Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 preview: A flashy and entertaining co-op shooter

Knowing Alien: Isolation 2 is on the way makes it easier to enjoy the vastly improved action of Fireteam Elite 2.

All corners of the Alien fandom are pretty well-served right now. Alien: Romulus and Alien: Earth are giving fans some pretty great live-action horror to watch, Alien: Isolation 2 is set to bring that same spooky energy back to the video game medium, and Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is on the way for those of us who like the more action-packed side of the Alien franchise.

If only one of these existed without the others, it might be hard to fully appreciate a single one of them. That’s why the original Fireteam Elite was a bit underrated when it launched in 2021, as fans were yearning for more horror-leaning Aliens content. Now, with a sequel that seems to improve on its co-op shooter formula in pretty much every way, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 has a real opportunity to become one of the next big co-op games — and a more action-heavy prelude to the highly anticipated Alien: Isolation 2.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is a co-op shooter where you control Colonial Marines clearing Xenomorphs and rogue synths out of remote space stations. There will be 15 different levels and a horde mode, with the one I played at Summer Game Fest Play Days being a mid-game stage titled Rust In Peace.

While there are light objectives, like activating certain terminals, the main crux of Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is fighting. This is not a survival horror game, as you can pretty consistently take down the Xenomorphs that come at you as long as you play carefully. Still, it’s mixing all of the right elements to be a co-op shooter I won’t want to put down.

This is a class-driven game, with the Duelist, Machinist, Marauder, Hunter, and Medic jobs giving players a variety of weapons and abilities to use in a firefight. I played as the Machinist class, which meant I could deploy turrets and a drone alongside me at any time. There were actually several Machinists in my squad, so we were absolutely mowing through Xenomorphs once we got a couple of turrets going.

One of the biggest draws of Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is a specialist class that will allow players to mix and match abilities and perks from the other classes to create a custom one, but I wasn’t able to try it during my demo. One new gameplay feature I did get a feel for is the new ammo types. Equipping fire or plasma ammo and letting loose on a horde of Xenomorphs does not get old.

It’s not just regular Xenomorphs this time around, either. Synths will show up as enemies, offering a humanoid enemy type that rewards getting headshots. The addition of bloater-like Xenomorph types also affected the order in which I attempted to solve each combat puzzle the game threw at my squad.

Usually, that meant placing my turret on a table where enemies couldn’t reach it, spawning my drone, and unloading any special ammo I had on the aliens that dared to face my squad. The squads are bigger this time around, featuring four players instead of three. The increase in squad size made me feel very powerful as we were playing on a lower difficulty, and I don’t mind now being able to play this game with more friends.

I also got a look at the hub players visit between missions, where you can visit various vendors and customize your character. There are a lot more options in the sequel, which is a compliment I can extend to the entire game. Fireteam Elite 2 doubles down on its predecessor, leaning into and expanding on what worked while adding more customization options, from cosmetics to gameplay.

Now that we have a lot of movies, TV shows, and games to service the horror side of this franchise, I don’t have to feel bad about Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 fully embracing the series’s action-heavy side. This is a flashy and entertaining co-op shooter to rival the likes of Left 4 Dead. This was one of my favorite titles I played at Summer Game Fest this year, and I can’t wait to check out the rest of the game.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 will be released for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X|S later this summer.