Abandonware DOS title

Platformers: jumping and running

Platform games, also known as platformers, are a genre of video games characterized by gameplay focused on navigating a protagonist through a series of platforms and obstacles within a 2D or 3D environment. The main objective in platform games is to progress through levels, often reaching the end or completing specific objectives.

In platform games, players typically control a character who possesses the ability to jump or perform other acrobatic moves. These movements allow the character to traverse platforms, avoid obstacles, and defeat enemies or overcome challenges.

The genre originated in the early days of video gaming, with iconic titles like "Super Mario Bros" and "Donkey Kong" shaping the foundation of platformers. The success of these games led to the growth and diversification of the genre, resulting in a wide range of platform games with unique gameplay mechanics, art styles, and level designs.

bumpy-arcade-02

Bumpy's Arcade Fantasy

DOS1992 Loriciels
Imagine Marble Madness had a caffeine overdose and fell into a platformer. That’s Bumpy’s Arcade Fantasy. You control a perpetually bouncing ball named Bumpy (creative, I know), who must navigate tricky levels full of ...
captain-dynamo-02

Captain Dynamo

DOS1993 Codemasters
Captain Dynamo is what happens when a circus acrobat chugs ten cans of cola and decides to take on gravity itself. You’re bouncing, flipping, and springing through traps and platforms with pixel-perfect jumps—and if yo...
castlevania-1

Castlevania

DOS1990 Distinctive Software
Castlevania, originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986, was developed and published by Konami. The game was known in Japan as Akumajo Dracula (Devil's Castle Dracula) and was later renamed Castlevania for i...
clyde-adventure-03

Clyde's Adventure

DOS1992freeware Moonlite Software
Clyde is no hero—he's just a guy in a helmet trying to jump through castles and avoid death by... everything. Clyde's Adventure is a charming little platformer that dares to make you think while you dodge spikes and enemies ...
clyde-revenge-04

Clyde's Revenge

DOS1995freeware Moonlite Software
Clyde is back—and this time, he's mad. Clyde's Revenge brings more levels, more traps, and slightly less mercy. Everything’s cranked up: the challenge, the mazes, the pixelated ways to die. It’s like the develope...
keen1-splash

Commander Keen 1: Marooned on Mars

DOS1990 id software
Commander Keen 1: Marooned on Mars is a platform video game developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software in 1990 as shareware for MS-DOS. The game follows the adventures of an eight-year-old genius named Billy Bl...
keen2-splash

Commander Keen 2: The Earth Explodes

DOS1990protected id software
In Commander Keen 2: The Earth Explodes, the stakes go from “oops, stranded on Mars” to “uh-oh, Earth is doomed.” The Vorticons have planted death lasers in orbit (as you do), and only one 8-year-old with a...
keen3-splash

Commander Keen 3: Keen Must Die!

DOS1990protected id software
Commander Keen 3: Keen Must Die! is the kind of title that makes you wonder what this kid did to tick off an entire alien race. After foiling their plans twice, Keen takes the fight to the Vorticon home planet, where enemies are s...
keen4-splash

Commander Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle

DOS1991protected id software
Just when you thought Keen could catch a break, Commander Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle drops him into a mystical realm full of bouncing jelly beans and sentient toasters. This is where the series finds its sweet spot: colorful gra...
keen5-4

Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine

DOS1991protected id software
In Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine, Keen infiltrates a massive space station engineered to obliterate planets like it’s swatting flies. This is Keen at his most tech-savvy, with blinking lights, metallic corridors, ...
keen6-splash

Commander Keen 6: Aliens Ate my Baby Sitter!

DOS1991 id software
Billy’s babysitter has been abducted by aliens, and he’s not having it. Commander Keen 6: Aliens Ate My Baby Sitter! is the series at its most Saturday-morning-cartoon absurd. The Shikadi are back, the humor is dialed ...
keendreams-splash

Commander Keen: Keen Dreams

DOS1992 id software
Before Keen went full-on galactic hero, he had a Keen Dreams. Literally. This midquel drops him in a dreamscape ruled by King Boobus Tuber (yes, really), where vegetables are evil and broccoli is the final boss. No pogo stick this...
coolspot-splash

Cool Spot

DOS1994 Virgin Interactive
Cool Spot proves that even a soft drink mascot can star in a surprisingly fun platformer. You’re a tiny, sunglasses-wearing red dot who surfs soda bubbles, rescues friends trapped in bottles, and somehow makes it all look co...
cosmicspacehead-splash

Cosmic Spacehead

DOS1993 Codemasters
Cosmic Spacehead is a cheerful point-and-click adventure wrapped in platformer segments, starring a purple alien who’s equal parts explorer and goofball. You’ll travel colorful worlds, solve quirky puzzles, and occasio...
cosmos-adventures-1-03

Cosmo's Cosmic Adventures

DOS1992protected Apogee Software
In Cosmo’s Cosmic Adventures, you’re a green alien kid with suction-cup hands who’s crash-landed on a strange planet. It’s a platformer with bright visuals, bouncy music, and levels that encourage explorati...
crystalcaves2-1

Crystal Caves

DOS1991protected Apogee Software
Crystal Caves is a bright, cheerful platformer starring Mylo Steamwitz, an entrepreneur whose business plan involves raiding dangerous alien caves for profit. The levels are full of hazards, from traps to enemies that seem designe...
dangerousdave-splash

Dangerous Dave

DOS1990protected Softdisk Publishing
Dangerous Dave is the kind of platformer that defined the early ’90s shareware scene: simple, fast, and just tricky enough to make you shout at your monitor. You guide Dave through a series of trap-filled levels in search of...
dangerous-dave-haunted-04

Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion

DOS1991protected id software
Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion turns up the difficulty (and the body count) by tossing Dave into a gothic nightmare of zombies, ghosts, and bloodthirsty critters. Armed with a shotgun, you’ll creep through dimly lit c...
dangerous-dave-goes-nutz-03

Dangerous Dave: Dave Goes Nutz!

DOS1995protected Softdisk Publishing
Dangerous Dave: Dave Goes Nutz! is what happens when a platformer drinks too much coffee. The pace is frantic, the enemies relentless, and the levels filled with hazards that seem expressly designed to mock your reflexes. Dave&rsq...
dangerous-dave-risky-rescue03

Dangerous Dave: Risky Rescue

DOS1993protected Softdisk Publishing
Dangerous Dave: Risky Rescue puts Dave back in hero mode, diving into a dangerous compound to rescue his brother. Expect tight platforming, unpredictable enemy patterns, and traps that seem pulled straight from an evil game design...
darkages-splash

Dark Ages Volume I - Prince of Destiny

DOS1991freeware Scenerio Software
Dark Ages Volume I: Prince of Destiny introduces you to the world of Agroth, where magic, monsters, and your questionable combat skills collide. You play as a hero destined to save the land, though at first you’ll probably j...
darkages-2-05

Dark Ages Volume II - The Undead Kingdom

DOS1991freeware Scenerio Software
The saga continues in Dark Ages Volume II: The Undead Kingdom, where your “Prince of Destiny” status doesn’t earn you a vacation, but instead throws you into a kingdom crawling with skeletons and ghosts. The grap...
darkages-3-03

Dark Ages Volume III - Dungeons of Doom

DOS1991freeware Scenerio Software
Dark Ages Volume III: Dungeons of Doom closes out the trilogy with—you guessed it—more doom, dungeons, and ways to fall off platforms you swear you landed on. The series ends on a darker and more challenging note, test...
dark-castle-05

Dark Castle

DOS1987 Silicon Beach Software
Released in 1987, Dark Castle is infamous for two things: its moody castle setting and its protagonist’s uncanny ability to slip on stairs as if they’re coated in banana peels. You guide your little adventurer through ...
demon-blue-02

Demon Blue

DOS1992 Hirographics
In this 1992 platformer, you control a small, shaggy blue demon navigating a dungeon filled with enemies. Jump, dodge, and collect items as you progress through levels. It's like playing Sonic the Hedgehog, but with more demons an...
aladdin-2

Disney's Aladdin

DOS1994 Virgin Interactive
disney-tarzan-04

Disney's Tarzan

Windows XP/98/951999 Eurocom Developments
jungle-book-04

Disney's The Jungle Book

DOSWindows XP/98/951995protected Virgin Interactive
dizzyb-03

Dizzy

DOS1987 Codemasters
princeyolkfolk-splash

Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk

DOS1993 Codemasters