Abandonware DOS title

Games based on a novel sorted by release date

Many classic games were based on books, whether novels or short stories. This literary influence brought rich narratives and intricate worlds to the gaming medium. Some notable examples include "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien, which inspired numerous games that explore Middle-earth's epic battles and complex lore. "Rendezvous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke provided a foundation for games that delve into the mysteries of space exploration and alien encounters. "The Mist" by Stephen King led to atmospheric horror games that capture the suspense and terror of the original story.

Most popular based on a novel games

Dune 2000
strategyWindows XP/98/95
thehobbit-splash

The Hobbit

DOS1983 Beam Software
belowroot-splash

Below The Root

DOS1984 Dale Disharoon, Inc.
Below the root is an atipycal early 2 dimensional adventure game based on the Zilpha Keatley Snyder novels: the Green Sky Trilogy. The player can choose one of many characters, each with different skills and embark in a quest to eliminate the distrust between two races: the Erdling and the Kindar.
farehneith451-04

Farenheit 451

DOS1984 Telarium
icon-ring-04

ICON: Quest for the Ring

DOS1984 Macrocom
hitchhikers-splash

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

DOSMac OS1984freeware Infocom
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a humorous free text adventure game based on the novel of the same name written by Douglas Adams (if you never read it, shame on you!). The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was designed by Douglas Adams himself and interactive fiction god Steve Eric Meretzky, it was released by Infocom in 1984 for DOS and for...
9-princes-in-amber-01

9 Princes in Amber

DOS1985 Telarium
rendezvousrama-1

Rendezvous with Rama

DOS1985 Telarium
Rendezvous with Rama is an interactive fiction (text adventure) game released in 1984. Telarium, a subsidiary of Spinnaker Software, was known for producing narrative-driven games based on popular literary works. This adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's novel is one of the earlier attempts to translate a science fiction classic into an interactive for...
skthemist-splash

The mist

DOS1985 Angelsoft
wizard-of-oz-01

The Wizard of Oz

DOS1985 Windham Classics
treasure-island-01

Treasure Island

DOS1985 Byron Preiss Video Productions
fellowring-splash

The Fellowship of the Ring

DOS1986 Beam Software
dragonriderspern-1

Dragonriders of Pern

DOS1987 Everlasting
la-abadia-del-crimen-03

La Abadia del Crimen

DOS1987 Opera Soft
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 systems of the time, such as the ZX Spectrum and MSX. The game was released in 1987.
mixedgoose-splash

Mixed-up Mother Goose

DOS1987 Sierra On-Line
4th-protocol-01

The Fourth Protocol

DOS1987 The Electronic Pencil Co.
The Fourth Protocol is a 1985 interactive fiction video game inspired by Frederick Forsyth's 1984 Cold War spy novel of the same name. Developed by the Electronic Pencil Company and published by Hutchinson Computer Publishing, the game was released on platforms such as the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and IBM PC (in 1997). Designed as a ...
hunt-for-red-october-01

The Hunt for Red October

DOSMac OS1987 Oxford Digital Enterprises
3-musketeers-fr-02

The Three Musketeers

DOS1987 Greve Graphics
20000leagues-3

20000 Leagues under the sea

DOS1988 Coktel Vision
dracula-in-london-03

Dracula in London

DOS1988 SDJ Enterprises
shadowsmordor-3

The Shadows of Mordor

DOS1988 Beam Software
emmanuelle-2

Emmanuelle: A Game of Eroticism

DOS1989NSFW Coktel Vision
js-shogun-02

James Clavell's Shogun

DOS1989 Infocom
James Clavell's Shogun, a text adventure game developed by Infocom and released in 1989. Infocom was known for its interactive fiction games, and "James Clavell's Shogun" was one of its later releases.This text adventure game is based on James Clavell's novel "Shogun" and follows the story of John Blackthorne, an English navigator who becomes invol...
neuromancer-splash

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...
red-storm-rising-05

Red Storm Rising

DOS1989 MicroProse Software
Red Storm Rising is a submarine simulation video game developed and published by MicroProse in 1988, based on the novel of the same name by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond. The game is set during a hypothetical World War III scenario, focusing on naval combat between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces. Players command a modern nuclear submarine from a first-per...
crackofdoom-splash

The Crack of Doom

DOS1989 Beam Software
warmiddleearth-1

War in Middle Earth

DOS1989 Synergistic Software
War in Middle-earth is a real-time strategy game developed by Synergistic Software and published by Melbourne House. It was released in 1988 for various platforms including the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC.The game is based on J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy world of Middle-earth, specifically focusing on the events depicted in "The Lor...