The Alters Preview: Exceeding My Expectations for a $35 Game

Sure, here’s a revamped version of the article with a more human touch:

Geez, where do I even start with this game, The Alters? I first heard about it last year when our head honcho came back from some gaming gig in Poland, absolutely raving about it. You know how you’re sometimes wary of getting too hyped? Yeah, that was me. Cautiously optimistic, maybe? Or just paranoid.

Okay, picture this: You’re at one of those big preview events. There’s neon everywhere, music that makes your bones vibrate, and you’re playing this game. Obviously, you’ll love it. Who wouldn’t? But when you’re back in your jammy pants at home, and it’s just you and your console? Different story altogether.

As I type away about Jan Dolski’s adventures, I feel this itch. Like, man, why aren’t I diving back into that world right now? Stuck here, longing for the escape across an ocean.

The game’s $35 price tag seems like a wink from the developers saying, "Hey, we’re in this together,” not like those other overbloated, overpriced releases out there. So, cheers to studio efficiency, I guess.

But, hold on—The Alters is a narrative-driven survival thing mashed with something like Fallout Shelter. Wild, right? Doesn’t exactly get more indie diamond than that.

You’re Jan, alone after some messed-up mission named Dolly, tasked with Rapidium harvesting. Rapidium… sounds edgy. The planet immediately lets you know you’re not the boss with its ruthless sun. Survive, don’t survive; hardly matters because time is ticking away in this bizarre place.

The game once shoved numbers in your face daily, screeching "You’re gonna DIE!" But thank the gaming gods for tweaks. Now, with “The Sun is far away” popping up, hallelujah! No pressure, just exploring without fearing an unexpected Game Over.

The whole shebang comes straight from the director brilliance of Tomasz Kisilewicz, who says they realized players felt like prey with the constant timer. Intentional mechanics or gamer torture? Debate’s out. Only if you’d explored more, no rush, ya know?

Then there’s Jan’s whole splitting into Alters business. Different versions of himself from roads not taken. What ifs so big they’d fill a novel series. Each Jan is a different guy—miner, technician, whatever it takes to survive. No messing around.

They talk, crack jokes, or argue with that relentless existential thing we humans are plagued with. Every choice shapes your game.

When the first Alter, the Technician, enters the scene, boom: a new chapter in mind-bending experiences begins. It’s a reality mix with those crossroad moments we can never rewind in life or… can we?

You’re trudging through Jan’s past like some detective, spawning these alternate versions. And suddenly, you’re deep in some quantum stuff that makes your head spin. Multiple Jans? Sign me up for chaotic genius.

The tale kicks off darkly. Jan wakes up, crew dead, with no answers and radiation knocking on the door. Every step leads you deeper into a self-reflection rabbit hole, pondering every big and small life decision.

Anyway, that’s the rollercoaster I rode while testing, swooning over the alters I met—like, you get to see life choices flashing by with characters so relatable they almost reach through the screen. Like when the Doctor’s storyline hit way too close to home, tugging on some personal heartstrings.

Games rarely touch on real feelings, but The Alters nails it, throws you into spirals of what could have been. What are these paths we choose? It got me questioning even my own keyboard clacking.

It was all a weirdly satisfying madness. Submerged in alternate realities and revelations, it felt like a weird, comforting kind of chaos.

Heads up, it drops pretty soon—June 13th—for Xbox, PC, PlayStation, and through the Xbox Game Pass. I’m already eyeing my schedule for a replay. Might just be the new conversation starter in my life. Or maybe I’ve been cooped up too long. Who knows.