Amiga fans have received a blast from the past from Team17, as the developer has teamed with publisher Commodore and developer Antstream to bring back the Alien Breed series in a new collection. Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection features six classic titles, and will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam, the Epic Games Store, and GOG in September.
Not to be confused with that other Alien franchise (though heavily inspired by it), Alien Breed started out way back in 1991 on the Amiga computer, featuring top-down game play reminiscent of Gauntlet. Players would have to make their way through the level in order to find the lift down, occasionally having to blow up the level above them in the process. Along the way, you’d collect various weapons and enhancements in order to deal with the alien menace that you’ll encounter throughout the levels.
For the 35th Anniversary Collection, Antstream has collected the six titles from the series’ first era, including multiple versions for a couple of titles. Each title can be played solo, or you and a friend can team up in either couch co-op or online play.
- Alien Breed
- Alien Breed Special Edition ’92
- Alien Breed II: The Horror Continues (OCS and AGA versions)
- Alien Breed: Tower Assault (Amiga 1200 and CD32 versions)
- Alien Breed 3D (including Demo 1 and 2)
- Alien Breed 3D II: The Killing Grounds
In addition to the six titles, there is also the new Horde Mode and Rush Mode, which see you tackle the relentless swarm in solo or as a team across all supported platforms with no saves and no continues. There’s also a treasure trove of information in The Vault, which offers a deep dive into the concept art and original retail launches, as well as exclusive developer interviews and retrospective videos from the original team.
All of the games sport upgraded hardware interface, including full twin-stick support for both 2D and 3D titles, and classic Mouse and Keyboard support for 3D. The framerates have also been improved, and save states allow you to pause and continue different runs. The games can also be played in either a classic 4:3 aspect ratio or modern 16:9 formats, with a variety of filters and in-game bezels.
