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Stranded on a desolate, rotating planet where the rising sun brings literal death by radiation, Jan Dolski is having a very bad day, and in this The Alters Review, we dive deep into how 11 bit studios has transformed a standard survival setup into a psychological pressure cooker. As Jan, you aren’t just fighting the elements; you are fighting the regret of your own past by creating “Alters”—alternate versions of yourself who made different life choices—to staff your mobile base and keep you alive. This isn’t just about resource management; it’s about ego management. When you clone a version of yourself who didn’t divorce his wife or who stood up to his parents, you aren’t just getting a botanist or a technician; you are getting a walking, talking mirror of your own insecurities. The game brilliantly intertwines base-building mechanics with a narrative that forces you to confront the “what ifs” of your life, making every decision feel heavy with emotional weight rather than just statistical consequence. It is a survival game where the harshest resource to manage is your own self-esteem, and the most dangerous discovery isn’t an alien lifeform, but the realization that another version of you is a better person than you are.
Me, Myself, and I: The Ultimate Crew
The core loop of The Alters revolves around the “Tree of Life,” a quantum computer interface that allows you to look back at Jan’s pivotal life moments and branch off a new timeline to create a specialized clone. Need a scientist? Find the moment Jan considered staying in academia and bring that Jan to life. Need someone to fix the engines? Clone the Jan who never left his blue-collar job.
- The Psychological Cost: These aren’t mindless drones. They are fully sentient people with their own memories, traumas, and opinions about “Jan Prime” (you). They will argue with you, judge your leadership, and even suffer from anxiety or depression if you neglect their needs.
- Skill vs. Baggage: Every Alter brings a necessary skill tree to the table, but they also bring emotional baggage. A highly efficient scientist Alter might be arrogant and condescending, lowering the morale of your other Jans. Balancing their skills against their personalities is a delicate act of diplomacy where the only ambassador is you.
A Mobile Base on the Run
The gameplay is structured around a massive, wheel-like mobile base that must constantly move to stay in the shadow of the planet’s deadly sun. This adds a literal ticking clock to every action.
- Resource Management: You must venture out into the wasteland to mine resources like metals and chemicals to upgrade the base. These excursions are tense, timed affairs where overstaying your welcome means getting fried by radiation.
- The Grid System: Building modules inside the base (sleeping quarters, infirmaries, workshops) feels like a complex puzzle. You have to connect rooms efficiently while ensuring your growing army of Jans has enough space to not drive each other crazy. The base is your lifeboat, but it’s also a prison if you manage it poorly.
Narrative That Hits Home
Unlike many survival games where the story is just flavor text for crafting recipes, The Alters puts the narrative front and center. The interactions between the Jans are often heartbreaking and surprisingly funny. Watching a “tough guy” Jan bicker with a “sensitive artist” Jan about who had it worse growing up is a surreal experience that highlights the game’s central theme: we are the sum of our choices, but we are also defined by how we live with them.
The writing shines in the quiet moments. Sitting in the mess hall, listening to three versions of the same man reminisce about a mother they all remember differently, is a storytelling feat that feels unique to this medium. It turns the sci-fi concept of cloning into a deeply human character study.
Verdict: A Singular Experience
The Alters is a triumph of concept and execution. It takes the familiar tropes of the survival genre—crafting, base building, timer management—and infuses them with a soul. It asks you to not just survive a hostile planet, but to survive yourself.
- Pros: Unique “Alters” mechanic adds emotional depth to resource management; excellent voice acting that differentiates each Jan; tense, meaningful exploration.
- Cons: The constant timer can be stressful for players who prefer a relaxed building pace; some resource grinding can feel repetitive in the mid-game.
If you ever wondered if you could get along with yourself, The Alters gives you the answer: it’s complicated. This is a must-play for fans of narrative-driven survival games who are tired of just punching trees and want to punch their own regrets instead.
