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.
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| # | 1982 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zork I: The Great Underground Empire | adventure |
4.12
|
| 02 | PC-Man | action |
4.11
|
| 03 | Paratrooper | shooter |
3.94
|
| 04 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.80
|
| 05 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.76
|
| 06 | Wizardry 2: The knight of diamonds | rpg |
3.68
|
| 07 | Adventure in Serenia | adventure |
3.68
|
| 08 | Deadline | adventure |
3.66
|
| 09 | The Battle of the Bulge: Tigers in the Snow | strategy |
3.60
|
| 10 | Astro Dodge | shooter |
3.56
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Borland Turbo Pascal 2.0 | application |
4.19
|
| 02 | Defender | shooter |
4.12
|
| 03 | Lode Runner | action |
4.11
|
| 04 | Frogger | action |
4.10
|
| 05 | Battlezone | shooter |
4.10
|
| 06 | Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | simulation |
4.04
|
| 07 | Donkey Kong | action |
4.04
|
| 08 | Digger | action |
4.00
|
| 09 | Rogue | rpg |
4.00
|
| 10 | Planetfall | adventure |
3.92
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action |
4.24
|
| 02 | Archon: the Light and the Dark | strategy |
4.16
|
| 03 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.07
|
| 04 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
4.07
|
| 05 | King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown | adventure |
3.98
|
| 06 | Montezuma's Revenge | action |
3.97
|
| 07 | DND | rpg |
3.96
|
| 08 | Zyll | adventure |
3.95
|
| 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 |
4.40
|
| 02 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
4.12
|
| 03 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.09
|
| 04 | A mind forever voyaging | adventure |
4.05
|
| 05 | 9 Princes in Amber | adventure |
4.04
|
| 06 | Star Trek: the Kobayashi alternative | adventure |
4.00
|
| 07 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne | adventure |
4.00
|
| 08 | The mist | adventure |
3.97
|
| 09 | Spacewar | shooter |
3.96
|
| 10 | Hacker | simulation |
3.94
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.16
|
| 02 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
4.13
|
| 03 | Leather Goddesses of Phobos | adventure |
4.13
|
| 04 | The Chessmaster 2000 | strategy |
4.12
|
| 05 | Turbo Prolog 2.0 | application |
4.11
|
| 06 | Wordstar 4 | application |
4.09
|
| 07 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| 08 | Conflict in Vietnam | strategy |
4.06
|
| 09 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation |
4.05
|
| 10 | Starflight | rpg |
4.04
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Test Drive | racing |
4.20
|
| 02 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.19
|
| 03 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.17
|
| 04 | Driller | action-adventure |
4.14
|
| 05 | Tetris | puzzle |
4.12
|
| 06 | Sid Meier's Pirates! | strategy |
4.10
|
| 07 | Borland Turbo Basic 1.0 | application |
4.10
|
| 08 | Elite | vehicle simulation |
4.09
|
| 09 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure |
4.08
|
| 10 | Wheel of fortune | puzzle |
4.05
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Skate or Die | sports |
4.17
|
| 02 | Battle Chess | strategy |
4.13
|
| 03 | Grand Prix Circuit | racing |
4.13
|
| 04 | Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny | rpg |
4.13
|
| 05 | Batman: the Caped Crusader | action-adventure |
4.09
|
| 06 | World class leaderboard | sports |
4.09
|
| 07 | Double Dragon II: The Revenge | action |
4.09
|
| 08 | Shadowgate | adventure |
4.07
|
| 09 | Bad Dudes VS Dragon Ninja | action |
4.06
|
| 10 | Leisure Suit Larry 2: Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) | adventure |
4.06
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Duel: Test Drive 2 | racing |
4.19
|
| 02 | Rick Dangerous | action |
4.18
|
| 03 | Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals | adventure |
4.18
|
| 04 | Pipe Dream | puzzle |
4.17
|
| 05 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.17
|
| 06 | Stunt Car Racer | racing |
4.14
|
| 07 | Starflight 2: Trade routes of the Cloud Nebula | rpg |
4.13
|
| 08 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure |
4.13
|
| 09 | The Sentinel | puzzle |
4.13
|
| 10 | Where in time is Carmen Sandiego? | adventure |
4.13
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.25
|
| 02 | The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate | rpg |
4.21
|
| 03 | Tetris 2.0 | puzzle |
4.20
|
| 04 | Xenon 2: Megablast | shooter |
4.17
|
| 05 | F29 Retaliator | vehicle simulation |
4.16
|
| 06 | Ultima 6: The False Prophet | rpg |
4.14
|
| 07 | Silent Service 2 | vehicle simulation |
4.14
|
| 08 | Puzznic | puzzle |
4.13
|
| 09 | Prince of Persia | action |
4.13
|
| 10 | The Oregon Trail | simulation |
4.12
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.23
|
| 02 | Gods | action |
4.23
|
| 03 | Golden Axe | action |
4.22
|
| 04 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure |
4.21
|
| 05 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.20
|
| 06 | QBasic | application |
4.20
|
| 07 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle |
4.20
|
| 08 | Civilization | strategy |
4.15
|
| 09 | Formula 1 Grand Prix | racing |
4.13
|
| 10 | Maupiti Island | adventure |
4.13
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | application |
4.25
|
| 02 | Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.24
|
| 03 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.22
|
| 04 | Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant | rpg |
4.17
|
| 05 | Star Trek: 25th Anniversary | adventure |
4.15
|
| 06 | Realms of Arkania 1: Blade of destiny | rpg |
4.14
|
| 07 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | adventure |
4.14
|
| 08 | Titus the Fox | action |
4.14
|
| 09 | Spear of Destiny | shooter |
4.14
|
| 10 | Dune II: The building of a dynasty | strategy |
4.13
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Populous 2: Trials of the Olympian Gods | strategy |
4.23
|
| 02 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.20
|
| 03 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.18
|
| 04 | Doom | shooter |
4.17
|
| 05 | Castle of the Winds | rpg |
4.17
|
| 06 | Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk | action-adventure |
4.17
|
| 07 | The Settlers | strategy |
4.16
|
| 08 | Wing Commander: Privateer | vehicle simulation |
4.15
|
| 09 | Dungeon Hack | rpg |
4.15
|
| 10 | Championship Manager Italia | sports |
4.14
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.25
|
| 02 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter |
4.23
|
| 03 | Warcraft: Orcs and Humans | strategy |
4.17
|
| 04 | NASCAR Racing | racing |
4.16
|
| 05 | Hocus Pocus | action |
4.16
|
| 06 | The Incredible Toon Machine | puzzle |
4.16
|
| 07 | Micro Machines | racing |
4.16
|
| 08 | Colonization | strategy |
4.15
|
| 09 | Heretic | shooter |
4.13
|
| 10 | Master of Magic | strategy |
4.13
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.18
|
| 02 | The Dig | adventure |
4.17
|
| 03 | Hexen: Beyond Heretic | shooter |
4.16
|
| 04 | Star Wars: Dark Forces | shooter |
4.15
|
| 05 | The Need for Speed | racing |
4.14
|
| 06 | Whiplash | racing |
4.14
|
| 07 | High Seas Trader | simulation |
4.11
|
| 08 | Witchaven | shooter |
4.11
|
| 09 | Shannara | adventure |
4.11
|
| 10 | Heroes of Might and Magic | strategy |
4.11
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.21
|
| 02 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.18
|
| 03 | Road Rash | racing |
4.18
|
| 04 | The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall | rpg |
4.15
|
| 05 | Quake | shooter |
4.14
|
| 06 | Fantasy General | strategy |
4.13
|
| 07 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy |
4.13
|
| 08 | Crusader: No Regret | shooter |
4.13
|
| 09 | Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games | strategy |
4.11
|
| 10 | Z | strategy |
4.09
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter |
4.19
|
| 02 | Dilbert's Desktop Games | action |
4.15
|
| 03 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.15
|
| 04 | Virtua Cop | shooter |
4.12
|
| 05 | Atomic Bomberman | action |
4.11
|
| 06 | An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire | rpg |
4.11
|
| 07 | Slash'Em | rpg |
4.10
|
| 08 | Blade Runner | adventure |
4.09
|
| 09 | Blood | shooter |
4.07
|
| 10 | Fallout | rpg |
4.07
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Army Men | strategy |
4.22
|
| 02 | Caesar 3 | simulation |
4.17
|
| 03 | People's General | strategy |
4.13
|
| 04 | House of the Dead | shooter |
4.10
|
| 05 | Mega Man X3 | shooter |
4.10
|
| 06 | Dope Wars | simulation |
4.10
|
| 07 | Axis and Allies | strategy |
4.09
|
| 08 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.09
|
| 09 | Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines | strategy |
4.09
|
| 10 | Railroad Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.08
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.18
|
| 02 | Jagged Alliance 2 | strategy |
4.18
|
| 03 | Three Sisters' Story | adventure |
4.17
|
| 04 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.16
|
| 05 | Pharaoh | simulation |
4.14
|
| 06 | Roller Coaster Tycoon | simulation |
4.12
|
| 07 | Mick's Strip Poker | strategy |
4.11
|
| 08 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter |
4.09
|
| 09 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure |
4.09
|
| 10 | Outcast | action-adventure |
4.08
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ground Control | strategy |
4.10
|
| 02 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
4.09
|
| 03 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.05
|
| 04 | Icewind Dale | rpg |
3.96
|
| 05 | Cultures | strategy |
3.94
|
| 06 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
3.93
|
| 07 | Arrakis | strategy |
3.76
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Empire Earth | strategy |
4.04
|
| 02 | Mario and Luigi | action |
4.04
|
| 03 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
3.99
|
| 04 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
3.94
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Chessmaster 9000 | strategy |
4.19
|
| 02 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy |
4.15
|
| 03 | Syberia | adventure |
4.12
|
| 04 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.11
|
| 05 | DOSBox | application |
4.03
|
| 06 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
3.92
|
| 07 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
3.84
|
| 08 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.80
|