The Alters

Lore & Background

In The Alters, the player assumes control of Jan Dolski, a builder working on the Project Dolly space expedition. Jan needs to pilot a massive, wheel-shaped base along the planet surface to stay out of the range of the sun, which can kill him due to lethal radiation. It is a survival game in which players need to explore the planet and mine for resources and materials, which is essential for maintaining and expanding the base. Infrastructure, such as electricity pylons, must be built to provide power for mining equipment. Base expansion is similar to games such as Fallout Shelter and XCOM, with players being tasked to attach new rooms and modules to the base, advancing its capabilities and keeping its crew content. Each segment of the game is timed, as the sun will rise and obliterate the crew if they are not prepared.

Reader's Guide

The Alters is significant for its narrative-driven survival mechanics and the ethical dilemmas surrounding the creation of Alters—alternate versions of the protagonist Jan Dolski. The game explores themes of regret, identity, and consequence through a system called the Tree of Life, where players choose which alternate Jan to bring into existence based on different life choices. Each Alter has distinct skills, emotions, and needs, and neglecting them can lead to unforeseen consequences. The game's multiple endings, influenced by player choices regarding the Alters' fate and alliances with characters like Maxwell, Agatha, or Lena, offer replayability and moral complexity. Its recognition at the D.I.C.E. Awards highlights its impact within the strategy/simulation genre.

Did You Know?

• The game won Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year at the 29th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.
• One second of real-world time is equivalent to one in-game minute.
• The Alters are created using a material called Rapidium, which has time-accelerating properties.
• All Alters are voiced by Alex Jordan, who also voices the original Jan Dolski.

Survival Mechanics and Time Pressure

The core tension of The Alters is built around an unforgiving relationship with time. Players pilot Jan Dolski's massive, wheel-shaped base across a hostile planet's surface, racing to stay ahead of a scorching sun whose radiation is lethal. One real-world second equals one in-game minute, so every segment operates under a hard deadline: when the sun crests the horizon, the entire crew is obliterated. Within that window, the player must explore, mine for essential resources, and construct infrastructure such as electricity pylons to power mining equipment. Base expansion echoes the room-attachment design of titles like Fallout Shelter and XCOM, with new modules bolted onto the wheel to advance capabilities and keep the crew content. The survival pressure is compounded by the need to manage a growing roster of generated companions, each with their own emotional states and needs that demand regular attention. Neglect them, and they may act rashly with unforeseen consequences, making the time crunch feel even more desperate.

Narrative Arc and Thematic Core

Jan Dolski is not a hero who chose adventure; he is an unremarkable builder who accepted a dangerous mining contract simply to flee the wreckage of his own life. His mother is dead, his father was abusive, and his marriage to Lena collapsed under the weight of his insecurities and a fixation on past regrets. When the Ally Corp vessel crashlands on a triple-star world riddled with gravitational anomalies and environmental hazards, Jan becomes the sole survivor, stranded with only a wheel-shaped base and a quantum computer holding a detailed memory scan of the crew. The narrative then pivots into a corporate thriller: a voice belonging to space traffic controller Lucas Peña guides Jan toward mining Rapidium, a time-accelerating element that could revolutionize humanity, while his superior Maxwell quietly pushes the ethically illegal creation of Alters to guarantee the resource's recovery. As the story unfolds, Maxwell is exposed as a disgraced scientist behind a deadly memory manipulation project, and Lucas confesses he stayed silent out of fear. The ethical stakes escalate when a brain mutation threatens all the Alters, forcing Jan to weigh harvesting their tissue against exposing their very existence to Ally Corp.

The Alter System and Character Roster

The most distinctive mechanic in The Alters is the creation of alternate versions of Jan Dolski, each born from a single divergent choice in his past. Using a material called Rapidium and the base's quantum computer, the player consults a system called the Tree of Life, which maps out pivotal moments in Jan's history and lets him select which alternate path to actualize. The resulting Alters are not generic companions; they carry their own memories, personalities, and emotional needs. Jan Technician, for example, is the version who stood up to his abusive father rather than running away, making him gruff, assertive, and technically gifted. Other available Alters include a career-driven Scientist, a Miner, a Doctor, and a Botanist, all voiced by Alex Jordan. Each one can tackle specific problems the player faces, such as the Scientist researching new navigation methods for hostile terrain. However, they are not tools: they experience fear and need regular check-ins, and a hard cap limits how many can exist in a single playthrough, forcing the player to make difficult choices about which versions of himself to bring into being.

Release, Reception, and Industry Recognition

The Alters launched on June 13, 2025, simultaneously for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S, developed and published entirely by 11 Bit Studios. The game received generally positive reviews from critics upon its release. Its critical standing was further solidified at the 29th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, where it claimed the Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year title—a distinction that highlights how the game merges character-driven storytelling with resource management and base-building mechanics. The game occupies a distinctive niche in the survival genre: rather than simply pitting a lone player against a hostile environment, it layers that environmental pressure with a deeply personal narrative about regret, identity, and the ethics of generating sentient copies of a person. 11 Bit Studios' dual role as developer and publisher gave the project a unified creative direction, and the simultaneous multi-platform launch meant a broad audience could experience the wheel-shaped base racing across a triple-star world, racing against a sun that will consume everything.