Aliens: Fireteam is a new Co-op survival shooter for Colonial Marines

The distinction between Alien and Aliens is clear to every fan of the franchise: expect a firefight if you handle multiples. This is the case in Strangers: Fireteam, a new third-person, collaborative survival shooter, where players take on the role of a green Colonial Marine who knows exactly what they’re up for.

Strangers: Fireteam is set after the events of Stranger 3, when the deadly Xenomorph is no longer a secret or myth, developer Cold Iron Studios said in a preview event held over Discord. The colonial marines of Fireteam possesses the tools and talent to tackle alien threats, and is largely dispatched by the government order to clean houses at remote space colonies.

But that doesn’t mean it will be a simple mistake hunt; Cold Iron promises an intense challenge, with 11 Xenomorph species, deadly Weyland-Yutani synthetics, and other enemies awaiting players on the surfaces of distant planets.

The colonial marines of Fireteam is not defenseless at all, Cold Iron Studios CEO Craig Zinkievich said in a submission. If they team up in three teams, they will have weapons and class-specific talents to help them in battle. Weapons include the standard M41A pulse gun and fragmentation grenades, but also new inventions such as loading coils: tough shock grenades that numb Xenomorphs in their place.

Image: Cold Iron Studios / 20th Century Games

What you fight with you depends on your class. Fireteam has five classes: Gunner, Demolisher, Technician, Doc and Recon. There are some fun surprises, like a car turret for the technician, an “overclocking” ability for the Gunner (it doubles the fire and recharging rate for the entire team temporarily), and an exploding wave for the game heavy class, the demolition.

Every player has a role, Zinkievich said, and classes are built with tactical synergy in mind. We saw it in practice during a pin demonstration, played by Cold Iron staff. The colonial marines held themselves back in a corner, waiting for an elevator to arrive while repelling swarms of Xenomorphs. The swarm was a mixture of Fireteam‘s many alien tribes: Spitters, Warriors and Bursters, a Xenomorph stuffed with giant bags of acid. The team technician set up a revolver in front of a nearby air channel, and the Gunner and Demolisher did the heavy lifting of Xenomorph kills, aided by the technician’s aforementioned charging coils.

The developers, of course, survived their mission, but players at home may not find it Strangers: Fireteam so easy. “It has to be challenging,” Zinkievich said, but he realized that some players might just want to experience the game’s four story-driven campaigns. There will also be more difficult settings for players who want it, as well as Challenge Cards, mutators who change it Fireteam play. As a result, players have to enjoy high risk and high reward scenarios.

Image: Cold Iron Studios / 20th Century Games

Cold Iron Design Strangers: Fireteam to be highly repeatable. While players will start out as fresh colonial marines with a generic skill, they can bring their soldiers to a level playing field and unlock new weapons, skills, and adaptations over time. The studio promises an ‘extensive arsenal’ of more than 30 weapons and more than 70 mods and attachments, plus a Perk Board that enhances and changes the players’ abilities.

The developers say they expect players to revisit the game’s four campaigns, each consisting of three missions, and maybe play a full campaign or just a single mission in the evening. The game is designed to work together as a trio, with AI-controlled allies filling any open slots. The developers hope that the variety of Xenomorphs, which includes Facehuggers and giant Praetorians, along with several issues, will bring players back.

Strangers: Fireteam coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X sometime in the summer of 2021.