Alien: Isolation is already one of the hardest horror games of all time, especially if you play on the frankly ludicrous Nightmare mode, but one modder, by the name of JeffCat, thought we could all use an extra challenge, and the result is Kitty: Isolation.
This mod has been knocking around for a while now, but a new, 1.0 redux version has just made its way onto Nexus Mods, introducing a comprehensive overhaul of Creative Assembly’s terrifying, 2014 tie-in game, and a real test for anyone feeling brave enough.
JeffCat originally built the mod to challenge speedrunners – given the current record for beating the game without using glitches stands at a mere two hours and 40 minutes, clearly, the professional players are in need of a new mountain to climb. But perhaps not quite this steep. If I tell you that, in the entire time since it was introduced to the official Speedrun leaderboards, only a single run of Kitty: Isolation has been completed and uploaded, you get what I mean when I say it’s hard – like, really, really hard.
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But why? What does it do? Well for starters the alien doesn’t walk any more – it runs, all the time. Its health is doubled, which means it doesn’t really care any more about being hit with the flamethrower, and it has mega-sensitive hearing, meaning it can hear you at – according to the mod notes – “extreme distances”.
Also significantly increased is the alien’s drop rate. In the base game, you get to enjoy some pretty extended periods of safety and seclusion, but in Kitty: Isolation, the alien will be knocking around, looking for you, with its super powerful ears, at practically all times.
These rules mostly apply to android and human enemies as well, and now there’s more of them. And even if you know the game back to front, they’ve all been moved around and remixed so you’ll never know exactly where they are. Save points have also been moved, and there’s a nasty little tweak to the hacking tool which makes it a lot harder to actually, you know, hack anything. Also, you can’t carry as much ammo, or medi-kits, and all the door codes have been changed. There is more, but I think you get the picture.
So, if you’re feeling brave, or maybe just stupid – the two often cross over – Kitty: Isolation is available now on Nexus Mods. I can’t lie to you about your chances, but you have my sympathies.