Avalon Crew Preview

During this year’s Steam Next Fest, our indomitable Gorz and I tried our very best to try out some spooky co-op demos to get into the Halloween groove. While we mainly failed at this, playing colourful and upbeat titles, we did give a small visit to the sci-fi horror title Avalon Crew.

In this absolutely adorable co-op horror adventure, players take on the role of the titular Avalon crew and are tasked with returning power to a space station overrun with aliens. As luck would have it, the power is out as you begin this mission, meaning the level is pitch black and you can hear the skittering sounds of something within the darkness. To help you on your journey, you are given a set of items to choose from, including a crowbar for bonking naughty aliens, a flashlight for being less blind, a glowstick, a tablet computer to open doors, and a suitcase to harvest alien DNA, which the higher-ups have naturally tasked you with on top of everything else.

While this may all seem relatively simple, the problem comes when you realise you can only carry one item at a time. So you can take the crowbar and flashlight to combat any creepy crawlies, but then you’ll be unable to open any doors or harvest DNA. Here’s where the true focus on teamwork comes in as you’ll have to juggle the many items while also watching out for the alien menace!

At the concept level, Avalon Crew is absolutely great! Having to manage your items carefully makes each trip into the darkness an adventure, as you never know when a hidden alien may nab your flashlight bearer and plunge you into the night. The semi-silent ambience of the station also successfully creates a tense atmosphere, which is naturally undermined a bit by the adorable members of the Avalon Crew and their somewhat clumsy gait. Luckily, if one of your numbers is taken out of action, you can always run back to the starting area to get a healing spray… though then you’ll have to make the journey back to their unconscious body without being made into dinner yourself.

We enjoyed our stint at the good station Avalon, though we did feel the game was meant to be played with the full complement of four players, as the juggling of items was a bit frustrating with the two of us; we were constantly needing to backtrack in order to get the briefcase or the tablet so we could progress. I feel this could be remedied by allowing two players to use both their hands, but I digress. Avalon Crew is a fun little experience with friends and I really liked how much it emphasised both teamwork and the importance of each individual in the group.

Avalon Crew is planned to be released in January 2025.