Necronom is a side-scrolling shoot ’em up released in 1991 for the Amiga by Linel (CH). It was developed by a team of seven. The name refers to the 1977 book Necronomicon by H. R. Giger. And that, in turn, refers to a book invented in a novel by H. P. Lovecraft—a book of the dead. HRGiger (1940–2014), an artist from Chur (originally an industrial designer), became known for his 1963 series “Atomkinder,” which explored the effects of nuclear weapons, and rose to fame with his slimy, slender, and eyeless alien in the 1979 film of the same name by Ridley Scott. The creators of Star Birds (CH, Amiga, 1996) also deliberately draw on HR Giger, with their monsters borrowing visual elements from his work. Like many others—except Dark Seed (1992)—Necronom also appears not to have obtained the rights to Giger’s artwork or style. And so Giger remains merely an Inspiration, much like in R-Type (Arcade, 1987).

  However, even the cover art for Necronom demonstrates the power of Giger’s design method—here, a wide variety of elements, such as technology and biology, converge to create something new: an alien machine, or more specifically, the planet Necronom, home to the Occupiers and the Empire: “Inside, the walls were littered with swirling, repulsive clumps of cells,” according to the handbook. And so the last rebels on Mars promptly sent the spaceship Coracon-23-2 there. In Necronom, worlds from the ALIEN film universe unfold—ranging from asteroids, eggs, overgrown technical installations, flying hands, slime, droplets, brains, and Easter Island sculptures (presumably a reference to Erich von Däniken), all the way to a fully color-animated section of the planet. Everything is mixed in the Mukokuseki style in this “game of death.” Destruction reigns. The graphics, however, aren’t always up to date. In some places, there’s a lack of spatial depth achieved through hand-shading and lighting, as seen in Xenon 2 (1989) and similar titles. As a result, many graphics still evoke the simpler design traditions of Phoenix (1980), Galaga (1981), Scramble (1981), or even Zynaps (1988).

   The game mechanics (including the difficulty level) follow those of horizontal-scrolling shoot ’em ups set in mazes, such as Scramble (1981), Salamander (1986), R-Type (1987), and Menace (1988). The premise: Destroy everything! And use the special weapons. In doing so, Necronom takes a unique approach, typical of home computers. You can save your progress. As in many role-playing games, the player can—after allocating a set number of ability and attribute points—customize the spaceship’s speed, firepower, and other stats. This creates an unusually strategic gameplay experience. The game’s strategic focus is further enhanced by allowing the player to choose which levels to traverse to reach the goal. The multi-path structure is strongly reminiscent of Outrun (1986).