ALL BY MYSELVES

Fraught and flexible, THE ALTERS expertly blends storytelling with survival

- By Kerry Brunskill

Jan's the only survivor of an intergalactic mining operation that's gone horribly wrong, and he's the last person anyone would hope was the last person standing in an 'all alone on an alien planet so hostile just standing around outside could kill someone' scenario. He's also going to be burned into a cosmic crisp in a matter of days unless I get on top of this mess right now.

So my first few in-game days in The Alters are spent running around in a blind panic, trying to patch Jan's base-in-a-giant-wheel up as quickly as possible so I can get the hell away from wherever here is before the sun rises and soaks the land in its deadly rays.

With the stakes being so high from the moment the game begins, I make a real effort to squeeze every last minute's worth of work out of Jan, sending him scurrying outside for precious resources and running around inside to create life-saving items from the raw materials he's found.

Working him to the bone sounds like the obvious choice in this high-stress situation, but I can't do that either. If I make him work for too long it'll slow him down, and if I ignore his tiredness and carry on (because death by sunlight is only a few days away) he might even collapse, which is even worse than taking a break right in the middle of an important task to get some sleep.

I'm stressed out now, trying to do ten jobs all at once as one person. Enthralled, too. I can't leave Jan in the middle of this mess, not when it looks like there's a real chance I could finally get on top of things and roll him away to safety.

HELPING MYSELF