How Video Game 'Alien Isolation' Reunited The Original Film Cast 35 Years Later

Over 30 video games have been made based on the "Alien" film franchise.

Earlier this month, Sega released the latest installment to the growing franchise with "Alien: Isolation."

Different from most of its predecessors, there is no alien killing in this game. Rather than a typical first-person shooter, "Isolation" is a survival story where you try and outwit an alien aboard a ship in space.

Largely inspired by the original 1979 "Alien" film from director Ripley Scott the game is set 15 years after the first movie. But instead of following around Ellen Ripley, who was played by Sigourney Weaver in the movie, you play as Ripley's daughter Amanda as she tries to discover what happened to her mother.

We've been playing it for about a week and it's pretty terrifying. You never know when and where an alien is going to pop out and in what way your character will suddenly be killed.

You can just be walking around minding your own business and then something like this will happen.

However, one of the most impressive feats of the game doesn't even occur in regular game play.

Sega and developer the Creative Assembly were able to work with 20th Century Fox to get the cast of "Alien" to reprise their characters 35 years later in additional bonus content.

Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, and Yaphet Kotto return as Ripley, Dallas, Lambert, Brett, and Parker in an extra mission aboard the Nostromo ship featured in "Alien."

Never before has the cast lent their voices together in a video game.

We recently spoke with the game's creative lead Alistair Hope who told Business Insider about how they were able to reunite the actors. Hope says what he believes really convinced the cast to sign on was the game's commitment to honoring the original film.

"When we were in a position to present the game to the original cast I think they could immediately see the care and attention we put into recreating the world that they had established 35 years ago and the fact that this game was about survival," says Hope. "It wasn't about killing. You know, we were taking a new approach within video games with the franchise. That was really important, and, yeah, they were really excited to be on board."

In an interview with Time, Weaver explained why this was the first "Alien" game she signed on to do echoing much of Hope's sentiment.

"I had been approached to participate in a couple of different Alien games but I felt that this one was very different," Weaver said. "First of all, there was a desire to put the player into the world that [director] Ridley Scott created, which is quite a terrifying one, and to let you loose in this situation that was so powerful in the first movie."

"This was a very passionate homage to Ridley's work that I think is quite unique, and to recognize that people would love to be in that world, navigating this empty, not really empty, ship, with a flamethrower," she added. "I thought it's pretty juicy."

"To work with Sigourney and be on the recording session when she's delivering her lines, everyone was kind of transported back to the Nostromo," Hope tells Business Insider. "It was really quite some spine-tingling stuff."

The mission itself, lets you play as Ripley, Parker, or Dallas as you try and rid of an alien by luring it into the ship's airlock like in the original film. It's a pretty short mission. Reviews say it takes about 15 minutes to complete but that's probably if you're running through it.

"If you're a fan, I think you're going to get an enormous amount out of it," says Hope.

"Alien: Isolation" is available on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, and PC.

You can check out the cast speak in a featurette for the game below: