Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 has enough satisfying gunplay and class experimentation to make its best firefights enjoyable. Unfortunately, repetitive objectives, poor writing, technical problems and unreliable connections prevent this co-op shooter from matching the staying power of its predecessor.
A familiar co-op formula with a larger squad
The campaign contains 15 story missions, each taking roughly 20 to 30 minutes. Once the main story is complete, class-specific progression systems and a Horde mode provide reasons to revisit the levels. Squads now support four players instead of three, a sensible expansion of the original game’s structure.
The basic setup follows a fringe group of Colonial Marines investigating a mining facility abandoned by Weyland-Yutani. That premise could have supported a tense military science-fiction story, but the writing quickly becomes the weakest part of the experience.
The shooting carries the experience
Firearms have a satisfying weight and impact, while new elemental ammunition types add extra visual energy to battles. The strongest moments come from trying different weapons, classes and ability combinations as swarms of enemies close in.
The new build-your-own multiclass Specialist is particularly enjoyable. Combining the Machinist’s turret with the Hunter’s enemy-slowing stasis bolt proved effective against large groups, even before the Specialist perk board was fully unlocked.
Players looking for more shooting-focused arcade experiences can also browse RETROCADE’s arcade light guns and explore the latest posts in the Arcade Blog.
Repetitive missions and forgettable dialogue
Between the firefights, the campaign often reduces to moving from one location to another before activating a computer or opening a door. These simple interactions are repeated so frequently that the missions rarely develop much momentum.
The dialogue does little to compensate. The game aims for comedy, but the jokes generally miss, and several characters become irritating rather than memorable. Conversations were easy to skip, leaving the campaign’s story as background noise while the squad concentrated on surviving each level.
Launch problems interrupt the fun
The contrast between the game’s strongest battles and its weaker moments is stark. A chaotic encounter can briefly recreate the appeal of the original, only for a dull objective, an awkward story scene or a connection problem to break the rhythm.
The PlayStation 5 version appeared less troubled than the PC release, whose early Steam reviews highlighted technical issues. Even so, the PS5 build suffered more frame-rate drops than expected from a new release.
Connection failures were especially damaging. Matches dropped several times, including while playing over a wired Ethernet connection, costing dozens of minutes of progress on each occasion. Cold Iron Studios had committed to addressing some of these issues, but they still made the launch-weekend experience frustrating.
Verdict: serviceable rather than essential
Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is not as disastrous as its harshest user reviews suggest. Its weapons feel good, its classes offer useful tactical variety, and its four-player structure gives friends a reasonable co-op shooter to sample.
However, the campaign’s weak writing, repetitive mission design, frame-rate drops and connection failures make it difficult to recommend beyond a short session. It provides a quick burst of action, but leaves little lasting impression once the match ends.
For Australian players comparing home gaming setups, RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide is a useful starting point, while the wider arcade machine range offers a different way to enjoy focused, replayable games.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is available on PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X. It is also listed on Steam.
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