Best abandonware games by year
Abandonware DOS is home to games from the early days of personal computer gaming—I'm talking about the 1980s, a time when some of you weren’t even born.
The golden age of PC gaming truly blossomed in the 1990s, giving us classics that are still fondly remembered today. But with the arrival of the new millennium, many small developers found it hard to survive in a gaming industry now ruled by corporate giants swallowing up one studio after another. The golden age came to an end—and the era of "abandonware" began.
Here are the top 10 games for each year of that golden age, as voted by our users.
| # | 1981 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ultima 1: The First Age of Darkness | rpg | 4.01/5 |
| 02 | Galaxy | strategy | 3.98/5 |
| 03 | Softporn Adventure | adventure | 3.98/5 |
| 04 | Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord | rpg | 3.94/5 |
| 05 | Chess | strategy | 3.88/5 |
| 06 | Akalabeth: World of Doom | rpg | 3.65/5 |
| 07 | B-1 Nuclear Bomber | vehicle simulation | 3.63/5 |
| # | 1982 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zork I: The Great Underground Empire | adventure | 4.14/5 |
| 02 | PC-Man | action | 4.09/5 |
| 03 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports | 4.02/5 |
| 04 | Paratrooper | shooter | 3.91/5 |
| 05 | Executive Suite | simulation | 3.89/5 |
| 06 | Wizardry 2: The knight of diamonds | rpg | 3.88/5 |
| 07 | Deadline | adventure | 3.87/5 |
| 08 | BurgerTime | action | 3.83/5 |
| 09 | Car Builder | simulation | 3.81/5 |
| 10 | The Battle of the Bulge: Tigers in the Snow | strategy | 3.80/5 |
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Lode Runner | action | 4.23/5 |
| 02 | Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz | adventure | 4.22/5 |
| 03 | Battlezone | shooter | 4.22/5 |
| 04 | Defender | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 05 | Digger | action | 4.16/5 |
| 06 | Planetfall | adventure | 4.14/5 |
| 07 | Frogger | action | 4.13/5 |
| 08 | Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | simulation | 4.08/5 |
| 09 | J-Bird | action | 4.07/5 |
| 10 | Pango | action | 4.05/5 |
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action | 4.27/5 |
| 02 | Montezuma's Revenge | action | 4.22/5 |
| 03 | King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown | adventure | 4.18/5 |
| 04 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure | 4.18/5 |
| 05 | Archon: the Light and the Dark | strategy | 4.18/5 |
| 06 | Rogue | rpg | 4.16/5 |
| 07 | Soko-Ban | puzzle | 4.15/5 |
| 08 | Crime and Punishment | simulation | 4.12/5 |
| 09 | dBASE III | application | 4.11/5 |
| 10 | DND | rpg | 4.09/5 |
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | A Mind Forever Voyaging | adventure | 4.14/5 |
| 02 | Ultima 3: Exodus | rpg | 4.14/5 |
| 03 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg | 4.12/5 |
| 04 | Alice: The Personal Pascal | application | 4.11/5 |
| 05 | Silent Service | vehicle simulation | 4.11/5 |
| 06 | 9 Princes in Amber | adventure | 4.10/5 |
| 07 | Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? | adventure | 4.10/5 |
| 08 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure | 4.10/5 |
| 09 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne | adventure | 4.06/5 |
| 10 | Star Trek: the Kobayashi alternative | adventure | 4.04/5 |
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure | 4.23/5 |
| 02 | Gunship | vehicle simulation | 4.18/5 |
| 03 | King's Quest 3: To Heir is Human | adventure | 4.16/5 |
| 04 | Wordstar 4 | application | 4.15/5 |
| 05 | The Chessmaster 2000 | strategy | 4.15/5 |
| 06 | Leather Goddesses of Phobos | adventure | 4.14/5 |
| 07 | AutoCAD 2.5 | application | 4.14/5 |
| 08 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation | 4.14/5 |
| 09 | Karateka | action | 4.13/5 |
| 10 | Orbiter | vehicle simulation | 4.13/5 |
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure | 4.25/5 |
| 02 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure | 4.22/5 |
| 03 | Driller | action-adventure | 4.21/5 |
| 04 | Maniac Mansion | adventure | 4.18/5 |
| 05 | Test Drive | racing | 4.18/5 |
| 06 | Mah Jongg Solitaire | puzzle | 4.15/5 |
| 07 | Rockford: The Arcade Game | puzzle | 4.14/5 |
| 08 | Earl Weaver Baseball | sports | 4.13/5 |
| 09 | Borland Turbo C v1 | application | 4.12/5 |
| 10 | Falcon | vehicle simulation | 4.12/5 |
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | World Class Leader Board | sports | 4.22/5 |
| 02 | Rampage | action | 4.22/5 |
| 03 | Impossible Mission 2 | action-adventure | 4.22/5 |
| 04 | Star Wars | shooter | 4.22/5 |
| 05 | Battlehawks 1942 | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | Battle Chess | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 07 | Speedball | sports | 4.20/5 |
| 08 | Deluxe Paint 2 | application | 4.19/5 |
| 09 | Rocket Ranger | action | 4.19/5 |
| 10 | F-19 Stealth Fighter | vehicle simulation | 4.19/5 |
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Turbo Assembler (TASM) | application | 4.37/5 |
| 02 | Operation Wolf | shooter | 4.27/5 |
| 03 | Pipe Dream | puzzle | 4.25/5 |
| 04 | Rick Dangerous | action | 4.23/5 |
| 05 | Hero's Quest: So you want to be a hero | adventure | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | Alien Syndrome | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 07 | Bubble Bobble | action | 4.21/5 |
| 08 | The Duel: Test Drive 2 | racing | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | Balance of Power: The 1990 Edition | simulation | 4.19/5 |
| 10 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure | 4.19/5 |
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure | 4.33/5 |
| 02 | Ultima 6: The False Prophet | rpg | 4.23/5 |
| 03 | Ivan 'Iron Man' Stewart's Super Off Road | racing | 4.23/5 |
| 04 | Prince of Persia | action | 4.23/5 |
| 05 | Silent Service 2 | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | The Oregon Trail | simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 07 | Night Shift | puzzle | 4.21/5 |
| 08 | Commander Keen 1: Marooned on Mars | action | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | Puzznic | puzzle | 4.20/5 |
| 10 | Jetfighter 2: Advanced Tactical Fighter | vehicle simulation | 4.20/5 |
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Volfied | action | 4.31/5 |
| 02 | QBasic 7.1 | application | 4.26/5 |
| 03 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg | 4.24/5 |
| 04 | Gods | action | 4.23/5 |
| 05 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle | 4.23/5 |
| 06 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg | 4.23/5 |
| 07 | Civilization | strategy | 4.22/5 |
| 08 | Panza Kick Boxing | sports | 4.22/5 |
| 09 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure | 4.22/5 |
| 10 | Falcon 3.0 | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Grand Prix Unlimited | racing | 4.50/5 |
| 02 | Street Fighter 2 | action | 4.31/5 |
| 03 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg | 4.31/5 |
| 04 | Tetris Classic | puzzle | 4.31/5 |
| 05 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | adventure | 4.23/5 |
| 06 | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | application | 4.23/5 |
| 07 | B-17 Flying Fortress | vehicle simulation | 4.23/5 |
| 08 | WinTrek | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 09 | King's Quest 6: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow | adventure | 4.21/5 |
| 10 | F-15 Strike Eagle III | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Mortal Kombat | action | 4.26/5 |
| 02 | Populous 2: Trials of the Olympian Gods | strategy | 4.26/5 |
| 03 | Brutal Sports Football | sports | 4.23/5 |
| 04 | Space Hulk | strategy | 4.23/5 |
| 05 | SimCity 2000 | simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | The Incredible Machine | puzzle | 4.22/5 |
| 07 | Doom | shooter | 4.22/5 |
| 08 | Lotus: The ultimate challenge | racing | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | Railroad Tycoon Deluxe | simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 10 | Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk | action-adventure | 4.21/5 |
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy | 4.31/5 |
| 02 | Micro Machines | racing | 4.26/5 |
| 03 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter | 4.25/5 |
| 04 | Pinball Fantasies | action | 4.23/5 |
| 05 | The Incredible Machine 2 | puzzle | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | Blackthorne | action | 4.22/5 |
| 07 | Heretic | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 08 | Colonization | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | Little Big Adventure | action-adventure | 4.20/5 |
| 10 | Borland DBase 5 | application | 4.20/5 |
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtual Pool | sports | 4.23/5 |
| 02 | Screamer | racing | 4.22/5 |
| 03 | Comix Zone | action | 4.22/5 |
| 04 | Caesar 2 | simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 05 | Albion | rpg | 4.21/5 |
| 06 | The Need for Speed | racing | 4.21/5 |
| 07 | Transport Tycoon Deluxe | simulation | 4.20/5 |
| 08 | Ms Pac PC | action | 4.20/5 |
| 09 | Grand Prix 2 | racing | 4.20/5 |
| 10 | Whiplash | racing | 4.19/5 |
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy | 4.28/5 |
| 02 | Super Street Fighter 2 | action | 4.25/5 |
| 03 | Civilization 2 | strategy | 4.23/5 |
| 04 | Road Rash | racing | 4.23/5 |
| 05 | Quake | shooter | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | Fantasy General | strategy | 4.22/5 |
| 07 | The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall | rpg | 4.21/5 |
| 08 | Dogs of War | strategy | 4.20/5 |
| 09 | Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games | strategy | 4.19/5 |
| 10 | Birthright: The Gorgon's Alliance | strategy | 4.19/5 |
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter | 4.23/5 |
| 02 | The Last Express | adventure | 4.22/5 |
| 03 | Pacific General | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 04 | Blood | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 05 | Carmageddon | racing | 4.21/5 |
| 06 | Dilbert's Desktop Games | action | 4.20/5 |
| 07 | Interstate '76 | racing | 4.20/5 |
| 08 | Myth: The Fallen Lords | strategy | 4.19/5 |
| 09 | Age of Empires | strategy | 4.18/5 |
| 10 | Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror | adventure | 4.18/5 |
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Caesar 3 | simulation | 4.23/5 |
| 02 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application | 4.21/5 |
| 03 | People's General | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 04 | Dune 2000 | strategy | 4.20/5 |
| 05 | Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines | strategy | 4.18/5 |
| 06 | Mega Man X3 | shooter | 4.18/5 |
| 07 | Army Men | strategy | 4.18/5 |
| 08 | Railroad Tycoon 2 | simulation | 4.17/5 |
| 09 | Dope Wars | simulation | 4.17/5 |
| 10 | Axis and Allies | strategy | 4.16/5 |
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy | 4.23/5 |
| 02 | Age of Wonders | strategy | 4.22/5 |
| 03 | Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 04 | Outcast | action-adventure | 4.21/5 |
| 05 | Jagged Alliance 2 | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 06 | Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz | strategy | 4.18/5 |
| 07 | Pharaoh | simulation | 4.18/5 |
| 08 | Three Sisters' Story | adventure | 4.18/5 |
| 09 | Midtown Madness | racing | 4.17/5 |
| 10 | Star Trek: Starfleet Command | vehicle simulation | 4.17/5 |
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation | 4.20/5 |
| 02 | Nox | rpg | 4.18/5 |
| 03 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation | 4.15/5 |
| 04 | Ground Control | strategy | 4.09/5 |
| 05 | Deus Ex | rpg | 4.09/5 |
| 06 | Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption | rpg | 4.08/5 |
| 07 | Gal Pani X | action | 4.06/5 |
| 08 | Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn | rpg | 4.06/5 |
| 09 | Unreal Gold | shooter | 4.05/5 |
| 10 | Fairy Nights | adventure | 4.04/5 |
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Empire Earth | strategy | 4.22/5 |
| 02 | Capitalism 2 | simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 03 | Anachronox | rpg | 4.17/5 |
| 04 | Zoo Tycoon | simulation | 4.16/5 |
| 05 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg | 4.15/5 |
| 06 | Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel | strategy | 4.12/5 |
| 07 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy | 4.10/5 |
| 08 | ScummVM | application | 4.09/5 |
| 09 | Independence War 2: Edge Of Chaos | vehicle simulation | 4.06/5 |
| 10 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | action-adventure | 4.03/5 |
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Bomb Jack remake | action | 4.25/5 |
| 02 | The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind | rpg | 4.19/5 |
| 03 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy | 4.17/5 |
| 04 | Chessmaster 9000 | strategy | 4.17/5 |
| 05 | Crazy Taxi | racing | 4.14/5 |
| 06 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation | 4.11/5 |
| 07 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports | 4.11/5 |
| 08 | DOSBox | application | 4.09/5 |
| 09 | Lemonade Tycoon | simulation | 4.08/5 |
| 10 | Syberia | adventure | 4.06/5 |
| # | 2003 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 3 | strategy | 4.16/5 |
| 02 | The Temple of Elemental Evil | rpg | 4.05/5 |
| 03 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos - Yugi the Destiny | strategy | 3.99/5 |
| 04 | Hulk | action | 3.98/5 |
| 05 | Van Buren (Fallout 3) | rpg | 3.90/5 |
| 06 | Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader | rpg | 3.87/5 |
| 07 | 1893: A World's Fair Mystery | adventure | 3.83/5 |
| 08 | Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound | rpg | 3.80/5 |
| 09 | Babylon 5: I've Found Her | vehicle simulation | 3.76/5 |
| 10 | ResidualVM | application | 3.52/5 |
| # | 2004 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ghosts 'n Goblins remake | action | 4.05/5 |
| 02 | Dark Horizons Lore: Invasion | vehicle simulation | 4.03/5 |
| 03 | UFO 2000 | strategy | 4.00/5 |
| 04 | Spider-Man 2: The Game | action-adventure | 3.99/5 |
| 05 | Maniac Mansion Deluxe | adventure | 3.95/5 |
| 06 | Blues Brothers RPG | rpg | 3.77/5 |
| 07 | Pyjamarama | action | 3.65/5 |
| 08 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos - Joey the Passion | strategy | 3.64/5 |
| 09 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos - Kaiba the Revenge | strategy | 3.36/5 |