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 | PC-Man | action |
3.92
|
| 03 | Paratrooper | shooter |
3.91
|
| 04 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.76
|
| 05 | Deadline | adventure |
3.72
|
| 06 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.71
|
| 07 | The Battle of the Bulge: Tigers in the Snow | strategy |
3.60
|
| 08 | Astro Dodge | shooter |
3.59
|
| 09 | Adventure in Serenia | adventure |
3.59
|
| 10 | Crossfire | shooter |
3.52
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Frogger | action |
4.06
|
| 02 | Lode Runner | action |
4.06
|
| 03 | Rogue | rpg |
4.03
|
| 04 | Donkey Kong | action |
4.00
|
| 05 | Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | simulation |
4.00
|
| 06 | Digger | action |
3.98
|
| 07 | Defender | shooter |
3.96
|
| 08 | Borland Turbo Pascal 2.0 | application |
3.95
|
| 09 | Battlezone | shooter |
3.94
|
| 10 | Galaxian | shooter |
3.91
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action |
4.13
|
| 02 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.03
|
| 03 | Montezuma's Revenge | action |
4.00
|
| 04 | Archon: the Light and the Dark | strategy |
4.00
|
| 05 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
3.96
|
| 06 | DND | rpg |
3.91
|
| 07 | Zork III: The Dungeon Master | adventure |
3.85
|
| 08 | Jumpman | action |
3.81
|
| 09 | Pong v.2.1 clone | action |
3.77
|
| 10 | King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown | adventure |
3.76
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.05
|
| 02 | A mind forever voyaging | adventure |
4.05
|
| 03 | 9 Princes in Amber | adventure |
4.00
|
| 04 | Star Trek: the Kobayashi alternative | adventure |
4.00
|
| 05 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
3.98
|
| 06 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne | adventure |
3.97
|
| 07 | Hacker | simulation |
3.91
|
| 08 | The mist | adventure |
3.89
|
| 09 | Spacewar | shooter |
3.88
|
| 10 | Silent Service | vehicle simulation |
3.83
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
4.12
|
| 02 | Turbo Prolog 2.0 | application |
4.11
|
| 03 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.08
|
| 04 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation |
4.07
|
| 05 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.06
|
| 06 | Alter Ego: Male Version | simulation |
4.05
|
| 07 | The Chessmaster 2000 | strategy |
4.04
|
| 08 | The Great Escape | action-adventure |
4.00
|
| 09 | Conflict in Vietnam | strategy |
4.00
|
| 10 | James Bond 007: Goldfinger | adventure |
3.96
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.17
|
| 02 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.12
|
| 03 | Driller | action-adventure |
4.10
|
| 04 | Test Drive | racing |
4.08
|
| 05 | Sid Meier's Pirates! | strategy |
4.07
|
| 06 | Elite | vehicle simulation |
4.07
|
| 07 | Tetris | puzzle |
4.06
|
| 08 | Borland Turbo Basic 1.0 | application |
4.02
|
| 09 | The lurking horror | adventure |
3.96
|
| 10 | The Great Giana Sisters | action |
3.95
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Grand Prix Circuit | racing |
4.13
|
| 02 | Life & Death | simulation |
4.08
|
| 03 | Leisure Suit Larry 2: Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) | adventure |
4.07
|
| 04 | Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny | rpg |
4.07
|
| 05 | Batman: the Caped Crusader | action-adventure |
4.05
|
| 06 | Arkanoid | action |
4.05
|
| 07 | F-19 Stealth Fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.05
|
| 08 | Shadowgate | adventure |
4.04
|
| 09 | Alternate Reality: The City | rpg |
4.04
|
| 10 | 2400 A.D. | rpg |
4.03
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Pipe Dream | puzzle |
4.15
|
| 02 | Qix | action |
4.14
|
| 03 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.13
|
| 04 | Dungeon Master | rpg |
4.11
|
| 05 | Rick Dangerous | action |
4.11
|
| 06 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure |
4.09
|
| 07 | The Cycles | racing |
4.09
|
| 08 | Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals | adventure |
4.09
|
| 09 | Space Ace | adventure |
4.07
|
| 10 | Operation Wolf | shooter |
4.07
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.21
|
| 02 | The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate | rpg |
4.13
|
| 03 | F29 Retaliator | vehicle simulation |
4.12
|
| 04 | SimEarth | simulation |
4.09
|
| 05 | The Oregon Trail | simulation |
4.08
|
| 06 | Centurion: Defender of Rome | strategy |
4.08
|
| 07 | Loom | adventure |
4.08
|
| 08 | Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers get all the girls | adventure |
4.07
|
| 09 | Ultima 6: The False Prophet | rpg |
4.07
|
| 10 | Puzznic | puzzle |
4.07
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.15
|
| 02 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.15
|
| 03 | Volfied | action |
4.15
|
| 04 | Golden Axe | action |
4.14
|
| 05 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle |
4.14
|
| 06 | Civilization | strategy |
4.10
|
| 07 | Les Manley in: Lost in L.A. | adventure |
4.09
|
| 08 | Chuck Yeager's Air Combat | vehicle simulation |
4.09
|
| 09 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure |
4.07
|
| 10 | Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.07
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.17
|
| 02 | Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.15
|
| 03 | Gobliiins | adventure |
4.14
|
| 04 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | adventure |
4.11
|
| 05 | 1000 Miglia | racing |
4.10
|
| 06 | Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant | rpg |
4.10
|
| 07 | Dune II: The building of a dynasty | strategy |
4.09
|
| 08 | Dune | strategy |
4.09
|
| 09 | Realms of Arkania 1: Blade of destiny | rpg |
4.08
|
| 10 | KGB | adventure |
4.08
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.15
|
| 02 | Doom | shooter |
4.14
|
| 03 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.13
|
| 04 | Frontier: Elite 2 | vehicle simulation |
4.12
|
| 05 | Space Hulk | strategy |
4.11
|
| 06 | Castle of the Winds | rpg |
4.11
|
| 07 | Dungeon Hack | rpg |
4.10
|
| 08 | V for victory: Market-Garden | strategy |
4.10
|
| 09 | Wing Commander: Privateer | vehicle simulation |
4.10
|
| 10 | The Incredible Machine | puzzle |
4.10
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.22
|
| 02 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter |
4.13
|
| 03 | NASCAR Racing | racing |
4.12
|
| 04 | Warcraft: Orcs and Humans | strategy |
4.11
|
| 05 | Master of Magic | strategy |
4.11
|
| 06 | Panzer General | strategy |
4.09
|
| 07 | Colonization | strategy |
4.08
|
| 08 | One Must Fall 2097 | action |
4.08
|
| 09 | Lode Runner: The Legend Returns | action |
4.08
|
| 10 | Hocus Pocus | action |
4.08
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Hexen: Beyond Heretic | shooter |
4.15
|
| 02 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.13
|
| 03 | Caesar 2 | simulation |
4.08
|
| 04 | Frontier: First Encounters | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| 05 | FIFA Soccer 96 | sports |
4.05
|
| 06 | Star Wars: Dark Forces | shooter |
4.05
|
| 07 | Earthworm Jim | action |
4.04
|
| 08 | The Dig | adventure |
4.03
|
| 09 | High Seas Trader | simulation |
4.03
|
| 10 | Heroes of Might and Magic | strategy |
4.03
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.18
|
| 02 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.15
|
| 03 | The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall | rpg |
4.15
|
| 04 | Fantasy General | strategy |
4.10
|
| 05 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy |
4.08
|
| 06 | Duke Nukem 3D | shooter |
4.08
|
| 07 | Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games | strategy |
4.07
|
| 08 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert | strategy |
4.07
|
| 09 | Road Rash | racing |
4.07
|
| 10 | Albion | rpg |
4.06
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.14
|
| 02 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter |
4.11
|
| 03 | Virtua Cop | shooter |
4.09
|
| 04 | Dilbert's Desktop Games | action |
4.07
|
| 05 | Entrepreneur | simulation |
4.06
|
| 06 | Fallout | rpg |
4.06
|
| 07 | Slash'Em | rpg |
4.05
|
| 08 | Theme Hospital | simulation |
4.05
|
| 09 | Panzer General 2 | strategy |
4.04
|
| 10 | X-COM: Apocalypse | strategy |
4.03
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Caesar 3 | simulation |
4.13
|
| 02 | Mega Man X3 | shooter |
4.09
|
| 03 | 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy | strategy |
4.08
|
| 04 | House of the Dead | shooter |
4.08
|
| 05 | Dope Wars | simulation |
4.06
|
| 06 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.05
|
| 07 | Axis and Allies | strategy |
4.02
|
| 08 | Railroad Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.01
|
| 09 | People's General | strategy |
4.00
|
| 10 | Army Men | strategy |
4.00
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter |
4.18
|
| 02 | Roller Coaster Tycoon | simulation |
4.13
|
| 03 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.11
|
| 04 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.09
|
| 05 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure |
4.09
|
| 06 | Three Sisters' Story | adventure |
4.08
|
| 07 | Pharaoh | simulation |
4.00
|
| 08 | Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty | strategy |
3.97
|
| 09 | Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia | strategy |
3.96
|
| 10 | Outcast | action-adventure |
3.96
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
4.02
|
| 02 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.02
|
| 03 | Cultures | strategy |
4.00
|
| 04 | Icewind Dale | rpg |
4.00
|
| 05 | Ground Control | strategy |
3.92
|
| 06 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
3.74
|
| 07 | Arrakis | strategy |
3.69
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
3.99
|
| 02 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
3.93
|
| 03 | Mario and Luigi | action |
3.90
|
| 04 | Empire Earth | strategy |
3.89
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.10
|
| 02 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy |
4.00
|
| 03 | Syberia | adventure |
3.97
|
| 04 | DOSBox | application |
3.91
|
| 05 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
3.90
|
| 06 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
3.86
|
| 07 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.80
|