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 |
3.98
|
| 02 | Paratrooper | shooter |
3.91
|
| 03 | PC-Man | action |
3.86
|
| 04 | Deadline | adventure |
3.72
|
| 05 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.72
|
| 06 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.69
|
| 07 | Astro Dodge | shooter |
3.61
|
| 08 | The Battle of the Bulge: Tigers in the Snow | strategy |
3.54
|
| 09 | Crossfire | shooter |
3.52
|
| 10 | Adventure in Serenia | adventure |
3.52
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Frogger | action |
4.07
|
| 02 | Lode Runner | action |
4.04
|
| 03 | Digger | action |
3.98
|
| 04 | Rogue | rpg |
3.97
|
| 05 | Defender | shooter |
3.96
|
| 06 | Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | simulation |
3.95
|
| 07 | Borland Turbo Pascal 2.0 | application |
3.95
|
| 08 | Battlezone | shooter |
3.94
|
| 09 | Galaxian | shooter |
3.89
|
| 10 | The Hobbit | adventure |
3.86
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action |
4.09
|
| 02 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.01
|
| 03 | Archon: the Light and the Dark | strategy |
3.95
|
| 04 | Montezuma's Revenge | action |
3.91
|
| 05 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
3.88
|
| 06 | DND | rpg |
3.87
|
| 07 | Zork III: The Dungeon Master | adventure |
3.84
|
| 08 | Jumpman | action |
3.81
|
| 09 | Pong v.2.1 clone | action |
3.77
|
| 10 | Styx | action |
3.74
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.05
|
| 02 | A mind forever voyaging | adventure |
4.02
|
| 03 | 9 Princes in Amber | adventure |
4.00
|
| 04 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne | adventure |
3.97
|
| 05 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
3.93
|
| 06 | Hacker | simulation |
3.91
|
| 07 | The mist | adventure |
3.89
|
| 08 | Spacewar | shooter |
3.88
|
| 09 | James Bond 007: A View to a Kill | adventure |
3.84
|
| 10 | Silent Service | vehicle simulation |
3.83
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Turbo Prolog 2.0 | application |
4.11
|
| 02 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation |
4.10
|
| 03 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
4.06
|
| 04 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.06
|
| 05 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.05
|
| 06 | Alter Ego: Male Version | simulation |
4.02
|
| 07 | Conflict in Vietnam | strategy |
4.00
|
| 08 | The Chessmaster 2000 | strategy |
4.00
|
| 09 | The Great Escape | action-adventure |
3.97
|
| 10 | James Bond 007: Goldfinger | adventure |
3.95
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.19
|
| 02 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.10
|
| 03 | Elite | vehicle simulation |
4.10
|
| 04 | Sid Meier's Pirates! | strategy |
4.07
|
| 05 | Tetris | puzzle |
4.04
|
| 06 | Borland Turbo Basic 1.0 | application |
4.02
|
| 07 | Test Drive | racing |
4.01
|
| 08 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure |
3.98
|
| 09 | The lurking horror | adventure |
3.96
|
| 10 | The Great Giana Sisters | action |
3.94
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Grand Prix Circuit | racing |
4.12
|
| 02 | Leisure Suit Larry 2: Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) | adventure |
4.09
|
| 03 | Life & Death | simulation |
4.05
|
| 04 | F-19 Stealth Fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.05
|
| 05 | Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny | rpg |
4.03
|
| 06 | Star Wars | vehicle simulation |
4.03
|
| 07 | Star Command | strategy |
4.01
|
| 08 | Arkanoid | action |
4.01
|
| 09 | Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders | adventure |
4.00
|
| 10 | Uridium | shooter |
4.00
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Dungeon Master | rpg |
4.15
|
| 02 | Rick Dangerous | action |
4.11
|
| 03 | The Cycles | racing |
4.10
|
| 04 | Indianapolis 500 | racing |
4.09
|
| 05 | Pipe Dream | puzzle |
4.09
|
| 06 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure |
4.08
|
| 07 | A-10 Tank Killer | vehicle simulation |
4.06
|
| 08 | The Magic Candle 1 | rpg |
4.06
|
| 09 | Ferrari Formula 1 | racing |
4.05
|
| 10 | Ports of Call | simulation |
4.05
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.21
|
| 02 | The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate | rpg |
4.08
|
| 03 | Loom | adventure |
4.08
|
| 04 | F29 Retaliator | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| 05 | The Oregon Trail | simulation |
4.06
|
| 06 | Tetris 2.0 | puzzle |
4.06
|
| 07 | Midwinter | strategy |
4.06
|
| 08 | North and South | strategy |
4.06
|
| 09 | Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers get all the girls | adventure |
4.05
|
| 10 | Elvira: Mistress of the Dark | adventure |
4.04
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.14
|
| 02 | Golden Axe | action |
4.14
|
| 03 | Civilization | strategy |
4.11
|
| 04 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.10
|
| 05 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle |
4.10
|
| 06 | Volfied | action |
4.10
|
| 07 | Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.07
|
| 08 | Chuck Yeager's Air Combat | vehicle simulation |
4.07
|
| 09 | Megafortress | vehicle simulation |
4.06
|
| 10 | Elite Plus | vehicle simulation |
4.05
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.15
|
| 02 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | adventure |
4.11
|
| 03 | Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.10
|
| 04 | Dune II: The building of a dynasty | strategy |
4.10
|
| 05 | Gobliiins | adventure |
4.07
|
| 06 | F-15 Strike Eagle III | vehicle simulation |
4.07
|
| 07 | Aces of the Pacific | vehicle simulation |
4.07
|
| 08 | Speedball 2 | sports |
4.07
|
| 09 | 1000 Miglia | racing |
4.07
|
| 10 | KGB | adventure |
4.06
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Incredible Machine | puzzle |
4.15
|
| 02 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.15
|
| 03 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.12
|
| 04 | Doom | shooter |
4.12
|
| 05 | Frontier: Elite 2 | vehicle simulation |
4.11
|
| 06 | SimCity 2000 | simulation |
4.10
|
| 07 | Syndicate | strategy |
4.08
|
| 08 | Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers | adventure |
4.08
|
| 09 | Space Hulk | strategy |
4.08
|
| 10 | Castle of the Winds | rpg |
4.07
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.21
|
| 02 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter |
4.11
|
| 03 | Master of Magic | strategy |
4.10
|
| 04 | Warcraft: Orcs and Humans | strategy |
4.10
|
| 05 | Panzer General | strategy |
4.08
|
| 06 | Lords of the Realm | strategy |
4.07
|
| 07 | Armored fist | vehicle simulation |
4.06
|
| 08 | The Incredible Machine 2 | puzzle |
4.06
|
| 09 | Marathon | shooter |
4.06
|
| 10 | Hocus Pocus | action |
4.05
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.12
|
| 02 | Caesar 2 | simulation |
4.09
|
| 03 | Frontier: First Encounters | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| 04 | Worms | strategy |
4.06
|
| 05 | FIFA Soccer 96 | sports |
4.04
|
| 06 | The Dig | adventure |
4.03
|
| 07 | Heroes of Might and Magic | strategy |
4.03
|
| 08 | Hexen: Beyond Heretic | shooter |
4.03
|
| 09 | X-COM: Terror from the Deep | strategy |
4.02
|
| 10 | Ascendancy | strategy |
4.01
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.19
|
| 02 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.11
|
| 03 | Super Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.08
|
| 04 | Fantasy General | strategy |
4.08
|
| 05 | Duke Nukem 3D | shooter |
4.08
|
| 06 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy |
4.07
|
| 07 | Albion | rpg |
4.05
|
| 08 | The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall | rpg |
4.05
|
| 09 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert | strategy |
4.04
|
| 10 | Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games | strategy |
4.04
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.09
|
| 02 | Fallout | rpg |
4.06
|
| 03 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter |
4.05
|
| 04 | Blood | shooter |
4.05
|
| 05 | Entrepreneur | simulation |
4.03
|
| 06 | Virtua Cop | shooter |
4.03
|
| 07 | Theme Hospital | simulation |
4.02
|
| 08 | Panzer General 2 | strategy |
4.02
|
| 09 | Dilbert's Desktop Games | action |
4.01
|
| 10 | Constructor | simulation |
4.00
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy | strategy |
4.07
|
| 02 | Mega Man X3 | shooter |
4.05
|
| 03 | Dope Wars | simulation |
4.05
|
| 04 | Sanitarium | adventure |
4.04
|
| 05 | House of the Dead | shooter |
4.04
|
| 06 | Axis and Allies | strategy |
4.02
|
| 07 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.02
|
| 08 | Railroad Tycoon 2 | simulation |
3.99
|
| 09 | People's General | strategy |
3.96
|
| 10 | Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines | strategy |
3.92
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter |
4.20
|
| 02 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure |
4.10
|
| 03 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.08
|
| 04 | Three Sisters' Story | adventure |
4.07
|
| 05 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.07
|
| 06 | Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty | strategy |
3.97
|
| 07 | Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia | strategy |
3.96
|
| 08 | Outcast | action-adventure |
3.96
|
| 09 | Grand Theft Auto 2 | action-adventure |
3.96
|
| 10 | Pharaoh | simulation |
3.96
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
4.06
|
| 02 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.02
|
| 03 | Cultures | strategy |
4.00
|
| 04 | Icewind Dale | rpg |
3.96
|
| 05 | Ground Control | strategy |
3.92
|
| 06 | Arrakis | strategy |
3.76
|
| 07 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
3.70
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
3.97
|
| 02 | Mario and Luigi | action |
3.88
|
| 03 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
3.84
|
| 04 | Empire Earth | strategy |
3.83
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.03
|
| 02 | Syberia | adventure |
3.97
|
| 03 | DOSBox | application |
3.97
|
| 04 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
3.87
|
| 05 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
3.83
|
| 06 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.80
|
| 07 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy |
3.65
|