With rumors surrounding a new Alien vs. Predator movie for Hulu following the success of its latest Predator movie, Prey, now would be a prime opportunity for the iconic alien species to face off in the gaming world once again. Previous entries saw asymmetrical multiplayer modes that were more balanced depending on each character’s particular skills, however, there’s been a recent trend with asymmetrical multiplayer titles such as Dead by Daylight that take this to the extreme with a “one vs. many” approach. While this could work for either the Alien or Predator series separately, this gameplay style might not be as impactful if it were implemented into a new Aliens vs. Predator game.
Predator‘s Yautja and Alien‘s Xenomorphs have a long rivalry that began in 1989 with Dark Horse Comics’ Aliens vs. Predator crossover series before the alien species took their fight to games in 1993. The side-scrolling beat ’em up Alien vs. Predator was released across the SNES, Game Boy, before getting a different version for Arcade platforms a year later, which first introduced three-player gameplay. The series is likely most well known for its first-person shooter titles, however, which started with Rebellion’s acclaimed Atari Jaguar console game in 1994, and would continue into 1999’s Aliens versus Predator series for PC.
Later Rebellion games in the series followed the first-person shooter layout, which saw three different campaigns depending on whether the player took control of the human Colonial Marines, the Yautja, or the Xenomorphs. Each campaign played to each species’ strengths, with the Xenomorph using stealth, enhanced senses, and agility to climb the environments and plan its attack, whereas the Colonial Marine and Yajuta relied upon more weapon-based combat, with the Yautja having the further advantages of the Predator series’ iconic invisibility cloaking device and thermal vision to get the jump on its prey. These titles also featured asymmetrical multiplayer modes that saw players competing with three teams of different sizes. However, these sizes varied depending on each species’ strengths and weaknesses – often allowing fewer Yautja due to their increased durability – to allow for more balanced matches.
Predator: Hunting Grounds Featured DBD-Esque Multiplayer
As recently as 2020, the Predator franchise released an asymmetrical multiplayer, Predator: Hunting Grounds which adopted Dead By Daylight‘s approach to multiplayer. The title saw one player taking control of the titular Predator, while four others play as Fireteam Voodoo, a special operations team on a mission to collect intel from various NPCs or eliminate a drug lord until being forced to avoid or fight the Predator. Fans were unhappy with Predator: Hunting Grounds upon its release, but in theory, this asymmetrical approach should work for the Predator series on its own, as it mirrors the likes of the first film which saw an elite paramilitary team of humans having to survive a lone Yautja. This kind of gameplay could also work for an Alien game based on the first movie in that series where the Nostromo’s crew was hunted by a single Xenomorph, and could build upon the foundations of Alien: Isolation‘s intense, stealth-based single-player gameplay. It would be less impactful, however, when applied to the Aliens vs. Predator series.
Due to its crossover nature, the Aliens vs. Predator games thrive in larger-scale battles that see teams of players working together to take on the two other types of opponents. As mentioned previously, it makes sense for there to be fewer Yautja due to their enhanced weaponry and higher health stats, and having a smaller team of Colonial Marines would build the tension as they are caught between the two alien species. The very concept of Aliens‘ nests would also offer the opportunity to have large numbers of players swarm the map from all angles as Xenomorphs. The last title came out 12 years ago and was limited in what it could handle on older hardware, but with fans being long overdue a new AVP game, and the advancements in technology since then allowing for larger online games than the previous entries could handle, a new entry in the Aliens vs. Predator series could provide some intense, action-packed multiplayer matches if it doesn’t try to copy its contemporaries.
