After 20 hours with The Alters, I just wanted to fast forward to the end.

Throughout most of The Alters, the resource management gameplay bounced off the narrative well — there was always some obstacle to be overcome, a lava river or gravity distortion, and solutions were found through exploration, research, and resource gathering in a satisfying (though stressful) gameplay loop. Act 3 is similar in that you have to research and build solutions to successfully signal the rescue team on its way to pick up Jan and the Alters, yet the gameplay became a slog and I found myself more than happy to fast forward between narrative beats — which eventually build toward an engrossing conclusion.

By the time Act 3 rolled around, the resource-gathering aspect of The Alters had worn thin. At this point, I had already built everything my wheelie space base needed, and mining had become less of a priority. All I really had to do was wait for Jan Scientist to research solutions to whatever problems the narrative presented. And who even wants to talk to that guy in the first place?

I already had a good stock of resources, and the automated mining stations........

© Polygon