Alien Earth? A Fresh 2025 Review of Beam Software’s 1998 Cult Curiosity

Alien Earth (1988)? A Fresh 2025 Review of Beam Software’s 1998 Cult Curiosity

You’ve probably seen the title Alien Earth (1988) floating around in retro lists—but here’s the twist: the game actually launched in 1998, not 1988. Memory plays funny tricks, and this is one of those titles that feels older than it is. So let’s clear the fog, strap on our makeshift spear, and dive into a modern, no-nostalgia-blinders review of a strange little PC relic that turned humans into sport for chitin-armored invaders.

What Alien Earth (1988) Actually Is

Alien Earth is an isometric action-adventure with light RPG elements from Beam Software (the Melbourne studio later known as Krome Studios). It released on PC (Windows) in July 1998, and today you’ll find it on digital storefronts thanks to a re-release that credits Ziggurat as publisher on Steam. Back then, Playmates Interactive handled publishing in North America.

If you’re searching stores now, you’ll see a succinct genre tag—Action / Adventure / Strategy—but in practice it feels like a puzzle-sprinkled action-RPG: talk to NPCs, scrounge items, combine junk into DIY weapons, and level up skills by using them.

Story: Humanity as Seasonal Prey

Set after a nuclear nightmare, Earth is run by the Raksha, insectoid occupiers who don’t just enslave humans—they hunt us for sport. You play Finn, the next unfortunate contestant dropped into a jungle killing field. From these lethal “games,” the plot pushes toward the ruins of a city, a subterranean resistance, and a broader mystery about what really happened to civilization. It’s grim but pulpy, a mashup of post-apocalyptic survival and “Most Dangerous Game.”

World-Building That’s Better Than You’d Expect

Despite a modest budget, the world feels surprisingly lived-in. Underground rebels, scavenger gangs, and whispered legends about fallen cities give the narrative texture. The Raksha aren’t simply cannon fodder; they’re the apex predators of a food chain where you, the player, sit very much at the bottom.

Genre & Structure: Isometric ARPG with Puzzle DNA

On paper, Alien Earth (1988)—okay, 1998—belongs to the late-’90s wave of isometric adventures that straddled action and point-and-click logic. The crafting-by-combining system is its signature: snap a metal blade onto a wooden pole for a spear; jam petrol, a cloth, and a bottle into a good old molotov. Simple? Yes. Satisfying? Also yes.

Progression happens “learning by doing”—swing blades to get better at blades, shoot guns to get better at guns—while PSI abilities (heal, shield) add a modest sci-fantasy twist. The story is split across seven levels, and between skirmishes you talk to friendlies, trade, and poke at the environment for the next combination puzzle.

Gameplay: Scavenge, Combine, Survive

Moment to moment, you’re doing three things:

Scavenging: The game encourages you to hoover up anything not nailed down. The inventory Tetris isn’t complex, but every item can be a component—and that mental model (“what can I build from this junk?”) keeps exploration engaging.
Combating: Weapons feel serviceable rather than slick. You’ll kite, corner, and occasionally panic-swing. The “get better by using it” progression is a neat idea that softens the early-game clumsiness.
Puzzle-solving: Think classic inventory puzzles—combine the right bits, use them in the right place. It’s rarely obtuse, but the game does expect attention to detail.

A couple of systems deserve call-outs:

Save Points: You can’t save anywhere—you’re limited to hidden save spots. This amps up tension but can also make death feel like a gut punch.
Auto-Regen: When not under attack, Finn’s health slowly refills. It’s a considerate nudge against attrition and keeps the pacing from grinding to a halt.
Length: Plan for roughly 8–9 hours for a mainline run, according to HowLongToBeat data embedded on GOG.

Does the Combat Hold Up?

Mostly. Think Euro-’90s isometric feel—clicky, deliberate, scrappy. Enemies are readable, weapons escalate from primitive to Raksha-tech, and the PSI shield/heal options give you tiny tactical bursts when you’re cornered. It’s not Diablo, but that was never the point.

Graphics & Art: Pre-Rendered Charm, Muted Palette

Steam’s feature list brags about “lush, fully-rendered 3D graphics” and “hundreds of detailed animations.” In context, that means chunky pre-rendered characters, layered backgrounds, and a desaturated, post-bomb color tone that still communicates “hostile world” on a shoestring. Animation cycles are short, but the atmosphere—from stalked jungle paths to broken city blocks—lands.

Cutscenes & UI

You’ll get rendered cinematics between major beats. UI is classic Windows-era: clear, boxy, immediately legible once you acclimate. Nothing flashy, but nothing fights you either.

Audio & Voice: Grimy ’90s Sci-Fi Vibes

Expect fully digitized voices and a soundtrack that leans into ominous pads and percussive thumps. It’s not a score you’ll hum in the shower, but it colors the jungle hunts and sewer crawls with the right industrial shiver. The voice work is better than you’d fear for the era and budget, and the Raksha sound design—chitin clicks, low drones—does a lot of heavy lifting.

Difficulty & QoL: Old-School Friction, Modern Tolerance

The save-point system and the sometimes-stubborn pathfinding (a common complaint in late-’90s isometric titles) create bursts of friction—especially if you try to brute-force fights instead of crafting cleverly. The counterweight is that health regen and learning-by-doing progression reward patience. It’s a game that wants you to breathe, scout, combine, then strike.

Critical Reception Then vs. Now

At launch, critics were mixed. Next Generation pegged it at 3/5, noting it wasn’t flashy but had depth. PC Zone landed around 60%, praising bits of the story while lamenting a lack of “wow.” PC Action (Germany) hit 53%, calling it a half-hearted execution of a good idea. That triangulates nicely with the “curious cult piece” vibe the game has accrued since.

In 2025, the re-release context matters. On Steam, it’s sold under Ziggurat and carries a small pool of “Mostly Positive” user impressions—hardly definitive, but it shows modern curiosity and a bit of goodwill for this fossil from 1998.

How It Plays in 2025 (Without Rose-Tinted Glasses)

Firing up Alien Earth (1988) on a modern rig is painless thanks to the store builds. What emerges is a compact, 8-ish hour sci-fi survival romp that trades twitch combat for the pleasure of crafting and cautious exploration. If you like isometric oddities—games with rough edges but memorable worlds—this scratches that itch.

Where it stumbles is predictable: clunky combat, occasional backtracking, and save-point anxiety. But its tone—being prey, not predator—still feels distinctive. There’s something perverse and compelling about scraping together a molotov from trash while a superior alien species casually treats you like a rabbit on opening day.

Not to Be Confused With…

A quick PSA: don’t mix up Alien Earth (1998) the game with Alien: Earth (2025), the TV series currently making headlines. Different beasts entirely. If you landed here after binging the show and wanted a playable tie-in, you’ll get a very different (and much older) flavor of sci-fi. Vikipedi

Pros & Cons

Pros

Unique premise: You’re literally the prey; it shapes every decision.
Crafting-by-combining that’s tactile and purposeful—simple recipes, satisfying outcomes.
Moody atmosphere across jungles, ruins, and sewers; cutscenes add just enough pulp.
Learning-by-doing progression and PSI abilities give a gentle sense of growth.
Short and focused (~8.5 hours), ideal weekend nostalgia trip.

Cons

Clunky combat by modern standards; hit detection and maneuvering can frustrate.
Save-point only system can punish experimentation.
Dated visuals, especially animation cycles—expect late-’90s stiffness.
Mixed critical pedigree at launch; don’t expect a lost masterpiece.

Verdict: A Scrappy Relic Worth a Curious Weekend

If your heart beats for isometric, systems-driven ’90s PC games, Alien Earth (1988)—yes, the 1998 one—is absolutely worth a few evenings. It won’t dethrone genre titans, but it lingers: the sensation of being hunted, the thrill of cobbling together survival tools, the thrill of eeking past a Raksha patrol with a half-baked plan and a bottle-bomb. That’s the kind of texture modern games sometimes bury under polish.

And if you bounced off it in the ’90s, the digital re-release is the perfect low-stakes reappraisal: cheap, compact, and weird in the best ways. Score? Not my style. Let’s say it’s a cult curio—a flawed but memorable slice of post-apocalyptic sci-fi that deserves a footnote in your gaming scrapbook.

FAQ

Release date: July 21, 1998 (PC, Windows).
Developer: Beam Software (Krome Studios Melbourne).
Publishers: Playmates Interactive (original NA); Ziggurat (modern digital release).
Genre: Isometric action-adventure with RPG and puzzle elements.
Estimated length: ~8.5 hours main path.

Your Turn

Did you play Alien Earth (1988) back in the day—or did the 1998 thing surprise you too? What’s your favorite “combine-this-with-that” recipe from the game, and did the save-point system make you sweat or smile? Drop your war stories (and best item combos) in the comments!