Games released in 1988 sorted by rating

Menace is a classic shoot 'em up video game that was developed by DMA Design, a company later known as Rockstar North, and initially released in 1988. The game was originally released for the Amiga and Atari ST home computer systems and for DOS. The player's objective is to navigate their spacecraft through various levels filled with enemy ships, o...

Released in 1988 for DOS, this game lets you drive monster trucks across deserts, swamps, and icy wastelands with all the grace of a drunken forklift. It’s less about speed and more about not flipping your vehicle like a pancake every two seconds. The graphics are basic, the physics are unpredictable, and the soundtrack is nonexistent, but it...

A Dudley Dilemma (1988) sounds like the title of a children’s book, but it’s actually a very British text adventure for DOS where the stakes are politely quirky and mildly confusing. You play as Dudley, a man with problems that range from the mundane to the absurd, depending on your choices and sense of direction - both literal and narr...

Ever wanted to be on a game show without leaving your CRT-lit basement? The $100,000 Pyramid brings you that chance. You guess words. Your partner gives clues. Sometimes you wonder if your partner is helping or having a keyboard-related meltdown. The graphics scream "business presentation" and the host seems to have gone missing, but hey, you are h...

Aaargh (1988) is exactly what you’ll scream as your giant monster stomps through cities with all the grace of a drunk kaiju. On DOS, this arcade-ish game lets you smash stuff, roast villagers, and battle other monsters in duels that feel like two rubber suits colliding. It’s dumb, loud, and charmingly awful — the kind of game you&...

Visions of the Aftermath: The Boomtown is an abandoned simulation game with role-playing elements developed by Mindscape and released in 1988 exclusively for DOS. Visions of the Aftermath is one of the few early examples of games involving survival in a post-apocalyptic environment.

In Bionic Commando, you're a soldier with no jumping ability—because who needs knees when you have a grappling arm? Swing through 1988 DOS architecture like a pixelated Tarzan, blasting bad guys and trying not to fall to your death every five seconds. It's like Contra met Spider-Man, had a disagreement about controls, and made up over explosi...