...and out.
Full disclosure here: I’ve had some of the worst weeks of my career at my day job, and as a result my mental health is shockingly unwell. This meant that The Alters came at both the worst and the best time.
The Alters is high-quality science fiction. You fill the shoes of Jan Dolski, an everyman who’s down on his luck. Needing to get his life on track, he takes on a contract from Ally Corp, an obviously evil syndicate, to fling himself to an unknown planet and mine for what could be unobtainium in Rapidium. Jan emerges from a long travel to find that he’s the only member of the crew that survived the journey, and what’s worse, he’s at risk of roasting to death from an imminent solar flare.
Left with little recourse, Jan finds Rapidium and discovers just what it can do, first using it to clone a sheep (Molly, not Dolly) before deciding he must use it on himself to gain extra hands and minds in an attempt to survive. The real hook here is that Jan’s not just cloning himself, but using a Quantum Computer to reproduce himself from different crossroads in his life; certain paths not taken could have meant that Jan would have been a doctor, or a scientist… or even go past sexual experimentation to nab a boyfriend proper.
This establishes a simple hook that works at four different levels across three major acts. In each, Jan must venture forth from his mobile base and explore the environment, finding much-needed resources and navigating rough and sometimes dangerous terrain. Anomalies that first appear to be almost impossible to overcome will eventually become mere inconveniences. Crafting is involved when finding resources, as they not only need to be mined on the spot, but routed back to the base so they can be used.
Jan will also need to work within the base to grow it and build important modules like a lab, a greenhouse, and so on. These modules need resources to be built, but can pay that favour forward with innovation.
Finally, Jan will also need to create alters — again, dependent on resource management — that help him complete short- and long-term objectives. These alters have free will, but will need to be managed in terms of their outputs, their physical health (ie food), and their mental health. The latter is accomplished through simple chats, modules that cater to interests such as a gym or meditation centre, and social activities like film screenings or beer pong.
Finally, this all ties together to the real objective of each act: survival. You need to investigate major phenomenon and figure out a way to bypass them in order to escape the next solar flare. You’ll also need to ensure you’ve not used up your resources on frivolous endeavours before you can roll away in your mobile base.
I’m not someone who enjoys survival games, nor simulation games for that matter — but The Alters does a tremendous job of borrowing bits and pieces from these genres to create something that really resonated with me. I cared about Jan and the various Jans that were birthed along the way, and I wanted to ensure they’d survive and become the best lots of Jans they could possibly be.
While you’ll eventually find your way through systems management, The Alters can be incredibly heavy. There are instances — or potential instances — of suicide, self-harm, and even self-mutilation. As someone who was going through a really rough period of self-doubt, these themes hit home, and hard.
While there’s every possibility that these themes may be too triggering for some, I actually found comfort in The Alters. You’re not going to get every decision right, but I took a lot of gratification from the feeling I had control over the situation Jan and his alters were placed in. If I really got it wrong, I could always reload a day and try a new tact.
With nine different alters to create and engage with — but only room for a fraction of those personalities in a single playthrough — there is a lot of replayability on offer should you wish to explore different paths. With a single playthrough taking place over roughly 20 hours, you — like me — might be quite content with the choices and the Jans you’ve made and leave it at that (though I’ll be honest — I reloaded my save to see both major endings).
Unique, poignant, and one that will stick with you, The Alters also will win hearts with a $52 AUD price tag or availability through Xbox Game Pass. As a result, it’s highly recommended and needs to be played to be properly understood and enjoyed.
This one’s certainly on my shortlist for game of the year.
The Alters heads to Windows PC, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PS5 tomorrow, 13 June 2025. It’s part of Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.
The Alters was reviewed using a promotional code on PS5, as provided by the publisher. Click here to learn more about Stevivor’s scoring scale.
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The Alters13 June 2025PC PS5 Xbox Series S & X
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