Chernobyl: Nuclear Power Plant Simulation – The Commodore 64 Simulator

If someone can make a simulator, the odds are they can also turn it into a video game, and if you have any doubts, you should know that there are nuclear power plant simulators for the Commodore 64… including Chernobyl. Chernobyl: Nuclear Power Plant Simulation dates back to 1987, was developed by Cosmi, and throws you headfirst into a technical tangle you must navigate to start the reactor.

The success of the Chernobyl series keeps generating buzz, but I admit it has lost a little momentum against the upcoming Netflix releases (including new seasons of Stranger Things and Money Heist). The success of Chernobyl taught us much more about the reactor itself, what was being evaluated on the day of the accident, and the combination of decisions that caused the devastating explosion.

As hard as it might be to believe, the Chernobyl accident sparked the interest of some software developers, among them Cosmi Corporation, creators of titles like Forbidden Forest and the strange The President Is Missing, where you had to listen to half-hour audio samples, translate Morse code, and wait for real-time actions. That company published Chernobyl: Nuclear Power Plant Simulation, and it looked like this:

The only thing I can recommend before attempting it is to look for the documentation (manual, story) – first because the game includes a copy-protection scheme (not all versions are cracked), and second because it uses a series of specific commands entered via the keyboard. The main objective (if we can call it that) is to start the nuclear power plant and prevent it from blowing up.

And… that's it. Once the plant generates power, the rest is a matter of monitoring its subsystems. According to several online players, it's impossible to reach a meltdown. At the same time, we found a fairly big technical detail: this simulator presents a reactor with a design based on pressurized water (the liquid is both coolant and moderator), while the Russian RBMK follows a different path.

Remember you need a Commodore 64 emulator to run Chernobyl: Nuclear Power Plant Simulation correctly. The alternative is to visit Classic Reload and play it online, but it's not the most comfortable option. And if you want to know more about this type of simulator, look up Oakflat Nuclear Power Plant Simulator, for C64 and DOS.

Chernobyl: Nuclear Power Plant Simulation: Click here

Download via abandonware: Click here