Welcome welcome once again to the column that attempts to pair video games and craft beer together. What started as a simple writing challenge has morphed into a space to chat about two of my favorite things, video games and good beer. Sometimes retro, sometimes modern, sometimes local, sometimes national, there is something here for every gamer and every drinker. I hope you’ll subscribe, comment, and share
Videogames based on the Alien franchise are a bit of a mixed bag. By my count there are 23 titles related to the Alien franchise of varying styles and quality. For the sake of argument, and to paint a fuller picture, the Aliens VS Predator franchise, while also a mixed bag of styles and quality, adds another 14 titles to the stack. And while there are some genuinely good/great games in the series, including the weirdly fun Pac-Man style Alien for the Atari 2600, Isolation stands out as the cream of the crop as not just the best Alien-based game but one of the best survival horror style games ever made. The first two Alien movies established the Xenomorph as the perfect killing machine. Thanks to the incredible design of the monster inspired by H. R. Geiger’s Necronom IV, and the brilliant first movie, the stage was set for a truly great video game. Serving as a direct sequel to 1979’s Alien, Isolation casts players as Amanda Ripley, daughter of main series hero Ellen Ripley, who is tasked with investigating her mother’s disappearance on the space station Sevastopol. And, wouldn’t you know it, a lone Xenomorph just so happens to be the cause of the disturbance. The game blends task based objectives with survival horror elements as you simply must avoid the unkillable Xenomorph. While there are some human survivors and androids that can be killed through combat, doing so attracts the Alien. Which is bad. Requiring deliberate planning, Isolation does an incredible job of making the player feel at once intelligent and capable while also devastatingly underpowered. It is one of the most intense games I’ve ever played as every encounter with the Xenomorph is outright terrifying. Few games have ever managed to capture a singular emotion as well as Isolation does. at an average playtime of 33 hours it is a bit on the longer side but well worth the investment.
While maybe a touch too early in the season, retail establishments would vehemently disagree, there are few beers that capture the transition from fall to winter better than Hardywood’s Gingerbread Stout. As the weather in the northeast turns from cool to cold, which thanks to climate change happens a few different times a year now, the beers in my fridge tend to lean darker, heavier, and higher in ABV. GBS is a staple in the rotation during this time of year. Brewed with local baby ginger and honey from farms in central Virginia, GBS absolutely nails the gingerbread profile. Sure, other breweries make gingerbread beers, even paired before here, but none are exactly like GBS. And that’s a good thing really. The craft beer world is full of innovation and iteration, everyone adding a spoke to the wheel. To truly stand out, a beer needs to have that one unique element. GBS through its use of local ingredients sets itself apart from the pack.
So why these two together? Both beer and game provide an amplification of singular experiences. Whether it is the sense of anxiety caused by the ever stalking Xenomorph or the bite of local honey and ginger, you won’t find anything else exactly like these two examples. It also helps that both experiences require a bit of a time sink. GBS is not a beer for shotgunning in the parking lot or by the bonfire. Isolation is not a game to rush through. Taking the time to sip, to explore, to be in the moment, is rare in the world we currently live. So MAKE the time, for yourself, to stop and be, just be. There’s joy in that. So grab a controller and raise a glass and enjoy.
Prost!