Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is the return of the co-op game that drops players into the boots of Colonial Marines deployed to the most hostile corners of the Alien universe. While Alien fans are awaiting Alien Isolation 2, they’re also in love with being the grunts of the franchise, too.
If you can’t tell from the name, the Aliens: Fireteam Elite series focuses on the action introduced with the Colonial Marine story. Big aliens, bigger guns, and teamwork are the best way to sum it up. That said, with more story and extremely well-executed quality-of-life updates from the first game in the series, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 showcases the action side of the Alien franchise and does it well. In the game, players fight for survival, surviving hordes of Xenomorphs and inventive new enemies as they complete requirements in each room to keep moving on.
The game still requires coordinating with your fireteam and making sure to leverage each class’s unique abilities and adapt to each changing encounter as they escalate from simple mob rushes until they culminate in tense standoffs to all-out war. With deeper squad mechanics, smarter enemies, and a fully customizable Specialist class, AFE2 delivers the definitive co-op Aliens experience.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2’s gunplay and strategy work extremely well, while still remembering its IP’s lore.
During Summer Game Fest Play Days, we played a demo with each station being manned by media or a content creator, guided by a Cold Iron Studios developer. While they helped guide us through the systems, they let us focus on the fight. That said, the important element of their guidance was explaining how the class system was improved for Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 compared to the previous title.
Now, Cold Iron has prioritized players building classes and builds that let them play their way. With the introduction of a Specialist class, the ability to mix and match major and minor abilities will allow every player to set custom loadouts that work for them. That said, the Specialist loadout, which allows for heavy customization, also lets squads build on the other players in their squad, enabling them to create something unique to their experience.
Additionally, the expanded 4-person co-op made it easier to fulfill the expected roles we see defined for other titles in the genre, especially now that classes have been refined for playstyle and tactical elements as well. Another element of those tactics isn’t just on the class you choose, but also on how you stack your weapons and ammo. With a variety of weapons ranging from traditional ammo to heatsyncs, rotating through your weapons and managing your resources is key.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 mechanically improves on the last game and also understands we fell in love with it to begin with.
Add in the elemental pieces like pyro and electric, and it’s important to monitor what enemies have specific resistances that show you how to exploit their weaknesses. And of course, when it comes to combat, the melee this time around feels even better with a stun baton. But while you try to fight off the xenomorphs, you don’t have to worry about meleeing and getting stuck in one place, now that you can move while meleeing.
While we didn’t get to experience the new Horde Mode, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 shared its availability and noted that it’s one of the best ways to play the sequel. When it comes to teamwork in the game, players also focus on taking care of their teammates when they’re downed, keeping them from dying. Unfortunately (or fortunately), we didn’t get to experience the death animations because we didn’t have any deaths in our party.
Aside from the quality-of-life changes introduced, speaking with the devs, they also explained that there has been an even greater focus on storytelling and on doing more with the characters than just simple banter you don’t share among your squad. Instead, the game will feature elements of lore throughout the world, and your interactions with your squad will vary, using your input to drive their conversations and what you learn about the new world of the game.
With significant improvements over the first game, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 maintains what made the first game a favorite among Alien fans and multiplayer shooter fans alike.