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 |
3.94
|
| 02 | Paratrooper | shooter |
3.91
|
| 03 | PC-Man | action |
3.82
|
| 04 | Deadline | adventure |
3.72
|
| 05 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.69
|
| 06 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.62
|
| 07 | Astro Dodge | shooter |
3.61
|
| 08 | The Battle of the Bulge: Tigers in the Snow | strategy |
3.54
|
| 09 | Crossfire | shooter |
3.52
|
| 10 | Adventure in Serenia | adventure |
3.52
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Frogger | action |
4.07
|
| 02 | Lode Runner | action |
4.04
|
| 03 | Digger | action |
3.98
|
| 04 | Rogue | rpg |
3.97
|
| 05 | Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | simulation |
3.95
|
| 06 | Borland Turbo Pascal 2.0 | application |
3.95
|
| 07 | Galaxian | shooter |
3.93
|
| 08 | Battlezone | shooter |
3.91
|
| 09 | Defender | shooter |
3.90
|
| 10 | The Hobbit | adventure |
3.89
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action |
4.09
|
| 02 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.01
|
| 03 | Montezuma's Revenge | action |
3.91
|
| 04 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
3.88
|
| 05 | DND | rpg |
3.84
|
| 06 | Zork III: The Dungeon Master | adventure |
3.84
|
| 07 | Jumpman | action |
3.81
|
| 08 | Pong v.2.1 clone | action |
3.77
|
| 09 | Styx | action |
3.74
|
| 10 | Hack | rpg |
3.71
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | A mind forever voyaging | adventure |
4.06
|
| 02 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.03
|
| 03 | 9 Princes in Amber | adventure |
4.00
|
| 04 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne | adventure |
3.97
|
| 05 | James Bond 007: A View to a Kill | adventure |
3.92
|
| 06 | Hacker | simulation |
3.91
|
| 07 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
3.91
|
| 08 | The mist | adventure |
3.89
|
| 09 | Spacewar | shooter |
3.88
|
| 10 | Crusade in Europe | strategy |
3.85
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Turbo Prolog 2.0 | application |
4.11
|
| 02 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation |
4.10
|
| 03 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
4.10
|
| 04 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.06
|
| 05 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.03
|
| 06 | The Great Escape | action-adventure |
4.03
|
| 07 | Conflict in Vietnam | strategy |
4.00
|
| 08 | Alter Ego: Male Version | simulation |
4.00
|
| 09 | James Bond 007: Goldfinger | adventure |
3.95
|
| 10 | The Chessmaster 2000 | strategy |
3.95
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.22
|
| 02 | Borland Turbo Basic 1.0 | application |
4.13
|
| 03 | Elite | vehicle simulation |
4.10
|
| 04 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.08
|
| 05 | Test Drive | racing |
4.06
|
| 06 | Sid Meier's Pirates! | strategy |
4.05
|
| 07 | Tetris | puzzle |
4.03
|
| 08 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure |
4.03
|
| 09 | The Great Giana Sisters | action |
3.94
|
| 10 | Ford simulator 1 | racing |
3.92
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Grand Prix Circuit | racing |
4.09
|
| 02 | F-19 Stealth Fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.06
|
| 03 | Life & Death | simulation |
4.05
|
| 04 | Leisure Suit Larry 2: Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) | adventure |
4.05
|
| 05 | Arkanoid | action |
4.04
|
| 06 | Star Wars | vehicle simulation |
4.03
|
| 07 | Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny | rpg |
4.01
|
| 08 | Alternate Reality: The City | rpg |
4.00
|
| 09 | Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders | adventure |
4.00
|
| 10 | Uridium | shooter |
4.00
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Dungeon Master | rpg |
4.13
|
| 02 | Rick Dangerous | action |
4.11
|
| 03 | Pipe Dream | puzzle |
4.09
|
| 04 | F-15 Strike Eagle II | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| 05 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure |
4.07
|
| 06 | The Magic Candle 1 | rpg |
4.06
|
| 07 | Street Rod | racing |
4.06
|
| 08 | Ferrari Formula 1 | racing |
4.06
|
| 09 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.05
|
| 10 | Indianapolis 500 | racing |
4.05
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.23
|
| 02 | Rick Dangerous 2 | action |
4.08
|
| 03 | Operation Stealth | adventure |
4.06
|
| 04 | Tetris 2.0 | puzzle |
4.06
|
| 05 | The Oregon Trail | simulation |
4.06
|
| 06 | The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate | rpg |
4.06
|
| 07 | North and South | strategy |
4.06
|
| 08 | Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers get all the girls | adventure |
4.05
|
| 09 | F29 Retaliator | vehicle simulation |
4.05
|
| 10 | Circuit's edge | rpg |
4.04
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.13
|
| 02 | Golden Axe | action |
4.13
|
| 03 | Civilization | strategy |
4.13
|
| 04 | Volfied | action |
4.10
|
| 05 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.08
|
| 06 | Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.07
|
| 07 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle |
4.06
|
| 08 | Megafortress | vehicle simulation |
4.06
|
| 09 | Gods | action |
4.06
|
| 10 | Elite Plus | vehicle simulation |
4.05
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.13
|
| 02 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | adventure |
4.12
|
| 03 | Dune II: The building of a dynasty | strategy |
4.10
|
| 04 | Gobliiins | adventure |
4.07
|
| 05 | Dark Seed | adventure |
4.07
|
| 06 | Aces of the Pacific | vehicle simulation |
4.07
|
| 07 | Speedball 2 | sports |
4.07
|
| 08 | Comanche: Maximum overkill | vehicle simulation |
4.07
|
| 09 | CD-Man v2.0 | action |
4.06
|
| 10 | Angband | rpg |
4.06
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.16
|
| 02 | The Incredible Machine | puzzle |
4.14
|
| 03 | Populous 2: Trials of the Olympian Gods | strategy |
4.13
|
| 04 | Syndicate | strategy |
4.12
|
| 05 | Frontier: Elite 2 | vehicle simulation |
4.11
|
| 06 | Doom | shooter |
4.11
|
| 07 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.11
|
| 08 | Castle of the Winds | rpg |
4.09
|
| 09 | Police Quest: Open Season | adventure |
4.08
|
| 10 | Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers | adventure |
4.08
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.22
|
| 02 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter |
4.13
|
| 03 | One Must Fall 2097 | action |
4.11
|
| 04 | Master of Magic | strategy |
4.10
|
| 05 | Transport Tycoon | simulation |
4.08
|
| 06 | Warcraft: Orcs and Humans | strategy |
4.07
|
| 07 | The Incredible Toon Machine | puzzle |
4.07
|
| 08 | Panzer General | strategy |
4.07
|
| 09 | Armored fist | vehicle simulation |
4.06
|
| 10 | The Incredible Machine 2 | puzzle |
4.06
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Steel Panthers | strategy |
4.13
|
| 02 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.12
|
| 03 | Worms | strategy |
4.06
|
| 04 | Frontier: First Encounters | vehicle simulation |
4.06
|
| 05 | Caesar 2 | simulation |
4.05
|
| 06 | Screamer | racing |
4.05
|
| 07 | Extreme Pinball | action |
4.05
|
| 08 | FIFA Soccer 96 | sports |
4.04
|
| 09 | Heroes of Might and Magic | strategy |
4.03
|
| 10 | X-COM: Terror from the Deep | strategy |
4.02
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.22
|
| 02 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.11
|
| 03 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy |
4.08
|
| 04 | Fantasy General | strategy |
4.08
|
| 05 | Quake | shooter |
4.06
|
| 06 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert | strategy |
4.06
|
| 07 | Duke Nukem 3D | shooter |
4.06
|
| 08 | Heroes of Might and Magic II | strategy |
4.05
|
| 09 | Albion | rpg |
4.05
|
| 10 | Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games | strategy |
4.04
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Fallout | rpg |
4.07
|
| 02 | Panzer General 2 | strategy |
4.07
|
| 03 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.05
|
| 04 | Theme Hospital | simulation |
4.04
|
| 05 | Blood | shooter |
4.03
|
| 06 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter |
4.02
|
| 07 | Season of the Sakura | adventure |
4.01
|
| 08 | Blade Runner | adventure |
4.01
|
| 09 | Entrepreneur | simulation |
4.00
|
| 10 | Constructor | simulation |
4.00
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Dope Wars | simulation |
4.04
|
| 02 | House of the Dead | shooter |
4.03
|
| 03 | Axis and Allies | strategy |
4.02
|
| 04 | 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy | strategy |
4.01
|
| 05 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.01
|
| 06 | People's General | strategy |
4.00
|
| 07 | Mega Man X3 | shooter |
4.00
|
| 08 | Sanitarium | adventure |
4.00
|
| 09 | Railroad Tycoon 2 | simulation |
3.99
|
| 10 | Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines | strategy |
3.92
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter |
4.19
|
| 02 | Grand Theft Auto 2 | action-adventure |
4.10
|
| 03 | Three Sisters' Story | adventure |
4.06
|
| 04 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.06
|
| 05 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure |
4.06
|
| 06 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.05
|
| 07 | Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia | strategy |
3.96
|
| 08 | Yoot Tower | simulation |
3.96
|
| 09 | Pharaoh | simulation |
3.94
|
| 10 | Star Trek: Starfleet Command | vehicle simulation |
3.93
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
4.06
|
| 02 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.02
|
| 03 | Cultures | strategy |
4.00
|
| 04 | Icewind Dale | rpg |
3.92
|
| 05 | Ground Control | strategy |
3.87
|
| 06 | Arrakis | strategy |
3.76
|
| 07 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
3.68
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
3.97
|
| 02 | Mario and Luigi | action |
3.85
|
| 03 | Empire Earth | strategy |
3.83
|
| 04 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
3.81
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.00
|
| 02 | Syberia | adventure |
3.97
|
| 03 | DOSBox | application |
3.93
|
| 04 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
3.87
|
| 05 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
3.83
|
| 06 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.80
|
| 07 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy |
3.64
|