In EverSiege: Untold Ages, players will take on the role of one out of three characters as they stand in defense of the lost stronghold – Bastion. Over the course of the game, players will have to gather resources to reinforce their defenses, and even head out and take on enemies in the world to get their hands on better equipment.

To win, players must backtrack through time and defeat every version of the primary antagonist of EverSiege: Untold Ages – the Evil Master. However, every leap back in time will have the players facing new and unique challenges.

EverSiege: Untold Ages is coming to PC as an Early Access title. A playtest for the game is also slated to start soon.

Publisher Focus Entertainment has announced that Aliens: Dark Descent is available on Game Pass starting today. Subscribers on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One will be able to access the game at no cost. Interestingly, it’s also been confirmed that Aliens: Dark Descent will be offered for free throughout December to all PlayStation Plus subscribers, which means the tactics action title is likely to see a healthy bump in player numbers and engagement sooner rather than later.

Aliens: Dark Descent is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Read our review of the game through here, where we awarded it a score of 8/10, criticizing its story but praising the atmosphere and intense strategy gameplay. 

Aliens Dark: Descent Chapter wise Walkthrough

Prologue

The Prologue is an introduction to Aliens: Dark Descent. There is no plot, nor are there any collectibles in this chater. It’s a simple stage where you learn the skills needed to overcome the upcoming chapters.

Dead Hills

• Primary Objectives – 14
• Datapads – 19
• Materials – 300
• Xenotech – 2

Dead Hills is the first mission after the Prologue. You are to visit one of the alien-filled colonies and rescue the civilians from danger. The missions aren’t too difficult and do a great job of walking you through the basic mechanics. Bring everything you gathered during the Prologue.

Berkley’s Docks

• Primary Objectives – 6
• Secondary Objectives – 5
• Datapads – 11
• Materials – 160
• Xenotech – 1

In this chapter, you have to liberate hostages from a group of enemies and find a comm repeater. Berkeley’s Docks also has a new enemy and a Queen right at the end. The chapter is quite challenging, so bring all marines that aren’t wounded/tired. Brining a Tecker also helps, as their hacking skills make short work of all the locked doors. If possible, bring along a sentry gun and any unlocked Xenotechs, as you’ll be facing the Queen.

Harper’s Hell

• Primary Objectives – 7
• Secondary Objectives – 1
• Datapads – 10
• Materials – 210

Harper’s Hell is a difficult rescue mission that will demand a lot from you and your team. You’ll have to navigate past winding corridors and fight your way through hordes of Aliens, and a new enemy, the Guardian. Bring along a Medic and a Sergeant to increase your odds of completing the chapter. There isn’t much to choose from since this is still the early game, so bring every resource you’ve unlocked so far.

Otago’s Last Stand

• Primary Objectives – 4
• Datapads – 1
• Materials – 70

Otago is a short but challenging chapter. In it, a swarm of Xenomorphs is attacking Otago, and your squad is responsible for holding them off until you have a chance to bomb the caves. To maximize your chances, try to bring a Gunner with the M56 upgrade that lets them deploy Smart Gun as a sentry turret. The rest of the squad can consist of random marines. Note that the short duration of the chapter makes it ideal for training new Marines.

Nuclear Protocol

• Primary Objectives – 5
• Secondary Objectives – 2
• Datapads – 17
• Materials – 120
• Xenotech – 1

The planet is on a path of destruction thanks to the Cerberus Protocol. Your squad is doomed if they don’t stop the nukes that are threatening the planet’s existence. Deactivating Cerberus won’t be easy, as you’ll have to burn through a horde of enemies. Bring your best, fully geared gunners for this mission. We also advise that you equip them with an Incinerator and a Grenade Launcher.

Atmospheric Nightmare

• Primary Objectives – 4
• Secondary Objectives – 6
• Datapads – 22
• Materials – 300
• Xenotech – 2

After failing to deactivate the Cerberus Protocol in the previous mission, it’s time to abandon ship and escape the planet in one piece. The mission demands two squads with a few key marines. The first team must have a Tecker, followed by Sentry Guns and a Sergeant in both teams.

The Montero

• Primary Objectives – 2
• Secondary Objectives – 2
• Datapads – 10
• Materials – 220
• Xenotech – 1

Montero will push your team’s positioning and decision making skills to the limit. The area is small and filled with enemies, and in order to avoid a firefight throughout the mission, you’ll have to be stealthy. Bring a Sniper equipped Recon Marine with the Sniper Upgrade and a couple of mines to distract the enemies and kill them quietly from a distance. A Radio Backpack upgrade on your sergeant increases the maximum command points by 1. Similarly, two marines with the Team Spirit attribute also increase the reserve command points by 1, so bring them along.

Extraction

• Primary Objectives – 6
• Datapads – 4
• Materials – 150
• Xenotech – 2

In Extraction, you’ll have to rescue Harper’s Daughter from Tantalus. This is a comparatively short mission, but the area is filled with tight corridors and encrypted doors. Bring a Tecker to make short work of the locks and an Incinerator to fight the enemies in close quarters.

Facing the Beast

• Primary Objectives – 17

It’s a game of cat and mouse. Navigate Hayes through the area and avoid confronting the alien. In the end, you’ll have to kill it using the power core (lure it close to the core and activate it).

The Pryce of Deception

• Primary Objectives – 11
• Secondary Objectives – 3
• Datapads – 14
• Materials – 220
• Xenotech – 1

Your goal is to enter the Weyland-Yutani headquarters and find Cassandra’s location by interrogating Dr. Pryce. Any team composition usually works, but bringing marines with at least one incinerator, sniper rifle, and at least two shotguns will make clearing out the chapter a lot easier.

Olduvai Dig Site

• Primary Objectives – 4
• Secondary Objectives – 1
• Datapads – 8
• Materials – 100

The Darwin Base is located within the Tromonite mines of Olduvai. You’ll have to visit it and Dave Cassandra from the Xenomorph Queen. Most of the mission involves running away from the monster, so practice your maneuvering skills and bring a bunch of weapons to quickly kill off any stragglers that could jeopardize the mission.

Redemption

• Primary Objectives – 1

On this mission, there is only one objective. Save Cassandra and escort her out of the dig site. There isn’t much to consider. Simply equip a shotgun, as you’ll be chased by Xenomorphs. They can quickly close the distance, and if ignored, they can take down Cassandra quite quickly.

Endings:

Aliens: Dark Descent has two different endings: Escape and Annihilation.

How to unlock weapons in Aliens: Dark Descent

Before you can equip a weapon, you’ll have to unlock it. However, there are three prerequisites to equipping your marines with weapons, except for the ones that are unlocked from the beginning. In order to view the entire arsenal, unlock the Workshop by playing the game and enter it from the main menu. The requirements for equipping a weapon are as follows:

• Marine Level – Marines have to reach a certain level to use some of the weapons. For instance, you’ll need a Marine level 6 to equip the M39-U Submachine Gun.

• Marine Class – Some guns require your marines to be of a specific class, like the M56 Smart Gun, which can only be equipped by a Gunner.

• Cost – Lastly, once you meet the above criteria, you’ll have to spend credits in order to unlock the weapon. For example, the M5 RPG Launcher costs 200 credits.

All Weapons in Aliens: Dark Descent

Primary Weapon

M41E3 Heavy Pulse Rifle 

Ammo Per Burst – 1

Burst Length – 1 second

Clip size – 125

Cost – 200 Credits

Damage – 2

Dismemberment % – 0.6

Reload – 4 seconds

M41 Pulse Rifle

Ammo Per Burst – 1

Burst Length– 0.75 seconds

Clip size – 100

Damage – 1-2

Dismemberment % – 0.5

Reload –  3 seconds

Skill – U1 Grenade Launcher

M56 Smart Gun 

Ammo Per Burst – 1

Burst Length – 1 second

Class – Gunner

Clip size – 150

Cost – 200 Credits

Damage – 1-2

Dismemberment % – 0.3

Reload –  5 seconds

XM99A1 Phased Plasma Pulse Rifle

Ammo Per Burst – 1

Burst Length – 1 second

Clip size – 100

Cost – 300 Credits

Damage – 2-3

Dismemberment % – 0.5

Reload –  3 seconds

Skill – Overloaded Plasma Beam

Secondary Weapon

M4A3 Service Pistol 

Ammo Per Burst – 1

Burst Length – 0.5 seconds

Clip size – 12

Damage – 1-1

Dismemberment % – 0.25

Reload –  1.5 seconds

M39-U Submachine Gun 

Ammo Per Burst – 1

Burst Length – 0.6 seconds

Class – Level 6 Marine

Clip size – 48

Cost – 200 Credits

Damage -1-1

Dismemberment % – 0.25

Reload –  2 seconds

SA .357 Revolver 

Ammo Per Burst – 1

Burst Length – 1.5 seconds

Clip size – 6

Damage – 1-3

Dismemberment % – 0.9

Reload –  1.5 seconds

Special Weapons

M240 Incinerator Unit 

Area Burning Duration – 30 seconds

Burst – 3 seconds

Damage – 5 to15 / second

Enemy Burning Duration – 4 seconds

Range – 5 to 15 meters

Skill – Incineration 

M5 RPG Launcher 

Cost – 200 Credits

Range – 45 meters

Inner Blast Radius – 0 to 1 meter

Inner Blast Damage – 80-120

Outer Blast Radius – 1 to 2 meters

Outer Blast Damage – 20-30

Inner and outer blast dismemberment % – 1 

M37A2 Pump Shotgun 

Short Range – 0 to 6 meters

Short Range damage – 10-20

Short Range dismemberment % – 30

Medium Range – 6 to 12 meters

Medium Range damage – 5-10

Medium Range dismemberment % – 15

Skill – Shotgun Blast 

GEM-80 Mine 

Activation Radius – 2.5 meters

Cost – 100 Credits

Class – Level 2 Marine

Inner Blast Radius – 0 to 3 meters

Inner Blast Damage – 20-35

Outer Blast Radius – 3 to 6 meters

Outer Blast Damage – 15-30

Inner and outer blast dismemberment % – 50

Skill – Mine 

M42A3 Sniper Rifle 

Cast Duration – 1 second

Class – Recon

Cost – 100 Credits

Damage –  35

Range – 80 meters

Skill – Precision Shot

How to earn XP and Level Up Faster in Aliens: Dark Descent?

Here are some activities that grant you XP in the game. Follow them exactly, as any deviations only increase the difficulty and offer no extra benefits:

How to Gain XP on the Field

• Complete Primary and Secondary Objectives – Finishing any objective will grant you XP.

• Stick to Objectives during missions – When you’re doing a civilian or synth extraction mission, only extract the individual(s) mentioned in the mission. Extracting random people or synths won’t earn you any extra XP. You’ll end up with a clean conscience and probably a hundred deaths, but no in-game progression.

• Surviving Onslaught Phases – You won’t gain any XP by mass-killing Xenos. Once you receive an Onslaught message and pull through the Onslaught phase, you will earn that precious XP. So avoid going all Rambo straight out of the gate and save your ammo for the big fights that matter.

• Boss Encounters – Any and all boss encounters grant you XP.

How to gain XP at the Base

Undergoing Intensive Training – Go to Barracks > Training Room to see the list of all your marines. Individuals with a dumbbell sign beside their name are in intensive training and earn 2x XP per day. However, the marines are exhausted at the end of the intensive training. They also cannot be healed or sent on a mission during the training, so choose wisely.

Note: You cannot put any of the main characters through intensive training. Also, be careful not to click on a name twice, as it will instantly end the training. The marine would have gained nothing but would end up exhausted nonetheless.

Next Day Event (Rare) – Head to the Command Deck and click on Next Day. There is no guarantee, but sometimes clicking on the button leads to an event that’ll grant your Marines XP. It’s only a small amount, but every bit counts. However, this method is inconsistent and probably a bug that may be patched in a later update.

Aliens: Dark Descent, an RTS game, is the latest member to join this ever-increasing collection of horrors. In this guide, we’ll be revealing how many chapters there are and how much time you should reserve in order to finish this title.

Aliens: Dark Descent Chapters

Including the Prologue, there are a total of 13 chapters in the game, each containing several primary and secondary objectives.

How long to beat Aliens: Dark Descent?

Depending on the overall difficulty setting, experience, and playstyle, the completion of the game can take somewhere between 13-30 hours.

The tutorials require about 30 minutes, and each of the objectives thereafter takes somewhere between 25 minutes and an hour.

For an average player focusing solely on the main objectives, you’ll be done in about 13-15 hours. However, if you’re a completionist, then finishing the entire game can take more than 30 hours.

Games based on the Alien franchise have been something of a mixed bag, with some absolutely excellent titles, like the stealth-based horror game Alien: Isolation, to Aliens: Colonial Marines—a game so bad that it’s essentially a meme at this point. Aliens: Dark Descent is unique in the fact that, rather than putting you closer to the action in a first-person adventure, you’re instead playing a strategy game for the first time since the older Alien vs Predator titles.

Aliens: Dark Descent puts you in charge of squads of your own making as you explore various colonies on the planet Lethe. What makes it rather unique among its contemporaries is the fact that, rather than giving you control of individual units, you instead control the whole squad as a single unit. This means that they walk and run together, and even attack enemies together, and you don’t really get much in the way of direct control of your marines aside from using special abilities.

"It’s honestly surprising how well it all comes together"

The gameplay loop in Aliens: Dark Descent is quite interesting. Rather than throwing you in mission after mission, it instead gives you absolutely gigantic maps that could take hours to explore. Each level has a number of objectives that can be completed in any order you might generally want to approach them in, and you’re free to extract out of the level and return back to home base if you start getting a bit too overwhelmed. Any changes you might make to the level, like for example welding doors shut or clearing blockades with explosives persist between deployments. Since you can extract from a mission whenever you want, this means that the game generally encourages taking on each level at your own pace, rather than throwing you into a mission that could take hours.

The game encourages players to learn its large maps, since knowing your squad’s whereabouts in relation to the various structures around you can often mean life or death. For example, if you’re being hunted down by the Xenomorphs and need a few seconds to catch your breath, you’ll appreciate remembering a good place to hide.

Speaking of which, combat isn’t something you’ll see in Aliens: Dark Descent very often, but when it does happen, it’s often brutal, and will likely leave more than a couple of your squad members both physically and mentally traumatized. While most of your time in the game will be spent in exploring the labyrinthine hallways in the settlements of Lethe, there are Xenomorphs prowling around, as well as nests. Being spotted not only means that you’ll likely have to get into a fight, but you’ll also quickly need to figure out an escape route and a place to hide, since this will not trigger an in-game situation called “hunt”.

"Most of your time in the game will be spent in exploring the labyrinthine hallways in the settlements of Lethe."

The hunt is an interesting concept in the game since it adds a slow, ticking timer that will escalate your current predicament into a situation far worse than you’re likely ready for. During a hunt, an intensity meter on the top-right of the screen is constantly going up. While things are relatively chill when the hunt’s still on Easy, you’ll soon find yourself having to fend off waves of Xenomorphs once you hit the harder hunt phases. What makes hunts especially dangerous is the level of stress it piles on your squad, which could potentially lead to your marines picking up negative traits that could affect their performance in future missions. The only real way to deal with hunts is to find a place to hide and hunker down.

Returning from a mission, while often great for the morale and physical health of your marines, will also have you manage your home base. You won’t spend too much time here, however, as the logistics are fairly simple to take care of, and the most complex thing you’ll likely do is level up your marines between missions by outfitting them with new perks, and perhaps new pieces of equipment.

Furthermore, the gameplay in Aliens: Dark Descent, despite being a tactical strategy game, feels more akin to a survival horror game. Sure, you have weapons and various tools, but you’ll be trying to cover as much of the room you’re in with light just to make sure a Facehugger isn’t lurking behind an office desk. You even get a dedicated flashlight that you’re encouraged to use constantly. Couple that with limited ammo and the psychological stress that your marines will inevitably take on and you have the perfect recipe for one of the most interesting takes on the survival horror genre out there.

"Aliens: Dark Descent, despite being a tactical strategy game, feels more akin to a survival horror game."

The only real place Aliens: Dark Descent feels like a bit of a letdown is its story. While the game starts off great, slowly building up tension over the course of the first couple of minutes, you’re quickly thrown into a tutorial mission that might do the game a bit of a disservice. The tutorial is slow, badly-paced, and takes too long to let you do anything interesting. Even the first time you use a gun is bittersweet, since control is instantly taken away from you in favor of showing you a cutscene. Once the tutorial is dealt with, the game really opens up quite well. Sadly, however, much of the plot feels like wasted potential, and the game’s core idea of humans living peacefully alongside the Xenomorphs isn’t really followed up on in a meaningful way.

The story more or less just stays in the background, and aside from a few missions where you’ll be dealing with the enemy directly, the idea just isn’t explored as thoroughly as it could’ve been. Ultimately, the plot of Aliens: Dark Descent ends up feeling like yet another retread of the stories we’ve been seeing from the movie franchise forever.

Thankfully, Aliens: Dark Descent is a gorgeous looking game, and despite the story itself being alright at best, the cutscenes and gameplay both look stellar. The way the game manages to hone in on the defining “look” of the Alien franchise is nothing short of jaw-dropping, especially when you zoom all the way into your squad of soldiers welding a door shut, for example. Its environments are wonderfully detailed, and the lighting plays a huge role in it being as fun as it is. Even details that would otherwise be secondary in other strategy titles, like weather effects, look fantastic.

"Aliens: Dark Descent is a gorgeous looking game"

When taken as a complete package, Aliens: Dark Descent ends up being a pretty good game that’s let down by its story. Its core gameplay is a fantastic combination of stealth, strategy, and survival horror, and it’s got all the fanservice you would expect as a fan of the Alien franchise. When it comes to story, the plot lacks any kind of payoff for the game’s most interesting ideas, instead falling back to the classic Alien franchise tropes of Weyland-Yutani being evil and the Xenomorphs being horrifying.

When it gets going, there’s nothing quite like Aliens: Dark Descent in the market. Its unique take on the genre alone should be enough to get fans of strategy games through the door. If, on the other hand, you want to experience the world of the Alien franchise with a clever new story, you’re better off looking elsewhere.

This game was reviewed on the PC.

Before that, please be advised that the following methods are to be used at the sole discretion of the system owner. GamingBolt or its staff members take no responsibility for problems or issues that may occur from trying the below. Remember that official support is always the best support.

PC Requirements

You’ll need a 64-bit CPU and operating system (Windows 10 or 11) to run the game regardless of your configuration. DirectX 12 and 60 GB of installation space is also required.

Minimum (1080p/30 FPS, Low Settings)

• CPU: AMD FX-6300 / Intel Core i3-6100
• RAM: 8 GB RAM
• GPU: AMD Radeon R9 380 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 (3 GB VRAM)

Recommended (1080p/60 FPS, Epic Settings)

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 1800X / Intel Core i7-9700K
• RAM: 16 GB RAM
• GPU: AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT or Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 (6 GB VRAM)
• Additional Notes: A solid-state drive is recommended.

Crashes

One of the major issues in Aliens: Dark Descent on PC is crashes. First, you want to ensure your GPU drivers are up to date. Use either AMD or Nvidia’s dedicated programs (like GeForce Experience) for this, or download the latest drivers directly from their latest websites.

Next, you can verify the integrity of your files. Right-click on the game in your Steam Library and select Properties. Select Installed Files and then the “Verify this game’s files are installed correctly.” If there are any corrupted or missing files, they’ll be re-downloaded.

Another method is to open the Properties menu and go to the General tab. Look for Launch Options and paste “-USEALLAVAILALECORES.” It should improve stability, but crashes aren’t eliminated. You can also launch the game in windowed mode by adding “-WINDOWED” – just ensure there’s a space between both commands. To switch to full-screen mode, hit Alt + Enter while in-game. You can also limit the frame rate to 60 FPS in-game to improve stability.

Marines Stuck “Interacting”

One major bug that can occur is that your Marines will be stuck “interacting” with something. They can interact with objects but can’t use skills or even shoot their weapon. Even worse, you can’t heal them – a death sentence in a game with permadeath. The only workaround for this currently is to reload a previous save. Aliens: Dark Descent only saves at certain points, like when you find a room to rest or when completing specific objectives. As a result, some progress is lost if you have to reload.

Marines Stuck Inside Objects

An even more annoying bug is when a Marine unit is stuck in an object. While reloading from a previous save will fix this, it has to be a save before they get stuck. If they’re stuck and you hit a checkpoint after, say, a pitched firefight, and don’t have a save from before that, then the unit is effectively gone. Expect this to be addressed in a patch, but in the meantime, be especially careful.

Aliens: Dark Descent is available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC.

Note: Given the wide range of PC hardware available, some of the fixes mentioned here may or may not work for you. However, it’s worth giving them a shot since these have worked for some players.

Aliens: Dark Descent puts players in charge of a squad of colonial marines as they explore the planet of Lethe in the hunt for supplies and Xenomorph activities under the stresses the Cerberus Protocol preventing ships from leaving the planet.

Among the enemies players will fight in Aliens: Dark Descent are the iconic Xenomorphs themselves, as well as rogue operatives from ultra-capitalistic megacorp Weyland-Yutani, as well as new creatures making their debut in the Alien setting.

Gameplay revolves around players carefully sweeping large levels as they look for supplies and clues, while at the same time trying to manage their dwindling ammunition as they try and fight off hordes of Xenomorphs. Stealth is an important aspect of the gameplay as well, forcing players to hide out from horde attacks.

Aliens: Dark Descent features a story-focused campaign that will see players returning to the same map for multiple objectives. For more details, here’s everything you need to know about the game.

As the latest story trailer reveals, someone (most likely Barbara Pryce, the colony director for Weyland-Yutani) wants to leverage the Xenomorphs for revenue and medicinal purposes. Pioneer Station deputy administrator Maeko Hayes doesn’t want that, but the Cerberus Protocol prevents ships from leaving the planet. As such, Hayes must work with Sergeant Jonas Harper and his squad of Colonial Marines to survive.

Aliens: Dark Descent is out on June 20th for Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC and Xbox One. Check out more details about the experience here, from its strategy gameplay to the persistent world. There’s also permadeath if you fail to save any Marines.