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 | 4.00/5 |
| 03 | Softporn Adventure | adventure | 3.98/5 |
| 04 | Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord | rpg | 3.92/5 |
| 05 | Chess | strategy | 3.88/5 |
| 06 | Akalabeth: World of Doom | rpg | 3.63/5 |
| 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 | 4.08/5 |
| 03 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports | 4.02/5 |
| 04 | Executive Suite | simulation | 3.91/5 |
| 05 | Paratrooper | shooter | 3.91/5 |
| 06 | Wizardry 2: The knight of diamonds | rpg | 3.90/5 |
| 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 | Defender | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 02 | Lode Runner | action | 4.21/5 |
| 03 | Battlezone | shooter | 4.17/5 |
| 04 | Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz | adventure | 4.13/5 |
| 05 | Digger | action | 4.13/5 |
| 06 | Frogger | action | 4.13/5 |
| 07 | Planetfall | adventure | 4.12/5 |
| 08 | J-Bird | action | 4.10/5 |
| 09 | Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | simulation | 4.08/5 |
| 10 | Pango | action | 4.05/5 |
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action | 4.24/5 |
| 02 | Montezuma's Revenge | action | 4.21/5 |
| 03 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure | 4.18/5 |
| 04 | Archon: the Light and the Dark | strategy | 4.18/5 |
| 05 | Rogue | rpg | 4.17/5 |
| 06 | King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown | adventure | 4.15/5 |
| 07 | Soko-Ban | puzzle | 4.14/5 |
| 08 | Crime and Punishment | simulation | 4.12/5 |
| 09 | DND | rpg | 4.09/5 |
| 10 | dBASE III | application | 4.08/5 |
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ultima 3: Exodus | rpg | 4.15/5 |
| 02 | A Mind Forever Voyaging | adventure | 4.14/5 |
| 03 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg | 4.11/5 |
| 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 | 4.21/5 |
| 02 | Leather Goddesses of Phobos | adventure | 4.18/5 |
| 03 | Gunship | vehicle simulation | 4.18/5 |
| 04 | Orbiter | vehicle simulation | 4.17/5 |
| 05 | King's Quest 3: To Heir is Human | adventure | 4.16/5 |
| 06 | Wordstar 4 | application | 4.15/5 |
| 07 | Karateka | action | 4.15/5 |
| 08 | Conflict in Vietnam | strategy | 4.14/5 |
| 09 | AutoCAD 2.5 | application | 4.14/5 |
| 10 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation | 4.14/5 |
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure | 4.25/5 |
| 02 | Driller | action-adventure | 4.21/5 |
| 03 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure | 4.20/5 |
| 04 | Falcon | vehicle simulation | 4.18/5 |
| 05 | Test Drive | racing | 4.18/5 |
| 06 | Rockford: The Arcade Game | puzzle | 4.16/5 |
| 07 | Maniac Mansion | adventure | 4.16/5 |
| 08 | Mah Jongg Solitaire | puzzle | 4.15/5 |
| 09 | The Guild of Thieves | adventure | 4.14/5 |
| 10 | Elite | vehicle simulation | 4.14/5 |
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Rampage | action | 4.22/5 |
| 02 | Battlehawks 1942 | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 03 | Battle Chess | strategy | 4.20/5 |
| 04 | Speedball | sports | 4.20/5 |
| 05 | Rocket Ranger | action | 4.19/5 |
| 06 | Skate or Die | sports | 4.18/5 |
| 07 | Classic Concentration | puzzle | 4.18/5 |
| 08 | Falcon AT | vehicle simulation | 4.18/5 |
| 09 | Impossible Mission 2 | action-adventure | 4.17/5 |
| 10 | Deluxe Paint 2 | application | 4.17/5 |
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Turbo Assembler (TASM) | application | 4.39/5 |
| 02 | Pipe Dream | puzzle | 4.25/5 |
| 03 | Hero's Quest: So You Want to Be a Hero | adventure | 4.21/5 |
| 04 | A-10 Tank Killer | vehicle simulation | 4.20/5 |
| 05 | Operation Wolf | shooter | 4.20/5 |
| 06 | Bubble Bobble | action | 4.20/5 |
| 07 | Their Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain | vehicle simulation | 4.19/5 |
| 08 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure | 4.19/5 |
| 09 | Conflict: Europe | strategy | 4.19/5 |
| 10 | Starflight 2: Trade routes of the Cloud Nebula | rpg | 4.18/5 |
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure | 4.31/5 |
| 02 | Prince of Persia | action | 4.22/5 |
| 03 | Night Shift | puzzle | 4.21/5 |
| 04 | Ultima 6: The False Prophet | rpg | 4.21/5 |
| 05 | Red Baron | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 06 | Puzznic | puzzle | 4.20/5 |
| 07 | Das Boot: German U-Boat Simulation | vehicle simulation | 4.20/5 |
| 08 | Team Yankee | vehicle simulation | 4.20/5 |
| 09 | The Oregon Trail | simulation | 4.20/5 |
| 10 | SimEarth | simulation | 4.19/5 |
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Volfied | action | 4.30/5 |
| 02 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg | 4.24/5 |
| 03 | Chuck Yeager's Air Combat | vehicle simulation | 4.23/5 |
| 04 | Civilization | strategy | 4.23/5 |
| 05 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | QBasic 7.1 | application | 4.22/5 |
| 07 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure | 4.22/5 |
| 08 | Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | Gods | action | 4.21/5 |
| 10 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg | 4.21/5 |
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg | 4.31/5 |
| 02 | Tetris Classic | puzzle | 4.31/5 |
| 03 | Street Fighter 2 | action | 4.31/5 |
| 04 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | adventure | 4.25/5 |
| 05 | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | application | 4.23/5 |
| 06 | King's Quest 6: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow | adventure | 4.21/5 |
| 07 | B-17 Flying Fortress | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 08 | Mega lo Mania | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | F-15 Strike Eagle III | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 10 | Locomotion | puzzle | 4.21/5 |
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Mortal Kombat | action | 4.27/5 |
| 02 | Populous 2: Trials of the Olympian Gods | strategy | 4.24/5 |
| 03 | The Incredible Machine | puzzle | 4.23/5 |
| 04 | SimCity 2000 | simulation | 4.23/5 |
| 05 | Police Quest: Open Season | adventure | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | Doom | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 07 | Space Hulk | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 08 | Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk | action-adventure | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | Dungeon Hack | rpg | 4.21/5 |
| 10 | Dangerous Dave: Risky Rescue | action | 4.21/5 |
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy | 4.29/5 |
| 02 | Micro Machines | racing | 4.27/5 |
| 03 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter | 4.26/5 |
| 04 | The Incredible Machine 2 | puzzle | 4.22/5 |
| 05 | Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 06 | Heretic | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 07 | Fleet Defender | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 08 | Colonization | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | Little Big Adventure | action-adventure | 4.20/5 |
| 10 | Blackthorne | action | 4.19/5 |
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Need for Speed | racing | 4.21/5 |
| 02 | Apache Longbow | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 03 | EF 2000 | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 04 | Albion | rpg | 4.20/5 |
| 05 | Comix Zone | action | 4.20/5 |
| 06 | River Raid remake | shooter | 4.20/5 |
| 07 | Virtual Pool | sports | 4.20/5 |
| 08 | Transport Tycoon Deluxe | simulation | 4.19/5 |
| 09 | Caesar 2 | simulation | 4.19/5 |
| 10 | Whiplash | racing | 4.19/5 |
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Final Doom | shooter | 4.28/5 |
| 02 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy | 4.27/5 |
| 03 | Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games | strategy | 4.22/5 |
| 04 | Quake | shooter | 4.22/5 |
| 05 | Road Rash | racing | 4.21/5 |
| 06 | Fantasy General | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 07 | Jane's Combat Simulations: Advanced Tactical Fighters | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 08 | Civilization 2 | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | F-22 Lightning 2 | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 10 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy | 4.20/5 |
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter | 4.23/5 |
| 02 | Blood | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 03 | Interstate '76 | racing | 4.19/5 |
| 04 | Pacific General | strategy | 4.19/5 |
| 05 | Carmageddon | racing | 4.19/5 |
| 06 | Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror | adventure | 4.18/5 |
| 07 | Flying Corps | vehicle simulation | 4.17/5 |
| 08 | Age of Empires | strategy | 4.17/5 |
| 09 | Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II | shooter | 4.17/5 |
| 10 | Dilbert's Desktop Games | action | 4.17/5 |
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Caesar 3 | simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 02 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application | 4.20/5 |
| 03 | Dune 2000 | strategy | 4.20/5 |
| 04 | People's General | strategy | 4.18/5 |
| 05 | Army Men 2 | strategy | 4.18/5 |
| 06 | Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines | strategy | 4.18/5 |
| 07 | Railroad Tycoon 2 | simulation | 4.17/5 |
| 08 | Dope Wars | simulation | 4.16/5 |
| 09 | Axis and Allies | strategy | 4.16/5 |
| 10 | Army Men | strategy | 4.15/5 |
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy | 4.24/5 |
| 02 | Age of Wonders | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 03 | Outcast | action-adventure | 4.21/5 |
| 04 | Star Trek: Starfleet Command | vehicle simulation | 4.20/5 |
| 05 | Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia | strategy | 4.19/5 |
| 06 | Jagged Alliance 2 | strategy | 4.19/5 |
| 07 | Pharaoh | simulation | 4.18/5 |
| 08 | Midtown Madness | racing | 4.17/5 |
| 09 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter | 4.17/5 |
| 10 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure | 4.16/5 |
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 02 | Nox | rpg | 4.18/5 |
| 03 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation | 4.13/5 |
| 04 | Deus Ex | rpg | 4.09/5 |
| 05 | Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption | rpg | 4.08/5 |
| 06 | Unreal Gold | shooter | 4.05/5 |
| 07 | Ground Control | strategy | 4.04/5 |
| 08 | The Sims | simulation | 4.03/5 |
| 09 | Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn | rpg | 4.03/5 |
| 10 | Gal Pani X | action | 4.02/5 |
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Empire Earth | strategy | 4.20/5 |
| 02 | Capitalism 2 | simulation | 4.16/5 |
| 03 | Zoo Tycoon | simulation | 4.13/5 |
| 04 | Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel | strategy | 4.13/5 |
| 05 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg | 4.13/5 |
| 06 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy | 4.10/5 |
| 07 | ScummVM | application | 4.09/5 |
| 08 | Anachronox | rpg | 4.08/5 |
| 09 | Independence War 2: Edge Of Chaos | vehicle simulation | 4.06/5 |
| 10 | Mario and Luigi | action | 3.98/5 |
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind | rpg | 4.20/5 |
| 02 | Bomb Jack remake | action | 4.14/5 |
| 03 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy | 4.13/5 |
| 04 | Crazy Taxi | racing | 4.11/5 |
| 05 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation | 4.11/5 |
| 06 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports | 4.11/5 |
| 07 | Chessmaster 9000 | strategy | 4.09/5 |
| 08 | DOSBox | application | 4.08/5 |
| 09 | Port Royale | simulation | 4.07/5 |
| 10 | Syberia | adventure | 4.04/5 |
| # | 2003 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 3 | strategy | 4.18/5 |
| 02 | The Temple of Elemental Evil | rpg | 4.05/5 |
| 03 | Van Buren (Fallout 3) | rpg | 3.90/5 |
| 04 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos - Yugi the Destiny | strategy | 3.87/5 |
| 05 | Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader | rpg | 3.87/5 |
| 06 | Babylon 5: I've Found Her | vehicle simulation | 3.81/5 |
| 07 | Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound | rpg | 3.80/5 |
| 08 | 1893: A World's Fair Mystery | adventure | 3.77/5 |
| 09 | Hulk | action | 3.73/5 |
| 10 | ResidualVM | application | 3.52/5 |
| # | 2004 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ghosts 'n Goblins remake | action | 4.04/5 |
| 02 | UFO 2000 | strategy | 4.04/5 |
| 03 | Dark Horizons Lore: Invasion | vehicle simulation | 4.03/5 |
| 04 | Maniac Mansion Deluxe | adventure | 4.00/5 |
| 05 | Spider-Man 2: The Game | action-adventure | 3.87/5 |
| 06 | Blues Brothers RPG | rpg | 3.75/5 |
| 07 | Pyjamarama | action | 3.65/5 |
| 08 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos - Joey the Passion | strategy | 3.46/5 |
| 09 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos - Kaiba the Revenge | strategy | 3.17/5 |