I did not grow up with an Amiga. I mainly associate that computer, as well as many of the games that became staples on it, with Europe’s unique and fascinating gaming scene. That never stopped me from wanting to learn more about the computers and games that made this corner of the industry so distinctive, however. One series intrinsically tied to the British gaming industry, as well as the computers that became hugely popular in the country, was Alien Breed.

One of the most important Amiga games of all time is finally preserved for posterity.

You look at these games and immediately think someone in Britain just really wanted to make an Alien game but failed to secure the licensing rights. There’s more to Alien Breed than simply being “Alien, but not really,” though. It’s a series that spawned multiple sequels, successful reinventions, and even experimented with entirely different gameplay styles over the years. Now, thanks to the efforts of the revitalized Commodore Corporation (yep, apparently they’re back), a collection featuring all of the ’90s Alien Breed games has been released. Let’s check it out.

The Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection features a brand total of six “different” games, as well as multiple ports of each, depending on the type of Amiga computer the build was designed for. It’s easy to sort them out in four specific groups: the original game, as well as its “game of the year” edition released a year later; the two top-down sequels; the first attempt at turning Alien Breed into a first-person shooter; and the actuallu half-decent attempt at that with its direct sequel.

Alien Breed and Alien Breed: Special Edition ’92

It all starts with the original Alien Breed, one of the most iconic killer apps released for the Amiga in 1991. The game is essentially a top-down run-and-gun shooter, where you need to explore a maze-like map, looking for keys to open doors, until you are able to access the elevator for the next area. A neverending onslaught of legally distinct xenomorphs is constantly hunting you down, so you need to get rid of them in order to reach your objective, usually with extreme force and prejudice.

It’s also inspired by Gauntlet. There’s even multiplayer support. And twin-stick support!

It’s not as easy as it sounds, since you don’t have an infinite supply of ammo. You may need to either scour for new weapons and resources, or straight up avoid engaging in combat unless absolutely necessary. That’s the beauty of Alien Breed: even though it largely looks and plays like a top-down shooter (with twin-stick support in this collection, mind you), it features elements which would eventually influence and develop the survival horror genre.

As for the second game in this batch, Alien Breed: Special Edition ’92, this is mostly the same thing. A few level design overhauls, slightly prettier visuals, but this is, by and large, a “game of the year” edition. I’d say that, since the latter is a bit more polished, this is still the best way to enjoy the original Alien Breed game.

Alien Breed 2 and Alien Breed: Tower Assault

Those two games follow the premise of taking what worked in the original, and just ramping it up with better visuals, controls, gameplay elements, and level design. They both run in a brand new engine that allowed for vastly larger levels, even if the gameplay, by and large, remained the same.

Alien Breed 2. More of the same? Sure. But still pretty good. Might even be better.

Tower Assault is a bit more action-oriented. Think of it as more Aliens-inspired, instead of Alien, if that makes any sense. Levels have multiple exits, and ammo is a bit easier to find. If you want something more akin to a proper action game, I’d stick to Tower Assault. Regardless of which one you decide to spend your time with, I’d say that these two games are the best the franchise has to offer.

Alien Breed 3D

The year is 1995. It’s been two whole years since the release of one of the most important games of all time: Doom. Everyone and their mother then decided to capitalize on the hype and success of that game, coming up with their own “Doom clones”, which is how we used to call first-person shooters before the naming convention was decided. One said company was Team17, who decided to turn Alien Breed into a first-person shooter. In theory, an excellent idea. Team17 was basically cooking up an Alien-themed Doom, trading away the metal and over-the-top action for an added sense of dread and tension.

It feels like I’m playing a first-person shooter on Game Boy Advance. With the exact same resolution.

But that’s not how Alien Breed 3D ended up being. Due to the very limited power of the Amiga (which, mind you, was NOT able to run Doom natively), the game suffered from an atrocious framerate, overall performance, and resolution. Even if the developers of this remastered collection were able to add an option to extend the screen resolution to a proper 4:3 aspect ratio, Alien Breed 3D looks horrendous. It’s as if you are trying to run Quake on a Game Boy Advance, reducing the resolution to borderline myopic levels. This one is an interesting novelty, worth playing for about ten minutes, and nothing more.

Alien Breed 3D II: The Killing Grounds

Talk about an improvement. If Alien Breed 3D was a surefire disaster, Alien Breed 3D II: The Killing Grounds is a showcase of Team17 learning from its mistakes and cooking up a pretty impressive sequel in all aspects, in about a year. The resolution is higher, the framerate is a bit less crappy, the visuals have been vastly improved, and the inclusion of both jumping and free aiming showcase how much the developers were able to catch up with Quake and Duke Nukem 3D in such a short amount of time.

Alien Breed 3D II is dark, but vastly superior than its underwhelming predecessor.

Is this a good game? I’d say so. It’s nowhere near as good as other, more famous shooters from the same era, but this is easily a lot more playable. The developers of the remaster were also able to come up with a brand new control scheme for this specific build, complete with access to twin-stick controls and some additional quality of life improvements. It’s still a novelty above anything else, but this one is vastly more enjoyable than the truly terrible Alien Breed 3D.

Extra Content and Final Verdict

Aside from the many games and builds available in this package, the Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection does include an additional vault full of concept art and extra goodies. The cool thing about it is that the vault was designed like a level from the original games, complete with a top-down perspective and appropriate animations. Furthermore, online multiplayer was added to these games in the collection. It certainly is a sizeable amount of content, as well as care put into the overall package.

I’m not going to pretend that every game featured in this collection is a must play. In fact, some of them are quite terrible. Still, Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection is an interesting way to experience the entirety of an underrated series, complete with improved controls, performance, and some welcome quality of life enhancements. Old school fans and anyone looking for a gaming history fix should have a blast with this collection. Just stay the hell away from Alien Breed 3D. Stick to its sequel.

Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection is available now on PC.

Reviewed on Intel i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, RTX 3060 6GB and Asus ROG Ally.

A copy of Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection was provided by the publisher.