The Alters

A sci-fi base-builder where you construct a mobile shelter and manage duplicate selves—each with their own memories—as you race against a deadly sunrise.

Last reviewed: May 1, 2026

Released Jun 2025 Singleplayer / 3D / Space

11 bit studios at peak form — The Alters layers Frostpunk's moral weight onto a sci-fi base-builder where every employee is another version of you.

8.5 /10

Strong

Previously an Editor's pick

For you if

Frostpunk and This War of Mine's 'every choice has a cost' design is your sweet spot for management games.
Voice acting that carries 30+ versions of one character through different emotional textures sounds like the hook, not the gimmick.
Sci-fi survival with a real time pressure (the sunrise) more than 'collect resources' busywork is what you want.

Not for you if

Repetitive base-management loops bother you — The Alters has cycles that repeat in pattern across its mid-game hours.
You want true open-world exploration — the deadly sun confines you to defined zones, by design.
Heavy emotional/dialogue writing in a base-builder isn't your draw — The Alters' story leans hard on monologues.

What players love

Narrative depth with emotionally weighty choices and real consequences is what keeps players returning.

See the reviews behind this →

What critics say

4/5Eurogamer
The Alters achieves something tense and new by merging strategy base-building with third-person exploration and a sci-fi story about cloning yourself.
Robert Purchese Read review →
8/10IGN
The Alters is a highly atmospheric sci-fi character study mixed with simple but effective resource and base management that cleverly builds existential pressure.
Dan Stapleton Read review →
90/100PC Gamer
Wildly unpredictable but always enjoyable, The Alters is a masterclass in high-tension gaming.
Kerry Brunskill Read review →

Before You Play

Refreshed monthly

Is The Alters beginner-friendly?

Yes — 11 bit studios paces the introduction carefully so the survival, base-management, and dialogue systems unfold over several hours rather than dumping on you at once. The prologue teaches all the core mechanics (resource collection, base building, alter creation) without forcing you to memorize them. Difficulty options are adjustable mid-game from the menu, including separate economy settings, so if a specific system feels too punishing you can drop it independently. Most players acclimate within the first 3-4 hours.

Source: AltChar Starting Tips

Is The Alters single-player or multiplayer?

Strictly single-player. The Alters is a story-driven solo experience built around your relationship with the alternate versions of yourself you create — there's no co-op, no multiplayer, and no shared base mechanic. The narrative depends on you being the sole decision-maker who lives with the consequences of which alter you make and which life path each diverges from. Multiplayer would dissolve the game's core premise.

Source: Steam Store Page

Is there content to do after beating The Alters?

Limited. The Alters has multiple endings tied to your choices about which alters to save, abandon, or keep loyal — and the runtime (~25-30 hours per playthrough) is short enough that a second pass to chase a different ending is reasonable. There's no New Game Plus that carries gear or skills forward, but replaying with different alter selections yields meaningfully different conversations and base composition. If you want a roguelike-style endless mode, no — this is a contained narrative experience.

Source: Game Rant Review

What do players love about The Alters that reviews underplayed?

The character writing for the alters themselves. Each alternate Jan represents a real-life "what if" — the version who became a doctor, the one who pursued music, the one who chose a different relationship — and the conversations you have with them about that divergence are uncomfortably honest. Reviews tend to focus on the survival loop (resource gathering, base building) and undersell the dialogue system, which is where most players report the game's emotional core lands. The "alters as therapy" reading isn't subtext, it's the game.

Source: GamesRadar Review

What should you know before starting The Alters?

Three things: (1) The genre is hybrid — survival/base-management on the surface, character drama underneath. Don't expect Frostpunk-level political weight or pure survival mechanics; the story is the structural backbone. (2) Drop economy difficulty if resource pressure stresses you out — it doesn't gut the experience. (3) Save your decision points; some alter creation choices are one-shot per playthrough and can't be undone. The game rewards thinking before acting, especially in conversations with your alters.

Source: Windows Central Review