Abandonware DOS retro gaming spotlight

1995 in retro gaming: from Command & Conquer to The Need for Speed

Thirty years ago, in 1995, monitors were bulky, the word “multimedia” was plastered onto anything that moved, and CD-ROMs promised “realistic” gaming experiences that often looked like low-budget school plays filmed on a camcorder. Windows 95 had just arrived with its legendary startup chime, and PC gaming was ...

The Sims: a masterpiece by Will Wright

The Sims, released in 2000, marked the beginning of the Sims series. Developed by In The Sims, players create and control virtual characters known as Sims. They can customize their Sims' appearance, personality traits, and aspirations, shaping their lives and interactions within the game world. Players are responsible for meeting their ...

The Typing of the Dead: kill them with your keyboard

The Typing of the Dead is a distinctive video game, essentially a typing adaptation of the classic rail shooter arcade game, The House of the Dead. Initially debuting in 1999 as an arcade machine, it later became available on other platforms as well. In The Typing of the Dead, players wield ...

Bundesliga Manager Professional: German football

Before Football Manager made spreadsheets cool, there was Bundesliga Manager Professional, a game where managing a German football team involved more math than actual football. You buy players, tweak tactics, balance budgets, and occasionally scream at your 386 PC because SC Freiburg blew a 2-0 lead again.

Hidden Gems: Forgotten DOS RPGs (not) worth playing

Ultima, Wizardry, Fallout, and Might & Magic are among the most iconic old-school RPGs - titles every RPG fan has either played or at least heard of. However, many role-playing games released in the distant past never gained widespread popularity. Some of the RPGs uploaded today on Abandonware DOS are ...

Dune 2000: from the book to the screen

Dune 2000 is an abandoned science fiction classic real-time strategy game based on the popular Dune franchise. The Dune "universe" took form in the books of science fiction writer Frank Herbert and went on to include movies, TV series, comics, and of course video games. Dune 2000 is one of the finest ...

Pipe Mania: a liquid puzzle game

Pipe Mania (also known as Pipe Dream is a tile-matching (sort of) puzzle game about flowing liquids developed by The Assembly Line in 1989. You must build a path made of pipe pieces to let a green liquid (sewer goo?) flow. It's simple, original and addicting, that's why Pipe Mania was ...

One Must Fall 2097 soundtrack added

One Must Fall: 2097 is a fighting game released in 1994 by Epic MegaGames. Set in a futuristic world, the game features giant humanoid robots known as HARs (Human-Assisted Robots) controlled by human pilots. The storyline revolves around a tournament organized by the multinational corporation WAR (World Aeronautics and Robotics), where pilots ...

Interactive fiction to play online

Interactive fiction is a niche but fascinating genre. Its golden age was in the 1980s, when pioneering software houses like Infocom, Level 9, and Legend Entertainment created intricate "text adventures" that are still rememberd today. These games relied solely on text to tell their stories, requiring players to type commands and ...

Castle of the Winds: a classic CRPG for Windows 3.x

Castle of the Winds is a fantasy roguelike role-playing game developed by SaadaSoft in the early 1990s for Windows 3.x.The game features a top-down perspective and incorporates elements of dungeon crawling, exploration, and character development. The game uses a simple turn-based combat system.

Gabriel Knight 2: a worthy sequel

Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within is a point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line. It was released in 1995 as a sequel to the original Gabriel Knight game, Sins of the Fathers. The game was designed by Jane Jensen, who also wrote the story and script. This time, Gabriel ...

Steel Panthers: turn-based wargame

Steel Panthers is the first game in the Steel Panthers series. It was released in 1995 by Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI). This initial release laid the foundation for the series and introduced players to the turn-based tactical wargame experience that would be further developed in subsequent titles. The game focused on ...

Play abandoned roguelike RPGs in your browser

Roguelikes are a fascinating subgenre of role-playing games that have always captured my interest. Defined by features like permadeath and procedurally generated dungeons, roguelikes offer an exceptionally high level of replayability: no two runs are ever the same.The history of roguelikes stretches back to the very early days of ...

Simulating Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe

Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe is a combat flight simulation game developed and published by Lucasfilm Games in 1991. It was designed for MS-DOS systems and later released for Amiga computers. The game is focused on the Luftwaffe's experimental aircraft and secret weapons. Players could choose from a variety of World ...

Castlevania converted for DOS

Castlevania, originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986, was developed and published by Konami. The game was known in Japan as Akumajo Dracula (Devil's Castle Dracula) and was later renamed Castlevania for its North American release. In Castlevania, players take on the role of Simon Belmont, a vampire hunter ...