Horror shooters and action horror Sci-fi and space horror

Aliens vs. Predator

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A Colonial Marine, a dark colony and a Predator in the trees.

Platforms: PC, Xbox
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (91% of 21,733 reviews); Metacritic 68 (PC)
Players: 1 (single-player campaigns); online multiplayer and co-op
Made by: Rebellion
Released: 2010

Get it on Steam Xbox (Xbox 360 version, plays on Xbox One and Series X|S)

What frightens As the Colonial Marine you push through the dark corridors, labs and jungles of the colony of Freya's Prospect with too little light, while Xenomorphs swarm from vents and ceilings and a Predator stalks from above. The maker calls the Marine campaign claustrophobic and terrifying; the other two campaigns put you in the role of the monsters.
Content: gore, violence.

Aliens vs. Predator is Rebellion's 2010 first-person shooter with three campaigns: a Colonial Marine, a Predator and an Alien, all on the colony world of Freya's Prospect. The Marine's campaign is the horror one, a dark fight with too little light against Xenomorphs that come from every side.

About Aliens vs. Predator

Aliens vs. Predator was made by Rebellion and published by SEGA in February 2010. It brings together the Alien and Predator films in one first-person shooter, set in the jungles, swamps and facilities around the damned colony of Freya's Prospect. There are three single-player campaigns, one for each species, and online multiplayer modes that pit the three against each other.

The Marine campaign is where the fear is. The maker describes it as claustrophobic and terrifying, a campaign where light is your friend but there is never enough. You carry pulse rifles and explosives, so you can fight back, but the Xenomorphs move fast, climb walls and come out of the dark in numbers, and the screenshots show them dropping onto Marines in narrow metal corridors.

The Predator campaign turns it around: you stalk from the trees and from above with cloaking, tracking gear and exotic weapons, and close in for trophies face to face. As the Alien you are the monster in the dark, swarming forward with jaws and claws. These two are action rather than horror, which is worth knowing before you buy.

It sits next to DOOM 3 and F.E.A.R. as a shooter whose world is built to frighten, and next to Alien: Isolation as an Alien game, though Isolation has one alien you cannot kill and this has many you can. It suits players who want the Aliens film's firefights in the dark, and anyone curious to play as the creatures as well.

How to play Aliens vs. Predator

Start with the Marine campaign, the one built around the horror.
Move through the colony with your pulse rifle and heavier weapons.
Keep to the light where you can; the dark is where the aliens wait.
Shoot the Xenomorphs before they close in, and watch the ceilings and vents.
Play the Predator and Alien campaigns afterwards to see the same colony from the hunters' side.

Screenshots

Aliens vs. Predator screenshot: a Xenomorph lunges from a metal corridor as a Marine fires his rifle

Aliens vs. Predator screenshot: Marines shoot at a Xenomorph clinging to the ceiling of a hangar

Aliens vs. Predator screenshot: a Predator with a mask and shoulder cannon in misty jungle ruins

Tips

Never trust a dark room; Xenomorphs climb walls and ceilings.
Back away while you shoot rather than letting aliens get close.
Treat the Marine campaign as the horror game and the other two as a change of pace.
Play with headphones to hear where the aliens are coming from.