The most popular shareware games
Shareware is a type of software distribution model that allows users to try a program before purchasing it. It's a marketing strategy and distribution method that was particularly popular in the early days of personal computing, primarily during the 1980s and 1990s.
Shareware games were released for free with limited functionality (for example: no saving, missing levels, time limit), often via a BBS (Bulletin Board System), a floppy disc or a CD included in a printed magazine or by direct download (when internet was in its infancy). If the user liked the shareware product, they could pay to obtain an upgrade and unlock the full game. When digital distribution started to become popular, shareware games slowly faded into oblivion.
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Sherlock: The Game of Logic
DOS1991protected4.1/5 Everett Kaser Software
Blades of Exile
Windows 3.xMac OSWindows XP/98/951997freeware4.1/5 Spiderweb Software
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, players control a party of adventurers who explore the underground world of Exile/Avernum, a vast network of caves and dun...
Mario Bros VGA
DOS1990remake3.7/5
Mario Bros VGA is a fan made remake of the original Mario Bros by Nintendo, the game that popularized the character of Mario, the Italian plumber that first appeared in Donkey Kong. Mario Bros VGA is a fixed-screen platform arcade game that truly shines when played in co-op with a friend.
Inner Worlds
DOSLinux19963.7/5 Sleepless Software
Commander Keen 6: Aliens Ate my Baby Sitter!
DOS19914.1/5 id software
Alien Rampage
DOS19964.1/5
Jazz Jackrabbit
DOS1994protected3.8/5 Epic MegaGames
Blood
DOS1997protected4.2/5 Monolith Productions
Astro Fire
DOS1994freewareremake3.8/5 ORT Software
Captain Comic, The Adventures of
DOS1988freeware3.8/5
Paganitzu
DOS1991protected3.7/5 Apogee Software
Paganitzu is a classic puzzle-adventure game released in 1991 by Apogee Software. Set in an ancient pyramid, the game follows the exploits of its protagonist, Alabama Smith, who must navigate through a series of increasingly complex rooms filled with traps, puzzles, and enemies. The game is divided into three episodes, each one unraveling more of t...
The Big Three
DOS19893/5 SDJ Enterprises
The Aethra Chronicles
DOS19943.9/5
The Aethra Chronicles is not a well know fantasy RPG, but it deserves some praise. It was developed by only one person (Micheal Lawrence) and, as the title implies, was intended to be the first volume of a saga. Unfortunately, volume two and three were never made. For a shareware game, Aethra was pretty solid and is still loved by the ones who play...
Jill of the Jungle 2: Jill Goes Underground
DOS19924.1/5 Epic MegaGames
Commander Keen 1: Marooned on Mars
DOS19904.2/5 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 Blaze, who uses his homemade spaceship to travel to various alien planets to save the Earth from alien invaders known as V...
Hugo 2: Whodunit?
DOS1991protecteddemo3.5/5 Gray Design Associates
Hugo 2: Whodunit? is an old school graphic adventure game designed by David P. Gray, developed by Gray Design Associates and released in 1991 for MS-DOS only. Hugo 2: Whodunit? is the second installment of the Hugo game series.
Aldo's Adventure
DOS1987remake3.8/5
Blake Stone 1: Aliens of Gold
DOS1993protected4.1/5 JAM Productions
UnReal World v. 3.20
Windows XP/98/95Mac OS1992freeware4.1/5
Commander Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle
DOS1991protected4/5 id software
Xargon
DOS1993freeware4/5 Epic MegaGames
Hugo's House of Horrors
DOS19903.9/5 Gray Design Associates
Hugo's House of Horrors is an adventure game developed by David P. Gray and released in the early 1990s. The game is a text-based adventure with simple graphics, and it gained popularity for its witty and often tongue-in-cheek approach to the horror genre.The story of the game revolves around the main character, Hugo, who receives a letter from his...
Arctic Adventure
DOS19913.4/5 Apogee Software
Commander Keen 3: Keen Must Die!
DOS1990protected4.2/5 id software
Blake Stone 2: Planet Strike
DOS1994protected4/5 JAM Productions
Bio Menace Episode 2: The Hidden Lab
DOS1993freeware4.1/5 Apogee Software
Aquanoid
DOS1992remake3.8/5
God of Thunder
DOSWindows XP/98/951993freeware4/5 Adept Software
God of Thunder is a classic computer game developed by Adept Software and released in 1993. It's a puzzle platformer with a fantasy theme. In the game, you control Thor, the Norse god of thunder, on a quest to save Midgard (Earth) from the evil god Loki and his minions.The gameplay involves navigating through various levels filled with obstacles, e...
Dark Ages Volume I - Prince of Destiny
DOS1991freeware4/5 Scenerio Software
Jill of the Jungle 3: Jill Saves the Prince
DOS19923.8/5 Epic MegaGames