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 | Zork I: The Great Underground Empire | adventure |
4.13
|
| 02 | PC-Man | action |
4.10
|
| 03 | Paratrooper | shooter |
3.94
|
| 04 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.78
|
| 05 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.76
|
| 06 | Deadline | adventure |
3.69
|
| 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 |
3.60
|
| 10 | Pac-girl | action |
3.58
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Borland Turbo Pascal 2.0 | application |
4.21
|
| 02 | Lode Runner | action |
4.12
|
| 03 | Defender | shooter |
4.12
|
| 04 | Battlezone | shooter |
4.11
|
| 05 | Frogger | action |
4.10
|
| 06 | Digger | action |
4.07
|
| 07 | Donkey Kong | action |
4.05
|
| 08 | Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | simulation |
4.04
|
| 09 | Rogue | rpg |
4.00
|
| 10 | Planetfall | adventure |
3.98
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action |
4.20
|
| 02 | Archon: the Light and the Dark | strategy |
4.16
|
| 03 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.09
|
| 04 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
4.07
|
| 05 | Montezuma's Revenge | action |
4.00
|
| 06 | Zyll | adventure |
3.95
|
| 07 | DND | rpg |
3.94
|
| 08 | King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown | adventure |
3.94
|
| 09 | Zork III: The Dungeon Master | adventure |
3.93
|
| 10 | Pong v.2.1 clone | action |
3.84
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alice: The Personal Pascal | application |
4.46
|
| 02 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
4.13
|
| 03 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.10
|
| 04 | A mind forever voyaging | adventure |
4.07
|
| 05 | 9 Princes in Amber | adventure |
4.04
|
| 06 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne | adventure |
4.00
|
| 07 | Spacewar | shooter |
3.98
|
| 08 | The mist | adventure |
3.97
|
| 09 | Star Trek: the Kobayashi alternative | adventure |
3.95
|
| 10 | Perry Mason | adventure |
3.95
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Leather Goddesses of Phobos | adventure |
4.20
|
| 02 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
4.18
|
| 03 | Wordstar 4 | application |
4.15
|
| 04 | The Chessmaster 2000 | strategy |
4.15
|
| 05 | Turbo Prolog 2.0 | application |
4.09
|
| 06 | Conflict in Vietnam | strategy |
4.09
|
| 07 | Starflight | rpg |
4.08
|
| 08 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| 09 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation |
4.05
|
| 10 | AutoCAD 2.5 | application |
4.00
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.21
|
| 02 | Test Drive | racing |
4.19
|
| 03 | Driller | action-adventure |
4.18
|
| 04 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.18
|
| 05 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure |
4.14
|
| 06 | Borland Turbo Basic 1.0 | application |
4.14
|
| 07 | Sid Meier's Pirates! | strategy |
4.12
|
| 08 | Tetris | puzzle |
4.11
|
| 09 | Elite | vehicle simulation |
4.11
|
| 10 | Wheel of fortune | puzzle |
4.10
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | GW-BASIC 3 | application |
4.52
|
| 02 | Deluxe Paint 2 | application |
4.32
|
| 03 | Skate or Die | sports |
4.18
|
| 04 | Battle Chess | strategy |
4.16
|
| 05 | Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny | rpg |
4.16
|
| 06 | Police Quest 2: The Vengeance | adventure |
4.15
|
| 07 | Grand Prix Circuit | racing |
4.13
|
| 08 | Shadowgate | adventure |
4.09
|
| 09 | Corruption | adventure |
4.09
|
| 10 | World class leaderboard | sports |
4.09
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Rick Dangerous | action |
4.23
|
| 02 | Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals | adventure |
4.19
|
| 03 | The Duel: Test Drive 2 | racing |
4.18
|
| 04 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.17
|
| 05 | Pipe Dream | puzzle |
4.16
|
| 06 | Dungeon Master | rpg |
4.14
|
| 07 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure |
4.14
|
| 08 | Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur | adventure |
4.14
|
| 09 | Indianapolis 500 | racing |
4.13
|
| 10 | The Sentinel | puzzle |
4.13
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.25
|
| 02 | The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate | rpg |
4.24
|
| 03 | Xenon 2: Megablast | shooter |
4.20
|
| 04 | Tetris 2.0 | puzzle |
4.19
|
| 05 | Silent Service 2 | vehicle simulation |
4.18
|
| 06 | Puzznic | puzzle |
4.18
|
| 07 | Cadaver | action-adventure |
4.15
|
| 08 | Prince of Persia | action |
4.15
|
| 09 | Arj | application |
4.15
|
| 10 | F29 Retaliator | vehicle simulation |
4.14
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | QBasic | application |
4.35
|
| 02 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.24
|
| 03 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle |
4.23
|
| 04 | Golden Axe | action |
4.22
|
| 05 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.21
|
| 06 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure |
4.20
|
| 07 | Team Suzuki | racing |
4.20
|
| 08 | Commander Keen 6: Aliens Ate my Baby Sitter! | action |
4.18
|
| 09 | Gods | action |
4.18
|
| 10 | Civilization | strategy |
4.15
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | application |
4.28
|
| 02 | Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.25
|
| 03 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.24
|
| 04 | Tetris Classic | puzzle |
4.22
|
| 05 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | adventure |
4.16
|
| 06 | Star Trek: 25th Anniversary | adventure |
4.15
|
| 07 | Titus the Fox | action |
4.15
|
| 08 | Dune II: The building of a dynasty | strategy |
4.15
|
| 09 | Realms of Arkania 1: Blade of destiny | rpg |
4.14
|
| 10 | Dark Queen of Krynn | rpg |
4.14
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.22
|
| 02 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.21
|
| 03 | Clash of Steel | strategy |
4.20
|
| 04 | Doom | shooter |
4.18
|
| 05 | Police Quest: Open Season | adventure |
4.17
|
| 06 | Populous 2: Trials of the Olympian Gods | strategy |
4.17
|
| 07 | Castle of the Winds | rpg |
4.17
|
| 08 | Flashback: The Quest for Identity | action |
4.17
|
| 09 | Championship Manager Italia | sports |
4.16
|
| 10 | Space Quest 5: The Next Mutation | adventure |
4.16
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter |
4.26
|
| 02 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.26
|
| 03 | NASCAR Racing | racing |
4.17
|
| 04 | Warcraft: Orcs and Humans | strategy |
4.17
|
| 05 | Colonization | strategy |
4.16
|
| 06 | Micro Machines | racing |
4.16
|
| 07 | Great Naval Battles vol. 2: Guadalcanal 1942 - 43 | vehicle simulation |
4.16
|
| 08 | Disney's Aladdin | action |
4.14
|
| 09 | Heretic | shooter |
4.14
|
| 10 | Master of Magic | strategy |
4.13
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Hexen: Beyond Heretic | shooter |
4.20
|
| 02 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.18
|
| 03 | Caesar 2 | simulation |
4.17
|
| 04 | Whiplash | racing |
4.16
|
| 05 | Star Wars: Dark Forces | shooter |
4.15
|
| 06 | The Need for Speed | racing |
4.15
|
| 07 | The Dig | adventure |
4.14
|
| 08 | Virtual Pool | sports |
4.14
|
| 09 | Fade to Black | action-adventure |
4.13
|
| 10 | Witchaven | shooter |
4.12
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.22
|
| 02 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.20
|
| 03 | Road Rash | racing |
4.20
|
| 04 | Alien Trilogy | shooter |
4.18
|
| 05 | Quake | shooter |
4.17
|
| 06 | The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall | rpg |
4.16
|
| 07 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy |
4.15
|
| 08 | Fantasy General | strategy |
4.14
|
| 09 | The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Rose Tattoo | adventure |
4.13
|
| 10 | 3 Skulls of the Toltecs | adventure |
4.13
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter |
4.20
|
| 02 | Dilbert's Desktop Games | action |
4.16
|
| 03 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.16
|
| 04 | Virtua Cop | shooter |
4.14
|
| 05 | An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire | rpg |
4.13
|
| 06 | Blood | shooter |
4.12
|
| 07 | Blade Runner | adventure |
4.11
|
| 08 | Total Annihilation | strategy |
4.11
|
| 09 | Slash'Em | rpg |
4.10
|
| 10 | Atomic Bomberman | action |
4.10
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | People's General | strategy |
4.19
|
| 02 | Caesar 3 | simulation |
4.18
|
| 03 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.15
|
| 04 | Army Men | strategy |
4.14
|
| 05 | Fallout 2 | rpg |
4.12
|
| 06 | Axis and Allies | strategy |
4.11
|
| 07 | House of the Dead | shooter |
4.11
|
| 08 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.11
|
| 09 | Mega Man X3 | shooter |
4.10
|
| 10 | Dope Wars | simulation |
4.09
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Roller Coaster Tycoon | simulation |
4.22
|
| 02 | Jagged Alliance 2 | strategy |
4.20
|
| 03 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.19
|
| 04 | Pharaoh | simulation |
4.18
|
| 05 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure |
4.16
|
| 06 | Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz | strategy |
4.13
|
| 07 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.13
|
| 08 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter |
4.12
|
| 09 | Three Sisters' Story | adventure |
4.11
|
| 10 | Grand Theft Auto 2 | action-adventure |
4.07
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
4.10
|
| 02 | Ground Control | strategy |
4.10
|
| 03 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.07
|
| 04 | Nox | rpg |
4.00
|
| 05 | Deus Ex | rpg |
4.00
|
| 06 | Icewind Dale | rpg |
3.96
|
| 07 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
3.94
|
| 08 | Cultures | strategy |
3.89
|
| 09 | Arrakis | strategy |
3.76
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Empire Earth | strategy |
4.11
|
| 02 | Mario and Luigi | action |
4.05
|
| 03 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
4.01
|
| 04 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
3.98
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy |
4.16
|
| 02 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.15
|
| 03 | DOSBox | application |
4.13
|
| 04 | Syberia | adventure |
4.11
|
| 05 | Chessmaster 9000 | strategy |
4.09
|
| 06 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
3.95
|
| 07 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
3.85
|
| 08 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.82
|