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.
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| # | 1982 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zork I: The Great Underground Empire | adventure |
4.13
|
| 02 | PC-Man | action |
4.04
|
| 03 | Paratrooper | shooter |
3.94
|
| 04 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.78
|
| 05 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.76
|
| 06 | Wizardry 2: The knight of diamonds | rpg |
3.68
|
| 07 | Adventure in Serenia | adventure |
3.68
|
| 08 | Deadline | adventure |
3.66
|
| 09 | The Battle of the Bulge: Tigers in the Snow | strategy |
3.60
|
| 10 | Astro Dodge | shooter |
3.56
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Borland Turbo Pascal 2.0 | application |
4.21
|
| 02 | Defender | shooter |
4.12
|
| 03 | Lode Runner | action |
4.11
|
| 04 | Frogger | action |
4.10
|
| 05 | Battlezone | shooter |
4.09
|
| 06 | Donkey Kong | action |
4.05
|
| 07 | Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | simulation |
4.04
|
| 08 | Digger | action |
4.02
|
| 09 | Rogue | rpg |
4.00
|
| 10 | Planetfall | adventure |
3.94
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action |
4.21
|
| 02 | Archon: the Light and the Dark | strategy |
4.16
|
| 03 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.08
|
| 04 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
4.06
|
| 05 | Montezuma's Revenge | action |
4.00
|
| 06 | King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown | adventure |
3.98
|
| 07 | DND | rpg |
3.95
|
| 08 | Zyll | adventure |
3.95
|
| 09 | Zork III: The Dungeon Master | adventure |
3.93
|
| 10 | Pong v.2.1 clone | action |
3.84
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alice: The Personal Pascal | application |
4.45
|
| 02 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
4.13
|
| 03 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.08
|
| 04 | A mind forever voyaging | adventure |
4.06
|
| 05 | 9 Princes in Amber | adventure |
4.04
|
| 06 | Star Trek: the Kobayashi alternative | adventure |
4.00
|
| 07 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne | adventure |
4.00
|
| 08 | The mist | adventure |
3.97
|
| 09 | Spacewar | shooter |
3.97
|
| 10 | Perry Mason | adventure |
3.95
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
4.16
|
| 02 | The Chessmaster 2000 | strategy |
4.15
|
| 03 | Leather Goddesses of Phobos | adventure |
4.13
|
| 04 | Turbo Prolog 2.0 | application |
4.11
|
| 05 | Wordstar 4 | application |
4.11
|
| 06 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| 07 | Conflict in Vietnam | strategy |
4.06
|
| 08 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation |
4.05
|
| 09 | Alter Ego: Male Version | simulation |
4.04
|
| 10 | Starflight | rpg |
4.04
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Test Drive | racing |
4.21
|
| 02 | Driller | action-adventure |
4.18
|
| 03 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.18
|
| 04 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.17
|
| 05 | Borland Turbo Basic 1.0 | application |
4.13
|
| 06 | Tetris | puzzle |
4.12
|
| 07 | Elite | vehicle simulation |
4.10
|
| 08 | Sid Meier's Pirates! | strategy |
4.10
|
| 09 | Wheel of fortune | puzzle |
4.10
|
| 10 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure |
4.09
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | GW-BASIC 3 | application |
4.50
|
| 02 | Deluxe Paint 2 | application |
4.30
|
| 03 | Skate or Die | sports |
4.20
|
| 04 | Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny | rpg |
4.16
|
| 05 | Corruption | adventure |
4.14
|
| 06 | Battle Chess | strategy |
4.14
|
| 07 | Grand Prix Circuit | racing |
4.13
|
| 08 | Batman: the Caped Crusader | action-adventure |
4.13
|
| 09 | World class leaderboard | sports |
4.09
|
| 10 | Double Dragon II: The Revenge | action |
4.08
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Pipe Dream | puzzle |
4.18
|
| 02 | Rick Dangerous | action |
4.18
|
| 03 | Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals | adventure |
4.18
|
| 04 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.17
|
| 05 | The Duel: Test Drive 2 | racing |
4.17
|
| 06 | Oil Imperium | simulation |
4.15
|
| 07 | Starflight 2: Trade routes of the Cloud Nebula | rpg |
4.15
|
| 08 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure |
4.13
|
| 09 | The Sentinel | puzzle |
4.13
|
| 10 | Where in time is Carmen Sandiego? | adventure |
4.13
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.24
|
| 02 | The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate | rpg |
4.21
|
| 03 | Tetris 2.0 | puzzle |
4.20
|
| 04 | Xenon 2: Megablast | shooter |
4.18
|
| 05 | F29 Retaliator | vehicle simulation |
4.16
|
| 06 | Puzznic | puzzle |
4.16
|
| 07 | Ultima 6: The False Prophet | rpg |
4.14
|
| 08 | Silent Service 2 | vehicle simulation |
4.14
|
| 09 | Prince of Persia | action |
4.13
|
| 10 | Arj | application |
4.13
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | QBasic | application |
4.30
|
| 02 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.23
|
| 03 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure |
4.21
|
| 04 | Golden Axe | action |
4.21
|
| 05 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle |
4.21
|
| 06 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.20
|
| 07 | Gods | action |
4.18
|
| 08 | Civilization | strategy |
4.15
|
| 09 | Commander Keen 6: Aliens Ate my Baby Sitter! | action |
4.14
|
| 10 | Formula 1 Grand Prix | racing |
4.13
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | application |
4.28
|
| 02 | Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.25
|
| 03 | Tetris Classic | puzzle |
4.24
|
| 04 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.22
|
| 05 | Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant | rpg |
4.16
|
| 06 | Star Trek: 25th Anniversary | adventure |
4.15
|
| 07 | Spear of Destiny | shooter |
4.15
|
| 08 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | adventure |
4.14
|
| 09 | Realms of Arkania 1: Blade of destiny | rpg |
4.14
|
| 10 | Dune II: The building of a dynasty | strategy |
4.14
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.21
|
| 02 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.20
|
| 03 | Castle of the Winds | rpg |
4.18
|
| 04 | Doom | shooter |
4.18
|
| 05 | Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk | action-adventure |
4.17
|
| 06 | The Settlers | strategy |
4.16
|
| 07 | Dungeon Hack | rpg |
4.15
|
| 08 | Populous 2: Trials of the Olympian Gods | strategy |
4.15
|
| 09 | Wing Commander: Privateer | vehicle simulation |
4.15
|
| 10 | Championship Manager Italia | sports |
4.14
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.25
|
| 02 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter |
4.23
|
| 03 | Warcraft: Orcs and Humans | strategy |
4.17
|
| 04 | NASCAR Racing | racing |
4.16
|
| 05 | Micro Machines | racing |
4.16
|
| 06 | Hocus Pocus | action |
4.16
|
| 07 | Colonization | strategy |
4.15
|
| 08 | The Elder Scrolls: Arena | rpg |
4.14
|
| 09 | Heretic | shooter |
4.13
|
| 10 | Master of Magic | strategy |
4.13
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Hexen: Beyond Heretic | shooter |
4.19
|
| 02 | The Dig | adventure |
4.17
|
| 03 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.17
|
| 04 | Star Wars: Dark Forces | shooter |
4.15
|
| 05 | High Seas Trader | simulation |
4.14
|
| 06 | Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons | simulation |
4.14
|
| 07 | Whiplash | racing |
4.14
|
| 08 | Caesar 2 | simulation |
4.13
|
| 09 | The Need for Speed | racing |
4.12
|
| 10 | Witchaven | shooter |
4.11
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.21
|
| 02 | Road Rash | racing |
4.20
|
| 03 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.18
|
| 04 | Quake | shooter |
4.15
|
| 05 | Fantasy General | strategy |
4.14
|
| 06 | The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall | rpg |
4.14
|
| 07 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy |
4.14
|
| 08 | Crusader: No Regret | shooter |
4.13
|
| 09 | Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games | strategy |
4.11
|
| 10 | Alien Trilogy | shooter |
4.10
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter |
4.19
|
| 02 | Dilbert's Desktop Games | action |
4.16
|
| 03 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.15
|
| 04 | Virtua Cop | shooter |
4.12
|
| 05 | An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire | rpg |
4.11
|
| 06 | Blade Runner | adventure |
4.10
|
| 07 | Atomic Bomberman | action |
4.10
|
| 08 | Slash'Em | rpg |
4.10
|
| 09 | Blood | shooter |
4.09
|
| 10 | Total Annihilation | strategy |
4.09
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Caesar 3 | simulation |
4.18
|
| 02 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.17
|
| 03 | People's General | strategy |
4.16
|
| 04 | Army Men | strategy |
4.15
|
| 05 | Mega Man X3 | shooter |
4.13
|
| 06 | House of the Dead | shooter |
4.11
|
| 07 | Axis and Allies | strategy |
4.10
|
| 08 | Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines | strategy |
4.09
|
| 09 | Dope Wars | simulation |
4.09
|
| 10 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.09
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Jagged Alliance 2 | strategy |
4.22
|
| 02 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.17
|
| 03 | Pharaoh | simulation |
4.17
|
| 04 | Three Sisters' Story | adventure |
4.15
|
| 05 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.14
|
| 06 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure |
4.12
|
| 07 | Roller Coaster Tycoon | simulation |
4.12
|
| 08 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter |
4.10
|
| 09 | Outcast | action-adventure |
4.10
|
| 10 | Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz | strategy |
4.07
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ground Control | strategy |
4.10
|
| 02 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
4.09
|
| 03 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.05
|
| 04 | Deus Ex | rpg |
4.00
|
| 05 | Icewind Dale | rpg |
3.96
|
| 06 | Cultures | strategy |
3.94
|
| 07 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
3.94
|
| 08 | Arrakis | strategy |
3.76
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Empire Earth | strategy |
4.08
|
| 02 | Mario and Luigi | action |
4.05
|
| 03 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
3.99
|
| 04 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
3.97
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Chessmaster 9000 | strategy |
4.17
|
| 02 | Syberia | adventure |
4.14
|
| 03 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.14
|
| 04 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy |
4.11
|
| 05 | DOSBox | application |
4.09
|
| 06 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
3.93
|
| 07 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
3.84
|
| 08 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.80
|