Comparison

Alien vs PPSSPP

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Alien

Embark on a terrifying quest for survival aboard a space station. Unprepared and underequipped, you must use your wits and courage to escape an unknown menace. Experience a faithful mobile replication of the classic survival horror game, complete with AAA visuals and an arresting narrative.

Highlights
  • Survival horror gameplay
  • Stealth and evasion mechanics
  • Resource scavenging and crafting
  • Touchscreen controls with customization
  • Gamepad and mouse/keyboard support
  • Faithful mobile replication of AAA visuals
  • Includes all DLC content
Currently charting
Read full description

READ BEFORE DOWNLOADING: Please expand this description and read the full list of supported devices below to confirm that your device is supported. When she left Earth, Ellen Ripley promised her daughter she would return home to celebrate her 11th birthday. She never made it. Fifteen years later, Amanda Ripley learns that the flight recorder from her mother’s ship has been recovered. Amanda enters Sevastopol space station to finally solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance, only to confront an unknown menace. Engage in a terrifying quest for survival as you navigate the labyrinthine Sevastopol station. Unprepared and underequipped, you will need all your wits and daring to get out alive. TWO MISSIONS FREE Play missions 1 and 2 for free, then unlock the complete game and all DLC via a single in-app purchase. A SURVIVAL HORROR MASTERPIECE The stunning AAA visuals, arresting narrative and terrifying atmosphere of Creative Assembly’s classic – faithfully replicated on mobile. This is the complete survival horror experience brought to mobile without compromise. TAILORED FOR MOBILE Run, hide and survive using a redesigned interface, offering total touchscreen control and full customisation options. Resize and reposition on-screen buttons and joysticks, or play with a gamepad or any iPadOS-compatible mouse & keyboard. INSPIRED BY THE 1979 FILM ‘ALIEN’ A game that returns to the roots of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror masterpiece, using its atmosphere, art direction and production values to deliver the same terrifying thrills. IMPROVISE AND SURVIVE Explore Sevastopol station and scavenge for hidden resources, crafting items and tech to improvise weapons and deterrents against the ultimate threat. ADAPT TO THE ALIEN’S MOVES To evade the Alien as it hunts you down, make calculated moves and use your environment, from crawling through ventilation ducts to hiding in the shadows. THE COMPLETE COLLECTION Buy the full game with all seven DLCs included, such as ‘Last Survivor’ — a recreation of Ellen Ripley’s final mission on board the Nostromo. === Alien: Isolation requires iOS 16.5 or later and 11GB of storage. For installation we recommend having at least 22GB of free space. Supported iPhones: • iPhone 8 Plus • iPhone X and later • iPhone SE 2 (2020) and later Supported iPads: • iPad mini 5 (2019) and later • iPad Air 3 (2019) and later • iPad 7 (2019) and later • iPad Pro 1st gen (2015), 12.9" model only • iPad Pro 2nd gen (2017) and later • If you require assistance, please contact our support team at support@feralinteractive.com © 2024 20th Century Studios. Alien: Isolation game software, excluding 20th Century Studios elements © SEGA. Originally developed by The Creative Assembly Limited. Creative Assembly and the Creative Assembly logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of The Creative Assembly Limited. SEGA and the SEGA logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. Developed for and published on iOS by Feral Interactive. iOS and the iOS logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Feral and the Feral logo are trademarks of Feral Interactive Ltd. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

About

PPSSPP

Experience your favorite PSP titles on your iOS device with high-definition graphics and enhanced features. This emulator allows you to play a vast library of PSP games with excellent performance. Access your own game files or explore free homebrew titles.

Highlights
  • Play PSP games on iOS
  • High-definition graphics
  • Extra features
  • High performance
  • Supports ISO/CSO files
  • Built-in Homebrew Store
Features
Read full description

Play PSP games on your iOS device, in high definition with extra features! PPSSPP is the original and only PSP emulator for mobile devices. It can run nearly all PSP games with great performance on iOS. No games are included with this download. Use your own real PSP games and turn them into .ISO or .CSO files (see the homepage for instructions), or simply play free homemade games, which are available in the built-in "Homebrew Store". PSP is a trademark of Sony. The PPSSPP project is in no way affiliated with Sony.

Screenshots

Alien4 screens
PPSSPP2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Alien at #160 against PPSSPP's unranked. PPSSPP's advantage is update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.5). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Alien sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and PPSSPP sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Alien against 4.5 for PPSSPP. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.3K and 2.7K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Alien's written reviews are positive against 72% of PPSSPP's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Alien ships an update every 2 months, PPSSPP every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on October 14, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Alien versus PPSSPP: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlienPPSSPP
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (1.3K ratings)4.5 (2.7K ratings)
Positive reviews79.6% of reviews — better72.2% of reviews
Number of ratings1.3K2.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#160 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.513.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.9 GB44 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperFeral Interactive LtdHenrik Rydgård

Customer experience

Alien

All ratings1,292 ratings
Positive86.6%
Neutral2.6%
Negative10.8%
Written reviews873 reviews
Positive79.6%
Neutral5.0%
Negative15.3%

PPSSPP

All ratings2,700 ratings
Positive87.7%
Neutral3.6%
Negative8.8%
Written reviews1,446 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral8.6%
Negative19.2%

User reviews

Alien

From 1.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent port with great performance
  • 👍 Impressive graphics and visuals
  • 🎮 Smooth controls and controller support
  • 🎬 Captures the Alien franchise atmosphere well
  • 🕹️ Immersive gameplay experience

Room to improve

  • 🔋 Device overheating and battery drain issues
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🕹️ Touchscreen controls not ideal for certain gameplay elements
  • 🕰️ Long loading times and unskippable intro

PPSSPP

From 2.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth performance
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💡 Supports controllers
  • 🎮 Able to play classic PSP games
  • 🔥 Amazing emulation experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🤔 Compatibility problems with certain games
  • 🔇 Sound issues with some games

Bugs and requests

Alien

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Certain puzzles/objectives not triggering correctly
  • Sound issues like audio cutting out
  • Compatibility problems with older devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more graphics/performance options
  • Improve auto-save and checkpoint system
  • Implement Magic Keyboard support
  • Include Chinese language support

PPSSPP

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when trying to load save files
  • Controller mapping not working properly
  • Certain games not launching or freezing

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for PS2 and PS3 emulation
  • Improve save state functionality
  • Implement haptic feedback for on-screen controls
  • Allow customization of button mapping
  • Add portrait mode support

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Alien

One-time1
  • Full Game Unlock$14.99
1 purchases

PPSSPP

One-time1
  • PPSSPP Gold$3.99

Questions

Is Alien free?
Alien is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PPSSPP free?
PPSSPP is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Alien or PPSSPP?
Alien and PPSSPP are both rated 4.5 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1.3K and 2.7K ratings respectively.
Do Alien or PPSSPP have ads?
Neither Alien nor PPSSPP shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Alien or PPSSPP?
Alien ships an update every 2 months, and PPSSPP every 4 weeks. Most recently, Alien was updated on October 14, 2026 and PPSSPP on October 14, 2026.

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