun, letting them take the game at their own pace for the most part. Pressure still builds, but it is not ever-present. This overall Act structure itself is a system of regulation for all the various narrative and gameplay systems at play inThe Alters.
Minor Spoilers for Specific Alters Ahead
My Story: The Accidental Altercide
Theemergent storytellinginThe Altersis perhaps its biggest strength, with the main story serving as a framing of sorts for the entire game. Because of this, no two playthroughs can be the same. While completing the main objective, players can make their Alters and become entrenched in the various systems for the first time. It never became overwhelming, which was my biggest fear for such a systemic game, and the Acts reset this progression in a way that remains satisfying. But while managing resources and survival, players have to deal with their Alters. Players do seem locked into their first two Alters: Jan Technician and Jan Scientist. The Technician is required, as part of the main narrative, to maintain the ship and get it running, while some main beats would be impossible without the Scientist and his capability for research.
Beyond that, though, Jan Technician is very distrusting of Ally Corp and is a bit more sentimental than Jan Scientist. The scientist, meanwhile, is very mission-driven and encourages players to selectively crunch their Alters with long hours. It’s impossible to discuss their stories further without major spoilers, but I’ll say they served their narrative and systemic functions very well. A little later, I would also make the Jan Botanist and Jan Miner, two of the more optional Alters. Jan Botanist is very emotional and weepy, who hates being separated from his wife (the real Jan’s ex) because, in his life path, they never divorced. He encourages Jan to get in touch with his emotions and to reconnect with his ex-wife, while also desperately wanting to speak with her.
Jan Miner is the key to my Altercide. He lost an arm in his life path, but because of the way Alters are created, he has two again in the game. This creates an odd sort of reverse phantom pain because he has an arm when in his mind he shouldn’t. Players have a choice: give him drugs to numb the pain or force him to deal with it. I saw the outcome of one choice the prior year, so I wanted to see the other. Later, game director Tomasz Kisilewicz would tell me the choice is not as binary as I thought and that there are other ways of dealing with this scenario. Regardless, my choice resulted in Jan Miner dying. This let me see the full extent ofThe Alter’s emotion system because, in classicFalloutfashion, everyone disliked that. Every Alter had something to say about it, and their moods were terrible as a result.
A new quest popped up on my list telling me to “improve their moods before something bad happened.” Players can and should do this through normal gameplay, either via gifts, playing beer pong, watching movies during downtime with them, or via later unlocks. While I did try to improve their moods, I did ironically think to myself: “What’s the worst that could happen?” I was close to finishing, I thought, the main objective of Act 1, so I prioritized that over my Alters. My hubris and being a little indifferent to my Alters impacted their mood. All three of them were negative, so when I got the Game Over screen that one of my Alters committed this Altercide, I didn’t even know which one. The Alters leaves this to the imagination, and my imagination was piqued.
I could reload and fix this, but unfortunately, my time withThe Altersthat day came to an end before I could. What I love about this is that Jan Miner is entirely optional; players can go through their entire playthrough without creating him. There are certainly other ways to trigger an Altercide, but it’s so systemic that each case scenario is going to be unique to the player.
Act 2: New Alters and New Paths
For the second day of the11 bit studiosevent, we were loaded into a save at the start of Act 2. They also gave us random Alters. Jan Technician and Jan Scientist were both there, and Jan Miner was alive. In this save, he had acquired a prosthetic arm. I also had the Jan Doctor and would later acquire the Jan Guard. We had to proceed with our original mission, but Act 2 introduced new stories for each of these Alters. Jan Miner was overworking himself, wanting to do nothing but. Obviously traumatized and alarmed, I made the Jan Guard and quickly moved to put Jan Miner in the contemplation room. Other Alters also expressed their worry about Jan Miner, and after a peaceful reading ofMoby Dick, Jan Miner understood he couldn’t act like Ahab anymore.
As players complete quests for Alters, they themselves learn and develop new character qualities that unlock more dialogue options with Earth and other Alters.
But then the Guard was concerned about someone stealing our food supplies and demanded my help. Then the Scientist hits us with some catastrophic news. Jan Technician is less chipper than normal forreasons. It’s absolute chaos, but hey, Jan Miner was okay for the time being.
While all of these narratives are pulling Jan in many directions, without even mentioning the contacts on Earth or the main storyline, I have to set up my resource supply. I need organics to keep us fed and to fuel the ship. I need materials and minerals for crafting various supplies. I need more room on my base and to keep my base working. I need to explore for other resources and to upgrade various systems to make this exploration viable. A magnetic storm is coming, which renders various rooms inoperable and puts out strong radiation, but some supplies are more abundant during them. Anomalies—entities in the field that can radiate Jan, distort time, and cause other chaotic effects—are blocking my path and I need to deal with them.
A lot of things can happen at once inThe Alters, but thanks to the way everything is managed, it never quite felt overwhelming. There is only so much time in the day, and Jan must sleep like any regular man.The Alterswill pull player priorities in numerous directions, but they survive one day at a time. I know I’ve said a lot about thenarrative elements ofThe Alters, so to be clear, its various gameplay systems and mechanics are what make it all possible.
They are a masterclass in the same vein asThis War of MineorFrostpunk, with everything working in intuitive ways that challenge players but do not overwhelm players in resources, by management, or just in volume. Luckily, if someone isn’t used to such demanding games but does want to check out the story, Kisilewicz also told me there were different difficult options for the action/exploration and resource management elements of the game. Overall,The Altersis a bonafide narrative-survival game. One could exist without the other, but combined, they make for a completely unique experience in either genre.
The Alters is Different
Typically speaking, I play a game once and never again. There are few franchises I ever replay. Playing any game twice prior to release, albeit not to completion, would normally have me bemoaning the need to play through such extensive sections again, but I am excited forThe Alters' release date on June 13. I need to see how far I can push these systems, I need to see how I can change the story based on my experiences thus far, and I need to see how the main narrative, as well as each Alters' story, comes to an end. I have questions about its core narrative and mystery that are unanswered, and for the first time in a long time, I can barely venture a guess as to what that answer is.
I’ve come a long way withThe Alters,more than most, from somewhat apprehensive to cautiously intrigued and now to absolutely enthralled by its direction. To anyone who remains apprehensive, I would say the game is like an iceberg: there is more than you can imagine beneath its surface thanks to its systemic and emergent design. Better yet,The Altersis releasing day one on Xbox Game Pass, and there’s absolutely no harm in checking out this game on the service.
The Altersis different, but it is a very good kind of different.
The Altersreleases June 13 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Game Rant was provided travel and lodging for the purposes of this preview.
