Abandonware DOS title

Shoot 'em up sorted by release date

Shoot 'em ups were extremely popular in the '80s and '90s. In a classic shoot 'em up, the player controls a vehicle, a spaceship or an aircraft with the only goal of destroying the largest number of enemies as possible while dodging bullets and staying alive. Through the years, shoot 'em ups evolved to include features like end level bosses, multiple weapons and power-ups. Some of the most popular DOS shoot 'em ups were: Raptor, Tyrian 2000, Xenon 2.

Most popular shoot 'em up games

astro-dodge-1

Astro Dodge

DOS1982 Digital Marketing Corporation
Astro Dodge (1982) is basically Frogger — in space. You control a tiny spacecraft tasked with dodging endless waves of meteors, space debris, and possibly your own questionable life choices. There’s no shooting, no exp...
cosmic-crusader-01

Cosmic Crusader

DOS1982 Funatics Software
crossfire-2

Crossfire

DOS1982 Sierra On-Line
paratrooper-5

Paratrooper

DOS1982 Orion Software
defender-4

Defender

DOS1983 Williams Entertainment
fleetsweep-splash

Fleet Sweep

DOS1983 Mirror Images Software
galaxian-2

Galaxian

DOS1983 Namco
ibmcentipede-splash

IBM Centipede

DOS1983 IBM
robotron-2084-3

Robotron 2084

DOS1983 Williams Entertainment
sea-dragon-02

Sea Dragon

DOS1983 Adventure International
spacecommanders-splash

Space Commanders

DOS1983remake Columbia Data Products
space-miner-03

Space Miner

DOS1983
stargate-splash

Stargate

DOS1983 Williams Entertainment
buck-planet-zoom-01

Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom

DOS1984 Sega
Welcome to a future where zooming through tunnels and dodging neon obstacles is considered heroic. Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom is a proto-3D arcade shooter that tries its best to impress—bless its pixelated heart. You fly, y...
devastator-01

Devastator

DOS1984 COMPUTE! Publications
encounter-1

Encounter

DOS1984
flightmare-04

Flightmare

DOS1984freeware
sopwith-1

Sopwith

DOS1984freeware BMB Compuscience
zaxxon-1

Zaxxon

DOS1984 Sega
Back in 1984, Zaxxon was the future. Isometric graphics? Whoa. Shadow effects? Mind blown. But mostly, it was a game about flying a chunky spaceship through a heavily fortified space base while crashing into walls at high speed. T...
space-commanders-2-splash

Space Commanders 2

DOS1985remake
spacewar-splash

Spacewar

DOS1985
Spacewar is one of the earliest digital computer games and is often considered the first interactive video game. It was created in 1962 by Steve Russell, Martin Graetz, and Wayne Wiitanen at the MIT. The game was developed on the ...
striker-2

Striker

DOS1985
batalia-splash

Batalia

DOS1986 The Right Brothers
Batalia (1986) is what happens when war games and spreadsheet programs fall in love. This early DOS strategy title throws you into tactical battles with graphics that would struggle to impress a calculator. But don’t be fool...
dragonfly-splash

Dragonfly

DOS1986
egaroids-2

EGA-Roids

DOS1986freewareremake Designer Software
knightmare-2

Knightmare

DOS1986 Konami
round-42-03

Round 42

DOS1986
astrotit-splash

Astrotit

DOS1987NSFW Rudeware
Yes, Astrotit (1987) is really the name, and no, it’s not what you think — though it does feel like it was named by a bored teenager. This side-scrolling shooter puts you in command of a spaceship shaped suspiciously l...
blort-03

Blort!

DOS1987 Hennsoft
With a name like Blort!, you'd expect a fart joke or a kids’ cartoon gone wrong, but no—it’s a 1987 arcade-style blaster for DOS. You play as a cosmic defender shooting weird blob-like aliens while dodging pixela...
into-the-eagles-nest-02

Into the Eagle's Nest

DOS1987 Pandora