Top abandonware games by year
Abandonware DOS hosts games from the early age of Personal Computer videogaming. I'm referring to a time when some of you weren't even born: the 80s.
The golden age of PC games came in the 90s, with classic games still remembered today. In the new millennium, many small developers struggled to stay afloat in the gaming sea now dominated by leviathan companies that ate one software house after another. The golden age ended and "abandonware" started to be a thing.
Here are the top 10 games for every year of that golden age, according to user's votes.
| # | 1982 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zork I: The great underground empire | adventure |
3.98
|
| 02 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.54
|
| 03 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.50
|
| 04 | Deadline | adventure |
3.45
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Frogger | action |
4.07
|
| 02 | Lode Runner | action |
4.06
|
| 03 | The Hobbit | adventure |
4.00
|
| 04 | Donkey Kong | action |
3.86
|
| 05 | Rogue | rpg |
3.85
|
| 06 | Digger | action |
3.73
|
| 07 | Defender | action |
3.69
|
| 08 | Planetfall | adventure |
3.52
|
| 09 | Pack-man | action |
3.35
|
| 10 | Evolution | action |
3.09
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.05
|
| 02 | Alley Cat | action |
4.00
|
| 03 | Pong v.2.1 clone | action |
4.00
|
| 04 | Jumpman | action |
3.88
|
| 05 | Styx | action |
3.80
|
| 06 | Hack | rpg |
3.69
|
| 07 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
3.65
|
| 08 | Zork III: The dungeon master | adventure |
3.62
|
| 09 | DND | rpg |
3.52
|
| 10 | Below The Root | adventure |
3.46
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | A mind forever voyaging | adventure |
4.02
|
| 02 | The mist | adventure |
3.95
|
| 03 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the throne | adventure |
3.87
|
| 04 | Hacker | simulation |
3.76
|
| 05 | James Bond 007: A View to a Kill | adventure |
3.71
|
| 06 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
3.66
|
| 07 | Spacewar | action |
3.63
|
| 08 | Voodoo island | adventure |
3.50
|
| 09 | Strip Poker: A Sizzling Game of Chance | strategy |
3.48
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.35
|
| 02 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien encounter | adventure |
4.09
|
| 03 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation |
4.09
|
| 04 | Turbo Prolog 2.0 | application |
4.06
|
| 05 | Starflight | rpg |
4.00
|
| 06 | Alter Ego: Male Version | simulation |
4.00
|
| 07 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
3.79
|
| 08 | The Great Escape | adventure |
3.75
|
| 09 | Amnesia | adventure |
3.73
|
| 10 | 221B Baker Street | strategy |
3.31
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.12
|
| 02 | Elite | vehicle simulation |
4.10
|
| 03 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.08
|
| 04 | Tetris | puzzle |
4.07
|
| 05 | Police Quest 1: In pursuit of the death angel | adventure |
4.00
|
| 06 | Sid Meier's Pirates! | strategy |
4.00
|
| 07 | Zeliard | rpg |
3.97
|
| 08 | The Great Giana Sisters | action |
3.91
|
| 09 | The Bard's Tale 1 | rpg |
3.83
|
| 10 | Test Drive | racing |
3.82
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny | rpg |
4.09
|
| 02 | Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders | adventure |
4.07
|
| 03 | Pool of radiance | rpg |
4.06
|
| 04 | Cabal | shooter |
4.06
|
| 05 | Life & Death | simulation |
4.04
|
| 06 | Bad Dudes VS Dragon Ninja | action |
4.03
|
| 07 | F-19 Stealth fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.00
|
| 08 | Leisure Suit Larry 2: Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) | adventure |
4.00
|
| 09 | Battle Chess | strategy |
4.00
|
| 10 | Gold Rush! | adventure |
4.00
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Arkanoid 2: The revenge of Doh | action |
4.08
|
| 02 | Neuromancer | adventure |
4.07
|
| 03 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.06
|
| 04 | Stunt Car Racer | racing |
4.05
|
| 05 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure |
4.05
|
| 06 | Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs | sports |
4.05
|
| 07 | Dungeon master | rpg |
4.04
|
| 08 | 007: License to Kill | shooter |
4.04
|
| 09 | Hero's quest: So you want to be a hero | adventure |
4.03
|
| 10 | Indianapolis 500 | racing |
4.02
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.11
|
| 02 | Prince of Persia | action |
4.10
|
| 03 | Kick off 2 | sports |
4.08
|
| 04 | Warlords | strategy |
4.06
|
| 05 | Centurion: Defender of Rome | strategy |
4.05
|
| 06 | Midwinter | strategy |
4.05
|
| 07 | Uncharted Waters | simulation |
4.05
|
| 08 | Castle master | adventure |
4.05
|
| 09 | Loom | adventure |
4.04
|
| 10 | Buck Rogers: Countdown to doomsday | rpg |
4.04
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Golden Axe | action |
4.13
|
| 02 | Lemmings | puzzle |
4.10
|
| 03 | Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| 04 | Death Knights of Krynn | rpg |
4.08
|
| 05 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.06
|
| 06 | Civilization | strategy |
4.06
|
| 07 | SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony | simulation |
4.05
|
| 08 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure |
4.05
|
| 09 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.04
|
| 10 | Jones in the Fast Lane | simulation |
4.03
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Dune | strategy |
4.10
|
| 02 | Dune II: The building of a dynasty | strategy |
4.10
|
| 03 | Wolfenstein 3D | shooter |
4.10
|
| 04 | Amberstar | rpg |
4.10
|
| 05 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.09
|
| 06 | Alone in the Dark | adventure |
4.09
|
| 07 | Rex Nebular and the cosmic gender-bender | adventure |
4.08
|
| 08 | Powermonger | strategy |
4.08
|
| 09 | A-Train | simulation |
4.08
|
| 10 | Star Control 2 | strategy |
4.08
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | SimCity 2000 | simulation |
4.16
|
| 02 | Doom | shooter |
4.16
|
| 03 | Frontier: Elite 2 | vehicle simulation |
4.13
|
| 04 | The Settlers | strategy |
4.09
|
| 05 | Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers | adventure |
4.07
|
| 06 | Legend of Kyrandia 2: Hand of fate | adventure |
4.07
|
| 07 | Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures | rpg |
4.07
|
| 08 | Prehistorik 2 | action |
4.07
|
| 09 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.07
|
| 10 | Castle of the Winds | rpg |
4.06
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo defense (a.k.a. Ufo: Enemy unknown) | strategy |
4.21
|
| 02 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter |
4.10
|
| 03 | Panzer General 1 | strategy |
4.10
|
| 04 | Transport Tycoon | simulation |
4.09
|
| 05 | Master of Magic | strategy |
4.09
|
| 06 | Warcraft: Orcs and Humans | strategy |
4.09
|
| 07 | Big Sea: The Better One Will Win | simulation |
4.08
|
| 08 | NASCAR Racing | racing |
4.07
|
| 09 | Knights of Xentar | rpg |
4.07
|
| 10 | Lode Runner: The Legend Returns | action |
4.06
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness | strategy |
4.07
|
| 02 | FIFA Soccer 96 | sports |
4.06
|
| 03 | Frontier: First Encounters | vehicle simulation |
4.06
|
| 04 | Heroes of Might and Magic | strategy |
4.06
|
| 05 | Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within | adventure |
4.05
|
| 06 | Myst | adventure |
4.05
|
| 07 | Ascendancy | strategy |
4.04
|
| 08 | X-COM: Terror from the deep | strategy |
4.03
|
| 09 | True love | adventure |
4.02
|
| 10 | Star Wars: Dark Forces | shooter |
4.00
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.18
|
| 02 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.17
|
| 03 | Quake | shooter |
4.11
|
| 04 | Duke Nukem 3D | shooter |
4.10
|
| 05 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy |
4.07
|
| 06 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert | strategy |
4.03
|
| 07 | Albion | rpg |
4.03
|
| 08 | Fable | adventure |
4.02
|
| 09 | Jane's Combat Simulations: Advanced Tactical Fighters | vehicle simulation |
4.00
|
| 10 | Adom v1.1 | rpg |
4.00
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Magic: The Gathering | strategy |
4.11
|
| 02 | Championship Manager: Season 97/98 | sports |
4.09
|
| 03 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter |
4.09
|
| 04 | Star Wars: Yoda Stories | adventure |
4.08
|
| 05 | Hercules | action |
4.08
|
| 06 | Callahan's Crosstime Saloon | adventure |
4.08
|
| 07 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.07
|
| 08 | Carmageddon | racing |
4.07
|
| 09 | Theme Hospital | simulation |
4.06
|
| 10 | Fallout | rpg |
4.06
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | House of the Dead | shooter |
4.10
|
| 02 | Railroad Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.06
|
| 03 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.06
|
| 04 | Axis and Allies | strategy |
4.06
|
| 05 | 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy | strategy |
4.05
|
| 06 | Dope Wars | simulation |
4.02
|
| 07 | Avalon | rpg |
3.92
|
| 08 | Fatal Relations | adventure |
3.90
|
| 09 | Sanitarium | adventure |
3.86
|
| 10 | 240 Racing | racing |
3.48
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | System Shock 2 | shooter |
4.09
|
| 02 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter |
4.06
|
| 03 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.03
|
| 04 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.02
|
| 05 | Three Sisters' Story | adventure |
4.01
|
| 06 | Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia | strategy |
4.00
|
| 07 | Pharaoh | simulation |
3.93
|
| 08 | Ultima 9: Ascension | rpg |
3.89
|
| 09 | SimCity 3000 | simulation |
3.87
|
| 10 | Yoot Tower | simulation |
3.87
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.00
|
| 02 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
3.92
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
4.03
|
| 02 | Empire Earth | strategy |
4.00
|
| 03 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
3.81
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
4.10
|
| 02 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
3.95
|
| 03 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
3.73
|
| 04 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.61
|
