‘The Alters’ is best suited for grown-ups – Catholic Courier

(OSV News) — “I am large, I contain multitudes.” So the 19th-century American poet Walt Whitman famously declared. The protagonist of the thought-provoking single-player survival game “The Alters” (11 Bit Studios) lives that assertion out in a way that not only makes for intriguing drama but for ethical quandaries as well.

Mature discernment is required to sift through such considerations. Taken together with the vulgar dialogue that crops up during gameplay and the potential for encountering gory graphics, the weighty questions players are encouraged to ponder make this a title best suited to grown-ups.

The main character in question, Jan Dolski (voiced by Alex Jordan) — whose persona players control — starts out as an unremarkable crew member aboard a mining vessel belonging to a company called AllyCorp. AllyCorp’s goal is to discover and extract Rapidium, a rare element coveted for its time-accelerating properties.

Locating and exploiting Rapidium would be revolutionary for the whole human race — and therefore vastly profitable for the conglomerate. To achieve this end, AllyCorp has been preparing for a long-term mission to an unnamed hostile planet.

The key physical pieces, such as construction materials and a base, have all been set in place on the surface. They’re just waiting for the builders and mining staff to arrive.

The ship crash lands, however, and Jan awakens to find himself the sole survivor. Stranded in a strange environment and facing lethal radiation from the rising of the local solar system’s sun each day, Jan must fight to stay alive long enough to be rescued by AllyCorp. Unfortunately for Jan, the corporate higher-ups care a great deal more about Rapidium than they do about him.

After locating the wheel-shaped base, Jan receives a fragmented transmission from fellow employee Lucas (voice of Chris Lew Kum Hoi). Lucas urges him to make the unit mobile to stay out of the sun’s harmful rays.

Thereafter, players must explore the terrain, gather resources and expand the shelter to support life and maintain the base’s mobility. Expansion includes constructing modular rooms, establishing infrastructure and powering mining equipment.

Ultimately, though, Jan can’t operate such a large base alone. So, acting on Lucas’ advice, he uses Rapidium and the base’s quantum computer to create “Alters,” that is, alternative versions of himself.

These variants are generated by simulating a different life path for Jan — such as standing up to his abusive father or pursuing a PhD program instead of following in Dad’s footsteps by going to work in the mines — and pulling that iteration of himself out of the timeline.

Each Alter possesses a distinct personality and skill set shaped by these diverging choices. In that sense, they are not truly clones but fully conscious individuals with their own emotional needs, opinions and perceptions.

Managing these Alters becomes a core mechanic. If an Alter becomes depressed, for instance, he might decide to commit suicide — and take everyone else out along with him. An Alter who feels neglected, to take another example, might stage a revolt that ends the entire game.

As a result, seemingly minor activities like building room modules for socializing turn out to be vitally important. A single round of beer pong can improve the mood of the Alters drastically.

As Jan’s story unfolds, the narrative delves into ethical and philosophical issues, examining the morality of creating sentient human beings simply for the sake of another person’s welfare. The Alters, after all, exist in a gray area, each constituting something between a tool and a crewmate.

Are the Alters entitled to autonomy? What is their true value and what place do they have within the mission?

Whether Jan treats the Alters as disposable extensions of himself or acknowledges their personhood becomes increasingly central to the story’s emotional and moral content. And the choices players make through him will lead to one of six possible endings.

With these diverse paths laid out before them, gamers are not only challenged to stay alive. They also have to determine what kind of person they are willing to become in order to do so.

Tags: Game Reviews