There are certain games that immediately transport you back to a particular machine, a particular room and probably a particular pile of floppy disks. For us, Alien Breed 35th Anniversary does exactly that.
The Amiga classic has returned in a definitive collection for £20.99 on Xbox Series X|S, PC and PlayStation 5, with Play Anywhere support on Xbox, bringing six games, a sizeable archive and some very welcome modern touches along for the ride. Are you ready to go retro?
At A Glance
Game: Alien Breed 35th Anniversary
Developer: Antstream
Publisher: Commodore
Formats: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, Play Anywhere
Price: £20.99
Genre: Sci-Fi Horror-Action
A Classic. Reborn
For anyone who remembers the original Alien Breed from the Amiga, this isn’t simply a case of dusting off an old game and sticking it on a modern console. The collection has been built around the history of the series, bringing together its first era and plenty of material surrounding it.
That means six games are included, stretching from the original Alien Breed in 1991 through to Alien Breed 3D II: TKG in 1996. Along the way there are different platform versions, including the OCS and AGA editions of Alien Breed II and the Amiga and CD32 versions of Alien Breed: Tower Assault.
The original Alien Breed was a top-down sci-fi shooter that understood the value of making you feel trapped. Corridors, locked doors, limited ammunition and the ever-present threat of something nasty waiting around the next corner made those early games remarkably tense.
The collection includes:
- Alien Breed
- Alien Breed: Special Edition
- Alien Breed II: The Horror Continues
- Alien Breed: Tower Assault
- Alien Breed 3D
- Alien Breed 3D II: TKG
That final pair also charts the series’ move into first-person territory, showing just how far the franchise pushed the Amiga hardware during its original run.
A Retro Collection With Modern Firepower
While the games remain rooted in their original formats, Alien Breed 35th Anniversary gives them some contemporary conveniences. Dual-stick controls are supported across the collection, while classic control schemes remain available for anyone who remembers precisely how these games were meant to be played.
Save states, improved framerates, rumble support and extensive visual, audio and gameplay options make returning to the games considerably easier. You can even switch between 4:3 and 16:9 presentation and add CRT effects, scanlines and different screen bezels if you want your modern display to look like it has been dragged straight out of the 1990s.
More Than Six Games
The collection gets particularly interesting for anyone fascinated by the history behind old games. The Virtual Museum provides an interactive archive containing concept art, original retail material, physical media, developer interviews and retrospective footage.
There are even details on projects that never made it to release, including a cancelled Alien Breed PSP game and an abandoned real-time strategy project.
Then there are the new modes. Horde Mode offers a fresh solo survival challenge, throwing escalating waves of the Breed at you, while Rush Mode introduces peer-to-peer online co-op with no saves or continues.
So while the original games provide the nostalgia, there is more here than simply replaying old Amiga favourites. Alien Breed 35th Anniversary is a celebration of where the series came from, how it evolved and why those claustrophobic corridors still have the ability to make you nervous.
And thankfully, this time around, there is no need to find an old Amiga, dig out the floppy disks and hope the drive decides to cooperate.
You’ll find Alien Breed 35th Anniversary on the Xbox Store, playable on Xbox Series X|S, PC and Play Anywhere. It’s also on Steam, GOG, Epic and PlayStation. You’ll find it on Nintendo Switch soon.
