Canceled Aliens Game Would Have Been “Mass Effect but More Terrifying”

Aliens fans have a new title to mourn today, as former Obsidian employee Chris Avellone has shed light on a canceled Aliens RPG.

Avellone discussed the Obsidian Entertainment RPG, titled Aliens: Crucible, with VG24/7.

Though he recognizes the comparison is rough, he likens Crucible to “Mass Effect but more terrifying.” Crucible, never got too far into development, but did manage to see a “really cool” prototype.

“We wanted to make it. But by that point Sega, I think, was… the publisher/management relations had gotten to a point where they were just tired of dealing with [Obsidian]. Everyone working on Aliens: Crucible was really excited about it. It was shaping up to be a really cool game. The prototype was really cool. But then Sega’s like ‘nope!’”

VG24/7 describes the cut game as similar to the movie Prometheus. Players would fly to an alien planet that was once inhabited by the Engineers. The primary difference between the two ideas, Avellone says, is that Obsidian was aiming for constant fear. For example, aliens could interrupt any conversation, thus creating a constant sense of dread.

Last week, Avellone spoke about Obsidian’s promising pitch for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic III which never saw the light of day.

Though the game will never see the light of day, keep checking in with OnlySP’s on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and join the discussion in our community Discord server.