The Alters completely pulled me in and didn’t let go. What starts as a survival and base-building experience quickly becomes something much deeper—an exploration of identity, choices, and the weight of the paths we take in life.

The core concept is brilliant: constantly moving forward, staying just ahead of the sun, creates a persistent sense of urgency that never really lets up. That pressure ties perfectly into the gameplay loop—managing your base, making decisions, and pushing onward even when things feel uncertain or overwhelming.

But what really stood out to me was the psychological side of the game. Dealing with multiple versions of yourself—each shaped by different life choices—forces you to confront some uncomfortable but very real questions. Who would you be if things had gone differently? How much do your decisions define you? The game doesn’t just ask these questions—it makes you feel them.

There’s a surprising amount of depth here. The writing and voice acting bring real weight to the story, and the moral dilemmas aren’t just there for show—they stick with you. I found myself thinking not just about what the “right” choice was in the game, but about how those same kinds of decisions shape who we become in real life.

It’s rare for a game to balance engaging mechanics with genuinely thought-provoking themes, but The Alters does it incredibly well. Between the management systems, the constant tension, and the emotional storytelling, it’s a hard experience to put down.

This isn’t just a good game—it’s one that makes you stop and reflect. And that’s what makes it memorable.

The Alters really does deserve the awards it's received, though it's outrageous it isn't more widely known and played, so I feel compelled to write a review. This game is really special, and the fact you can buy it bundled with Clair Obscur means you would probably get your 2026 fill of narrative games that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

If you enjoy exploration, base management, survival with perhaps a dystopian edge, and clever Sci-Fi with relationship building and ethical decision-making, I think you will love this game. 11 bit studios are fast becoming one of my favourite developers, with This War of Mine and Frostpunk as other releases with a gritty, ethical decision-making and survival edge. I think if you have played Frostpunk, you might recognise an element to the mechanics of the 'emergencies' and driving sense of urgency that can occur in The Alters. There is also a Frostpunk spacesuit!

Without spoiling too much, the game's narrative speaks to philosophical and psychological themes, including of what life could be if we make different decisions at different points; whilst at the same time, what may play out the same no matter what we do... There are also different endings and configurations that mean you would need to play the game twice (even with some smart saves, and I am pleased the developers added the option to protect your saves. Also to highlight conversation choices that you made previously before reloading your save). I appreciate that's personal preference whether you like the design of having to play at least twice, which usually I don't particularly like but in this instance I look forward to replaying.

Beautiful graphics exploring the planet, great soundtrack curated by the developers with love, and lots of little details including specific mini 'movies' created for the game. I don't know if it was purposeful or not, but I can't help but see the main character as a nod or acknowledgement to one of my favourite Cosmonauts, Alexander "Sasha" Lazutkin who is featured in BBC Documentary Once Upon a Time in Space (also excellent). Lastly, I am a Psychologist and I love their depiction of this in the game (bar their description of them as 'Shrink'). There is DLC announced, and all I can say is I would love a sequel to continue with where the story ends.

an absolutely ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ fantastic game

AMAZING GAME, LOVED IT, THE 55 DAYS SPENT IN-GAME WERE LITERALLY AMAZING AND MIND BLOWING.
EXPECTING A GAME FROM THE MAKERS THAT HAS MORE TO IT AND CAN BE MULTIPLAYER, IT WILL MAKE THE GAME MORE INTENSE.
LOVED THE GAME.

Great game, excellent sci-fi. It's not often that a game provokes a sense of introspection but this really did it for me. The mad lad that voice acted 9 different versions of the same guy made did a great job and it was really believable. The musical number was a pleasant surprise too!

I give this an 8.5/10.

You don't really play the game. Gameplay could as well just be text based you put the drill and drill or go here then go there. As many others said this is more of a relationship management game than anything else. The interactions between the alters are interesting and worth watching, but overall it feels more like an interactive TV series than a game. Unfortunately, you still have to grind resources just to unlock the next episode, which takes away from the experience.
Not for me.

Maybe someday I'll play it again with knowing the fact that out of the blue something in first act the sun chase will reappear and you have to face with it in 7 day, when you didn't even think about it at the begining of the act because of constant message the sun is far away! Why can't you just say 30 days? And I will make make decions knowing about time frames. But now I don't want to repeat it again and waste my time knowing all the dialogs and plots.
The game itself if very good, I just hate doing everything twice.

After watching the trailer and reading a little about the project, I bought it without thinking. Initially, I liked it very much, presentation, elaboration. But this "intoxication" passes very quickly, being replaced by a "severe hangover", namely a grind in conditions of deficit, with a simultaneous solution, sometimes infantile issues, of our "growing up" cohabitants (as a quintessence in the second chapter, there is a doctor who should apparently not see in practice, but is very worried about the "human shell", it's ridiculous). Plus, the fact that due to the incorrectly conveyed meaning, in the version of the answers to one of the key questions prepared by the game (by the end of the second act), the passage, which was conceived by me, went into a different direction, which further removed from a good impression. The game quickly became interesting, became a "farm with quests", I got tired of playing it, a day after passing, I forgot half of the philosophical thing that the developers offered me to think about. Total: as it seemed to me, the game would be measured and about "thinking", but it turned out for me to be "a lot of running and no time to think". For me, my expectations before the purchase simply did not meet and, unfortunately, it did not resonate.. At the same time, I can understand why this project can and can be loved.

What an amazing game!

I loved the story, the ethical questions behind it all, the gameplay, and the graphics.

I livestreamed it on Twitch and really enjoyed the stream integration. Having the possibility to discuss every single dialogue option and let people vote on what to pick, while still being in control of the final decision, was really fun.

I haven't had that much fun in a long time. Thanks, 11 bit studios. Also, kudos to Alex Jordan's voice acting, who managed to give all 12 characters, even though they are all clones of Jan Dolsky, a unique and distinguishable voice.

good game