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 | 3.94/5 |
| 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 | 4.09/5 |
| 03 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports | 4.02/5 |
| 04 | Paratrooper | shooter | 3.91/5 |
| 05 | Wizardry 2: The knight of diamonds | rpg | 3.90/5 |
| 06 | Executive Suite | simulation | 3.89/5 |
| 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 | Defender | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 04 | Battlezone | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 05 | Planetfall | adventure | 4.14/5 |
| 06 | Digger | action | 4.13/5 |
| 07 | Frogger | action | 4.13/5 |
| 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 | 4.27/5 |
| 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 | 4.17/5 |
| 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 | 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 | 4.23/5 |
| 02 | Orbiter | vehicle simulation | 4.19/5 |
| 03 | Gunship | vehicle simulation | 4.18/5 |
| 04 | Leather Goddesses of Phobos | adventure | 4.16/5 |
| 05 | King's Quest 3: To Heir is Human | adventure | 4.16/5 |
| 06 | Wordstar 4 | application | 4.15/5 |
| 07 | The Chessmaster 2000 | strategy | 4.15/5 |
| 08 | AutoCAD 2.5 | application | 4.14/5 |
| 09 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation | 4.14/5 |
| 10 | Karateka | action | 4.13/5 |
| # | 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 | 4.19/5 |
| 05 | Test Drive | racing | 4.18/5 |
| 06 | Maniac Mansion | adventure | 4.16/5 |
| 07 | Mah Jongg Solitaire | puzzle | 4.15/5 |
| 08 | The Guild of Thieves | adventure | 4.14/5 |
| 09 | Rockford: The Arcade Game | puzzle | 4.14/5 |
| 10 | Elite | vehicle simulation | 4.14/5 |
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | World Class Leader Board | sports | 4.22/5 |
| 02 | Rampage | action | 4.22/5 |
| 03 | Battlehawks 1942 | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 04 | Lombard RAC Rally | racing | 4.21/5 |
| 05 | Battle Chess | strategy | 4.20/5 |
| 06 | Speedball | sports | 4.20/5 |
| 07 | Deluxe Paint 2 | application | 4.19/5 |
| 08 | Rocket Ranger | action | 4.19/5 |
| 09 | Skate or Die | sports | 4.18/5 |
| 10 | Classic Concentration | puzzle | 4.18/5 |
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Turbo Assembler (TASM) | application | 4.37/5 |
| 02 | Operation Wolf | shooter | 4.26/5 |
| 03 | Pipe Dream | puzzle | 4.25/5 |
| 04 | Hero's Quest: So you want to be a hero | adventure | 4.22/5 |
| 05 | A-10 Tank Killer | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 06 | Alien Syndrome | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 07 | The Duel: Test Drive 2 | racing | 4.20/5 |
| 08 | Balance of Power: The 1990 Edition | simulation | 4.20/5 |
| 09 | Bubble Bobble | action | 4.20/5 |
| 10 | Rick Dangerous | action | 4.19/5 |
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure | 4.31/5 |
| 02 | Ivan 'Iron Man' Stewart's Super Off Road | racing | 4.24/5 |
| 03 | Prince of Persia | action | 4.22/5 |
| 04 | Silent Service 2 | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 05 | Ultima 6: The False Prophet | rpg | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | Red Baron | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 07 | Commander Keen 1: Marooned on Mars | action | 4.22/5 |
| 08 | Night Shift | puzzle | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | The Oregon Trail | simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 10 | Das Boot: German U-Boat Simulation | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Volfied | action | 4.30/5 |
| 02 | QBasic 7.1 | application | 4.26/5 |
| 03 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg | 4.24/5 |
| 04 | Chuck Yeager's Air Combat | vehicle simulation | 4.23/5 |
| 05 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg | 4.22/5 |
| 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 | Gods | action | 4.22/5 |
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Street Fighter 2 | action | 4.31/5 |
| 02 | Tetris Classic | puzzle | 4.31/5 |
| 03 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg | 4.31/5 |
| 04 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | adventure | 4.23/5 |
| 05 | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | application | 4.23/5 |
| 06 | Heroes of the 357th | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 07 | WinTrek | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 08 | B-17 Flying Fortress | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 09 | King's Quest 6: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow | adventure | 4.21/5 |
| 10 | Mega lo Mania | strategy | 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 | The Incredible Machine | puzzle | 4.23/5 |
| 05 | Space Hulk | strategy | 4.23/5 |
| 06 | SimCity 2000 | simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 07 | Doom | shooter | 4.22/5 |
| 08 | Buzz Aldrin's Race into Space | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 09 | Lotus: The ultimate challenge | racing | 4.21/5 |
| 10 | Railroad Tycoon Deluxe | simulation | 4.21/5 |
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy | 4.30/5 |
| 02 | Micro Machines | racing | 4.27/5 |
| 03 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter | 4.25/5 |
| 04 | The Incredible Machine 2 | puzzle | 4.24/5 |
| 05 | Fleet Defender | vehicle simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | Heretic | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 07 | Colonization | strategy | 4.21/5 |
| 08 | Little Big Adventure | action-adventure | 4.20/5 |
| 09 | Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf | shooter | 4.20/5 |
| 10 | Pinball Fantasies | action | 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 | Transport Tycoon Deluxe | simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 05 | Caesar 2 | simulation | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | The Need for Speed | racing | 4.21/5 |
| 07 | Apache Longbow | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 08 | Ms Pac PC | action | 4.20/5 |
| 09 | Albion | rpg | 4.20/5 |
| 10 | Ka-50 Hokum | vehicle simulation | 4.20/5 |
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy | 4.28/5 |
| 02 | Super Street Fighter 2 | action | 4.23/5 |
| 03 | Civilization 2 | strategy | 4.23/5 |
| 04 | Road Rash | racing | 4.22/5 |
| 05 | Fantasy General | strategy | 4.22/5 |
| 06 | Quake | shooter | 4.22/5 |
| 07 | Jane's Combat Simulations: Advanced Tactical Fighters | vehicle simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 08 | F-22 Lightning 2 | vehicle simulation | 4.20/5 |
| 09 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy | 4.20/5 |
| 10 | Dogs of War | strategy | 4.20/5 |
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter | 4.23/5 |
| 02 | Blood | shooter | 4.21/5 |
| 03 | Carmageddon | racing | 4.20/5 |
| 04 | Interstate '76 | racing | 4.20/5 |
| 05 | Age of Empires | strategy | 4.19/5 |
| 06 | Dilbert's Desktop Games | action | 4.18/5 |
| 07 | Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror | adventure | 4.18/5 |
| 08 | Warlords 3: Reign of Heroes | strategy | 4.17/5 |
| 09 | Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II | shooter | 4.17/5 |
| 10 | Pacific General | strategy | 4.17/5 |
| # | 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 | 4.19/5 |
| 06 | Thief: The Dark Project | action-adventure | 4.18/5 |
| 07 | Railroad Tycoon 2 | simulation | 4.17/5 |
| 08 | Army Men | strategy | 4.17/5 |
| 09 | Dope Wars | simulation | 4.16/5 |
| 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 | Star Trek: Starfleet Command | vehicle simulation | 4.20/5 |
| 06 | Jagged Alliance 2 | strategy | 4.19/5 |
| 07 | Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz | strategy | 4.18/5 |
| 08 | Pharaoh | simulation | 4.18/5 |
| 09 | Midtown Madness | racing | 4.17/5 |
| 10 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter | 4.17/5 |
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation | 4.21/5 |
| 02 | Nox | rpg | 4.19/5 |
| 03 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation | 4.11/5 |
| 04 | Deus Ex | rpg | 4.09/5 |
| 05 | Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption | rpg | 4.08/5 |
| 06 | Gal Pani X | action | 4.06/5 |
| 07 | Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn | rpg | 4.06/5 |
| 08 | Unreal Gold | shooter | 4.05/5 |
| 09 | Ground Control | strategy | 4.04/5 |
| 10 | Fairy Nights | adventure | 4.04/5 |
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Empire Earth | strategy | 4.22/5 |
| 02 | Capitalism 2 | simulation | 4.18/5 |
| 03 | Anachronox | rpg | 4.17/5 |
| 04 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg | 4.15/5 |
| 05 | Zoo Tycoon | simulation | 4.14/5 |
| 06 | Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel | strategy | 4.13/5 |
| 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 | 4.05/5 |
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Bomb Jack remake | action | 4.19/5 |
| 02 | The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind | rpg | 4.19/5 |
| 03 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy | 4.16/5 |
| 04 | Crazy Taxi | racing | 4.14/5 |
| 05 | Chessmaster 9000 | strategy | 4.13/5 |
| 06 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation | 4.11/5 |
| 07 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports | 4.11/5 |
| 08 | DOSBox | application | 4.08/5 |
| 09 | Syberia | adventure | 4.06/5 |
| 10 | Port Royale | simulation | 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 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos - Yugi the Destiny | strategy | 3.95/5 |
| 04 | Van Buren (Fallout 3) | rpg | 3.90/5 |
| 05 | Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader | rpg | 3.87/5 |
| 06 | Hulk | action | 3.82/5 |
| 07 | Babylon 5: I've Found Her | vehicle simulation | 3.81/5 |
| 08 | Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound | rpg | 3.80/5 |
| 09 | 1893: A World's Fair Mystery | adventure | 3.72/5 |
| 10 | ResidualVM | application | 3.52/5 |
| # | 2004 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ghosts 'n Goblins remake | action | 4.04/5 |
| 02 | Dark Horizons Lore: Invasion | vehicle simulation | 4.03/5 |
| 03 | Maniac Mansion Deluxe | adventure | 4.00/5 |
| 04 | UFO 2000 | strategy | 4.00/5 |
| 05 | Spider-Man 2: The Game | action-adventure | 3.92/5 |
| 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 | 3.61/5 |
| 09 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos - Kaiba the Revenge | strategy | 3.15/5 |