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 | 4.00/5 |
| 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 | 4.12/5 |
| 03 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports | 4.02/5 |
| 04 | Paratrooper | shooter | 3.98/5 |
| 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 | 4.25/5 |
| 02 | Battlezone | shooter | 4.23/5 |
| 03 | Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz | adventure | 4.22/5 |
| 04 | Defender | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 05 | Planetfall | adventure | 4.16/5 |
| 06 | Digger | action | 4.16/5 |
| 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 | Archon: the Light and the Dark | strategy | 4.18/5 |
| 05 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure | 4.17/5 |
| 06 | Rogue | rpg | 4.16/5 |
| 07 | dBASE III | application | 4.15/5 |
| 08 | Soko-Ban | puzzle | 4.15/5 |
| 09 | Crime and Punishment | simulation | 4.12/5 |
| 10 | DND | rpg | 4.09/5 |
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? | adventure | 4.21/5 |
| 02 | A Mind Forever Voyaging | adventure | 4.14/5 |
| 03 | Ultima 3: Exodus | rpg | 4.14/5 |
| 04 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg | 4.13/5 |
| 05 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure | 4.11/5 |
| 06 | Alice: The Personal Pascal | application | 4.11/5 |
| 07 | Silent Service | vehicle simulation | 4.11/5 |
| 08 | 9 Princes in Amber | 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 | AutoCAD 2.5 | application | 4.15/5 |
| 05 | Wordstar 4 | application | 4.15/5 |
| 06 | The Chessmaster 2000 | strategy | 4.15/5 |
| 07 | Leather Goddesses of Phobos | adventure | 4.14/5 |
| 08 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation | 4.14/5 |
| 09 | Conflict in Vietnam | strategy | 4.12/5 |
| 10 | Starflight | rpg | 4.12/5 |
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure | 4.26/5 |
| 02 | Driller | action-adventure | 4.21/5 |
| 03 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | 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 | Borland Turbo C v1 | application | 4.15/5 |
| 08 | Falcon | vehicle simulation | 4.15/5 |
| 09 | Rockford: The Arcade Game | puzzle | 4.14/5 |
| 10 | Elite | vehicle simulation | 4.11/5 |
| # | 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 | Battlehawks 1942 | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 05 | Battle Chess | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 06 | Airborne Ranger | shooter | 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 | Star Wars | shooter | 4.19/5 |
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Turbo Assembler (TASM) | application | 4.36/5 |
| 02 | Operation Wolf | shooter | 4.27/5 |
| 03 | Pipe Dream | puzzle | 4.26/5 |
| 04 | Carrier command | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 05 | Hero's Quest: So you want to be a hero | adventure | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | The Duel: Test Drive 2 | racing | 4.22/5 |
| 07 | Rick Dangerous | action | 4.22/5 |
| 08 | Alien Syndrome | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | A-10 Tank Killer | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 10 | Bubble Bobble | action | 4.21/5 |
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure | 4.32/5 |
| 02 | Ultima 6: The False Prophet | rpg | 4.23/5 |
| 03 | Ivan 'Iron Man' Stewart's Super Off Road | racing | 4.23/5 |
| 04 | Red Baron | vehicle simulation | 4.23/5 |
| 05 | Prince of Persia | action | 4.23/5 |
| 06 | Silent Service 2 | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 07 | The Oregon Trail | simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 08 | Night Shift | puzzle | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | Tetris 2.0 | puzzle | 4.21/5 |
| 10 | Commander Keen 1: Marooned on Mars | action | 4.21/5 |
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Volfied | action | 4.31/5 |
| 02 | QBASIC | application | 4.28/5 |
| 03 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle | 4.25/5 |
| 04 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg | 4.24/5 |
| 05 | Chuck Yeager's Air Combat | vehicle simulation | 4.23/5 |
| 06 | Gods | action | 4.23/5 |
| 07 | L'Empereur | strategy | 4.23/5 |
| 08 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg | 4.23/5 |
| 09 | The Blues Brothers | action | 4.23/5 |
| 10 | Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter | vehicle simulation | 4.23/5 |
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Street Fighter 2 | action | 4.31/5 |
| 02 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg | 4.31/5 |
| 03 | Tetris Classic | puzzle | 4.31/5 |
| 04 | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | application | 4.29/5 |
| 05 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | adventure | 4.23/5 |
| 06 | B-17 Flying Fortress | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 07 | Dune II: The building of a dynasty | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 08 | King's Quest 6: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow | adventure | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | Car and Driver | racing | 4.21/5 |
| 10 | Aces of the Pacific | 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 | Dungeon Hack | rpg | 4.23/5 |
| 04 | Brutal Sports Football | sports | 4.23/5 |
| 05 | Space Hulk | strategy | 4.23/5 |
| 06 | The Incredible Machine | puzzle | 4.22/5 |
| 07 | Doom | shooter | 4.22/5 |
| 08 | SimCity 2000 | simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 09 | Strike Commander | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 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 | Borland DBase 5 | application | 4.22/5 |
| 08 | Heretic | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | Colonization | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 10 | Little Big Adventure | action-adventure | 4.20/5 |
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Transport Tycoon Deluxe | simulation | 4.26/5 |
| 02 | Virtual Pool | sports | 4.23/5 |
| 03 | Screamer | racing | 4.22/5 |
| 04 | The Need for Speed | racing | 4.22/5 |
| 05 | Caesar 2 | simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | Grand Prix 2 | racing | 4.22/5 |
| 07 | Albion | rpg | 4.22/5 |
| 08 | Disney's The Jungle Book | action | 4.22/5 |
| 09 | Comix Zone | action | 4.21/5 |
| 10 | Ms Pac PC | action | 4.20/5 |
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy | 4.28/5 |
| 02 | NeoPaint 3.2 | application | 4.26/5 |
| 03 | Super Street Fighter 2 | action | 4.25/5 |
| 04 | Civilization 2 | strategy | 4.23/5 |
| 05 | Road Rash | racing | 4.23/5 |
| 06 | Jane's Combat Simulations: Advanced Tactical Fighters | vehicle simulation | 4.23/5 |
| 07 | Quake | shooter | 4.22/5 |
| 08 | F-22 Lightning 2 | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 09 | Fantasy General | strategy | 4.22/5 |
| 10 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy | 4.22/5 |
| # | 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 | Carmageddon | racing | 4.21/5 |
| 05 | Blood | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 06 | Dilbert's Desktop Games | action | 4.20/5 |
| 07 | Interstate '76 | racing | 4.20/5 |
| 08 | Flying Corps | vehicle simulation | 4.19/5 |
| 09 | Age of Empires | strategy | 4.19/5 |
| 10 | Myth: The Fallen Lords | strategy | 4.19/5 |
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Caesar 3 | simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 02 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application | 4.21/5 |
| 03 | Dune 2000 | strategy | 4.20/5 |
| 04 | People's General | strategy | 4.19/5 |
| 05 | Army Men | strategy | 4.19/5 |
| 06 | Mega Man X3 | shooter | 4.18/5 |
| 07 | Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines | 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 | 4.24/5 |
| 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 | Three Sisters' Story | adventure | 4.18/5 |
| 07 | Pharaoh | simulation | 4.18/5 |
| 08 | Midtown Madness | racing | 4.18/5 |
| 09 | Roller Coaster Tycoon | simulation | 4.18/5 |
| 10 | Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz | strategy | 4.17/5 |
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation | 4.20/5 |
| 02 | Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption | rpg | 4.20/5 |
| 03 | Nox | rpg | 4.18/5 |
| 04 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation | 4.15/5 |
| 05 | Unreal Gold | shooter | 4.14/5 |
| 06 | Deus Ex | rpg | 4.09/5 |
| 07 | The Sims | simulation | 4.08/5 |
| 08 | Ground Control | strategy | 4.07/5 |
| 09 | Gal Pani X | action | 4.06/5 |
| 10 | Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn | rpg | 4.06/5 |
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Capitalism 2 | simulation | 4.23/5 |
| 02 | Empire Earth | strategy | 4.22/5 |
| 03 | Anachronox | rpg | 4.17/5 |
| 04 | Zoo Tycoon | simulation | 4.16/5 |
| 05 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg | 4.16/5 |
| 06 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | action-adventure | 4.14/5 |
| 07 | Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel | strategy | 4.12/5 |
| 08 | ScummVM | application | 4.11/5 |
| 09 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy | 4.10/5 |
| 10 | Independence War 2: Edge Of Chaos | vehicle simulation | 4.06/5 |
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind | rpg | 4.19/5 |
| 02 | Crazy Taxi | racing | 4.17/5 |
| 03 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy | 4.17/5 |
| 04 | Chessmaster 9000 | strategy | 4.16/5 |
| 05 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports | 4.11/5 |
| 06 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation | 4.11/5 |
| 07 | DOSBox | application | 4.09/5 |
| 08 | Syberia | adventure | 4.06/5 |
| 09 | Lemonade Tycoon | simulation | 4.04/5 |
| 10 | Port Royale | simulation | 4.00/5 |
| # | 2003 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 3 | strategy | 4.16/5 |
| 02 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos - Yugi the Destiny | strategy | 4.08/5 |
| 03 | Hulk | action | 4.05/5 |
| 04 | The Temple of Elemental Evil | rpg | 4.05/5 |
| 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 | Spider-Man 2: The Game | action-adventure | 4.07/5 |
| 02 | Dark Horizons Lore: Invasion | vehicle simulation | 4.06/5 |
| 03 | UFO 2000 | strategy | 4.00/5 |
| 04 | Ghosts 'n Goblins remake | action | 4.00/5 |
| 05 | Maniac Mansion Deluxe | adventure | 3.95/5 |
| 06 | Blues Brothers RPG | rpg | 3.77/5 |
| 07 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos - Joey the Passion | strategy | 3.73/5 |
| 08 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos - Kaiba the Revenge | strategy | 3.43/5 |