Abandonware rpg games
In a Role-Playing Game (RPG), players control one or more characters in a fictional world, be it fantasy-oriented, contemporary, sci-fi, etc. RPGs follow up on traditional tabletop role-playing games features, including narrative threads full of obstacles and enigmas, character development, combat systems, or complex inventories.
Sort by:
BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception
DOS1988 board game
Released in 1988, BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception is part RPG, part strategy, part “did I just die in the tutorial again?” You’re a young MechWarrior on the run, assembling allies and blowing stuff up w...
Beneath Apple Manor
DOS1983freeware roguelike, dungeon crawl
Beneath Apple Manor is a pioneering game in the roguelike genre, originally developed and released in 1978 by Don Worth for the Apple II and later re-released for DOS as a "Special Edition". It's one of the earliest known role-pla...
Betrayal at Krondor
DOS1993protected first-person party-based RPG
If you like your RPGs verbose, Betrayal at Krondor is basically a fantasy novel you play. Set in Raymond E. Feist’s Midkemia, the game oozes with narrative depth, detailed characters, and the occasional goblin ambush. The co...
Beyond Divinity
Windows XP/98/95Windows 10/112004protected action RPG
Beyond Divinity is an action RPG developed by Larian Studios and released in 2004 as the direct sequel to Divine Divinity. It builds on its predecessor’s isometric, real-time combat and party-based exploration. You play...
Blades of Exile
Windows 3.xMac OSWindows XP/98/951997freeware top-down party-based RPG
Blades of Exile is a classic role-playing video game developed by Spiderweb Software. It's the third installment in the "Exile" series. The game was released in 1997 for Mac OS, and later for Windows in 1998. In Blades of Exile, p...
Bloodstone: an Epic Dwarven Tale
DOS1993 top-down party-based RPG
If you’ve ever dreamed of being a grumpy bearded guy swinging an axe and saving the world before second breakfast, Bloodstone: an Epic Dwarven Tale is your jam. Released in 1993 for DOS, this RPG tosses you into a world wher...
Bloodwych
DOS1989 dungeon crawl, first-person party-based RPG
Step into a dungeon, take a left at the creepy skeleton, and say hello to Bloodwych, the 1989 DOS game that proves co-op first-person dungeon crawling can be both confusing and oddly addictive. It's got split-screen multiplayer (y...
Blues Brothers RPG
Windows XP/98/952004freeware JRPG
Yes, this exists. Blues Brothers RPG (2004, Windows XP) is what happens when someone looks at a legendary blues duo and says, “What if they fought zombies with saxophones?” Set in a world that’s part dungeon craw...
Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday
DOS1990protected
In the 25th century, bureaucracy is still awful—but now you also have laser guns. Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday is a surprisingly solid sci-fi RPG that blends space opera drama with crunchy tactical combat. Think Dungeo...
Buck Rogers: Matrix Cubed
DOS1992protected
This sequel takes the same D&D-in-space formula and tries to go bigger, bolder, and... okay, maybe just more complicated. Buck Rogers: Matrix Cubed continues the galactic struggle with improved combat depth and a slightly mess...
Captive
DOS1992 dungeon crawl, first-person party-based RPG
Think Dungeon Master, but in space, and your party is made of four remote-controlled robot prisoners. Welcome to Captive, where the only thing more confusing than the plot is the maze you’re stuck in. Inventive and brutal, t...
Castle of the Winds
Windows 3.x1993freeware dungeon crawl, roguelike
Castle of the Winds is a fantasy roguelike role-playing game developed by SaadaSoft in the early 1990s. It was designed for Windows 3.x and is notable for being one of the earliest graphical RPGs for that platform. The game featur...
Cavequest
DOS1985
Back in 1985, Cavequest asked: what if you mixed ASCII graphics with deadly bats and claustrophobia? The answer: a punishingly hard maze crawler that’ll have you screaming at the screen... in delight or despair. Your quest? ...
Challenge of the Five Realms
DOS1992protected sandbox RPG, top-down party-based RPG
Fancy saving a kingdom from impending doom in exactly 100 in-game days? Challenge of the Five Realms (1992) offers just that, blending RPG exploration with a looming deadline and some very '90s dialogue. The world is huge, the que...
Champions of Krynn
DOS1990protected
Champions of Krynn is a RPG released in 1990 by Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) and is the first game in the Dragonlance Gold Box series. It is based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ruleset and set in the world of Krynn, ...
Circuit's Edge
DOS1990 interactive fiction
Circuit's Edge is a cyberpunk-themed role-playing game developed by Westwood Associates and published by Infocom. It was released in 1990 for MS-DOS. Set in a dystopian future, Circuit's Edge takes place in the fictional city of R...
Cobra Mission
DOS1992NSFW JRPG
Let’s be honest: Cobra Mission is remembered less for its RPG mechanics and more for its... risqué content. The first “eroge” RPG translated into English, it’s basically a detective story with lots o...
Conan: the Cimmerian
DOS1991 action RPG
Conan: The Cimmerian lets you brawl your way through the Hyborian Age like a shirtless rage machine with a sword and questionable dialogue. It’s got all the ingredients: dark sorcery, evil cults, and enough loincloths to out...
Cosmic Soldier: Psychic War
DOS1989 dungeon crawl, JRPG
In Cosmic Soldier: Psychic War, you’re not just fighting enemies—you’re reading their minds while doing it. This RPG mixes sci-fi exploration with telepathic abilities, creating battles where knowing what your op...
Crystals of Arborea
DOS1990 first-person party-based RPG
In Crystals of Arborea, you lead a team of heroes on a quest to defeat the evil Lord of Chaos and restore balance to a shattered world. It’s part RPG, part strategy game, with an open map to explore and tactical battles to f...
Curse of the Azure Bonds
DOS1989protected
Based on the popular D&D module, Curse of the Azure Bonds puts you in control of a party of adventurers cursed with magical tattoos that force them into dangerous quests. You’ll explore towns, battle monsters in classic ...
Daemonsgate
Windows XP/98/95DOSLinuxMac OS1993protected sandbox RPG
Daemonsgate is what happens when someone decides RPGs need more moral ambiguity, political intrigue, and sprawling maps that require an actual notebook to navigate. You’re tossed into a gritty fantasy world teetering on the ...
Dark Designs 1: Grelminar's Staff
DOS1990 dungeon crawl, first-person party-based RPG
In Dark Designs 1: Grelminar’s Staff, you’re thrust into a classic fantasy dungeon crawler with an emphasis on text-driven menus and turn-based combat. It’s like someone crammed a Dungeons & Dragons session i...
Dark Designs 2: Closing the Gate
DOS1990 dungeon crawl, first-person party-based RPG
Dark Designs 2: Closing the Gate picks up right where the first game left off, with your party stumbling into yet another world-threatening mess. The stakes are higher, the enemies nastier, and the puzzles more elaborate. It&rsquo...
Dark Queen of Krynn
DOS1992protected
Fans of Dragonlance novels rejoiced at Dark Queen of Krynn, a Gold Box RPG where you battle alongside iconic heroes in a desperate fight against Takhisis, the dark goddess herself. This game isn’t here to coddle you—it...
Dark Sun 2: Wake of the Ravager
DOS1994protected top-down party-based RPG
Dark Sun 2: Wake of the Ravager takes the harsh desert world of Athas and turns up the intensity. Building on its predecessor, it offers deeper role-playing, improved combat, and a sprawling narrative about saving civilization fro...
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands
DOS1993protected top-down party-based RPG
Before Wake of the Ravager, there was Dark Sun: Shattered Lands, the first CRPG to bring Athas to life. It was a bold departure from the usual Gold Box formula, with more freedom in exploration and a focus on tactical, grid-based ...
Darklands
DOSLinuxWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1992protected sandbox RPG
Darklands is what happens when medieval Europe gets even darker than it already was. This 1992 RPG drops you into the Holy Roman Empire, but don’t expect knights in shining armor—expect alchemy, witch trials, and demon...
DarkSpyre
DOS1990 dungeon crawl, action RPG
Before Diablo made clicking on dungeons cool, DarkSpyre was already throwing players into labyrinths filled with monsters and puzzles. Released in 1990, it combines hack-and-slash action with surprisingly brainy challenges. The pr...
Darkstone
Windows XP/98/951999protected dungeon crawl, action RPG
Darkstone tried to ride the Diablo wave in 1999, and honestly, it didn’t do a bad job. With 3D graphics (impressive for the time) and a soundtrack that takes itself way too seriously, it drops you into a world plagued by an ...