Every Alien Game Where The Xenomorph Is Playable

Highlights

• Alien: Romulus brings back Xenomorph terror with staple characters and expanded gamer options.
• Aliens: Colonial Marines received poor reception due to broken AI coding and promised features missing.
• Alien franchise fans can now control Xenomorphs in various game titles, including Dead By Daylight.

Audiences are being terrified by aliens known as Xenomorphs yet again with the release of Alien: Romulus. For over 45 years, the Alien franchise has been a staple of the theaters, but also video games with a plethora of tie-ins, and original games that expand the universe created by Ridley Scott and Dan O’Bannon.

Typically, Alien games focus on human characters outrunning or shooting down the Xenomorph menace, but occasionally, developers allow gamers to control said menace. Though not plentiful, there is a collective of video games that feature playable versions of the perfect organism.

9 Aliens: Colonial Marines

Xenomorph Is Only Playable In Multiplayer

Fans of the franchise were excited about Aliens: Colonial Marines because it was hyped as a great sci-fi first-person shooter set after the events of James Cameron’s Aliens. Unfortunately, due to multiple promised aspects not present in the final product and broken coding for AI enemy aliens that turned the titular monsters into easy targets, Colonial Marines ended up with a poor reception.

The online multiplayer for Aliens: Colonial Marines allowed players to take control of the Xenomorph hordes and was arguably the superior mode for the game, but sadly, the servers are barren. The only way to get a match in to play as a Xenomorph would be to get a group of friends to create a custom match.

8 Fortnite

In A Battle Royale, No One Can Hear You Rage Quit

As with many other franchises, Fortnite collaborated with Alien to give fans not only Ellen Ripley in her Alien and Aliens variants but also the Xenomorph itself, which was available in the skin pack. There is a nice emote to hear the Xeno let out its famous screech, but other than that, it plays no different from any other Fortnite skin.

It may seem disappointing that Fortnite gives the Xenomorph no unique abilities, but there is a fear factor. Even in the family-friendly art style of Fortnite, the alien creature is still scary enough to instill fear into the player when they see it charging at them with an assault rifle or a shotgun.

7 Alien Vs Predator

It Walked So Other Games Could Run

Often overshadowed by its successors, the 1994 Alien Vs Predator was far ahead of its time as a first-person shooter exclusive to the often-forgotten Atari Jaguar. With digitized actors and props for sprites, the usage of short render distance to create dark levels, and the chance to play all three races, the original title paved the way for future games.

One way that Alien Vs. Predator stands out from the rest is that each playable race has its pros and cons. The Xenomorph is unable to heal, so it must cocoon Colonial Marines and upon dying, it will respawn from said cocoon. With the Marine and Predator having their unique mechanics, it kept the three campaigns from feeling identical and proved Rebellion was perfect for this franchise.

6 Aliens Vs Predator (1999)

The Shooter That Changed Alien Games Forever

When it comes to Aliens Vs. Predator games, most fans think back to the series that started in 1999. Rebellion took the initial concept that was started with the Jaguar game and pushed it to a new level on PC; it was darker, bloodier, and far scarier than any Alien game that came prior.

Rebellion’s Aliens Vs. Predator was also much more taxing on the player, with limited save states in each of the three campaigns. As the Xenomorph, the player focuses more on stealth and traversal across walls and ceilings, something that even the best 90s first-person shooters hadn’t done before, and even though future games would evolve to do it better, it was still revolutionary.

5 Dead By Daylight

An Expansion Every Survivor Should Fear

Games such as Alien: Isolation prove how terrifying Xenomorphs can be, so that fear somehow gets worse with a player controlling one in Dead By Daylight. With the Alien DLC expansion, gamers can stalk other human players, eliminating them by hanging them on hooks for the Entity like all other Dead By Daylight killers or by using the famous inner mouth attack.

Implementing a mechanic never seen in Alien games, Dead By Daylight harks back to famous scenes in which Xenomorphs can emerge from the walls of their hive. Via a series of underground tunnels, the Xenomorph can traverse and surprise survivors by emerging at many points on the map.

4 Aliens Vs Predator 2

A Big Step Up From Its Predecessor

With more saves, improved controls, and even better levels, Aliens Vs Predator 2 is an example of how a sequel can be superior in almost every way. The Xenomorph campaign is even expanded upon, allowing players to experience the entire life cycle of the famous alien monster.

From a facehugger to a chestburster and into a Xenomorph warrior, Aliens Vs Predator 2 went all out in terms of upgrading the Alien campaign. The Colonial Marine and Predator were given upgrades as well, including even more horror for the Marine campaign. On top of it all, Aliens Vs Predator 2 features a dedicated multiplayer fan with all three species being playable.

3 Aliens Vs Predator: Extinction

An RTS That Anyone Can Enjoy

Akin to the likes of StarCraft, Aliens Vs. Predator: Extinction deviates from the first-person shooter formula of previous games in favor of a real-time strategy game. With Xenomorph, Colonial Marine, and Predator playable once again, the idea is fairly straightforward with building bases, raising armies, and accomplishing missions.

Fans of the Alien franchise can still enjoy the game since Aliens Vs. Predator: Extinction is not too difficult to learn, but longtime RTS players won’t feel alienated, since it is far from a cakewalk as well. It may not have the horror that some fans would expect from Alien, but it still delivers the thrills that a good RTS game should provide.

2 Mortal Kombat X

The Alien Was One Of Many Deadly DLC Fighters

Alongside the Predator, Jason Voorhees, and Leatherface in Mortal Kombat X was the Xenomorph. However, rather than just a basic Xenomorph, Netherrealm Studios introduced their own breed mixed with Tarkatan DNA, giving the already dangerous creature arm blades like Baraka.

With three variations focusing on acid, face-hugging, and slashing, the Xenomorph in Mortal Kombat X is one of the more lethal characters to control. Its speed is one of the fastest in the game’s roster, and it can attack from almost any range. Guest fighters in Mortal Kombat tend to be fun, but the Alien proved to be a favorite on the whole roster with standout fatalities from the movies.

1 Aliens Vs Predator (2010)

Brief But Bloody And Brutal Reboot

The final time fans would experience Xenomorphs fighting Predators, Aliens Vs. Predator was a reboot of the first-person shooter series still developed by Rebellion. While the three campaigns are surprisingly short for such a big budget release, it does not take away from how fun they are.

Each Aliens Vs. Predator game does something different with the Xenomorph campaign and the 2010 reboot is no different. It was the first game to give the playable Xenomorph an actual story. The campaign follows Specimen 6 from its birth in a Weyland-Yutani lab to becoming the leading warrior in the Matriarch’s hive on BG-386, and while it is short, the story is still worth playing.