First Survival Horror(?)

19 Apr 2025

Nostromo (1981) PC-60. Possibly the first “Survival Horror” in history(?). A game where you have to collect resources while avoiding an alien. How do you design a “survival horror” when the genre didn’t even exist yet? Most likely, the creator wasn’t aiming to fit into any specific category—he simply wanted to offer a genuine experience.

Today, the game is broken; many of its design choices lack a solid foundation, and it’s not fun to play. But that’s what makes it so rewarding to observe—it’s like looking at a five-year-old’s drawing: full of inventiveness and effort to convey an idea, even if it fails in many other aspects. You can see the path it was trying to take, even if it stumbles along the way…