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 |
3.94
|
| 02 | Paratrooper | shooter |
3.87
|
| 03 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.74
|
| 04 | PC-Man | action |
3.70
|
| 05 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.66
|
| 06 | Deadline | adventure |
3.64
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Frogger | action |
4.11
|
| 02 | Rogue | rpg |
4.06
|
| 03 | Digger | action |
4.05
|
| 04 | Lode Runner | action |
4.03
|
| 05 | Galaxian | shooter |
4.03
|
| 06 | Donkey Kong | action |
3.91
|
| 07 | The Hobbit | adventure |
3.91
|
| 08 | Defender | shooter |
3.90
|
| 09 | Battlezone | shooter |
3.87
|
| 10 | Planetfall | adventure |
3.71
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action |
4.08
|
| 02 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.01
|
| 03 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
3.96
|
| 04 | DND | rpg |
3.88
|
| 05 | Pong v.2.1 clone | action |
3.79
|
| 06 | Jumpman | action |
3.77
|
| 07 | Styx | action |
3.74
|
| 08 | Hack | rpg |
3.72
|
| 09 | Below The Root | action-adventure |
3.60
|
| 10 | Spy Hunter | racing |
3.38
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | A mind forever voyaging | adventure |
4.09
|
| 02 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.04
|
| 03 | James Bond 007: A View to a Kill | adventure |
4.00
|
| 04 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne | adventure |
3.94
|
| 05 | Hacker | simulation |
3.93
|
| 06 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
3.90
|
| 07 | Spacewar | shooter |
3.84
|
| 08 | Strip Poker: A Sizzling Game of Chance | strategy |
3.70
|
| 09 | Ultima 3: Exodus | rpg |
3.48
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.13
|
| 02 | Turbo Prolog 2.0 | application |
4.09
|
| 03 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation |
4.08
|
| 04 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.03
|
| 05 | James Bond 007: Goldfinger | adventure |
4.03
|
| 06 | Alter Ego: Male Version | simulation |
4.00
|
| 07 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
3.98
|
| 08 | Wordstar 4 | application |
3.97
|
| 09 | Starflight | rpg |
3.96
|
| 10 | Karateka | action |
3.88
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.12
|
| 02 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.12
|
| 03 | Elite | vehicle simulation |
4.11
|
| 04 | Test Drive | racing |
4.09
|
| 05 | Tetris | puzzle |
4.07
|
| 06 | The Great Giana Sisters | action |
4.05
|
| 07 | Sid Meier's Pirates! | strategy |
4.04
|
| 08 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure |
4.00
|
| 09 | The Bard's Tale | rpg |
3.97
|
| 10 | Project: Space Station | simulation |
3.95
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Bad Dudes VS Dragon Ninja | action |
4.11
|
| 02 | Arkanoid | action |
4.10
|
| 03 | Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny | rpg |
4.08
|
| 04 | 2400 A.D. | rpg |
4.07
|
| 05 | F-19 Stealth fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.05
|
| 06 | Star Command | strategy |
4.01
|
| 07 | Leisure Suit Larry 2: Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) | adventure |
4.00
|
| 08 | Life & Death | simulation |
4.00
|
| 09 | Gold Rush! | adventure |
4.00
|
| 10 | Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders | adventure |
3.97
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Dungeon Master | rpg |
4.14
|
| 02 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.14
|
| 03 | Ferrari Formula 1 | racing |
4.12
|
| 04 | F-15 Strike Eagle II | vehicle simulation |
4.11
|
| 05 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure |
4.11
|
| 06 | A-10 Tank Killer | vehicle simulation |
4.10
|
| 07 | Indianapolis 500 | racing |
4.10
|
| 08 | Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs | sports |
4.09
|
| 09 | Starflight 2: Trade routes of the Cloud Nebula | rpg |
4.09
|
| 10 | The Sentinel | puzzle |
4.08
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.21
|
| 02 | Prince of Persia | action |
4.13
|
| 03 | F29 Retaliator | vehicle simulation |
4.11
|
| 04 | Centurion: Defender of Rome | strategy |
4.11
|
| 05 | The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate | rpg |
4.10
|
| 06 | Kick off 2 | sports |
4.10
|
| 07 | North and South | strategy |
4.09
|
| 08 | Champions of Krynn | rpg |
4.07
|
| 09 | Operation Stealth | adventure |
4.07
|
| 10 | Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers get all the girls | adventure |
4.06
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.21
|
| 02 | Civilization | strategy |
4.17
|
| 03 | Golden Axe | action |
4.15
|
| 04 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.12
|
| 05 | SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony | simulation |
4.11
|
| 06 | Another World | action-adventure |
4.10
|
| 07 | Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.09
|
| 08 | Sherlock: the Game of Logic | puzzle |
4.08
|
| 09 | Megafortress | vehicle simulation |
4.07
|
| 10 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure |
4.07
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.18
|
| 02 | Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.14
|
| 03 | Wolfenstein 3D | shooter |
4.13
|
| 04 | Titus the Fox | action |
4.11
|
| 05 | Aces of the Pacific | vehicle simulation |
4.11
|
| 06 | Alone in the Dark | action-adventure |
4.11
|
| 07 | Dune | strategy |
4.11
|
| 08 | B-17 Flying fortress | vehicle simulation |
4.10
|
| 09 | Star Control 2 | strategy |
4.09
|
| 10 | Angband | rpg |
4.09
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Doom | shooter |
4.20
|
| 02 | The Settlers | strategy |
4.16
|
| 03 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.16
|
| 04 | Castle of the Winds | rpg |
4.14
|
| 05 | The Incredible Machine | puzzle |
4.14
|
| 06 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.13
|
| 07 | Legend of Kyrandia 2: Hand of fate | adventure |
4.11
|
| 08 | Ultima 7 Part 2: Serpent Isle | rpg |
4.10
|
| 09 | Syndicate | strategy |
4.09
|
| 10 | Master of Orion | strategy |
4.08
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.22
|
| 02 | Panzer General | strategy |
4.13
|
| 03 | Warcraft: Orcs and Humans | strategy |
4.12
|
| 04 | Master of Magic | strategy |
4.12
|
| 05 | Disney's Aladdin | action |
4.11
|
| 06 | The Incredible Machine 2 | puzzle |
4.10
|
| 07 | The Elder Scrolls: Arena | rpg |
4.09
|
| 08 | Quarantine | racing |
4.08
|
| 09 | Colonization | strategy |
4.08
|
| 10 | Knights of Xentar | rpg |
4.07
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.16
|
| 02 | FIFA Soccer 96 | sports |
4.13
|
| 03 | Frontier: First Encounters | vehicle simulation |
4.12
|
| 04 | Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness | strategy |
4.12
|
| 05 | Screamer | racing |
4.11
|
| 06 | Steel Panthers | strategy |
4.10
|
| 07 | Star Wars: Dark Forces | shooter |
4.09
|
| 08 | Descent | shooter |
4.09
|
| 09 | Heroes of Might and Magic | strategy |
4.09
|
| 10 | True love | adventure |
4.09
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.24
|
| 02 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.19
|
| 03 | Duke Nukem 3D | shooter |
4.15
|
| 04 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert | strategy |
4.13
|
| 05 | Discworld 2: Mortality Bytes! | adventure |
4.10
|
| 06 | Crusader: No Regret | shooter |
4.10
|
| 07 | Quake | shooter |
4.10
|
| 08 | Albion | rpg |
4.09
|
| 09 | Death Rally | racing |
4.07
|
| 10 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy |
4.07
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.10
|
| 02 | Virtua Cop 2 | strategy |
4.10
|
| 03 | Theme Hospital | simulation |
4.09
|
| 04 | Dilbert's Desktop Games | action |
4.08
|
| 05 | Fallout | rpg |
4.08
|
| 06 | Championship Manager: Season 97/98 | sports |
4.08
|
| 07 | Panzer General 2 | strategy |
4.07
|
| 08 | Virtua Cop | shooter |
4.07
|
| 09 | Season of the Sakura | adventure |
4.06
|
| 10 | Grand Theft Auto | racing |
4.06
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.12
|
| 02 | House of the Dead | shooter |
4.11
|
| 03 | 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy | strategy |
4.09
|
| 04 | Railroad Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.08
|
| 05 | Dope Wars | simulation |
4.05
|
| 06 | Axis and Allies | strategy |
4.05
|
| 07 | Sanitarium | adventure |
4.03
|
| 08 | Mega Man X3 | shooter |
4.00
|
| 09 | Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines | strategy |
3.98
|
| 10 | Avalon | rpg |
3.98
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter |
4.14
|
| 02 | Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia | strategy |
4.09
|
| 03 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure |
4.09
|
| 04 | Three Sisters' Story | adventure |
4.07
|
| 05 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.04
|
| 06 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | 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 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
4.03
|
| 02 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.00
|
| 03 | Arrakis | strategy |
3.94
|
| 04 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
3.73
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
4.08
|
| 02 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
3.94
|
| 03 | Mario and Luigi | action |
3.91
|
| 04 | Empire Earth | strategy |
3.82
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
4.01
|
| 02 | Syberia | adventure |
4.00
|
| 03 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
3.95
|
| 04 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
3.84
|
| 05 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.78
|
