The Alters has finally landed, continuing 11 Bit Studios' tradition of excellent, thought-provoking survival-management games. But make no mistake, The Alters is no mere continuation or spiritual successor of This War of Mine or Frostpunk—rather, it's an original work injected with a host of unique features and design aspects, making it a standout project indeed.
There are many ways in which The Alters stands out from 11 Bit Studios' previous work: its high-science-fiction narrative, third-person exploration, and photorealistic graphics are just a few of its major distinctions. But none of these are the game's defining design pillar—that would be its choice-based narrative structure. Indeed, The Alters is at once more personal and more replayable than the likes of Frostpunk, whose multiple runs typically lead to the same outcome, albeit with some markedly different plot developments here and there. Since The Alters was only just released, it's hard to know just how much control players have over its narrative, but its presence on Xbox Game Pass could do a good bit to illuminate that design facet.
The Alters: How Jan Miner Becomes a Crash Course in Player Choice
Jan Miner is one of the most interesting characters in The Alters, and his story is the first real introduction to the game's choice system.
How Game Pass Could Inform The Alters' Community Footprint
Xbox Game Pass Is Bringing The Alters to a Wide Range of Players
The Alters has proven to be a critical success, and it's an easy purchase for survival and management sim fans, but it's far from typical AAA fodder: it's not exactly the type of game that will sell anyone on a console, nor is it likely to breach the indie games' glass ceiling and surface alongside the likes of Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei. On its own, it would probably have reached hundreds of thousands of players by the end of 2025, but with Game Pass, it has a chance to reach millions.
For comparison, Frostpunk 2, an 11 Bit Studios game with far more hype around it due to the success of its predecessor, sold under 600,000 copies in its first year.
Coupled with its strong initial reception, The Alters' inclusion on Game Pass means that it will almost certainly be devoured by a sizable audience. This is great for any game, of course, but it's particularly beneficial for the sort of deep, story-driven experience of The Alters. With a larger pool of players, 11 Bit Studios' sci-fi survival sim could have a fanbase defined by discussion, secret-hunting, and intel-sharing, which may help everyone better enjoy its winding, branching, ambitious narrative.
Audiences Might Get a Clearer Picture of How Player-Driven The Alters' Story Really Is
Fervent discussion will no doubt be in The Alters' fanbase's future, aided by its appearance on Game Pass, and this could shed more light on its darkest corners. For one thing, while a first playthrough of The Alters certainly gives the impression of infinite possibilities, that's obviously not the case: even the most moldable video game narratives have their limits. Even a second or third playthrough might be insufficient for understanding the true extent of its player-controlled narrative, since there could simply be two or three major plot departures, marked by obvious story beats like the transition from Act 1 to Act 3.
In reality, the only way for audiences at large to experience everything that The Alters' story and world have to offer is through communication. If the game is truly as vast and replayable as it suggests, then it isn't plausible for a single person to get a complete picture on their own, requiring the development of a large information hub. This could shatter The Alters' illusion of freedom a bit, but it could also help elevate it, as players would discover the real depth of its intricate, nuanced story.
The Alters
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 86 /100 Critics Rec: 94%
- Released
- June 13, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- 11 Bit Studios
- Publisher(s)
- 11 Bit Studios
WHERE TO PLAY
The Alters is an ambitious sci-fi survival game with a unique twist. You play as Jan Dolski, the lone survivor of a crash-landed expedition on a hostile planet. To survive, you must form a new crew for your mobile base.
Using a substance called Rapidium, you create alternative versions of Jan - THE ALTERS - each one shaped by a different crucial decision from the protagonist’s past.
As you navigate through survival and moral dilemmas, you will explore a branching narrative filled with captivating character dynamics and challenging decisions.
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- PC Release Date
- June 13, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- June 13, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- June 13, 2025
- Genre(s)
- Survival, Strategy, Management
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
