Play Aliens (1989) Online

Aliens, released in 1989 by Software Studios and published by Electric Dreams Software, was one of those MS-DOS games that really tried to capture the tension of the film. It came out during a time when movie tie-ins were often rushed, but this one stood out for its commitment to atmosphere and its unforgiving approach to survival. You could tell the developers wanted to make something that felt authentic to the source material, even with the technical limitations of the era.

You play as Corporal Hicks, moving through the colony complex screen by screen, clearing rooms of alien eggs and facehuggers while managing limited ammunition and health. The main objective is to rescue survivors and eventually trigger the reactor's self-destruct sequence. Signature mechanics include setting up sentry guns to cover your retreat and using a motion tracker to anticipate enemy movements just off screen. The pacing is deliberately slow and methodical; you spend as much time listening for scuttling in the ducts as you do firing your pulse rifle. It feels like a desperate, lonely fight where every resource matters and mistakes are fatal.

Each game uses different controls, most DOS games use the keyboard arrows. Some will use the mouse , "Alt" ,"Enter" and "Space bar".