The best 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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Dark Ages Volume I - Prince of Destiny

DOS1991freeware4/5 Scenerio Software

Dark Designs 2: Closing the Gate

DOS19904/5 Softdisk Publishing

Exile: Escape from the Pit

Windows XP/98/95Mac OSWindows 3.x1995freeware4/5 Spiderweb Software

Exile: Escape from the Pit is a turn-based role-playing game (RPG) developed by Spiderweb Software. It is part of the Exile series, originally released in the mid-1990s. This game was later remade and re-released as Avernum: Escape from the Pit. The game is set in a massive underground world called Exile, where the Empire banishes criminals, p...

Grand Prix

DOS19894/5 Wizard Games

Jumpman Lives!

DOS1991remake4/5 Apogee Software

LineWars

DOS19904/5 Safari Software

LineWars 2

DOS19944/5 Safari Software

Realms of Chaos

DOSMac OSLinux1995protected4/5 Apogee Software

Reaping The Dungeon

DOS19934/5 Frontline Software

Squarez Deluxe!

DOS1993freeware4/5 Adept Software

Stargunner

DOS19964/5 GT Interactive Software

Xargon

DOS1993freeware4/5 Epic MegaGames

Xixit

DOS19954/5 Optik Software

Bio Menace Episode 1: Dr. Mangle's Lab

DOS1993freeware4/5 Apogee Software

Terminal Velocity

Windows XP/98/95DOSLinuxMac OS1995protected4/5 Terminal Reality

Blades of Exile

Windows 3.xMac OSWindows XP/98/951997freeware4/5 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...

Major Stryker

DOSWindows XP/98/951993freeware4/5 Apogee Software

CHAMP Ms. Pac-man

DOS1994remake3.9/5 ChamProgramming corp.

Jazz Jackrabbit Holiday Hare

DOS1994protected3.9/5 Epic MegaGames

Escape from delirium

DOS19953.9/5 Virtual X-Perience

Softporn Adventure

DOS1981freewareNSFW3.9/5 Sierra On-Line

God of Thunder

DOSWindows XP/98/951993freeware3.9/5 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...

Abuse

DOSLinuxMac OS1995freeware3.9/5 Crack dot Com

OverKill

DOS1992freeware3.9/5 Tech-Noir

Shadow Warrior

DOS1997protected3.9/5 3d Realms

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...