Alien: Rogue Incursion Quest Graphics Comparison - Why You Want PlayStation VR2 Or PC
Alien: Rogue Incursion arrives on Quest tomorrow and we compared its visuals across Quest 3, PlayStation VR2 and SteamVR.
Alien: Rogue Incursion arrives on Quest 3 and 3S tomorrow after being delayed from last year. You can now see the differences between PC, PSVR 2 and Quest 3 headsets for yourself below.
While Survios aims to bring the tension and atmosphere familiar to fans of the beloved franchise, the mobile release features several disappointments. After playing the game to completion on both PC and PlayStation VR2 for our full review last year, being back in this world again on Quest points to the numerous compromises made to get it onto the hardware.
On Quest 3, scenes that should be drenched in inky blackness are instead cast in a blue-tinted haze. The suspense I felt on previous playthroughs failed to return on Quest 3 while making my way through the dimly lit corridors of the GES facility. This blueish haze coupled with the blurriness of the background robs the game of most of the outstanding atmospheric tension found in the PC and PlayStation VR2 editions. If you play this on a Quest 3, expect to find most areas that should be enveloped in darkness rendered as a murky haze instead.
Text on in-world terminals you need to access throughout the game, which look sharp on other systems, appear so pixelated on Quest 3 that they are difficult to read. The movements of the Xenomorphs lack the fluidity I saw previously, and the effect of the graphical downgrade grates more the longer you look at it.
In the game's other releases, iconic scenes from the Alien franchise were incredibly menacing as Xenomorphs invaded your personal bubble. On Quest, they come off as comically underwhelming. Low-resolution textures lack the acid blood effects seen in the PC and PlayStation VR2 variants. The creatures seem to lose most of their menacing essence, like a cheap Halloween costume rather than the terrifying H.R. Giger nightmare fuel they are meant to represent.
Atmospheric elements like fog that made the previous releases of the game shine are gone on Quest 3. Many of the particle effects, including smoke and a lot of the lighting that give the game its intensity, are not found in the Quest version.
For players intent on exploring this horror-laden world, Alien: Rogue Incursion makes the strongest case there is for higher-end platforms like SteamVR or PlayStation VR2. Playing Rogue Incursion this way gives a more detailed look at the game's rich atmosphere and provides the higher graphical fidelity necessary to experience a deeper and more visceral connection to the Alien franchise.
While Rogue Incursion on Quest still contains a compelling narrative, outstanding voice acting and some familiar franchise-based horror elements, the subpar graphics constantly distract. What’s meant to be a gripping fight for survival becomes a frustrating exercise in grasping for details that are lost in a blue-tinted haze of pixels and blurred edges.
I finished this write-up wondering why Survios didn't delay it again to fix these obvious issues. The likeliest answer is that one of VR's earliest studios needed to release the game now in hopes of funding future updates to improve the experience for some players.
Don Hopper
I reviewed Rogue Incursion at 3.5/5 stars in its previous releases. We're likely to revise that review in the coming days, along with a link to this graphics comparison, to alert Quest buyers to the difference between versions.
We advise a wait-and-see approach here to Quest-owning Alien fans who've been holding out for this one. I hope updates from Survios could improve what we've shown here, but what we saw was rough enough that some may request refunds. With a “Part 2” already teased at the end of an abbreviated PC and PSVR 2 version, Survios looks to be facing an uphill battle to finish this particular fight.
