I’ve been a hardcore fan of the Predator and Alien franchises since I was a small child. AvP 1999 was one of the first games I ever played, and I fell in love with it. AvP 99 and AvP 2 are two of my all-time favorite games, and I even poured hundreds of hours into AvP 2010’s MP, despite its flaws. AvP 99 was one of the first asymmetrical multiplayer games ever made, and I consider the AvP game series to be the gold standard of the asymmetrical genre (that said, the AvP movies suck and never should have been made, imo).
I’ve been anxiously awaiting a new AvP game for a decade now. Naturally, when Predator: Hunting Grounds was announced, I was extremely excited. It’s basically half of an AvP game. However, given that I’m used to buying asymmetrical Predator games with three playable races, Hunting Grounds feels incomplete. From what I’ve seen, the main criticism of the game concerns its lack of content, so I think the addition of the Alien as a playable character would GREATLY increase the game’s lifespan.
There are already a few YouTube videos and forum posts begging for eventual Alien DLC, so the fan base appears to be onboard. Given how many playable characters there are in Dead By Daylight and the existence of AvP, I see no reason why Illfonic shouldn’t be able to eventually release DLC that adds the Alien as a playable character. Hell, even just adding in Alien bots to hunt would significantly increase the games appeal (but ideally it should be playable). I’d be willing to pay $20, even $30 for Alien DLC, happily.
After playing the beta, I must say that Illfonic did an excellent job designing the Predator. Unlike AvP 2010, all (or at least most) of the OG Predator weapons are available, and the game controls quite smoothly. While I’d prefer a first-person perspective for an AvP game, I still love marveling at the excellent Predator models as I play.
I suspect they could design an Alien class fairly easily, as it certainly wouldn’t take as much time as the Predator. All the Alien needs to do is climb surfaces, have claw and tail attacks, and a properly implemented sprint and jump system. AvP 2010’s Alien is a good example of how its traversal system should work; the ability to jump directly onto distant surfaces, rapidly sprint, and attack from the walls with its tail.
At this point, I’m so desperate for a new AvP game that I wouldn’t mind a third person perspective, although I think it would work better in first person. Colonial Marines proved that playing as the Alien in TP can be fairly disorienting, so maybe they should make it first person. Regardless, I’d be happy with either.
TLDR: This game would benefit greatly from the addition of a playable Alien class as a $20 DLC. The fans all seem to want it, so if we show enough interest, maybe Illfonic will eventually go for it.