Abandonware DOS title

The most popular top down games

Top down games were very popular in the 80s and the 90s, when graphic cards were not capable of supporting 3D, and even when 3D started to become popular, 2D games continued to be easier to develop, at least in the infancy of 3D gaming. 2D game offered the player a viewpoint that helped keeping things easily under control (think about top down party-based RPGs or hex-based strategy games).
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7 colors

DOS1991 Gamos
7 Colors is one of those puzzle games that sounds simple on paper but ends up consuming your entire afternoon before you even realize it. Released in 1991 for DOS, it throws you into a digital turf war where the weapon of choice i...
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Boston Bomb Club

DOS1991 Silmarils
Boston Bomb Club (1991, DOS) is a Rube Goldberg fever dream disguised as a puzzle game. Your mission: guide bombs (yes, bombs) along increasingly elaborate tracks using contraptions like rotating tiles, steam pipes, and sheer chao...
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X-Men 2: The Fall of the Mutants

DOS1991 Paragon Software
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Aspar GP Master

DOS1989 Dinamic Multimedia
Aspar GP Master is a 1989 motorcycle racing game that invites you to tear up the track with the same grace and control as a caffeinated squirrel on rollerblades. Loosely inspired by Jorge “Aspar” Martínez, the g...
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V for victory: Gold-Juno-Sword

DOS1993protected Atomic Games
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Spirit of Excalibur

DOS1990 Synergistic Software
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Sword of Aragon

DOS1989protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
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Full Metal Planete

DOSMac OS1990 Hitech Productions
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Squarez Deluxe!

DOS1993freeware Adept Software
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Caves of Thor

DOS1989 Apogee Software
If you thought Norse mythology needed more monochrome graphics, Caves of Thor (1989) has you covered. It’s an early Apogee game, meaning it’s tough, quirky, and uses letters for enemies. You explore a mysterious cave (...
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Omega

DOS1989 Origin Systems
Omega is an abandoned science fiction themed strategy game developed and released by Origin Systems in 1989 for DOS, Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, C64. Omega is a rare example of a programming game about robots.
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Waterworld

DOS1997 Intelligent Games
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Subtrade: Return to Irata

DOS1993 Century Interactive
Subtrade: Return to Irata is an abandoned science fiction business simulation game developed by Century Interactive and published by Boeder Software in 1993 for Amiga and later ported to DOS. Subtrade is an updated multiplayer clo...
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Frontline

DOS1990 Cases Computer Simulations
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Arcade Pool

DOS1994 Team 17
Arcade Pool (1994) is like playing a game of billiards in your best friend’s basement—if your best friend happened to be a DOS machine with a serious competitive streak. It’s shockingly addictive, with physics th...
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Chessmaster 3000

DOS1991 The Software Toolworks
Ah, Chessmaster 3000. The title alone sounds like it should have lasers and robot arms, but what you get is a thoughtful, elegant chess sim that finally brings charisma to the game. With clean VGA graphics, soothing commentary fro...
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Reaping The Dungeon

DOS1993 Frontline Software
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Fort Apache

DOS1992 Impressions Games
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Battle Master

DOS1991 Personal Software Services
In Battle Master (1991), you play as a heavily armored murder-hobo leading an army across a fantasy world that really doesn’t want you there. It’s part action-RPG, part tactical slog, with clunky pathfinding and surpri...
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Kurtan

DOS1990 TbiliSoft
Little-known but oddly captivating, Kurtan (1990, DOS) feels like someone’s ambitious homebrew fantasy experiment gone right. You play a wandering warrior exploring a pixelated land filled with cryptic dialogue and strange e...
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Exile II: Crystal Souls

Windows XP/98/95Mac OSWindows 3.x1996freeware Spiderweb Software
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The Hunt for Red October

DOSMac OS1987 Oxford Digital Enterprises
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Decisive Battles of the American Civil War: Vol. 1

DOS1988 SSG Strategic Studies Group
Released in 1988, Decisive Battles of the American Civil War: Vol. 1 is as straightforward as its title. You get historical accuracy, a serious strategy engine, and about as many graphical flourishes as a tax form. Yet the depth i...
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Alien Olympics

DOS1994 Dark Technologies
Released in 1994, Alien Olympics answers the age-old question: “What if the Olympics were hosted by Martians on acid?” This wacky collection of mini-games has you competing in events like laser javelin and rocket racin...
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Last Action Hero

DOS1993 Psygnosis
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Pinball World

DOS1995 Spidersoft Limited
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Color Buster

DOS1992
Color Buster (1992, DOS) is Sokoban’s rebellious cousin. You push colored blocks across labyrinthine floors like an underpaid warehouse worker in a pastel fever dream. Simple premise? Sure. But give it five levels and your b...
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Gary Grigsby's Pacific War

DOS1992 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
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Battle Isle 93: The Moon of Chromos

DOS1993 Blue Byte Software
A game with a name like Battle Isle 93: The Moon of Chromos clearly means business. Released in 1993, it’s an expansion-slash-standalone with new missions, harder AI, and an even more hostile moon. You’ll manage resour...
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Daffy Duck PI: The Case of the Missing Letters

DOS1991 Riedel Software Productions
Daffy Duck PI: The Case of the Missing Letters is a Looney Tunes spin on the classic edutainment formula. As Daffy, you’re on the trail of a nefarious plot to steal the alphabet—yes, literally. You’ll hop between...