| ACG |
Jeremy Penter |
Recommended |
06-12-2025 |
“Fascinating, frustrating and fun as hell all in one package. Work to save yourself on an alien planet by working with yourself.” |
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| AltChar |
Asmir Kovacevic |
85 / 100 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters delivers a fascinating story and a rich survival experience that sets it apart from many games in the genre. Its unique presentation, well-developed characters, and engaging gameplay mechanics create a world that is both immersive and challenging. |
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| Atarita |
Alparslan Gürlek |
82 / 100 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters offers a challenging and compelling experience with its moral dilemmas and cornering situations. If you enjoyed Frostpunk and This War of Mine, you’re bound to love this one. |
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| But Why Tho? |
Eddie De Santiago |
9 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters teaches us that along the non-stop race for survival, sometimes you need to relax with a movie night with the people who know you best. |
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| CGMagazine |
Erik McDowell |
9 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters is a masterfully crafted sci-fi adventure about survival, self-discovery, and learning to live with the version of yourself who tried a little harder. |
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| Checkpoint Gaming |
Lisa Pollifroni |
8 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters has taken the idea of choices and their ramifications and used it to create a world where you can only count on yourself to survive. It mixes these with literal elements of survival, such as mining for materials, keeping important items stocked, and keeping your base in working shape. All these elements made me think about my own choices in life, and what could have been if I had taken different paths. Therefore, not only was The Alters a captivating story and world to play in, but it also really made me think philosophically about life and what it really means to survive. |
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| Console Creatures |
Bobby Pashalidis |
Recommended |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters is a mashup of some of the best sci-fi movies of the last few decades, taking the idea of an isolated human and turning it on its head. The base-building and survival mechanics are fun, and they flesh out and elevate the story of a wayward soul looking to get back home in one piece. |
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| DualShockers |
Callum Marshall |
7.5 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters is a unique and atmospheric survival game that riffs on the existing 11 Bit Studios blueprint in a meaningful way. Offering a superb sci-fi story that is equal parts somber, surreal, and silly. The economy, base building, and Alter Management are the highlights, which are somewhat dragged down by the rather mindless exploration that feels like a means to an end. But overall, The Alters is a brave and bold step forward within the survival genre, and one that will make you question your life decisions more than any other. |
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| Entertainium |
Gareth Brading |
Recommended |
06-13-2025 |
So far, The Alters is the most compelling and intriguing game I’ve played this year. |
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| Game Rant |
Nick Rodriguez |
5 / 5 stars |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters is a cerebral, thought-provoking, and beefy story-driven survival game, and undoubtedly 11 Bit Studios’ magnum opus. |
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| GameBlast |
João Pedro Boaventura |
7.5 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The idea of mixing strategic management with existential drama and science fiction results in a game that will demand both the player’s technical and social skills. This is where my perception of it being a weird subversion of a farm simulator, such as Story of Seasons, comes into play. It’s just that instead of planting turnips, milking cows and trying to woo some of the village’s bachelorettes (or bachelors), we have to mine an inhospitable planet, maintain a functional mobile base and prevent alternative versions of ourselves from killing each other. In short, The Alters can be as welcoming as it is irritating — but it is also unique in its own way. |
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| GameLuster |
Jess Clayton-Berry |
9 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters is a unique survival base-building game with addictive gameplay and a memorable, engaging and deep storyline. What’s more, it’s easily replayable for those reaching for completion. |
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| Gamepressure |
Giancarlo Saldana |
8.5 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters delivers a gripping, existential survival experience that explores identity, regret, and self-acceptance in a way few games attempt. It’s a little longer than it needs to be, but its story, systems, and emotional weight make it hard to forget. |
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| Gamer Escape |
Mike Thomas |
7 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
I like The Alters. It sells its premise in a way I wish more science fiction games would. We need more of them. But the watering down of its gameplay elements makes it hard to recommend. If you’re willing to slog through tedium and gameplay filler there is a wonderfully fun story to experience. I’m debating if I want to push through a second time and see how my journey plays out. |
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| Gamer Guides |
Echo Apsey |
84 / 100 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters is an incredible concept that works by crafting an enticing gameplay hook of cloning yourself and changing the events of your life, while marrying it with a set of engaging and engrossing systems and mechanics to keep your team of alters alive as you traverse an alien world. While there are some performance issues, and the fact that the game only has one main character and personality, it is another strong entry in 11-Bit Studios’ lineup of games. |
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| Gamers Heroes |
Blaine Smith |
9.5 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters will leave you with pondering thoughts long after the credits roll. It’s a brave and daring take on the survival genre and one that will keep you coming back, hoping to answer just one more ‘what if.’ |
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| GamesRadar+ |
Rachel Watts |
4.5 / 5 stars |
06-12-2025 |
The moral implications of cloning yourself aren’t lost in all the resource and base management systems. |
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| GamingBolt |
Ravi Sinha |
8 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters is more than a fascinating concept, mixing strong characterization and impactful decision-making with an enthralling quest for survival, even if the gameplay doesn’t always excite. |
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| Gert Lush Gaming |
Jim Smale |
8.4 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
THE ALTERS is a compelling, if sometimes chaotic, sci-fi odyssey brimming with ambition and innovation. Its customizable systems, engaging narrative arcs, and unique take on identity through alter creation make it a standout experience. The onboarding could be smoother, and not all mechanics are user-friendly out of the gate, but those who persevere will find a richly layered game full of meaningful decisions and poignant solitude. For fans of thoughtful, atmospheric sci-fi survival, it’s absolutely worth exploring. |
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| GRYOnline.pl |
Anna Garas |
7.5 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
Adventure and survival parts of The Alters were reduced to a minimum, so that the story, choices and interactions with alters could serve as the main course. Unfortunately this particular meal left me feeling hungry, but that is due to my personal preferences. If you want something new and fresh among games that make you manage a base with a little exploration, and a little survival, The Alters looks bold and original. |
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| Hardcore Gamer |
Parker Green |
4.5 / 5 stars |
06-12-2025 |
Hardcore Gamer’s official review on the new sci-fi strategy game The Alters. |
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| IGN |
Dan Stapleton |
8 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters is a highly atmospheric sci-fi character study mixed with simple but effective resource and base management that cleverly builds existential and interpersonal pressure throughout its story. |
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| IGN Spain |
Rafa Del Río |
9 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
11 Bit Studios delivers its best project to date with The Alters. Become the humble builder Jan Dolski and survive on an extreme planet while fleeing the dawn. Exploration, action, decisions, management, and strategy are the keys to a title that cleverly blends various components, giving the experience a very original touch. Play with the fabric of time, manipulate the universe at quantum levels, and perform scientific magic as you try to keep your crew alive and return home safely |
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| PC Gamer |
Kerry Brunskill |
90 / 100 |
06-12-2025 |
Wildly unpredictable but always enjoyable, The Alters is a masterclass in high-tension gaming. |
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| PCGamesN |
Paul Kelly |
5 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters spreads itself thinly, approaching heady subject matter with little imagination and shallow dialogue. Coupled with irritating resource management, cumbersome traversal, and an ever-ticking clock that harms its narrative pacing, 11 Bit’s ambitious surival game is only for those who love deadlines and suffering. |
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| PPE.pl |
Mateusz Wróbel |
8.5 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
In The Alters played almost everything. For me, it is unquestionably the best game from studio 11 bit! |
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| PSX Brasil |
Bruno Ribeiro |
95 / 100 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters stands out with a creative and emotionally rich premise, combining base management, exploration and a deep narrative of identity, choices and coexistence. The idea of interacting with alternative versions of oneself is original and well explored both in terms of mechanics and plot, highlighting an interesting balance between constant pressure, strategic decisions and moments of introspection, which enriches the gaming experience. The proposal is ambitious, well executed and offers a type of engagement that is rare in games of this genre. |
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| Push Square |
Issy van der Velde |
8 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters is 11 Bit Studios’ magnum opus; a tense, thrilling, thoughtful game that makes you question what kind of person you want to be. |
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| Saving Content |
Scott Ellison II |
5 / 5 stars |
06-12-2025 |
For every challenge I was faced with, I felt like I was solving problems in equal measure. The Alters often faces existential complications and the human condition with gravity and weightlessness to allow you to laugh. You’ll be exploring, fighting for survival, or chasing a intriguing narrative, but each system feeds into the other so seamlessly, you’ll never be bored or want to leave a task unfulfilled. The Alters science fiction at its finest, and one of the best and weirdest games of the year. |
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| SECTOR.sk |
Branislav Koh’t |
9.5 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
If there’s one thing Poles are really good at, it’s video game development. This is confirmed once again by the 11 bit studios team. After Frostpunk, they bring another great title in which you clone yourself, manage a base, explore and fight for survival on an inhospitable planet. |
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| Shacknews |
Aidan O’Brien |
9 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
It can be very difficult to take these games that are focused on complex system management and add a nice layer of humanity to it all, offering a reason beyond simple efficiencies and problem-solving for people to engage, but 11 Bit Studios does it well and has once again succeeded with The Alters. |
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| Stevivor |
Steve Wright |
10 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
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. |
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| TechRaptor |
Ashley Erickson |
8.5 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
While The Alters is a narrative success, its survival gameplay is more of a side focus than the core of the title. |
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| The Games Machine |
Emanuele Feronato |
8.8 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters blends 3D survival, resource management, and base building with a strong narrative core. As Jan Dolski, we must explore a hostile planet, manage a space base, and create alternate versions of ourselves to survive. Each Alter has unique skills, but also memories, personalities, and unresolved conflicts. Managing tensions between clones, assigning the right roles, keeping morale high, and coping with extreme environmental conditions becomes the heart of the gameplay. A deep challenge that mixes micromanagement, psychology, and sci-fi human drama, told through branching, multi-choice dialogues. |
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| TheGamer |
Sam Hallahan |
5 / 5 stars |
06-12-2025 |
Many games feel like they mirror film and television in the stories they tell and the cinematography they present, but The Alters feels like a best-selling sci-fi novel. The intricacies, branching storylines, decisions that actually matter, and world-building that makes you feel at home on a planet millions of light years away is a terrific accomplishment. This is the story of a singular man I cannot recommend enough. And who knows, perhaps along the way you might even learn something about yourself. |
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| TheSixthAxis |
Adrian Burrows |
9 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters is one of the stand-out survival games of this generation. Imbued with a fascinating sci-fi concept for the ages |
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| Video Chums |
A.J. Maciejewski |
7.7 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with The Alters, especially thanks to its blend of gameplay styles and variety of mysteries throughout. If you relate to the protagonist then it’ll be a much better experience for you but keep in mind that not everyone will. 👨🚀 |
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| WellPlayed |
Kieran Stockton |
8 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
11 Bit Studios strikes again with a fresh take and setting that borrows from the brilliant mechanics of This War of Mine and sends them into space. |
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| XboxEra |
Jesse Norris |
8 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters combines a bunch of genres I hate, and somehow makes a game I loved (when it worked). |
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| Zoomg |
Ali Goodarzi |
9 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters is undoubtedly one of this year’s best indie games. The creators of Frostpunk at 11 bit studios once again showcase their mastery of crafting fluid narrative frameworks—what you might call “narrative sandbox” experiences—and their knack for challenging players’ moral boundaries. While The Alters might not break new ground in its survival-driven gameplay, it more than makes up for it with its fluid storytelling, remarkable character development, near-flawless plot, immersive atmosphere, and polished gameplay. It’s so good, in fact, that finishing this review makes me want to urge you to play it—and dive right back in myself. |
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| ZTGD |
Terrence Johnson |
9 / 10 |
06-12-2025 |
The Alters is a unique, emotionally layered, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking game that will have you questioning your own life choices and then simulating alternate versions of them. It’s not just about survival or ‘tree-punching’ as Ken calls it; but it’s about identity, regret, and learning to cooperate with your own worst tendencies… literally. It’s like if RimWorld and Black Mirror had a baby, and that baby wanted to talk to you about your high school failures. The Alters is developer 11-bit Studios firing on all cylinders with what I feel is there best game to date. Do I recommend The Alters? Absolutely! Just don’t play it when you’re already existentially fragile. Or do. I’m not your Alter. |
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