Best 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 | PC-Man | action |
4.20
|
| 02 | Zork I: The Great Underground Empire | adventure |
4.18
|
| 03 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.94
|
| 04 | Paratrooper | shooter |
3.90
|
| 05 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.88
|
| 06 | Wizardry 2: The knight of diamonds | rpg |
3.86
|
| 07 | Car Builder | simulation |
3.85
|
| 08 | Deadline | adventure |
3.84
|
| 09 | The Battle of the Bulge: Tigers in the Snow | strategy |
3.79
|
| 10 | BurgerTime | action |
3.78
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Lode Runner | action |
4.28
|
| 02 | Battlezone | shooter |
4.28
|
| 03 | Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | simulation |
4.24
|
| 04 | Digger | action |
4.24
|
| 05 | Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz | adventure |
4.21
|
| 06 | Defender | shooter |
4.19
|
| 07 | Planetfall | adventure |
4.14
|
| 08 | Donkey Kong | action |
4.12
|
| 09 | Frogger | action |
4.10
|
| 10 | Borland Turbo Pascal 2.0 | application |
4.08
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Montezuma's Revenge | action |
4.31
|
| 02 | Alley Cat | action |
4.29
|
| 03 | Rogue | rpg |
4.27
|
| 04 | DBase 3 | application |
4.25
|
| 05 | Crime and Punishment | simulation |
4.25
|
| 06 | King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown | adventure |
4.24
|
| 07 | GATO | vehicle simulation |
4.20
|
| 08 | Archon: the Light and the Dark | strategy |
4.16
|
| 09 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.15
|
| 10 | DND | rpg |
4.12
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alice: The Personal Pascal | application |
4.40
|
| 02 | 9 Princes in Amber | adventure |
4.21
|
| 03 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
4.17
|
| 04 | Ultima 3: Exodus | rpg |
4.15
|
| 05 | A Mind Forever Voyaging | adventure |
4.14
|
| 06 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.13
|
| 07 | Spacewar | shooter |
4.07
|
| 08 | Star Trek: the Kobayashi alternative | adventure |
4.04
|
| 09 | Monopoly | strategy |
4.00
|
| 10 | The Dam busters | vehicle simulation |
3.95
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
4.23
|
| 02 | Wordstar 4 | application |
4.21
|
| 03 | Trinity | adventure |
4.19
|
| 04 | Starflight | rpg |
4.17
|
| 05 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.16
|
| 06 | Gauntlet | action |
4.14
|
| 07 | Leather Goddesses of Phobos | adventure |
4.14
|
| 08 | Psi 5 Trading Company | vehicle simulation |
4.13
|
| 09 | Conflict in Vietnam | strategy |
4.12
|
| 10 | The Chessmaster 2000 | strategy |
4.11
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Mah Jongg Solitaire | puzzle |
4.31
|
| 02 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.31
|
| 03 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure |
4.28
|
| 04 | Earl Weaver Baseball | sports |
4.27
|
| 05 | Borland Turbo C v1 | application |
4.25
|
| 06 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.21
|
| 07 | Bad Street Brawler | action |
4.18
|
| 08 | Test Drive | racing |
4.18
|
| 09 | Driller | action-adventure |
4.18
|
| 10 | Tau Ceti | vehicle simulation |
4.15
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Deluxe Paint 2 | application |
4.36
|
| 02 | Skate or Die | sports |
4.29
|
| 03 | Impossible Mission 2 | action-adventure |
4.26
|
| 04 | MicroProse Soccer | sports |
4.25
|
| 05 | GW-BASIC 3 | application |
4.25
|
| 06 | Battle Chess | strategy |
4.23
|
| 07 | Classic Concentration | puzzle |
4.23
|
| 08 | Speedball | sports |
4.20
|
| 09 | World class leaderboard | sports |
4.20
|
| 10 | Airborne Ranger | shooter |
4.19
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Operation Wolf | shooter |
4.30
|
| 02 | The Duel: Test Drive 2 | racing |
4.29
|
| 03 | Rick Dangerous | action |
4.28
|
| 04 | Hero's Quest: So you want to be a hero | adventure |
4.28
|
| 05 | Pipe Dream | puzzle |
4.28
|
| 06 | Oil Imperium | simulation |
4.24
|
| 07 | Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs | sports |
4.22
|
| 08 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.22
|
| 09 | OutRun | racing |
4.21
|
| 10 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure |
4.21
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.32
|
| 02 | Tank Wars | strategy |
4.32
|
| 03 | Loom | adventure |
4.29
|
| 04 | Norton Editor 2 | application |
4.28
|
| 05 | Night Shift | puzzle |
4.27
|
| 06 | SimEarth | simulation |
4.25
|
| 07 | Tetris 2.0 | puzzle |
4.25
|
| 08 | Ultima 6: The False Prophet | rpg |
4.25
|
| 09 | LadyLove | action |
4.24
|
| 10 | Arj | application |
4.24
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | QBASIC | application |
4.50
|
| 02 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle |
4.32
|
| 03 | Cisco Heat | racing |
4.29
|
| 04 | DOS Navigator v 1.5 | application |
4.29
|
| 05 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure |
4.28
|
| 06 | X-Men 2: The Fall of the Mutants | action-adventure |
4.27
|
| 07 | Gods | action |
4.27
|
| 08 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.25
|
| 09 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.25
|
| 10 | Volfied | action |
4.25
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | application |
4.41
|
| 02 | Tetris Classic | puzzle |
4.35
|
| 03 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.33
|
| 04 | Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.32
|
| 05 | Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant | rpg |
4.30
|
| 06 | The Oregon Trail Deluxe | simulation |
4.29
|
| 07 | Amazon: Guardians of Eden | adventure |
4.29
|
| 08 | Ugh! | action |
4.28
|
| 09 | Spear of Destiny | shooter |
4.26
|
| 10 | Pacific Islands | vehicle simulation |
4.25
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | NeoPaint 3.2 | application |
4.53
|
| 02 | Bio Menace Episode 3: Master Cain | action |
4.30
|
| 03 | Space Hulk | strategy |
4.28
|
| 04 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.27
|
| 05 | Bio Menace Episode 2: The Hidden Lab | action |
4.27
|
| 06 | Populous 2: Trials of the Olympian Gods | strategy |
4.27
|
| 07 | Lemmings 2: The Tribes | puzzle |
4.26
|
| 08 | Lotus: The ultimate challenge | racing |
4.25
|
| 09 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.25
|
| 10 | Dungeon Hack | rpg |
4.25
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.31
|
| 02 | Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf | shooter |
4.29
|
| 03 | Heretic | shooter |
4.29
|
| 04 | Super Mariio Bros | action |
4.29
|
| 05 | Colonization | strategy |
4.29
|
| 06 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter |
4.28
|
| 07 | Disney's Aladdin | action |
4.28
|
| 08 | Diggers | puzzle |
4.28
|
| 09 | The Incredible Machine 2 | puzzle |
4.27
|
| 10 | Cannon Fodder | strategy |
4.26
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Queen of Tenshindo 95 | strategy |
4.29
|
| 02 | Whiplash | racing |
4.27
|
| 03 | Screamer | racing |
4.27
|
| 04 | Jungle Strike | shooter |
4.27
|
| 05 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.27
|
| 06 | Virtual Pool | sports |
4.26
|
| 07 | Transport Tycoon Deluxe | simulation |
4.26
|
| 08 | Witchaven | shooter |
4.26
|
| 09 | Star Wars: Dark Forces | shooter |
4.25
|
| 10 | Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons | simulation |
4.25
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.31
|
| 02 | The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall | rpg |
4.30
|
| 03 | X-Tetris | puzzle |
4.29
|
| 04 | Super Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.29
|
| 05 | Quake | shooter |
4.29
|
| 06 | Road Rash | racing |
4.29
|
| 07 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.28
|
| 08 | Dogs of War | strategy |
4.26
|
| 09 | F-22 Lightning 2 | vehicle simulation |
4.26
|
| 10 | Alien Trilogy | shooter |
4.26
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Warlords 3: Reign of Heroes | strategy |
4.30
|
| 02 | Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror | adventure |
4.26
|
| 03 | Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II | shooter |
4.25
|
| 04 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter |
4.25
|
| 05 | Carmageddon | racing |
4.24
|
| 06 | Warheads | strategy |
4.24
|
| 07 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.24
|
| 08 | Blood | shooter |
4.22
|
| 09 | Magic: The Gathering | strategy |
4.21
|
| 10 | Blade Runner | adventure |
4.21
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Caesar 3 | simulation |
4.27
|
| 02 | People's General | strategy |
4.27
|
| 03 | Army Men | strategy |
4.25
|
| 04 | Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines | strategy |
4.24
|
| 05 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.23
|
| 06 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.23
|
| 07 | Mega Man X3 | shooter |
4.21
|
| 08 | 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy | strategy |
4.19
|
| 09 | Populous: The Beginning | strategy |
4.19
|
| 10 | Railroad Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.17
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Jagged Alliance 2 | strategy |
4.28
|
| 02 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.28
|
| 03 | Mick's Strip Poker | strategy |
4.27
|
| 04 | Might and Magic 7: For Blood and Honor | rpg |
4.27
|
| 05 | Outcast | action-adventure |
4.27
|
| 06 | Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz | strategy |
4.26
|
| 07 | Midtown Madness | racing |
4.25
|
| 08 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.23
|
| 09 | Pharaoh | simulation |
4.22
|
| 10 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure |
4.21
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Dark Reign 2 | strategy |
4.27
|
| 02 | Nox | rpg |
4.25
|
| 03 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
4.24
|
| 04 | Deus Ex | rpg |
4.15
|
| 05 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.12
|
| 06 | Gal Pani X | action |
4.11
|
| 07 | Ground Control | strategy |
4.08
|
| 08 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
4.05
|
| 09 | Fairy Nights | adventure |
4.00
|
| 10 | Cultures | strategy |
3.96
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | ScummVM | application |
4.31
|
| 02 | Empire Earth | strategy |
4.28
|
| 03 | Capitalism 2 | simulation |
4.26
|
| 04 | Zoo Tycoon | simulation |
4.23
|
| 05 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
4.19
|
| 06 | Anachronox | rpg |
4.11
|
| 07 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
4.07
|
| 08 | Mario and Luigi | action |
4.06
|
| 09 | Independence War 2: Edge Of Chaos | vehicle simulation |
4.04
|
| 10 | Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel | strategy |
4.00
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy |
4.21
|
| 02 | Crazy Taxi | racing |
4.21
|
| 03 | DOSBox | application |
4.19
|
| 04 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.17
|
| 05 | Chessmaster 9000 | strategy |
4.16
|
| 06 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
4.10
|
| 07 | Syberia | adventure |
4.03
|
| 08 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
4.00
|
| 09 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.81
|
| 10 | X-COM: Alliance | shooter |
3.78
|