Abandonware action-adventure games sorted by release date
Action-adventure video games combine elements of both the action and adventure genres, offering a mix of fast-paced gameplay and exploration within a narrative-driven context. These games often feature a central storyline, character development, and a world for players to explore. The genre encompasses a broad range of gameplay styles and settings.
Recently added and trending action-adventure games
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Below The Root
DOS1984 platform, metroidvania
Based on a book series almost nobody remembers, Below The Root drops you into a serene world of treehouses, talking children, and deeply philosophical moral choices. Combat does not exist. Instead, you explore, read minds, and try...
Castle Adventure
DOS1984freeware interactive fiction, dungeon crawl
Castle Adventure is what happens when a medieval fantasy RPG gets crammed into a game smaller than your average selfie. ASCII graphics? Check. Typing commands like “GET SWORD”? Oh yes. It’s part game, part digita...
Castle Wolfenstein
DOS1984 maze
Before Doom and Wolfenstein 3D turned PC gaming into a pixelated bloodbath, there was Castle Wolfenstein. A stealth game in 1984? Believe it. You sneak around a Nazi fortress, steal uniforms, and hope you don’t get caught wh...
Shamus
DOS1984
Shamus is a maze action game developed by William Mataga and published by Synapse Software in 1982. The game became popular on various home computer platforms of the early 1980s. In Shamus, players control a detective navigating t...
Beyond Castle Wolfenstein
DOS1985 maze
Before Doomguy started ripping and tearing, there was Beyond Castle Wolfenstein. A stealth game where sneaking is mandatory, disguises are fashionable, and stabbing Nazis is encouraged. It’s the sequel to Castle Wolfenstein,...
Shogun
DOS1986
The Great Escape
DOS1986protected isometric action-adventure
As a prisoner of war, you must find a way to escape a prison in Germany in 1942. The prisoner has a daily routine which will follow if not controlled by the player for a certain amount of time.
Dizzy
DOS1987 platform
Ah, Dizzy—the little egg that could. Released in 1987, this puzzle-platformer puts you in the delicate shell of an egg who somehow manages to roll, jump, and carry objects without cracking wide open. The game mixes light-hea...
Driller
DOS1987 first-person action-adventure
Driller (also known as Space Station Oblivion) is an abandoned action-adventure game developed by Incentive and released by Epyx in 1987 based on the Freescape Engine. In Driller, you control an excavation probe in a real 3d envir...
Iznogoud
DOS1987
King of Chicago
DOSMac OS1987
La Abadia del Crimen
DOS1987 isometric action-adventure
La Abadía del Crimen (The Abbey of Crime) is an action-adventure developed in Spain by Paco Menéndez in the mid-1980s. It was initially created for the Amstrad CPC and later ported to other popular home computer syst...
Where Time Stood Still
DOS1987protected isometric action-adventure
Batman: the Caped Crusader
DOS1988
Half comic book, half arcade game, Batman: The Caped Crusader (1988) offers a delightfully weird aesthetic with its paneled visual style and pulp serial vibe. You’ll punch, puzzle-solve, and generally Batman your way through...
Captain Blood
DOSMac OS1988 space exploration
Captain Blood is a space exploration video game released in 1988. It was developed by the French company ERE Informatique, and it was designed by Philippe Ulrich and Didier Bouchon. The game is set in a futuristic universe, where ...
Captain Comic, The Adventures of
DOS1988freeware metroidvania
Before space marines were gritty and everything exploded in brown and grey, there was The Adventures of Captain Comic. This is early PC platforming in all its clunky, jumpy, 4-color glory. You collect treasures, shoot baddies with...
Dark Side
DOS1988 first-person action-adventure
Dark Side (1988) is a first-person sci-fi adventure set on a moon orbiting a planet that’s about to be destroyed. No pressure. The gameplay combines exploration with puzzle-solving, wrapped in surprisingly ambitious 3D graph...
Dungeon of Shalan
DOS1988
Feud
DOS1988 maze
Impossible Mission 2
DOS1988 platform, tile-matching
Last Ninja
DOS1988 isometric action-adventure
Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon
DOS1988freeware
The Colony
DOS1988 first-person action-adventure
Total Eclipse
DOS1988 first-person action-adventure
Asterix: Operation Getafix
DOS1989
Operation Getafix (1989) is what happens when you turn a beloved comic series into a game with the precision of a wild boar wearing gloves. You play as Asterix on a quest to help Getafix the druid recover his memory and his recipe...
Caves of Thor
DOS1989 maze
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 (...
David Wolf: Secret Agent
DOS1989 first-person action-adventure, racing: car, flight simulation
Back in 1989, David Wolf: Secret Agent tried really hard to make you feel like James Bond. You get car chases, fistfights, and enough cheesy dialogue to fill an action movie marathon. The graphics are blocky, the acting nonexisten...
Heroes of the Lance
DOS1989protected
Le Fetiche Maya
DOS1989