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 |
4.17
|
| 02 | Zork I: The Great Underground Empire | adventure |
4.16
|
| 03 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.94
|
| 04 | Paratrooper | shooter |
3.90
|
| 05 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.88
|
| 06 | Car Builder | simulation |
3.85
|
| 07 | The Battle of the Bulge: Tigers in the Snow | strategy |
3.81
|
| 08 | Deadline | adventure |
3.81
|
| 09 | Wizardry 2: The knight of diamonds | rpg |
3.79
|
| 10 | BurgerTime | action |
3.78
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Battlezone | shooter |
4.29
|
| 02 | Lode Runner | action |
4.25
|
| 03 | Digger | action |
4.22
|
| 04 | Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | simulation |
4.21
|
| 05 | Defender | shooter |
4.19
|
| 06 | Frogger | action |
4.19
|
| 07 | Planetfall | adventure |
4.19
|
| 08 | Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz | adventure |
4.15
|
| 09 | Donkey Kong | action |
4.14
|
| 10 | Borland Turbo Pascal 2.0 | application |
4.08
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action |
4.29
|
| 02 | Rogue | rpg |
4.27
|
| 03 | DBase 3 | application |
4.26
|
| 04 | Crime and Punishment | simulation |
4.25
|
| 05 | Montezuma's Revenge | action |
4.23
|
| 06 | GATO | vehicle simulation |
4.20
|
| 07 | King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown | adventure |
4.16
|
| 08 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.15
|
| 09 | Archon: the Light and the Dark | strategy |
4.14
|
| 10 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
4.11
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alice: The Personal Pascal | application |
4.39
|
| 02 | 9 Princes in Amber | adventure |
4.23
|
| 03 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
4.16
|
| 04 | A Mind Forever Voyaging | adventure |
4.13
|
| 05 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.13
|
| 06 | Ultima 3: Exodus | rpg |
4.11
|
| 07 | Spacewar | shooter |
4.06
|
| 08 | Star Trek: the Kobayashi alternative | adventure |
4.04
|
| 09 | Monopoly | strategy |
4.00
|
| 10 | Crusade in Europe | strategy |
3.97
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Trinity | adventure |
4.25
|
| 02 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
4.24
|
| 03 | Wordstar 4 | application |
4.19
|
| 04 | Leather Goddesses of Phobos | adventure |
4.18
|
| 05 | Starflight | rpg |
4.16
|
| 06 | Alter Ego: Male Version | simulation |
4.14
|
| 07 | Conflict in Vietnam | strategy |
4.13
|
| 08 | Psi 5 Trading Company | vehicle simulation |
4.13
|
| 09 | Gauntlet | action |
4.13
|
| 10 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.12
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Borland Turbo C v1 | application |
4.36
|
| 02 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.30
|
| 03 | Mah Jongg Solitaire | puzzle |
4.28
|
| 04 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure |
4.25
|
| 05 | Earl Weaver Baseball | sports |
4.24
|
| 06 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.19
|
| 07 | Bad Street Brawler | action |
4.19
|
| 08 | Test Drive | racing |
4.16
|
| 09 | Space Quest 2: Vohaul's Revenge | adventure |
4.14
|
| 10 | Borland Turbo Basic 1.0 | application |
4.14
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Deluxe Paint 2 | application |
4.30
|
| 02 | GW-BASIC 3 | application |
4.27
|
| 03 | Skate or Die | sports |
4.27
|
| 04 | Impossible Mission 2 | action-adventure |
4.26
|
| 05 | MicroProse Soccer | sports |
4.25
|
| 06 | Battle Chess | strategy |
4.25
|
| 07 | Speedball | sports |
4.20
|
| 08 | Alternate Reality: The City | rpg |
4.18
|
| 09 | Double Dragon II: The Revenge | action |
4.18
|
| 10 | Classic Concentration | puzzle |
4.18
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Operation Wolf | shooter |
4.31
|
| 02 | The Duel: Test Drive 2 | racing |
4.30
|
| 03 | Pipe Dream | puzzle |
4.29
|
| 04 | Rick Dangerous | action |
4.25
|
| 05 | Hero's Quest: So you want to be a hero | adventure |
4.24
|
| 06 | Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs | sports |
4.23
|
| 07 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.22
|
| 08 | Oil Imperium | simulation |
4.21
|
| 09 | Heavy Metal | vehicle simulation |
4.21
|
| 10 | OutRun | racing |
4.21
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.32
|
| 02 | Tank Wars | strategy |
4.29
|
| 03 | Loom | adventure |
4.28
|
| 04 | Norton Editor 2 | application |
4.26
|
| 05 | Night Shift | puzzle |
4.25
|
| 06 | The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate | rpg |
4.25
|
| 07 | Mario Bros VGA | action |
4.24
|
| 08 | Tetris 2.0 | puzzle |
4.24
|
| 09 | LadyLove | action |
4.24
|
| 10 | Ultima 6: The False Prophet | rpg |
4.24
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | QBASIC | application |
4.49
|
| 02 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle |
4.32
|
| 03 | Duke Nukem | action |
4.29
|
| 04 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure |
4.28
|
| 05 | Bundesliga Manager Professional | sports |
4.27
|
| 06 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.26
|
| 07 | DOS Navigator v 1.5 | application |
4.26
|
| 08 | Cisco Heat | racing |
4.26
|
| 09 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.25
|
| 10 | Gods | action |
4.25
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | application |
4.41
|
| 02 | Tetris Classic | puzzle |
4.39
|
| 03 | Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.32
|
| 04 | Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant | rpg |
4.32
|
| 05 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.31
|
| 06 | Links 386 Pro | sports |
4.28
|
| 07 | Ugh! | action |
4.27
|
| 08 | The Oregon Trail Deluxe | simulation |
4.26
|
| 09 | Spear of Destiny | shooter |
4.25
|
| 10 | B.A.T. 2 : The Koshan Conspiracy | adventure |
4.25
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | NeoPaint 3.2 | application |
4.50
|
| 02 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.27
|
| 03 | Bio Menace Episode 2: The Hidden Lab | action |
4.25
|
| 04 | Lemmings 2: The Tribes | puzzle |
4.25
|
| 05 | Carnage | racing |
4.25
|
| 06 | 3D Studio 3 | application |
4.25
|
| 07 | Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist | adventure |
4.24
|
| 08 | Dungeon Hack | rpg |
4.24
|
| 09 | Space Hulk | strategy |
4.24
|
| 10 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.24
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter |
4.32
|
| 02 | Disney's Aladdin | action |
4.30
|
| 03 | Heretic | shooter |
4.30
|
| 04 | Colonization | strategy |
4.29
|
| 05 | Super Mariio Bros | action |
4.29
|
| 06 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.28
|
| 07 | Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf | shooter |
4.28
|
| 08 | Diggers | puzzle |
4.27
|
| 09 | Cannon Fodder | strategy |
4.25
|
| 10 | The Incredible Machine 2 | puzzle |
4.25
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Transport Tycoon Deluxe | simulation |
4.32
|
| 02 | The Terminator: Future Shock | shooter |
4.31
|
| 03 | Phantasmagoria | adventure |
4.28
|
| 04 | Jungle Strike | shooter |
4.27
|
| 05 | Star Wars: Dark Forces | shooter |
4.26
|
| 06 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.25
|
| 07 | Witchaven | shooter |
4.25
|
| 08 | Screamer | racing |
4.25
|
| 09 | Destruction Derby | racing |
4.25
|
| 10 | Whiplash | racing |
4.24
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.31
|
| 02 | Alien Trilogy | shooter |
4.30
|
| 03 | The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall | rpg |
4.29
|
| 04 | Road Rash | racing |
4.29
|
| 05 | Super Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.28
|
| 06 | Dogs of War | strategy |
4.28
|
| 07 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.27
|
| 08 | F-22 Lightning 2 | vehicle simulation |
4.26
|
| 09 | Quake | shooter |
4.26
|
| 10 | Pray for Death | action |
4.26
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Warlords 3: Reign of Heroes | strategy |
4.29
|
| 02 | Carmageddon | racing |
4.26
|
| 03 | Lucky Luke | action |
4.26
|
| 04 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter |
4.24
|
| 05 | Warheads | strategy |
4.24
|
| 06 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.23
|
| 07 | Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II | shooter |
4.22
|
| 08 | Amulets & Armor | rpg |
4.22
|
| 09 | Magic: The Gathering | strategy |
4.22
|
| 10 | Blood | shooter |
4.21
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Caesar 3 | simulation |
4.27
|
| 02 | People's General | strategy |
4.27
|
| 03 | Populous: The Beginning | strategy |
4.24
|
| 04 | Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines | strategy |
4.24
|
| 05 | Army Men | strategy |
4.24
|
| 06 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.23
|
| 07 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.22
|
| 08 | Mega Man X4 | shooter |
4.20
|
| 09 | 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy | strategy |
4.17
|
| 10 | Axis and Allies | strategy |
4.16
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Outcast | action-adventure |
4.29
|
| 02 | Midtown Madness | racing |
4.28
|
| 03 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.28
|
| 04 | Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz | strategy |
4.26
|
| 05 | Might and Magic 7: For Blood and Honor | rpg |
4.25
|
| 06 | Jagged Alliance 2 | strategy |
4.24
|
| 07 | Mick's Strip Poker | strategy |
4.24
|
| 08 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.23
|
| 09 | Grand Theft Auto 2 | action-adventure |
4.22
|
| 10 | Pharaoh | simulation |
4.21
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Nox | rpg |
4.24
|
| 02 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
4.18
|
| 03 | Ground Control | strategy |
4.16
|
| 04 | Deus Ex | rpg |
4.14
|
| 05 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.11
|
| 06 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
4.06
|
| 07 | Gal Pani X | action |
4.06
|
| 08 | Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn | rpg |
4.04
|
| 09 | Cultures | strategy |
4.02
|
| 10 | The Operative: No One Lives Forever | shooter |
3.96
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Empire Earth | strategy |
4.26
|
| 02 | ScummVM | application |
4.22
|
| 03 | Zoo Tycoon | simulation |
4.21
|
| 04 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
4.20
|
| 05 | Capitalism 2 | simulation |
4.18
|
| 06 | Anachronox | rpg |
4.13
|
| 07 | Mario and Luigi | action |
4.08
|
| 08 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
4.05
|
| 09 | Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel | strategy |
4.02
|
| 10 | Independence War 2: Edge Of Chaos | vehicle simulation |
4.00
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Crazy Taxi | racing |
4.25
|
| 02 | DOSBox | application |
4.19
|
| 03 | Chessmaster 9000 | strategy |
4.18
|
| 04 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy |
4.18
|
| 05 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.14
|
| 06 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
4.10
|
| 07 | Syberia | adventure |
4.01
|
| 08 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
4.00
|
| 09 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.81
|
| 10 | X-COM: Alliance | shooter |
3.78
|