Part 1: Introduction | "Alien: Isolation" Smart AI in UE5

In this Unreal Engine 5 tutorial series, we explore building a smart enemy AI inspired by the Xenomorph from Alien: Isolation. The series focuses on using State Trees, a newer and more flexible alternative to Behaviour Trees, to create an intelligent, unpredictable AI system. We discuss how the Xenomorph’s AI relies on simple condition checks that branch into different actions, and we compare this to Unreal’s built‑in Behaviour Tree system. The series explains why Epic Games is encouraging developers to adopt State Trees for enemy AI, especially with the upcoming UE5.6 release, and outlines how to structure AI behaviours into distinct states that can transition based on defined rules.