If Nemesis is Alien, Nemesis: Lockdown is Alien 3: louder, meaner, and both confined to a facility on a planet with no visible way out.
You’re not drifting through space anymore – you’re trapped underground on Mars, surrounded by power failures, strange noises, and teammates who keep insisting they’re “definitely not infected”. It’s the familiar dread with a new flavor: claustrophobic isolation in the dark.
Publisher: Awaken Realms
Designer: Adam Kwapiński
Players: 1-5
Playtime: 150-240 minutes
Genre: Sci-Fi Survival Horror, Semi-Cooperative
Release: 2022
Overview
The bones are still Nemesis: explore, survive, and maybe sabotage your friends. The twist? You’re no longer in space – you’re in a multi-level Martian research facility with limited power, shifting lights, and a malfunctioning elevator that always breaks at the worst time, seriously, like always. Each section of the base can lose electricity, leaving rooms dark and crawling with danger. Every move demands energy, noise management, and foresight. The game rewards those who plan ahead, punishes those who trust easily (everyone who plays with me), and – like its predecessor – spares no one from the chaos.
Mechanics & Flow
Nemesis: Lockdown layers new systems onto the classic framework. Power management now drives every decision: unlit rooms increase danger, oxygen is a precious resource, and make sure you don’t get caught outside on low. The contamination system returns, nastier than before, spreading uncertainty through card draws and testing. You might think you’re fine until the scanner says otherwise.
Meanwhile, a new computer room mechanic allows remote control of doors, elevators, and defense systems – if you’re willing to risk turning on the wrong sector and leaving someone in total darkness. Where Nemesis thrived on panic, Nemesis: Lockdown thrives on precision. It’s not just surviving; it’s surviving while everything falls apart and you have to strategically refill oxygen and transfer power while avoiding hungry aliens.
Theme & Components
Visually, this is one of Awaken Realms’ top productions. The red-and-black palette captures Mars’ oppressive heat and subterranean unease. Miniatures are crisp, card art really stands out, and the modular board design gives each game a slightly different, 3-teired labyrinth to die in.
Lighting tokens, elevator shafts, and sector control markers add tactile immersion. Setup is lengthy but worth the time – it looks like a sci-fi film storyboard exploded onto your table.
Nemesis: Lockdown feels cinematic, like acting out your own death in a horror movie. And this game came with really nice expansions, and many components came with cards that allow you to add them to other games, for example, there are extra
The only issue I have with the components is that when you put the colored ring on the player minis, they have to be removed before the minis will fit back in the box.
Ease of learning/Accessibility
Complexity takes a clear step up. Returning players will feel confident for the first ten minutes – then the new systems hit like decompression.
The rulebook’s organization is… well, there’s a rulebook. Expect to consult it often during early plays. It’s not unteachable, but it’s better for veterans who already understand how fragile the universe of Nemesis can be. Newcomer? Start with the original before diving in here unless your group loves dense, survival-heavy puzzle boxes. This is more for those wanting to complete the story. Nemesis has less in terms of mechanics, and Nemesis: Retaliation has a more streamlined, user-friendly setup. Both are better options for new players.
If you’re new to the franchise, start with https://www.theouterhaven.net/?p=313198&preview=true – or if you’re ready to see where humanity finally fights back, continue to https://www.theouterhaven.net/?p=313379&preview=true
The Table Experience
No other game makes you fear the dark like this one. Power failures plunge entire sectors into shadow, cutting visibility and increasing tension. Players split up (or start that way), communication breaks down, and someone inevitably screams, “Don’t open that door!” seconds before someone does exactly that.
It’s not as purely emotional as the first game (fear-based) – it’s colder, calculating – but it replaces that raw fear with an almost tactical dread. Every action feels like it could doom the group, and often does.
Moments of accidental heroism and perfect betrayals make it unforgettable. When the power finally flickers back on, you’ll find half your team missing and one player grinning too wide. And we all have that one friend.
Final Thoughts
Lockdown isn’t just a sequel, it’s a testing ground for evolution. It refines what made Nemesis great, expands its systems, and doubles down on tension through environmental control.
Who will love it: fans of deep strategy, structured chaos, and the idea of dying scientifically.
Who might not: casual groups or anyone allergic to 40-minute setups.
Read the Nemesis trilogy review here: https://www.theouterhaven.net/?p=313436&preview=true
If you’d like to purchase, you can here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S3TG967
Summary
Nemesis: Lockdown trades the screams of space for the flickering hum of a failing power grid, and you’ll die all the same in this one and still love it.
Pros
- Richer systems and deeper tension
- Stunning visual and thematic upgrade
- Replayable due to modular base and objectives
Cons
- Heavy complexity and long playtime
- Rulebook clarity issues
- Slightly colder tone than the original, the difference between Alien and Alien 3
