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The Star
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Finding yourselves in a gloriously stressful sci-fi adventure
What are the events that made you who you are? Do you fixate on the contingencies, or the ostensible hand of fate that drove you to this particular place in space-time? How do you make sense of your regrets, your self-justifications, your burdens, your excuses? The Alters is a game about a man physically confronted with such questions. To survive on a remote planet, he must learn to live with the other selves he might have been, radically different incarnations who share Jan Dolski's exact DNA but have their own personalities and talents. After beginning in a cliche fashion, the latest effort by 11 Bit Studios, the Polish developer behind Frostpunk and This War Of Mine , blossoms into an extraordinary survival game that explores miscommunication, human fallibility and conflicting motivations. At the start, Jan finds himself the sole survivor of a space mining expedition on the behalf of Ally Corp. Soon after exiting his lifepod, he discovers a deposit of 'rapidium', the most valuable substance in the universe yet one whose properties are scarcely understood. Then, upon returning to his ship, Jan learns he is in imminent danger: The radiance of a too-close star will soon char him into ash. Heeding the instructions from a colleague on Earth, Jan also discovers the most personal information imaginable on the ship's quantum computer: a form of searchable memories that chart all the pivotal decisions that led him to enlist in Ally Corp's space mission. Rushed for time but lacking the technical know-how to get his ship moving, Jan initiates a branching procedure on the computer that allows him to select an alternative life path. Using the rapidium, which is known to hasten organic growth, he births another self in the ship's medical wing, known as 'the womb'. But Jan Dolski, the technician, is far from enthusiastic when he realises what's going on. He resents Jan Dolski, the builder. For his life choices. For using him as a means to an end. To escape the fatal starlight, Jan must gather resources that can be converted into food, fuel and building materials. Doing so entails exploring the outside terrain for resource deposits, then setting up mining stations and powering them via pylons to the ship. The environmental design is excellent, and wiring up a far-flung deposit can feel as satisfying as taking down a nemesis in another game. But there is only so much that can be crammed into a space day. You have to be ruthlessly efficient, lest you find yourself, as I did at various points, having to backtrack several days to get things on track. Fair warning: The Alters will let you fall on your face. By contrast with so many games that urge perfectionism – high scores, low times, no-hit runs, etc – it wants you to embrace your errors and remember that out of mistakes, good things can happen. 'What was really important for us was to create the life of Jan Dolski from our own experiences and our own loaded questions,' the game's director, Tomasz Kisilewicz, told me. Early in the game's five-year development cycle at 11 Bit Studios, the developers were polled internally about the what-ifs that have haunted them. 'For one person, it's 'What if I never left my hometown?' For somebody else, 'What if I took this business opportunity or didn't drop out of college?'' Kisilewicz said. The most emotional ones, he said, were about relationships. ''What if I proposed?'' By the third act, I had created four other alters to assist Jan: a biologist, a scientist, a refinery operator and a miner. (Other options include a doctor, guard, worker and shrink.) Aside from the refiner – a laid-back, wellness-oriented guy – the others are prickly in their own way. Try as I might, I couldn't help but court their animosity when I irked them with my conversational choices or decisions. The feelings of tension were mutual. Oh, how I shuddered inside whenever I heard some variation of 'Jan, got a moment?' while immersed in some time-sensitive task. Rarely has a game filled my head with duties that felt so pressing. At almost any given moment, there is something to fret over: Is there enough inventory space? Are there enough resources to build? Is the ship adequately protected against radiation? Is there enough food? Are there enough repair kits to fix things on the ship? During our conversation, I told Kisilewicz that I was especially impressed with the adversaries Jan encounters that aren't hostile-minded aliens. There are spatial anomalies that float in the air like astral jellyfish, irradiating Jan if he comes into contact – or, in their most fearsome form, causing time to speed up if he remains in their vicinity. Kisilewicz explained that those who worked on The Alters refrained from trying to devise large-scale combat scenarios for practical reasons: the game had a small development team. They also didn't want to detract from the personal story they wanted to tell. Along with CD Projekt Red, the makers of The Witcher games and Cyberpunk 2077 , 11 Bit Studios has helped catapult Poland into the vanguard of the gaming industry. Kisilewicz was clear-minded about the country's particular cultural influence on The Alters. 'It brings this Polish flavour of touching tough things and not shying away from bad endings, from bad outcomes,' he said. The Alters is a first-class resource management game that I found rewardingly stressful to play. This is not a game where the good, bad and neutral conversation options are signposted. Some alters may react negatively to a gesture of empathy or curiosity. Sometimes there aren't any good choices. Jan's journey is marked by pressing ethical concerns. They invite players to reflect on their own priorities, and to ponder what we owe others and what we owe ourselves. – ©2025 The New York Times Company (The Alters was reviewed on the PlayStation 5. It is also available on the PC and Xbox Series X|S.) This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Finding Yourselves in a Gloriously Stressful Sci-Fi Adventure
What are the events that made you who you are? Do you fixate on the contingencies, or the ostensible hand of fate that drove you to this particular place in space-time? How do you make sense of your regrets, your self-justifications, your burdens, your excuses? The Alters is a game about a man physically confronted with such questions. To survive on a remote planet, he must learn to live with the other selves he might have been, radically different incarnations who share Jan Dolski's exact DNA but have their own personalities and talents. After beginning in a cliché fashion, the latest effort by 11 Bit Studios, the Polish developer behind Frostpunk and This War of Mine, blossoms into an extraordinary survival game that explores miscommunication, human fallibility and conflicting motivations. At the start, Jan finds himself the sole survivor of a space mining expedition on the behalf of Ally Corp. Soon after exiting his lifepod, he discovers a deposit of 'rapidium,' the most valuable substance in the universe yet one whose properties are scarcely understood. Then, upon returning to his ship, Jan learns he is in imminent danger: The radiance of a too-close star will soon char him into ash. Heeding the instructions from a colleague on Earth, Jan also discovers the most personal information imaginable on the ship's quantum computer: a form of searchable memories that chart all the pivotal decisions that led him to enlist in Ally Corp's space mission. Rushed for time but lacking the technical know-how to get his ship moving, Jan initiates a branching procedure on the computer that allows him to select an alternative life path. Using the rapidium, which is known to hasten organic growth, he births another self in the ship's medical wing, known as 'the womb.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Time of India
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Best Alters to pick when starting the game in The Alters
(Image via 11 Bit Studios) Starting strong in The Alters can make or break your entire playthrough. While the game gives you complete freedom in choosing which Alters (clones of Jan) to create, some choices can make the opening hours smoother, faster, and far less stressful. Picking the right Alter early on means fewer hiccups as you race against the sun and scramble to survive. Here's a detailed guide to help you choose the best first Alters when beginning your journey. 1. Jan Technician Before we get to the fun picks, let's get this out of the way — you have to make the Technician first. It's non-negotiable. He'll repair modules, fix your systems, and keep your mobile base functional. No Technician, no progress. Think of him as the foundation of everything that follows. JAN SCIENTIST | The ALTERS Hard Challenging Gameplay Walkthrough Part 3 | ACT 1 | Day 12 - 15 2. Jan Scientist If you want to move fast and unlock new possibilities quickly, the Scientist is your MVP. He gives you access to the Research Lab — which means: Unlocking essential base upgrades Accessing new modules (like Greenhouse, Refinery, etc.) Speeding up your long-term efficiency He's also critical for progressing in Act 1 of the main story. Without the Scientist, you're going to hit a narrative wall sooner or later. The faster you get him, the sooner you start optimizing everything else — from food production to power efficiency. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Pro Tip : Prioritize research on mobility and base enhancements first. It'll pay off big time later. 3. Jan Botanist Survival's not just about tech — it's about food too. The Botanist is your best friend when it comes to feeding your growing crew. He doubles Greenhouse efficiency when growing crops Raw food keeps Alters happy (unlike the bland Organics mush) With a few upgrades, he can produce way more food than your team can consume You don't want your Alters starving or turning moody when you're trying to build bridge anchors and outrun a burning sun. Get the Botanist early and let him handle the crops while you focus elsewhere. Get These Alters FIRST | Best Alters Unlock Order Guide | The Alters 4. Jan Refiner If you're planning to go full throttle on construction and resource processing, the Refiner is a solid choice. +50% efficiency in turning Enriched Metals into usable materials Essential for Polymer production, which you'll need for bridge anchors Unlocks access to the Worker Alter, who's a beast in item crafting He's not a 'must-have-in-hour-one' kind of Alter, but picking him early speeds up both crafting and progression. And once you unlock the Worker, your base becomes a productivity machine. So, what's the best order? Technician → Scientist → Botanist → Refiner (optional but helpful) This combo covers tech, food, repair, and resource flow — everything you need to get ahead early. The Alters is all about momentum. Start with the right clones, and you'll spend more time expanding and exploring, and less time firefighting.
Time of India
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
How to Upgrade Base Level in The Alters
Image via: 11 Bit Studios In The Alters, players are tasked with building and managing a base that grows and evolves. Although it is easy to overlook, expanding your base early will definitely have a huge influence on your gameplay, potentially saving you from frustration later. This is a resource-heavy base-building simulation and as you get higher and higher in rank, so must your base in size to hold more modules and storage space. So let's take a look at how to hope for the fastest base expansion to stay ahead of the curve. Why Does Base Expansion Matter Everything begins with a little more ease while setting up your base because your initial space can manage little resources. But with some time allotted to the game being played, the modules' huge numbers would be outgrowing your initial space. It will only start to bottleneck: inconvenient storage space, an overworked resource management system, and grumpy Alters crew members (the workers at your base). If ignored early in their solution, they can start snowballing in failure and bidding for your progress. How to Start Expanding This upgrade system, called Qubit Levels, is both important and necessary for advancing through the game, not only for expanding your base, but unlocking new technologies and capabilities. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Upgrade Your Qubit Level: To access your first base expansion, you'll have to raise your Qubit Level. This introduces a fun new mechanic of needing to chase down specific chips across the game world. If you're failing to find these chips, ensure you're moving along the main campaign's story and focusing on tasks that put you on the path towards them. Research Base Expansion II: As soon as your Qubit is at Level 2, go to your Research tab and choose Base Expansion II from the 'Base' category. This will open up a base over 3 times bigger, giving you more room to build new modules and increase your Organics tank size to 450, key to fueling your operation on a larger scale. Base Expansion III and IV: Each subsequent expansion requires an upgrade to your Qubit Level. You'll have to reach Level 3 and Level 4 in order to unlock Base Expansion III and Base Expansion IV, respectively. As the game gets more difficult and complex, with each expansion, the Organics tank size increases from 700 to 800 and your base expands tremendously. How To Increase Base Storage And Get Advanced Research In The Alters So while these expansions are great, they don't occur overnight. At over 14 hours to research each one, it's vital to have a Scientists Alter in the field to speed things up and get them done! The sooner you begin the process of designing this Alter, the more efficient your retrofits will be. Optimize Your Layout for Maximum Efficiency Once you unlock these shiny new expansions, you'll be amazed to discover that you have way more room to work with. Simply having more space doesn't mean you'll be more efficient by default. The opposite can certainly happen, in fact, without a strong plan, your base can easily descend into an uncoordinated, unfocused circus. Here are our top layout best practices for maximizing your layout. Centralize Elevators: Elevators, for example, are important for transporting Alters between floors but they can consume a great deal of premium space. Just like you've always wanted to do in your building, cluster all your elevators into one vertical core. This enables you to utilize the rest of your space better and makes sure you can get to any part of your base in a hurry. Strategically Place Storage: With the unique shapes, they are able to fit into tighter spaces, which provides you a more compact and convenient storage system altogether. Embrace Flexibility: Flexibility is essential in today's fast moving environment. It allows everyone to adapt to changes quickly and that too efficiently. The Alters - Before You Buy Rewards for Expanding the Base Beyond simply providing more room, base expansion has a host of real-world advantages. For instance, each new upgrade doubles your Organics tank capacity. This is critical since Organics power your mobile base at the end of each act. As your population increases and your city expands, you'll need to start producing more food and amenities to have a well-oiled machine. Plus, increasing your base allows you to spend less time managing storage and resources, freeing up valuable hours for you to spend progressing deeper into the game. That extra space frees you from the stress of squishing it all into a tight space and allows you to design with future growth in mind.
Time of India
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
How to Unlock All Achievements and Trophies in The Alters
The Alters, the genre-blending sci-fi survival game from 11 Bit Studios, are too often a trial by nature alone. If you want to 100% complete the game completely, you'll have to find all 56 achievements including ones from story progressions, character attractions, moral choices, and tactical base-building. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Unlocking every single trophy isn't merely a matter of completing the game, though that's definitely part of the equation. You'll be tasked with truly engaging with every iteration of protagonist Jan Dolski and more than once, at that. Character-Driven Achievements Much of the game's accolades focus on Jan's alters—alternate identities Jan manifests to endure the world's brutal environment. Each alter is introduced with their individual backstory, psychological disposition, and moral tale. In order to complete all of the character-specific achievements, you'll have to: Unlock and interact with all alters: This includes the Technician, Shrink, Guard, Botanist, and others. This includes the Technician, Shrink, Guard, Botanist, and others. Finish their side missions: for instance, Take It Easy, Dude for the Shrink or Her Last Wish for the Technician. for instance, Take It Easy, Dude for the Shrink or Her Last Wish for the Technician. Understand their experiences: These are individual accomplishments that illustrate Jan's emotional and spiritual development (such as a Quality of Life or Integrity). The Alters - Ultimate Beginners Guide (Top Gameplay Tips Every Beginner Should Know) Engineering Success: Base-Building & Survival Achievements Survival in The Alters isn't just personal. Your mobile base must change and adapt as well. You can expect to have to do the following Build important extensions Quantum Computer Produce these materials in the Refinery Construct custom-built modules, even the ultra-rare Park These accomplishments aren't just a testament to your engineering excellence. They directly affect your community's resilience to storms and resource shortages. Split Decisions: Mutually Exclusive Story Paths One of the game's most interesting design decisions are its divergent paths. Two of the most important achievements, Bold Science and Corporate Plug, are based on how you handle Jan's brain ailment. Each method is linked to a separate protagonist and perspective, so they can't be completed in the same playthrough. You'll have to schedule a second run with the alternate route to fully 'complete' the experience. The Alters - 100% Platinum Walkthrough PS5 Pro (All Trophies) No Commentary Gameplay - Part 1 Hidden and Optional, But Worth It Some accomplishments are technically optional. Completing them deepens your appreciation of this world and further educates you on Jan's story. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Others, such as In Shield I Trust, need repeated environmental exposure, prompting exploration rather than efficiency. If you aspire to achieve 100%, then here's what you should understand. The Alters bestows its gifts upon those who travel with patience, empathy, and foresight. Have fun with the budgeting tools, pay attention to each Jan, and think through your choices. Forgotten before, each success now shines a light on the larger narrative that is as much about dignity as it is restoration.
