The best dystopia games
A dystopia is the lesser-known counterpart to utopia, representing an undesirable or nightmarish society. Dystopian societies often suffer from various negative aspects such as environmental degradation, oppressive governments, rampant despotism, extreme inequality, or social decay.
Cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic games serve as prime examples of dystopian themes. Cyberpunk worlds often depict high-tech, low-life futures where corporate control, surveillance, and societal breakdown are rampant. Post-apocalyptic games, on the other hand, explore the aftermath of catastrophic events, where humanity is struggling to survive in a ruined, lawless world. Both genres reflect dystopian fears about the future, technology, and society.
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Space Crusade
DOS1992 Gremlin Graphics / Gremlin Interactive
The Terminator: Future Shock
DOS1995 Bethesda Softworks
The Terminator: Future Shock is an abandoned science fiction first-person shooter game based on the popular Terminator movies franchise, set in a dystopian world where machines has taken over the Earth. The Terminator: Future Shock was developed by Bethesda Softworks and released in 1995 for DOS.
Blade Runner
Windows XP/98/95LinuxMac OS1997protected Westwood Studios
One of the best licensed games of the '90s, Blade Runner (1997) puts you in the rain-soaked shoes of Ray McCoy, a detective tracking down replicants in a world where it's always night and nobody smiles. It’s not just point-and-click—it’s point-and-question-your-existence. With branching paths, randomized targets, and that gritty c...
Syndicate
DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1993protecteddemo Bullfrog
Syndicate is a cyberpunk-themed tactical action game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1993. The game is set in a dystopian future where corporations, called syndicates, have replaced governments, ruling the world with violence and control. Syndicate is a blend of real-time strategy and action. Players take ...
Bad Blood
DOS1990 Origin Systems
Set in a post-apocalyptic world where leather vests are apparently immune to radiation, Bad Blood lets you wander the wasteland deciding whether to be a brute, a brainiac, or a mutant with questionable fashion sense. Dialogue-heavy and surprisingly progressive for 1990, it’s Fallout before Fallout was cool — minus the polish and plus a ...
A Mind Forever Voyaging
DOSMac OS1985 Infocom
If you ever wanted to play a video game that doubles as a philosophical think piece, A Mind Forever Voyaging (1985) is your ride. Released for DOS and Macintosh, this is one of Infocom’s most ambitious works - a text adventure where you’re not a hero with a sword, but an AI tasked with simulating the future of society. Exciting, right? ...
I have no Mouth and I Must Scream
DOS1995protected The Dreamers Guild
Fallout 2
Windows XP/98/951998protected Black Isle Studios
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel
Windows XP/98/952001protecteddemo Interplay Productions
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel is a tactical role-playing game published by Interplay Entertainment in 2001. Unlike its predecessors, which were traditional RPGs with turn-based combat, Fallout Tactics took a different approach by focusing more on tactical combat rather than extensive role-playing elements.The game features squad-based comba...
Dreamweb
DOS1994freeware Creative reality
Dreamweb is a top-down point and click adventure set in a dark, cyberpunk city. You play as Ryan who has strange, violent, dreams. A top down perspective and the sheer number of items your character can pick up are just two of the peculiarities of this game. Dreamweb was developed by Creative Reality and published by Empire Interactive for DOS in 1...
Fountain of Dreams
DOS1990 Electronic Arts
Fallout
DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1997protecteddemo Interplay Productions
The first Fallout game was released in 1997 by Interplay Productions and is widely regarded as one of the most influential RPGs of its time. The game begins in the year 2161, over 80 years after the nuclear war, with the player assuming the role of a resident of one of the many underground shelters known as Vaults. The player's mission is to l...
Circuit's Edge
DOS1990 Westwood Studios
Circuit's Edge is a cyberpunk-themed role-playing game developed by Westwood Associates and published by Infocom. It was released in 1990 for MS-DOS. Set in a dystopian future, Circuit's Edge takes place in the fictional city of Rhoes Island, a dark and gritty urban landscape filled with crime, corruption, and advanced technology. Players take on t...
Deus Ex
DOSMac OS2000protecteddemo Ion Storm
Deus Ex is a critically acclaimed action role-playing video game developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released in 2000 and was designed by Warren Spector, combining elements of first-person shooters, stealth games, and role-playing games. The game is set in a dystopian future where society is fraught with conspiracy the...
Interphase
DOS1989 The Assembly Line
Crusader: No Regret
DOS1996protecteddemo Origin Systems
Quarantine
DOS1994 Imagexcel
Quarantine is a futuristic racing/driving game released by GameTek in 1994 for DOS. Quarantine is set in a dark dystopian futuristic city where the player drives around in a taxi cab, picking up passengers and killing everyone else. If you loved Carmageddon, you will also like Quarantine. Stay away if you don't like gratuitous violence, gore and bl...
Rise of the Dragon
DOS1990 Dynamix
Rise of the Dragon is a point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Dynamix in 1990. It was originally released for MS-DOS and later ported to other platforms such as the Amiga and Sega CD. The game is set in a cyberpunk-inspired future Los Angeles, where the player assumes the role of William "Blade" Hunter, a private detective taske...
Tex Murphy: Under a Killing Moon
Windows XP/98/95DOSLinuxMac OS1994protected Access Software
Beneath a Steel Sky
DOS1994freeware Revolution Software
Beneath a Steel Sky is a classic point-and-click adventure game released in 1994, developed by Revolution Software. Set in a dystopian, cyberpunk future, the game is renowned for its rich atmosphere and distinctive artwork. The game follows Robert Foster, who, after being abducted from his tribal home in the Outback, finds himself in Union Cit...
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
DOS1991 Syntetic Dimensions
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is one of the many adaptations of the Terminator franchise. This one is based on the movie of the same name, but it's not as good as the movie, according to critics. Terminator 2 is an action game developed by Syntetic Dimensions and released by Ocean Software in 1991 for DOS. It was also published for C64, ZX Spectrum, A...
Neuromancer
DOS1989 Interplay Productions
The Neuromancer video game, released in 1988 by Interplay Productions, is an adventure/role-playing game loosely based on William Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel Neuromancer (1984). It combines elements of science fiction, hacking, and RPG-style exploration in a digital world, set in a dystopian future dominated by artificial intelligence, corpora...
Archipelagos
DOS1989 Astral Software
Archipelagos is like a fever dream after watching too much Myst. You’re dropped onto strange, floating islands inhabited by stone monoliths and evil terrain-infecting sludge. Your job? Purify the land by destroying said monoliths - because obviously. The visuals are surreal, the soundscape unnervingly tranquil, and the gameplay strangely hypn...
Manhunter 2: San Francisco
DOSMac OS1989 Evryware
Martian Memorandum
DOS1991protecteddemo Access Software
Martian Memorandum is a point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Access Software. It was released in 1991 and is the sequel to the game Mean Streets. The game is set in a dystopian future on Mars, where players take on the role of Tex Murphy, a private investigator with a sarcastic and humorous demeanor.The story begins with Tex Mu...
Mean Streets
DOS1989protected Access Software
Normality
DOS1996protecteddemo Gremlin Graphics / Gremlin Interactive
Normality is a first-person adventure video game developed by Gremlin Interactive and released in 1996. The game is set in a dystopian future where a totalitarian regime known as the One True Government (OTG) controls the city of Neutropolis. The player takes on the role of Kent, a rebellious citizen who opposes the oppressive rule of the OTG. The ...
Roadwar Europa
DOS1987protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Robocop
DOS1989 Data East
Robocop is an abandoned beat 'em up / run and gun shooter game developed and released by Data East in 1989 for a number of platforms, including DOS. Robocop is a conversion from an arcade game released by Data East in 1988 and it was based on the movie of the same name, Robocop, by Paul Verhoeven. Your goal is to get to the final boss by shoot...
William Shatner's TekWar
DOS1995 Capstone Software
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