Meet the classes of Housemarque’s Alienation

I’ve got a fondness for twin-stick shooters. To me, when done properly, they combine precision and speed into a glorious orgy of bullets and blood. It’s why I’m amped for Housemarque’s upcoming Alienation, a game which isn’t an adaptation of a cult classic TV series. So far, it looks like a twin-stick shooter but with a few novel ideas thrown into the mix, as well as some gorgeous visuals as you embark on a quest to save humanity with as many bullets as possible.

What’s more, you’ll be able to select one of three distinct classes to suit up as when the battle begins. According to Housemarque’s Tommaso de Benetti, there’ll be three classes of UNX soldiers to choose from. “Each class – the Tank, the Bio-Specialist and the Saboteur – is built with a specific playstyle in mind and since the game supports drop-in/drop-out gameplay, your four-player squad’s composition might even change during the course of the same mission,” de Benetti explained on the PS Blog.

Each class has a unique primary weapon, three unique upgradable active abilities and three upgradable passive abilities. On release day, players will be able to level-up from Level 1 to 30 in either campaign missions, bounties, or procedurally generated scenarios we don’t want to spoil for you.

Alright, onto the classes then!

Tank

The Tank is all about protection and splash damage: if you’re under heavy fire you want one next to you sharing his shield, or if you’re overrun by too many enemies he can blow everything away and give you room to maneuver. Plus, he’s the only character able to command a devastating death ray piercing everything in a straight line!

Bio-Specialist

Every game this brutal needs at least one class that heals other players: that’s the Bio-Specialist. That said, she’s also very competent at creating areas of damage using a poisonous trail, or take control of powerful nanomachines to swarm enemies and chip away their HPs.

Saboteur

If you like swift characters you’re gonna love the Saboteur. He becomes invisible, and uses his plasma sword to clear the area in front of him with ease. When some help is needed, he can also call in deadly airstrikes to open paths through a sea of Xenos.

TANK SMASH! Each class has a set of passive abilities, divided into three “tracks” according to de Benetti: Athlete, Warrior and Survivor. Each of these tracks can be upgraded, with an ability point usually being spent on one of two upgrades. Alienation is out later this year, on the Pee Ess Fawr. Here’s a gameplay trailer to show off what Alienation looks like:

Last Updated: April 14, 2016