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.
Abandonware DOS is made possible by displaying online advertisements to visitors.
Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.
Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.
| # | 1982 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | PC-Man | action |
4.13
|
| 02 | Zork I: The Great Underground Empire | adventure |
4.10
|
| 03 | Paratrooper | shooter |
3.94
|
| 04 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.90
|
| 05 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.79
|
| 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 |
3.68
|
| 09 | Adventure in Serenia | adventure |
3.68
|
| 10 | Pac-girl | action |
3.64
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Battlezone | shooter |
4.22
|
| 02 | Digger | action |
4.21
|
| 03 | Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz | adventure |
4.20
|
| 04 | Borland Turbo Pascal 2.0 | application |
4.19
|
| 05 | Lode Runner | action |
4.17
|
| 06 | Defender | shooter |
4.11
|
| 07 | Donkey Kong | action |
4.08
|
| 08 | Planetfall | adventure |
4.07
|
| 09 | Frogger | action |
4.06
|
| 10 | Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | simulation |
4.04
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action |
4.27
|
| 02 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.15
|
| 03 | Montezuma's Revenge | action |
4.11
|
| 04 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
4.10
|
| 05 | Rogue | rpg |
4.08
|
| 06 | Archon: the Light and the Dark | strategy |
4.07
|
| 07 | King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown | adventure |
4.06
|
| 08 | DND | rpg |
4.04
|
| 09 | Zyll | adventure |
3.95
|
| 10 | Zork III: The Dungeon Master | adventure |
3.93
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alice: The Personal Pascal | application |
4.35
|
| 02 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
4.17
|
| 03 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.12
|
| 04 | 9 Princes in Amber | adventure |
4.12
|
| 05 | A mind forever voyaging | adventure |
4.11
|
| 06 | The mist | adventure |
4.03
|
| 07 | Spacewar | shooter |
4.02
|
| 08 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne | adventure |
4.00
|
| 09 | Star Trek: the Kobayashi alternative | adventure |
4.00
|
| 10 | Ultima 3: Exodus | rpg |
3.98
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
4.21
|
| 02 | The Chessmaster 2000 | strategy |
4.19
|
| 03 | Leather Goddesses of Phobos | adventure |
4.15
|
| 04 | Wordstar 4 | application |
4.14
|
| 05 | Starflight | rpg |
4.13
|
| 06 | Turbo Prolog 2.0 | application |
4.10
|
| 07 | Alter Ego: Male Version | simulation |
4.10
|
| 08 | Conflict in Vietnam | strategy |
4.09
|
| 09 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| 10 | AutoCAD 2.5 | application |
4.08
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Borland Turbo C v1 | application |
4.42
|
| 02 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.24
|
| 03 | Earl Weaver Baseball | sports |
4.18
|
| 04 | Driller | action-adventure |
4.17
|
| 05 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.17
|
| 06 | Sid Meier's Pirates! | strategy |
4.16
|
| 07 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure |
4.15
|
| 08 | Borland Turbo Basic 1.0 | application |
4.15
|
| 09 | Rockford: The Arcade Game | puzzle |
4.14
|
| 10 | Test Drive | racing |
4.11
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | GW-BASIC 3 | application |
4.37
|
| 02 | Deluxe Paint 2 | application |
4.32
|
| 03 | Grand Prix Circuit | racing |
4.25
|
| 04 | Impossible Mission 2 | action-adventure |
4.24
|
| 05 | Skate or Die | sports |
4.24
|
| 06 | Battle Chess | strategy |
4.20
|
| 07 | Corruption | adventure |
4.20
|
| 08 | World class leaderboard | sports |
4.18
|
| 09 | Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny | rpg |
4.17
|
| 10 | UMS - The Universal Military Simulator | strategy |
4.14
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Rick Dangerous | action |
4.24
|
| 02 | The Duel: Test Drive 2 | racing |
4.23
|
| 03 | Pipe Dream | puzzle |
4.21
|
| 04 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.20
|
| 05 | Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur | adventure |
4.19
|
| 06 | Heavy Metal | vehicle simulation |
4.19
|
| 07 | Ports of Call | simulation |
4.18
|
| 08 | Hero's Quest: So you want to be a hero | adventure |
4.17
|
| 09 | Ys: The Vanished Omens | rpg |
4.17
|
| 10 | Omnicron Conspiracy | adventure |
4.17
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.27
|
| 02 | Norton Editor 2 | application |
4.26
|
| 03 | Arj | application |
4.24
|
| 04 | Puzznic | puzzle |
4.21
|
| 05 | TV Sports: Basketball | sports |
4.21
|
| 06 | Tetris 2.0 | puzzle |
4.21
|
| 07 | Lady Love | action |
4.21
|
| 08 | SimEarth | simulation |
4.21
|
| 09 | Prince of Persia | action |
4.20
|
| 10 | Loom | adventure |
4.18
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | QBASIC | application |
4.46
|
| 02 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle |
4.27
|
| 03 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.26
|
| 04 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure |
4.25
|
| 05 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.24
|
| 06 | Golden Axe | action |
4.23
|
| 07 | Civilization | strategy |
4.21
|
| 08 | Gods | action |
4.20
|
| 09 | Commander Keen 6: Aliens Ate my Baby Sitter! | action |
4.19
|
| 10 | L'Empereur | strategy |
4.17
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | application |
4.33
|
| 02 | Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.32
|
| 03 | Tetris Classic | puzzle |
4.31
|
| 04 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.28
|
| 05 | The Oregon Trail Deluxe | simulation |
4.27
|
| 06 | WaxWorks | adventure |
4.21
|
| 07 | Legends of Valour | rpg |
4.21
|
| 08 | Patrician | simulation |
4.19
|
| 09 | Dark Seed | adventure |
4.19
|
| 10 | Star Control 2 | strategy |
4.19
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.27
|
| 02 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.25
|
| 03 | Doom | shooter |
4.21
|
| 04 | Holiday Lemmings | puzzle |
4.19
|
| 05 | Lemmings 2: The Tribes | puzzle |
4.19
|
| 06 | Castle of the Winds | rpg |
4.18
|
| 07 | Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist | adventure |
4.18
|
| 08 | EcoQuest 2: Lost Secret of the Rainforest | adventure |
4.18
|
| 09 | Space Hulk | strategy |
4.18
|
| 10 | Dungeon Hack | rpg |
4.18
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.27
|
| 02 | Micro Machines | racing |
4.26
|
| 03 | Colonization | strategy |
4.23
|
| 04 | The Incredible Toon Machine | puzzle |
4.22
|
| 05 | Heretic | shooter |
4.22
|
| 06 | Pinball Fantasies | action |
4.21
|
| 07 | Disney's Aladdin | action |
4.21
|
| 08 | Super Mariio Bros | action |
4.20
|
| 09 | Transport Tycoon | simulation |
4.20
|
| 10 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter |
4.20
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons | simulation |
4.23
|
| 02 | Caesar 2 | simulation |
4.23
|
| 03 | The Need for Speed | racing |
4.22
|
| 04 | Hexen: Beyond Heretic | shooter |
4.20
|
| 05 | Star Wars: Dark Forces | shooter |
4.18
|
| 06 | Virtual Pool | sports |
4.18
|
| 07 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.18
|
| 08 | Abuse | shooter |
4.17
|
| 09 | Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within | adventure |
4.16
|
| 10 | Witchaven | shooter |
4.14
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.25
|
| 02 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.25
|
| 03 | Seek and Destroy | shooter |
4.25
|
| 04 | Super Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.22
|
| 05 | Road Rash | racing |
4.21
|
| 06 | The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall | rpg |
4.21
|
| 07 | Quake | shooter |
4.21
|
| 08 | Alien Trilogy | shooter |
4.20
|
| 09 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy |
4.19
|
| 10 | Marathon 2: Durandal | shooter |
4.16
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter |
4.22
|
| 02 | Atomic Bomberman | action |
4.22
|
| 03 | Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II | shooter |
4.21
|
| 04 | Entrepreneur | simulation |
4.20
|
| 05 | Carmageddon | racing |
4.20
|
| 06 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.20
|
| 07 | Amulets & Armor | rpg |
4.18
|
| 08 | Interstate '76 | racing |
4.17
|
| 09 | Blade Runner | adventure |
4.15
|
| 10 | Season of the Sakura | adventure |
4.15
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Caesar 3 | simulation |
4.27
|
| 02 | Army Men | strategy |
4.23
|
| 03 | People's General | strategy |
4.22
|
| 04 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.17
|
| 05 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.17
|
| 06 | Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines | strategy |
4.16
|
| 07 | Dope Wars | simulation |
4.15
|
| 08 | Mega Man X3 | shooter |
4.14
|
| 09 | Railroad Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.13
|
| 10 | House of the Dead | shooter |
4.13
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Roller Coaster Tycoon | simulation |
4.25
|
| 02 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.23
|
| 03 | Outcast | action-adventure |
4.21
|
| 04 | Pharaoh | simulation |
4.21
|
| 05 | Mick's Strip Poker | strategy |
4.20
|
| 06 | Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz | strategy |
4.19
|
| 07 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure |
4.17
|
| 08 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.17
|
| 09 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter |
4.16
|
| 10 | Grand Theft Auto 2 | action-adventure |
4.15
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Nox | rpg |
4.26
|
| 02 | Ground Control | strategy |
4.13
|
| 03 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
4.11
|
| 04 | Deus Ex | rpg |
4.11
|
| 05 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.09
|
| 06 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
4.00
|
| 07 | Cultures | strategy |
3.93
|
| 08 | Arrakis | strategy |
3.84
|
| 09 | Icewind Dale | rpg |
3.77
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel | strategy |
4.23
|
| 02 | Capitalism 2 | simulation |
4.18
|
| 03 | Empire Earth | strategy |
4.14
|
| 04 | ScummVM | application |
4.10
|
| 05 | Mario and Luigi | action |
4.07
|
| 06 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
4.06
|
| 07 | Zoo Tycoon | simulation |
4.03
|
| 08 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
4.03
|
| 09 | NetHack - Falcon's Eye | rpg |
4.00
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy |
4.23
|
| 02 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.18
|
| 03 | Chessmaster 9000 | strategy |
4.12
|
| 04 | Syberia | adventure |
4.07
|
| 05 | DOSBox | application |
4.06
|
| 06 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
4.01
|
| 07 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
3.90
|
| 08 | X-COM: Alliance | shooter |
3.82
|
| 09 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.77
|
| 10 | Taipan for Windows | simulation |
3.65
|