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.
| # | 1982 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zork I: The Great Underground Empire | adventure |
3.97
|
| 02 | Paratrooper | shooter |
3.87
|
| 03 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.74
|
| 04 | PC-Man | action |
3.70
|
| 05 | Deadline | adventure |
3.68
|
| 06 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.65
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Frogger | action |
4.11
|
| 02 | Lode Runner | action |
4.03
|
| 03 | Digger | action |
4.00
|
| 04 | Rogue | rpg |
3.97
|
| 05 | The Hobbit | adventure |
3.91
|
| 06 | Galaxian | shooter |
3.90
|
| 07 | Defender | shooter |
3.90
|
| 08 | Battlezone | shooter |
3.87
|
| 09 | Donkey Kong | action |
3.85
|
| 10 | Planetfall | adventure |
3.74
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action |
4.08
|
| 02 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
3.99
|
| 03 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
3.96
|
| 04 | DND | rpg |
3.88
|
| 05 | King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown | adventure |
3.77
|
| 06 | Jumpman | action |
3.77
|
| 07 | Pong v.2.1 clone | action |
3.77
|
| 08 | Hack | rpg |
3.74
|
| 09 | Styx | action |
3.74
|
| 10 | Below The Root | action-adventure |
3.61
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | A mind forever voyaging | adventure |
4.09
|
| 02 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.01
|
| 03 | James Bond 007: A View to a Kill | adventure |
4.00
|
| 04 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne | adventure |
3.97
|
| 05 | Hacker | simulation |
3.93
|
| 06 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
3.92
|
| 07 | Spacewar | shooter |
3.87
|
| 08 | Strip Poker: A Sizzling Game of Chance | strategy |
3.70
|
| 09 | Ultima 3: Exodus | rpg |
3.53
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Turbo Prolog 2.0 | application |
4.13
|
| 02 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.11
|
| 03 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation |
4.08
|
| 04 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.03
|
| 05 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
4.00
|
| 06 | Alter Ego: Male Version | simulation |
4.00
|
| 07 | Starflight | rpg |
3.96
|
| 08 | James Bond 007: Goldfinger | adventure |
3.95
|
| 09 | Wordstar 4 | application |
3.90
|
| 10 | Karateka | action |
3.88
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Borland Turbo Basic 1.0 | application |
4.30
|
| 02 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.15
|
| 03 | Elite | vehicle simulation |
4.11
|
| 04 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.10
|
| 05 | Tetris | puzzle |
4.07
|
| 06 | Sid Meier's Pirates! | strategy |
4.06
|
| 07 | Test Drive | racing |
4.05
|
| 08 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure |
4.00
|
| 09 | The Great Giana Sisters | action |
3.98
|
| 10 | The Bard's Tale | rpg |
3.94
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Star Wars | vehicle simulation |
4.13
|
| 02 | Arkanoid | action |
4.13
|
| 03 | 2400 A.D. | rpg |
4.07
|
| 04 | Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny | rpg |
4.05
|
| 05 | F-19 Stealth fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.05
|
| 06 | Bad Dudes VS Dragon Ninja | action |
4.04
|
| 07 | Leisure Suit Larry 2: Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) | adventure |
4.00
|
| 08 | Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders | adventure |
4.00
|
| 09 | Star Command | strategy |
4.00
|
| 10 | Life & Death | simulation |
4.00
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Dungeon Master | rpg |
4.14
|
| 02 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure |
4.11
|
| 03 | A-10 Tank Killer | vehicle simulation |
4.10
|
| 04 | Indianapolis 500 | racing |
4.10
|
| 05 | Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs | sports |
4.09
|
| 06 | Starflight 2: Trade routes of the Cloud Nebula | rpg |
4.09
|
| 07 | F-15 Strike Eagle II | vehicle simulation |
4.09
|
| 08 | The Sentinel | puzzle |
4.08
|
| 09 | Hero's Quest: So you want to be a hero | adventure |
4.07
|
| 10 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.06
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.21
|
| 02 | Prince of Persia | action |
4.13
|
| 03 | Kick off 2 | sports |
4.10
|
| 04 | Centurion: Defender of Rome | strategy |
4.09
|
| 05 | F29 Retaliator | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| 06 | Champions of Krynn | rpg |
4.07
|
| 07 | Operation Stealth | adventure |
4.07
|
| 08 | The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate | rpg |
4.06
|
| 09 | Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers get all the girls | adventure |
4.06
|
| 10 | The Oregon Trail | simulation |
4.06
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.21
|
| 02 | Civilization | strategy |
4.16
|
| 03 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.10
|
| 04 | Another World | action-adventure |
4.10
|
| 05 | Magnetic Scrolls Collection | adventure |
4.10
|
| 06 | Golden Axe | action |
4.10
|
| 07 | SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony | simulation |
4.09
|
| 08 | Jones in the Fast Lane | simulation |
4.08
|
| 09 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure |
4.08
|
| 10 | Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.07
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.19
|
| 02 | Wolfenstein 3D | shooter |
4.12
|
| 03 | Dune | strategy |
4.12
|
| 04 | Alone in the Dark | action-adventure |
4.10
|
| 05 | Titus the Fox | action |
4.10
|
| 06 | B-17 Flying fortress | vehicle simulation |
4.10
|
| 07 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | adventure |
4.09
|
| 08 | Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.09
|
| 09 | Angband | rpg |
4.09
|
| 10 | KGB | adventure |
4.08
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.17
|
| 02 | Doom | shooter |
4.16
|
| 03 | Castle of the Winds | rpg |
4.13
|
| 04 | The Incredible Machine | puzzle |
4.12
|
| 05 | The Settlers | strategy |
4.11
|
| 06 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.11
|
| 07 | Legend of Kyrandia 2: Hand of fate | adventure |
4.11
|
| 08 | Ultima 7 Part 2: Serpent Isle | rpg |
4.10
|
| 09 | Frontier: Elite 2 | vehicle simulation |
4.09
|
| 10 | Syndicate | strategy |
4.09
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.23
|
| 02 | Panzer General | strategy |
4.13
|
| 03 | Master of Magic | strategy |
4.11
|
| 04 | Warcraft: Orcs and Humans | strategy |
4.09
|
| 05 | Disney's Aladdin | action |
4.09
|
| 06 | Quarantine | racing |
4.08
|
| 07 | Strip Poker Professional | strategy |
4.08
|
| 08 | Colonization | strategy |
4.08
|
| 09 | Heretic | shooter |
4.07
|
| 10 | One Must Fall 2097 | action |
4.06
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.13
|
| 02 | Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness | strategy |
4.11
|
| 03 | FIFA Soccer 96 | sports |
4.11
|
| 04 | Frontier: First Encounters | vehicle simulation |
4.10
|
| 05 | Steel Panthers | strategy |
4.10
|
| 06 | Star Wars: Dark Forces | shooter |
4.09
|
| 07 | Heroes of Might and Magic | strategy |
4.09
|
| 08 | Descent | shooter |
4.09
|
| 09 | Screamer | racing |
4.08
|
| 10 | True love | adventure |
4.07
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.24
|
| 02 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.18
|
| 03 | Duke Nukem 3D | shooter |
4.15
|
| 04 | Quake | shooter |
4.10
|
| 05 | Albion | rpg |
4.09
|
| 06 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert | strategy |
4.09
|
| 07 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy |
4.07
|
| 08 | Crusader: No Regret | shooter |
4.07
|
| 09 | Discworld 2: Mortality Bytes! | adventure |
4.05
|
| 10 | Fantasy General | strategy |
4.04
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Theme Hospital | simulation |
4.10
|
| 02 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.10
|
| 03 | Fallout | rpg |
4.09
|
| 04 | Virtua Cop 2 | strategy |
4.08
|
| 05 | Dungeon Keeper | strategy |
4.08
|
| 06 | Virtua Cop | shooter |
4.07
|
| 07 | Panzer General 2 | strategy |
4.07
|
| 08 | Blade Runner | adventure |
4.06
|
| 09 | Blood | shooter |
4.06
|
| 10 | Grand Theft Auto | racing |
4.05
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | House of the Dead | shooter |
4.10
|
| 02 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.10
|
| 03 | 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy | strategy |
4.06
|
| 04 | Axis and Allies | strategy |
4.06
|
| 05 | Railroad Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.05
|
| 06 | Sanitarium | adventure |
4.05
|
| 07 | Dope Wars | simulation |
4.05
|
| 08 | Mega Man X3 | shooter |
4.00
|
| 09 | Fatal Relations | adventure |
3.94
|
| 10 | Avalon | rpg |
3.93
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter |
4.16
|
| 02 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure |
4.09
|
| 03 | Three Sisters' Story | adventure |
4.06
|
| 04 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.04
|
| 05 | Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia | strategy |
4.04
|
| 06 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.03
|
| 07 | Star Trek: Starfleet Command | vehicle simulation |
3.98
|
| 08 | Pharaoh | simulation |
3.89
|
| 09 | Yoot Tower | simulation |
3.89
|
| 10 | SimCity 3000 | simulation |
3.84
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.04
|
| 02 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
3.98
|
| 03 | Arrakis | strategy |
3.85
|
| 04 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
3.68
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
4.03
|
| 02 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
3.90
|
| 03 | Mario and Luigi | action |
3.85
|
| 04 | Empire Earth | strategy |
3.80
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Syberia | adventure |
4.00
|
| 02 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
3.95
|
| 03 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
3.95
|
| 04 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
3.84
|
| 05 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.82
|
