Abandonware DOS title

Abandoned Linux classic games

Linux has never been a particularly well-known and popular operating system for video games. Despite this, over the decades, several independent developers have worked hard to design and develop games natively supported on Linux.

In keeping with the ideals of those who supports Linux, several developers created completely free and open source games, several of which have disappeared from circulation, forgotten by a merciless Internet. Others have survived oblivion, abandoned, but still available to the public who knows how to find them.

There are several approaches to gaming on Linux for games not natively supported. Wine is ideal for native Windows games. Alternatively, you can always use a Virtual Machine. DOSBox is a valid DOS emulator, even on Linux (take a look at DBoxFE, a front-end for DOSBox). 

  • angband-03
    rpg1992 -
  • ardentryst-02
    rpg2009 -
  • ascii-sector-02
    simulation2007 -
  • baldurs-gate-1-03
    rpg1998 BioWare

    Baldur's Gate a fantasy RPG set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe which is regarded as the RPG that brought new life in a dying genre in the late 90s. Baldur's Gate was developed by BioWare and released by Black Isle Studios in 1998 for Windows, Lunux and Mac. Some of the innovations that Baldur's Gate introduced to the RPG genre are the real-time with pause combat and the high level of character customization. Baldur's Gate was followed by an expansion called Tales of the Sword Coast and by two sequels (so far).

  • blade-runner-10
    adventure1997 Westwood Studios

    Blade Runner is one of those point & click adventure games that somewhat manages to fully capture the spirit of a cult movie without copying the original plot. Fans of the Blade Runner movie will enjoy this game, even without Harrison Ford.

  • blockout2-03
    puzzle2000 -
  • broken-sword-1-01
    adventure2009 Revolution Software
  • colonization-6
    strategy1994 MicroProse Software

    Colonization is a turn-based strategy 4x game developed and published by MicroProse in 1994 for DOS, Windows 3.1, Linux and Mac. The setting is the European Colonization of the New World. Colonization gameplay and interface are similar to Civilization, another Sid Meier game. However, there are some differences between Civilization and Colonization: playable nations (European powers), resources and commodities, declaration of independence, etc.

  • dark-horizon-06
    vehicle simulation2004 -
  • dosbox-1
    application2002 -
  • jagged-alliance-2-04
    strategy1999 Sir-tech Software

    I'm a fan of the original X-COM. I think it's one of the best turn-based tactics games ever released for DOS. Unfortunately, games like X-COM are not many. Jagged Alliance 2 has a similar tactical component: you give turn-based orders to a team of mercenaries, mission after mission. There's no management component (at least not as extensive as in the X-COM series). The setting is quite unusual to gamers like me, used to fantasy or science fiction: Jagged Alliance 2 takes place on a fictional south american country. I'm sure I'm not the only one that loved Jagged Alliance 2. If you didn't play it yet and you love team-based tactics, go buy it immediately.

  • loom-11
    adventure1990 LucasArts

    Loom is one of the first graphic adventures released by Lucasfilm Games. It was designed by Brian Moriarty and it follows a fantasy theme. There's no inventory and it lacks classic commands like "look", "take", etc. You can play tunes using a combination of notes in order to interact with the world.

  • maniacmansion-1
    adventure1987 LucasArts

    Maniac Mansion is one of the most famous point and click adventure games developed by Lucasfilm Games and designed by Ron Gilbert (who later created Monkey Island) and Gary Winnick. The story is a blend of old sci-fi and horror B movie. You can choose between many characters, each one with a peculiar ability useful to solve some of the puzzles. Maniac Mansion was also the first game to use the popular SCUMM interface.

  • marathon-03
    shooter1994 Bungie
  • marathon2-03
    shooter1996 Bungie
  • omega-rpg-01
    rpg1988 -
  • pizza-tycoon-5
    simulation1994 Software 2000
  • railroad-tycoon-2-03
    simulation1998 Pop Software

    Railroad Tycoon 2 is an abandoned train simulation game designed by Phil Steinmeyer, developed by Pop Software and released by Gathering of Developers for Windows, Linux and Mac in 1998. As the title suggests, Railroad Tycoon 2 is the sequel of the acclaimed train management simulation Railroad Tycoon designed by Sid Meier in 1990.

  • rogue-1
    rpg1984 Artificial Intelligence Design

    Rogue is one of the first RPGs in the history of video gaming. It's a text-based dungeon crawler in which you have to fight your way in the dungeon to recover the Amulet of Yendor. Rogue became popular around 1980 on mainframes and later ported to various platforms, including DOS in 1984. Rogue is simply the father of all the roguelike games that came later.

  • slashem-vampire-03
    rpg1997 -
  • system-shock-2-07
    action-adventure1999 Irrational Games

    System Shock 2 is a Windows science fiction cyberpunk game developed by Irrational Games, designed by Ken Levine and published by Electronic Arts in 1999. System Shock 2 is a blend of more than one genre: RPG, action-adventure, shooter, stealth game.

  • pandora-directive-04
    adventure1996 Access Software

    Tex Murphy: The Pandora Directive is the sequel to Under a Killing Moon and the 4th game in the Tex Murphy series. The Pandora Directive is a first-person 3D adventure game set in a dark sci-fi version of the U.S.A., more specifically in a futuristic San Francisco. The Pandora Directive was developed by Access Software and released in 1996 for Windows, DOS and, later, for Linux and Mac platforms.

  • tomenet-04
    rpg2003 -
  • toonstruck-02
    adventure1996 Virgin Interactive
  • ufo2000-03
    strategy2004 -
  • wizardry-6-4
    rpg1990 Sir-tech Software
  • wizardry7-05
    rpg1992 Sir-tech Software

    Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant is a first-person perspective party-based RPG developed and released by Sir-tech Software in 1992 for Windows, Linux and DOS. Wizardry 7 is the seventh chapter in the Wizardry series and it's part of the Dark Savant trilogy, set in a world where sci-fi themes (space travel, androids) are mixed with fantasy themes (weapons and armors, magic).