Abandonware DOS title

Games based on a novel sorted by release date

A lot of old games were based on a book, being it a novel or even a short story. Some novels that inspired developers to create video games are The Lords of the Rings (by J. R. R. Tolkien, Rendez Vous with Rama (by Arthur Clarke), The Mist (by Stephen King).

Most popular based on a novel games

Dune 2000
strategyWindows XP/98/95
Dune
strategyDOS
thehobbit-1

The Hobbit

DOS19833.9/5 Beam Software
belowroot-1

Below The Root

DOS19843.7/5 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

DOS19843.4/5 Telarium
icon-ring-04

ICON: Quest for the Ring

DOS19843.6/5 Macrocom
hitchhikerguide-1

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

DOSMac1984freeware4.2/5 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-02

9 Princes in Amber

DOS19854.1/5 Telarium
rendezvousrama-1

Rendezvous with Rama

DOS19853.7/5 Telarium
skthemist-1

The mist

DOS19853.9/5 Angelsoft
wizard-of-oz-02

The Wizard of Oz

DOS19853.9/5 Windham Classics
treasure-island-01

Treasure Island

DOS19853.5/5 Byron Preiss Video Productions
fellowring-1

The Fellowship of the Ring

DOS19864.1/5 Beam Software
dragonriderspern-1

Dragonriders of Pern

DOS19873.1/5 Everlasting
la-abadia-del-crimen-03

La Abadia del Crimen

DOS19874.2/5 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-1

Mixed-up Mother Goose

DOS19874.1/5 Sierra On-Line
4th-protocol-02

The Fourth Protocol

DOS19874/5 The Electronic Pencil Co.
hunt-for-red-october-01

The Hunt for Red October

DOSMac19874.1/5 Oxford Digital Enterprises
20000leagues-3

20000 Leagues under the sea

DOS19883.8/5 Coktel Vision
dracula-in-london-03

Dracula in London

DOS19883.5/5 SDJ Enterprises
shadowsmordor-3

The Shadows of Mordor

DOS19883.7/5 Beam Software
warmiddleearth-1

War in Middle Earth

DOS19883.9/5 Synergistic Software
alice-wonderland-if-01

Alice in Wonderland

DOS19893.3/5
arthur-excalibur-02

Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur

DOS19894/5 Infocom
emmanuelle-2

Emmanuelle: A Game of Eroticism

DOS1989NSFW4/5 Coktel Vision
js-shogun-02

James Clavell's Shogun

DOS19894.2/5 Infocom
neuromancer-3

Neuromancer

DOS19893.9/5 Interplay Productions
red-storm-rising-05

Red Storm Rising

DOS19894/5 MicroProse Software
crackofdoom-1

The Crack of Doom

DOS19893.7/5 Beam Software
circuitsedge-2

Circuit's Edge

DOS19904.1/5 Westwood Studios
Circuit's Edge is a single-player science fiction blend of adventure game and RPG, developed by Westwood Studios and released by Infocom in 1990. Circuit's Edge is based on George Alec Effinger's cyberpunk novel "When Gravity Fails".