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 | PC-Man | action |
4.13
|
| 02 | Zork I: The Great Underground Empire | adventure |
4.08
|
| 03 | Paratrooper | shooter |
3.94
|
| 04 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.88
|
| 05 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.76
|
| 06 | Deadline | adventure |
3.76
|
| 07 | Adventure in Serenia | adventure |
3.68
|
| 08 | Wizardry 2: The knight of diamonds | rpg |
3.67
|
| 09 | The Battle of the Bulge: Tigers in the Snow | strategy |
3.65
|
| 10 | Pac-girl | action |
3.58
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Borland Turbo Pascal 2.0 | application |
4.27
|
| 02 | Battlezone | shooter |
4.19
|
| 03 | Digger | action |
4.15
|
| 04 | Lode Runner | action |
4.15
|
| 05 | Defender | shooter |
4.10
|
| 06 | Donkey Kong | action |
4.05
|
| 07 | Planetfall | adventure |
4.05
|
| 08 | Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | simulation |
4.04
|
| 09 | Frogger | action |
4.04
|
| 10 | Midway Campaign | strategy |
3.95
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action |
4.23
|
| 02 | Archon: the Light and the Dark | strategy |
4.15
|
| 03 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.11
|
| 04 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
4.09
|
| 05 | Rogue | rpg |
4.08
|
| 06 | Montezuma's Revenge | action |
4.06
|
| 07 | King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown | adventure |
4.00
|
| 08 | DND | rpg |
3.97
|
| 09 | Zyll | adventure |
3.95
|
| 10 | Zork III: The Dungeon Master | adventure |
3.93
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alice: The Personal Pascal | application |
4.48
|
| 02 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
4.12
|
| 03 | A mind forever voyaging | adventure |
4.11
|
| 04 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.11
|
| 05 | 9 Princes in Amber | adventure |
4.08
|
| 06 | The mist | adventure |
4.00
|
| 07 | Star Trek: the Kobayashi alternative | adventure |
4.00
|
| 08 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne | adventure |
4.00
|
| 09 | Spacewar | shooter |
3.98
|
| 10 | Perry Mason | adventure |
3.95
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
4.19
|
| 02 | The Chessmaster 2000 | strategy |
4.19
|
| 03 | Leather Goddesses of Phobos | adventure |
4.15
|
| 04 | Wordstar 4 | application |
4.15
|
| 05 | Starflight | rpg |
4.11
|
| 06 | Turbo Prolog 2.0 | application |
4.10
|
| 07 | Conflict in Vietnam | strategy |
4.09
|
| 08 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| 09 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation |
4.06
|
| 10 | Psi 5 Trading Company | vehicle simulation |
4.05
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Borland Turbo C v1 | application |
4.38
|
| 02 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.24
|
| 03 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.19
|
| 04 | Driller | action-adventure |
4.17
|
| 05 | Borland Turbo Basic 1.0 | application |
4.17
|
| 06 | Test Drive | racing |
4.15
|
| 07 | Sid Meier's Pirates! | strategy |
4.15
|
| 08 | Wheel of fortune | puzzle |
4.14
|
| 09 | Tetris | puzzle |
4.11
|
| 10 | Rockford: The Arcade Game | puzzle |
4.11
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | GW-BASIC 3 | application |
4.52
|
| 02 | Deluxe Paint 2 | application |
4.39
|
| 03 | Grand Prix Circuit | racing |
4.23
|
| 04 | Skate or Die | sports |
4.20
|
| 05 | Battle Chess | strategy |
4.18
|
| 06 | MicroProse Soccer | sports |
4.17
|
| 07 | Impossible Mission 2 | action-adventure |
4.16
|
| 08 | Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny | rpg |
4.16
|
| 09 | World class leaderboard | sports |
4.14
|
| 10 | Corruption | adventure |
4.13
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Pipe Dream | puzzle |
4.21
|
| 02 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.21
|
| 03 | Rick Dangerous | action |
4.21
|
| 04 | Heavy Metal | vehicle simulation |
4.20
|
| 05 | The Duel: Test Drive 2 | racing |
4.19
|
| 06 | Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur | adventure |
4.19
|
| 07 | Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals | adventure |
4.18
|
| 08 | Dungeon Master | rpg |
4.15
|
| 09 | Ys: The Vanished Omens | rpg |
4.14
|
| 10 | The Cycles | racing |
4.14
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.26
|
| 02 | The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate | rpg |
4.24
|
| 03 | Norton Editor 2 | application |
4.23
|
| 04 | Puzznic | puzzle |
4.22
|
| 05 | Tetris 2.0 | puzzle |
4.22
|
| 06 | Silent Service 2 | vehicle simulation |
4.18
|
| 07 | Prince of Persia | action |
4.17
|
| 08 | Xenon 2: Megablast | shooter |
4.17
|
| 09 | Lady Love | action |
4.17
|
| 10 | Arj | application |
4.17
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | QBasic | application |
4.41
|
| 02 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.26
|
| 03 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle |
4.26
|
| 04 | Golden Axe | action |
4.25
|
| 05 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure |
4.22
|
| 06 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.22
|
| 07 | Gods | action |
4.21
|
| 08 | Team Suzuki | racing |
4.20
|
| 09 | Civilization | strategy |
4.20
|
| 10 | Commander Keen 6: Aliens Ate my Baby Sitter! | action |
4.17
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | application |
4.33
|
| 02 | Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.28
|
| 03 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.26
|
| 04 | Tetris Classic | puzzle |
4.26
|
| 05 | Star Trek: 25th Anniversary | adventure |
4.17
|
| 06 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | adventure |
4.16
|
| 07 | Legends of Valour | rpg |
4.15
|
| 08 | Locomotion | puzzle |
4.15
|
| 09 | Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant | rpg |
4.15
|
| 10 | Titus the Fox | action |
4.14
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.24
|
| 02 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.24
|
| 03 | Doom | shooter |
4.20
|
| 04 | Castle of the Winds | rpg |
4.19
|
| 05 | Populous 2: Trials of the Olympian Gods | strategy |
4.17
|
| 06 | Police Quest: Open Season | adventure |
4.17
|
| 07 | Lemmings 2: The Tribes | puzzle |
4.17
|
| 08 | Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist | adventure |
4.17
|
| 09 | Flashback: The Quest for Identity | action |
4.16
|
| 10 | Dungeon Hack | rpg |
4.16
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter |
4.26
|
| 02 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.25
|
| 03 | Heretic | shooter |
4.21
|
| 04 | Micro Machines | racing |
4.19
|
| 05 | Disney's Aladdin | action |
4.17
|
| 06 | Warcraft: Orcs and Humans | strategy |
4.16
|
| 07 | One Must Fall 2097 | action |
4.15
|
| 08 | Colonization | strategy |
4.15
|
| 09 | Pinball Fantasies | action |
4.15
|
| 10 | Transport Tycoon | simulation |
4.15
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons | simulation |
4.24
|
| 02 | Whiplash | racing |
4.22
|
| 03 | Hexen: Beyond Heretic | shooter |
4.22
|
| 04 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.19
|
| 05 | Caesar 2 | simulation |
4.18
|
| 06 | The Need for Speed | racing |
4.17
|
| 07 | Virtual Pool | sports |
4.17
|
| 08 | Star Wars: Dark Forces | shooter |
4.17
|
| 09 | Witchaven | shooter |
4.15
|
| 10 | Extreme Pinball | action |
4.14
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.24
|
| 02 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.24
|
| 03 | Road Rash | racing |
4.19
|
| 04 | The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall | rpg |
4.19
|
| 05 | Super Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.18
|
| 06 | Quake | shooter |
4.17
|
| 07 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy |
4.16
|
| 08 | Gloriana | simulation |
4.14
|
| 09 | Crusader: No Regret | shooter |
4.14
|
| 10 | Duke Nukem 3D | shooter |
4.13
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter |
4.22
|
| 02 | An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire | rpg |
4.18
|
| 03 | Lucky Luke | action |
4.17
|
| 04 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.17
|
| 05 | Atomic Bomberman | action |
4.14
|
| 06 | Virtua Cop | shooter |
4.14
|
| 07 | Dilbert's Desktop Games | action |
4.13
|
| 08 | Carmageddon | racing |
4.13
|
| 09 | Total Annihilation | strategy |
4.13
|
| 10 | Entrepreneur | simulation |
4.13
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Army Men | strategy |
4.19
|
| 02 | People's General | strategy |
4.18
|
| 03 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.15
|
| 04 | Mega Man X3 | shooter |
4.14
|
| 05 | Fallout 2 | rpg |
4.14
|
| 06 | Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines | strategy |
4.14
|
| 07 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.13
|
| 08 | Dink Smallwood | rpg |
4.13
|
| 09 | SimSafari | simulation |
4.13
|
| 10 | Axis and Allies | strategy |
4.12
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Roller Coaster Tycoon | simulation |
4.26
|
| 02 | Jagged Alliance 2 | strategy |
4.23
|
| 03 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.20
|
| 04 | Pharaoh | simulation |
4.19
|
| 05 | Outcast | action-adventure |
4.19
|
| 06 | Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz | strategy |
4.16
|
| 07 | Midtown Madness | racing |
4.16
|
| 08 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.16
|
| 09 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure |
4.14
|
| 10 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter |
4.14
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Nox | rpg |
4.24
|
| 02 | Ground Control | strategy |
4.13
|
| 03 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
4.08
|
| 04 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.05
|
| 05 | Deus Ex | rpg |
4.00
|
| 06 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
3.99
|
| 07 | Cultures | strategy |
3.92
|
| 08 | Icewind Dale | rpg |
3.86
|
| 09 | Arrakis | strategy |
3.79
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Empire Earth | strategy |
4.11
|
| 02 | Mario and Luigi | action |
4.05
|
| 03 | Capitalism 2 | simulation |
4.05
|
| 04 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
4.02
|
| 05 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
3.99
|
| 06 | NetHack - Falcon's Eye | rpg |
3.90
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy |
4.18
|
| 02 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.16
|
| 03 | DOSBox | application |
4.13
|
| 04 | Syberia | adventure |
4.13
|
| 05 | Chessmaster 9000 | strategy |
4.08
|
| 06 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
3.98
|
| 07 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
3.85
|
| 08 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.82
|