In what’s assuredly an exception rather than the norm, Cold Iron Studios is one video game studio eager to avoid spending years hyping up its next project to unmanageable levels.
First revealed earlier this month, Aliens: Fireteam is the latest in a long line of interactive adventures set in the sci-fi universe headed to consoles and PC and you won’t have to wait long in order to play it, either. Disney’s newly-established 20th Century Games division stipulates that the team at Cold Iron is aiming to launch before the end of summer 2021 and judging from a solid 25 minutes of gameplay showcased just last week, it would seem the developer is on track to meet internal deadlines. Delays can (and do) happen, of course, but right now, fans of the sci-fi horror franchise eager to gear up and eradicate waves of Xenomorphs needn’t concern themselves with the possibility of setbacks.
Expect more demos to arrive before release, then, but in the meantime, why not familiarize yourself with a few of the various enemy types that’ll appear in Fireteam? Some of these are all-new creations and boast dangerous abilities to boot, and you can check them out below.
Similar to other co-op shooters such as Left 4 Dead, each alien strain will have attributes requiring different strategies and tools to be dealt with. Praetorians, for example, have bulletproof skulls and can’t be felled with a well-timed headshot. Likewise, Spitters, while not much of a threat on their own, can whittle away the player’s health at an alarming rate if not dealt with immediately, which is easier said than done when an army of Runners is threatening to overwhelm your defenses. The latter of these is the rank-and-file Xeno archetype, which makes up for its lack of special ability with sheer numbers.
For folks wondering how all of Aliens: Fireteam‘s hostiles work in tandem to earn their dinner (that’s you, by the way), check out the footage above!