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.
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| # | 1982 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zork I: The Great Underground Empire | adventure |
4.12
|
| 02 | PC-Man | action |
4.11
|
| 03 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.92
|
| 04 | Paratrooper | shooter |
3.85
|
| 05 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.85
|
| 06 | Deadline | adventure |
3.76
|
| 07 | The Battle of the Bulge: Tigers in the Snow | strategy |
3.71
|
| 08 | Wizardry 2: The knight of diamonds | rpg |
3.71
|
| 09 | Adventure in Serenia | adventure |
3.65
|
| 10 | Pac-girl | action |
3.64
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Battlezone | shooter |
4.25
|
| 02 | Digger | action |
4.23
|
| 03 | Lode Runner | action |
4.16
|
| 04 | Defender | shooter |
4.13
|
| 05 | Borland Turbo Pascal 2.0 | application |
4.12
|
| 06 | Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz | adventure |
4.12
|
| 07 | Donkey Kong | action |
4.10
|
| 08 | Frogger | action |
4.09
|
| 09 | Planetfall | adventure |
4.08
|
| 10 | Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | simulation |
4.04
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action |
4.31
|
| 02 | Montezuma's Revenge | action |
4.13
|
| 03 | Rogue | rpg |
4.13
|
| 04 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.13
|
| 05 | King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown | adventure |
4.12
|
| 06 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
4.11
|
| 07 | DBase 3 | application |
4.05
|
| 08 | DND | rpg |
4.04
|
| 09 | Archon: the Light and the Dark | strategy |
4.03
|
| 10 | Xonix | action |
4.00
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alice: The Personal Pascal | application |
4.35
|
| 02 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
4.19
|
| 03 | 9 Princes in Amber | adventure |
4.18
|
| 04 | A mind forever voyaging | adventure |
4.14
|
| 05 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.12
|
| 06 | The mist | adventure |
4.03
|
| 07 | Spacewar | shooter |
4.03
|
| 08 | Ultima 3: Exodus | rpg |
4.02
|
| 09 | Star Trek: the Kobayashi alternative | adventure |
4.00
|
| 10 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne | adventure |
4.00
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
4.25
|
| 02 | The Chessmaster 2000 | strategy |
4.23
|
| 03 | Wordstar 4 | application |
4.16
|
| 04 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.13
|
| 05 | Starflight | rpg |
4.13
|
| 06 | Conflict in Vietnam | strategy |
4.11
|
| 07 | Turbo Prolog 2.0 | application |
4.10
|
| 08 | Alter Ego: Male Version | simulation |
4.10
|
| 09 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation |
4.08
|
| 10 | Leather Goddesses of Phobos | adventure |
4.07
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Borland Turbo C v1 | application |
4.42
|
| 02 | Bad Street Brawler | action |
4.25
|
| 03 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.23
|
| 04 | Earl Weaver Baseball | sports |
4.22
|
| 05 | Borland Turbo Basic 1.0 | application |
4.20
|
| 06 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure |
4.18
|
| 07 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.18
|
| 08 | Driller | action-adventure |
4.17
|
| 09 | Test Drive | racing |
4.12
|
| 10 | Elite | vehicle simulation |
4.09
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Deluxe Paint 2 | application |
4.35
|
| 02 | GW-BASIC 3 | application |
4.28
|
| 03 | Skate or Die | sports |
4.26
|
| 04 | Impossible Mission 2 | action-adventure |
4.24
|
| 05 | Battle Chess | strategy |
4.22
|
| 06 | Super Hang-On | racing |
4.18
|
| 07 | Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny | rpg |
4.18
|
| 08 | World class leaderboard | sports |
4.18
|
| 09 | Corruption | adventure |
4.17
|
| 10 | Shadowgate | adventure |
4.15
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Duel: Test Drive 2 | racing |
4.28
|
| 02 | Pipe Dream | puzzle |
4.27
|
| 03 | Rick Dangerous | action |
4.25
|
| 04 | Operation Wolf | shooter |
4.23
|
| 05 | Heavy Metal | vehicle simulation |
4.23
|
| 06 | Hero's Quest: So you want to be a hero | adventure |
4.21
|
| 07 | Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur | adventure |
4.21
|
| 08 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.20
|
| 09 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure |
4.17
|
| 10 | Oil Imperium | simulation |
4.16
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.28
|
| 02 | Norton Editor 2 | application |
4.26
|
| 03 | Tetris 2.0 | puzzle |
4.25
|
| 04 | Arj | application |
4.23
|
| 05 | The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate | rpg |
4.23
|
| 06 | SimEarth | simulation |
4.22
|
| 07 | Prince of Persia | action |
4.21
|
| 08 | Mario Bros VGA | action |
4.21
|
| 09 | F29 Retaliator | vehicle simulation |
4.20
|
| 10 | Loom | adventure |
4.20
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | QBASIC | application |
4.52
|
| 02 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle |
4.28
|
| 03 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure |
4.27
|
| 04 | Commander Keen 6: Aliens Ate my Baby Sitter! | action |
4.25
|
| 05 | Pools of Darkness | rpg |
4.25
|
| 06 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.25
|
| 07 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.25
|
| 08 | Golden Axe | action |
4.24
|
| 09 | Gods | action |
4.23
|
| 10 | Duke Nukem | action |
4.22
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Tetris Classic | puzzle |
4.38
|
| 02 | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | application |
4.36
|
| 03 | Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.33
|
| 04 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.29
|
| 05 | The Oregon Trail Deluxe | simulation |
4.26
|
| 06 | Dark Seed | adventure |
4.23
|
| 07 | Star Control 2 | strategy |
4.20
|
| 08 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | adventure |
4.20
|
| 09 | Crazy Cars 3 | racing |
4.20
|
| 10 | Minesweeper | puzzle |
4.20
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.26
|
| 02 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.24
|
| 03 | 3D Studio 3 | application |
4.24
|
| 04 | Tom and Jerry | action |
4.23
|
| 05 | EcoQuest 2: Lost Secret of the Rainforest | adventure |
4.22
|
| 06 | Doom | shooter |
4.22
|
| 07 | Dungeon Hack | rpg |
4.20
|
| 08 | SimCity 2000 | simulation |
4.20
|
| 09 | Flashback: The Quest for Identity | action |
4.20
|
| 10 | Space Quest 5: The Next Mutation | adventure |
4.19
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Micro Machines | racing |
4.33
|
| 02 | Colonization | strategy |
4.28
|
| 03 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.28
|
| 04 | Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf | shooter |
4.27
|
| 05 | The Incredible Toon Machine | puzzle |
4.25
|
| 06 | Disney's Aladdin | action |
4.24
|
| 07 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter |
4.23
|
| 08 | Cannon Fodder | strategy |
4.22
|
| 09 | Heretic | shooter |
4.22
|
| 10 | Pinball Fantasies | action |
4.20
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons | simulation |
4.26
|
| 02 | The Need for Speed | racing |
4.24
|
| 03 | Caesar 2 | simulation |
4.24
|
| 04 | William Shatner's TekWar | shooter |
4.23
|
| 05 | Hexen: Beyond Heretic | shooter |
4.21
|
| 06 | Star Wars: Dark Forces | shooter |
4.21
|
| 07 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.19
|
| 08 | Virtual Pool | sports |
4.18
|
| 09 | Screamer | racing |
4.16
|
| 10 | Witchaven | shooter |
4.15
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.26
|
| 02 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.26
|
| 03 | The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall | rpg |
4.25
|
| 04 | Quake | shooter |
4.22
|
| 05 | Road Rash | racing |
4.21
|
| 06 | Free Enterprise | simulation |
4.21
|
| 07 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy |
4.20
|
| 08 | Alien Trilogy | shooter |
4.20
|
| 09 | Seek and Destroy | shooter |
4.20
|
| 10 | Marathon 2: Durandal | shooter |
4.19
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Interstate '76 | racing |
4.26
|
| 02 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter |
4.23
|
| 03 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.22
|
| 04 | Atomic Bomberman | action |
4.21
|
| 05 | Carmageddon | racing |
4.19
|
| 06 | Blood | shooter |
4.18
|
| 07 | Entrepreneur | simulation |
4.17
|
| 08 | Season of the Sakura | adventure |
4.17
|
| 09 | Lucky Luke | action |
4.16
|
| 10 | Dilbert's Desktop Games | action |
4.15
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Caesar 3 | simulation |
4.23
|
| 02 | Mega Man X3 | shooter |
4.22
|
| 03 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.20
|
| 04 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.20
|
| 05 | Army Men | strategy |
4.18
|
| 06 | Fallout 2 | rpg |
4.16
|
| 07 | Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines | strategy |
4.15
|
| 08 | House of the Dead | shooter |
4.14
|
| 09 | Dope Wars | simulation |
4.14
|
| 10 | Railroad Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.14
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Outcast | action-adventure |
4.27
|
| 02 | Grand Theft Auto 2 | action-adventure |
4.24
|
| 03 | Mick's Strip Poker | strategy |
4.24
|
| 04 | Roller Coaster Tycoon | simulation |
4.23
|
| 05 | Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz | strategy |
4.23
|
| 06 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.21
|
| 07 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.21
|
| 08 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure |
4.20
|
| 09 | Pharaoh | simulation |
4.19
|
| 10 | Might and Magic 7: For Blood and Honor | rpg |
4.19
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ground Control | strategy |
4.15
|
| 02 | Nox | rpg |
4.15
|
| 03 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
4.14
|
| 04 | Deus Ex | rpg |
4.13
|
| 05 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.11
|
| 06 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
4.04
|
| 07 | Gal Pani X | action |
4.00
|
| 08 | Arrakis | strategy |
3.88
|
| 09 | Cultures | strategy |
3.86
|
| 10 | Icewind Dale | rpg |
3.82
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Anachronox | rpg |
4.19
|
| 02 | Empire Earth | strategy |
4.14
|
| 03 | Capitalism 2 | simulation |
4.14
|
| 04 | ScummVM | application |
4.14
|
| 05 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
4.11
|
| 06 | Mario and Luigi | action |
4.11
|
| 07 | Creatures Village | action-adventure |
4.09
|
| 08 | Zoo Tycoon | simulation |
4.07
|
| 09 | Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel | strategy |
4.03
|
| 10 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
4.01
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Chessmaster 9000 | strategy |
4.20
|
| 02 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.19
|
| 03 | DOSBox | application |
4.15
|
| 04 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy |
4.14
|
| 05 | Syberia | adventure |
4.05
|
| 06 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
4.04
|
| 07 | Crazy Taxi | racing |
4.04
|
| 08 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
3.94
|
| 09 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.77
|
| 10 | X-COM: Alliance | shooter |
3.72
|