The best abandonware shooter games

Seek and Destroy was a shoot'em up published by the well known Epic Megagames in 1996 that tried to change the usual shoot'em up gameplay for the better. Instead of wave after wave of enemies to shoot down, you are given short missions to accomplish with your helicopter or your tank (yes, you can choose). At first, missions could seem a bit repetit...

Duke Nukem 3D is a classic first-person shooter that was developed by 3D Realms (formerly known as Apogee Software) and published by GT Interactive. It was released in 1996 for MS-DOS and later for various other platforms, including Windows, Mac OS, and gaming consoles.

Xenon 2: Megablast is a classic shoot'em up developed by Bitmap Brothers and released by Image Works in 1990 for DOS and for a plethora of other systems. Xenon was good, Xenon 2 was far better. Compared to today standards Xenon 2 is perhaps a mediocre shoot 'em up, but at the time every shooter fan loved it. Plus, it was developed by Bitmap Brother...

Halloween Harry is a DOS science fiction multi-directional scroller shooter game. Halloween Harry - later renamed Alien Carnage - was published by Apogee, developed by Interactive Binary Illusions and designed by John Passfield and Robert Crane.

Descent is a first person shooter with a unique six degree of freedom gameplay developed by Parallax Software and released by Interplay Productions in 1995.. You control a spaceship and must pilot it in a mine, through a series of 3d levels. The goal of the game is to find a series of keys, shoot down enemy ships and find your way to the next level.

Witchaven is an abandoned fantasy first-person shooter (or "slasher", since you'll wield melee weapons) developed by Capstone and released by IntraCorp in 1995 for DOS and Windows. Witchaven includes RPG elements such as experience and leveling your character but it's primarily an action game with swords and spells.

Tempest 2000 is a video game developed by Llamasoft and published by Atari Corporation. It was released in 1994 for DOS, Mac, the Atari Jaguar console, etc. Tempest 2000 is an enhanced remake of the original Tempest, which was released in arcades in 1981.In Tempest 2000, players control a claw-shaped ship that moves around the edges of geometric sh...

House of the Dead is an old horror-themed rail shooter game, developed and released by Sega in 1998. The whole gameplay can be summarized in a single sentence "a first-person 3D shooting gallery with zombies". House of the Dead runs on older version of Windows, so you may need a virtual machine to play it properly.

Xenon 2000: Project PCF is a vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up video game and originally released in 2000. It is a sequel to the earlier game "Xenon 2: Megablast," which was developed by The Bitmap Brothers and released in 1989.In Xenon 2000, players control a spaceship and engage in fast-paced shooting action as they face off against waves of enemy ...

Raiden is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up game developed by Seibu Kaihatsu and first released in arcades in 1990 and later for many home computers and consoles. Raiden follows the classic vertical scrolling shoot 'em up format. Players control a spaceship known as the R-9C "Red-Ray" and navigate vertically scrolling levels filled with wave...

Mega Man X4 is an abandoned side scrolling action-platform video game that was released for Windows, the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1997 and 1998. Mega Man X4 is part of the Mega Man X series, which is a spin-off of the original Mega Man series, and it was developed by Capcom. Mega Man X4 is set in a dystopian future where h...

Tyrian 2000 is an old DOS science fiction classic shoot'em up, developed by Eclipse Software and designed by Alexander Brandon, Jason Emery, Daniel Cook. Tyrian 2000 is one of the most popular shoot'em ups ever published for DOS and it's still remembered by retro gaming fans to this day.

The Terminator: Future Shock is an abandoned science fiction first-person shooter game based on the popular Terminator movies franchise, set in a dystopian world where machines has taken over the Earth. The Terminator: Future Shock was developed by Bethesda Softworks and released in 1995 for DOS.