The classic run-and-gun game Alien Hominid is set to get both a remaster and re-imagining on modern platforms later this year, and producer Ian Moreno tells us that game preservation was a “big aspect” of the decision to develop a remaster.
For those unfamiliar, Alien Hominid first released as an Adobe Flash game on the Newgrounds website in 2002, and later arrived on mobile, handhelds and consoles. However, at the time of writing, the only way to play it on a modern console is via Xbox 360 backwards compatibility on Xbox Series X|S, meaning that the title has been getting increasingly harder to access.
“We wanted to bring it to younger generations, and make sure it’s accessible,” Moreno explains during our interview at WASD x IGN.
Speaking about preservation more generally, he continues: “Preservation is such a great thing that’s going on with like, the Internet Archive projects… With Flash support being taken away from web browsers, there’s a whole generation or batch of games out there that’s gonna disappear.”
With that in mind, Alien Hominid HD, which will bring the classic game to PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch, ensures that The Behemoth’s chaotic side-scrolling shooter is one that fans new and old will be able to easily get their hands on.
“With older consoles, they always eventually sunset,” Moreno says. “In short, this is part of our way of preserving and contributing to preserving games in general.”
Currently, Alien Hominid HD doesn’t have a release date, but it’ll release at the same time as Alien Hominid Invasion – the aforementioned re-imagining which Moreno says answers the question, “What would a modern version of Alien Hominid be?”
While Invasion is “not technically a sequel”, Moreno tells us that it does “give insight in terms of what happened where the last one ends”. He teases: “We’re also excited because there’s a ton of lore that we’re about to unleash on people, and I don’t know if they’re ready for it.”
If you’re looking for more games to play with your friends, be sure to check out our list of the best co-op games. For a solo experience, be sure to read out recommendations for the best single-player games.