Abandonware DOS title

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.

bio-menace-2-07

Bio Menace Episode 2: The Hidden Lab

DOS1993freeware Apogee Software
Snake Logan is back, and this time the lab is... hidden! The Hidden Lab cranks up the challenge with more grotesque mutants, more lethal traps, and slightly improved sarcasm. It&rs...
hugo3-06

Hugo 3: Jungle of Doom

DOS1992protecteddemo Gray Design Associates
Hugo III: Jungle of Doom is a point-and-click adventure game released in 1992. It is the third game in the Hugo adventure series, developed by David P. Gray for MS-DOS. Hugo a...
jazzjackrabbit-7

Jazz Jackrabbit

DOS1994protected Epic MegaGames
blake-stone-planet-strike-05

Blake Stone 2: Planet Strike

DOS1994protected JAM Productions
Blake Stone: Planet Strike picks up where the first left off — more aliens, more guns, and more corridors that all look suspiciously alike. Released in 1994 for DOS, it&rsquo...
in-the-dead-of-night-08

In the Dead of Night

DOS1995 Trecision
In the Dead of Night is one of those mid-90s DOS oddities that feels like it crawled straight out of a programmer’s personal nightmares. Part adventure, part horror, and part...
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 figh...
air-traffic-controller-02

Air Traffic Controller

DOS1985 Cascoly Software
Welcome to the most stressful job in the world - rendered in glorious 1985 DOS graphics! Air Traffic Controller lets you experience the thrill of herding aircraft without the luxur...
bio-menace-3-06

Bio Menace Episode 3: Master Cain

DOS1993freeware Apogee Software
The trilogy concludes in Master Cain, where Snake Logan faces the ultimate evil: a villain with a name that sounds like a Bond bad guy and a plan straight from Saturday morning car...
godofthunder-2

God of Thunder

DOSWindows XP/98/951993freeware 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 ...
xatax-splash

Xatax

DOS1994 Pixel Painters Corporation
antattack-splash

Ant Attack!

DOS1994freeware Dataware
Released in 1994 (long after it originally debuted on other platforms), Ant Attack! is what you get when you mix isometric graphics, giant ants, and questionable urban planning. Yo...
stargunner-03

Stargunner

DOS1996 GT Interactive Software
azalta-03

Azalta: Cult of the Raven

DOS1996
Azalta: Cult of the Raven is what happens when a lone developer says, “I can make an RPG better than Ultima!” and sort of does. Released in 1996, this DOS dungeon crawl...
riseofthetriad-splash

Rise of the Triad: Dark War

DOS1994protected Apogee Software
joust-vga-03

Joust VGA

DOS1990remake
batalia-splash

Batalia

DOS1986 The Right Brothers
Batalia (1986) is what happens when war games and spreadsheet programs fall in love. This early DOS strategy title throws you into tactical battles with graphics that would struggl...
champ-ms-pacman-05

CHAMP Ms. Pac-man

DOS1994remake ChamProgramming corp.
She’s pink, she’s fast, and she’s got a bow. CHAMP Ms. Pac-man reimagines the iconic maze-chaser with smooth controls and new levels while keeping that glorious m...
amazingmaze-splash

Amazing Maze

DOS1983
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 righ...
hugoh1-1

Hugo's House of Horrors

DOS1990 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 popu...
aquanoid-splash

Aquanoid

DOS1992remake
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...
rockstar-splash

Rockstar!

DOS1989 Wizard Games
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...
unreal-world-roguelike-09

UnReal World v. 3.20

Windows XP/98/95Mac OS1992freeware
1994pool-01

1994Pool

DOS1994
xargon-sh-03

Xargon

DOS1993freeware Epic MegaGames
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...
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 ...
hugo2-02

Hugo 2: Whodunit?

DOS1991protecteddemo 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 ...
kingdom-of-kroz-2-splash

Kingdom of Kroz 2

DOS1990 Apogee Software