The most popular abandonware action games
Action video games are a genre of video games that emphasize physical challenges, hand-eye coordination, and reaction time. These games typically involve fast-paced gameplay, where players control a character who must navigate through a dynamic environment filled with obstacles, enemies, and other challenges. The primary focus is on the player's ability to react quickly and make split-second decisions.
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Earthworm Jim 2
DOS1996protected platform, run and gun
Rocket Ranger
DOS1988protected
Aquanoid
DOS1992remake block breaker
Aquanoid (1992) takes the classic Breakout formula and throws it underwater, because bricks are apparently much more intimidating when they're wet. You control a paddle, you bounce a ball, you try to pretend you're not just playin...
Temple of Kroz
DOS1990freeware maze
Death Sword
DOS1988 fighting
Death Sword (also known as Barbarian in Europe), is a fighting game developed by Palace Software, set in a fantasy world full of huge sword-wielding barbarians. Compared to modern brawlers, Death Sword gameplay may seem slow, but ...
J-Bird
DOS1983remake
Barbie
DOS1992 platform
Released in 1992, Barbie for DOS is what happens when someone asks, “What if pink could be a video game?” You play as Barbie on a quest to collect accessories and win Ken's affection, which probably says more about ear...
Mad Mix
DOS1988 maze
Bert and the Snake
DOS1983remake
In Bert and the Snake, you are Bert. And yes, there's a snake. That’s the plot. It’s a maze game from a time when naming conventions were refreshingly honest and graphics were aggressively square. You guide your little...
Dangerous Streets
DOS1994 fighting
Bunny Bricks
DOS1993 baseball, block breaker
In Bunny Bricks, you play as a rabbit in sunglasses who decides that breaking bricks with a paddle and ball is the most logical response to a kidnapped pet. It's Arkanoid meets Saturday morning cartoons, complete with absurd enemi...
Clyde's Revenge
DOS1995freeware platform, action puzzle
Aldo's Assault
DOS1991 platform
Think of Aldo's Assault as what happens when Mario forgets his plumber license and joins a bootleg army. This 1991 DOS gem throws you into a side-scrolling frenzy of ladders, barrels, and the kind of platforming logic that predate...
Night Hunter
DOS1988 platform
The Last Mission
DOS1987 platform, shoot 'em up
Bad Dudes VS Dragon Ninja
DOS1988protected beat 'em up
Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president? If that line doesn’t make you want to punch a ninja through a hotdog stand, nothing will. Bad Dudes VS Dragon Ninja is peak 80s: mullets, muscles, and more side-scrolling be...
Jump 'n Bump
DOS1998freeware platform
BC's Quest for Tires
DOS1984
In BC's Quest for Tires, you play a loincloth-wearing caveman who’s riding a unicycle through danger, because apparently that’s how courtship worked in 1984. The goal? Rescue your cave-girlfriend from some surprisingly...
Bounce Zone
DOS1990
If gravity had a sense of humor, it would look like Bounce Zone. This 1990 DOS oddball is part platformer, part physics experiment, and part unintentional comedy. You bounce. A lot. Off walls, enemies, your own ego. Precision is o...
Savage Warriors
DOS1995 fighting
Willy the Worm
DOS1985
Targhan
DOS1989 beat 'em up
Beyond the Black Hole
DOS1989
Beyond the Black Hole promises an interstellar voyage into mystery—and delivers... a disorienting 3D shooter that kind of feels like flying a cardboard spaceship through a kaleidoscope. The idea is noble: space combat meets ...
Sango Fighter 2
DOS1995freeware fighting
Amazing Maze
DOS1983 maze
Don’t be fooled by the name—Amazing Maze is more of a slightly-better-than-average maze. But hey, in 1983, navigating a screen full of walls and hoping you guessed right was enough to set hearts racing. It’s just...
Pharoah's Curse
Windows 3.x1998remake platform
Night Breed
DOS1990
Arachnophobia
DOS1991
You don’t need to hate spiders to fear Arachnophobia (1991), but it helps. Based on the movie of the same name, it tasks you with exterminating wave after wave of creepy crawlies in a town that’s clearly being punished...
ALF: The First Adventure
DOS1987 maze
Remember ALF? The sarcastic alien who really had it in for cats? Well, in ALF: The First Adventure, you get to live the dream—or nightmare—of controlling the furry menace himself. Released in 1987 for DOS, this Pac-Man...
PC*Bert
DOS1997freeware