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 |
4.08
|
| 02 | PC-Man | action |
4.07
|
| 03 | Paratrooper | shooter |
3.91
|
| 04 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.80
|
| 05 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.76
|
| 06 | Deadline | adventure |
3.73
|
| 07 | Wizardry 2: The knight of diamonds | rpg |
3.68
|
| 08 | Adventure in Serenia | adventure |
3.68
|
| 09 | The Battle of the Bulge: Tigers in the Snow | strategy |
3.60
|
| 10 | Astro Dodge | shooter |
3.55
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Frogger | action |
4.10
|
| 02 | Lode Runner | action |
4.08
|
| 03 | Battlezone | shooter |
4.07
|
| 04 | Defender | shooter |
4.05
|
| 05 | Borland Turbo Pascal 2.0 | application |
4.05
|
| 06 | Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | simulation |
4.04
|
| 07 | Donkey Kong | action |
4.00
|
| 08 | Digger | action |
4.00
|
| 09 | The Hobbit | adventure |
3.97
|
| 10 | Rogue | rpg |
3.95
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action |
4.17
|
| 02 | Archon: the Light and the Dark | strategy |
4.13
|
| 03 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
4.06
|
| 04 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.05
|
| 05 | Montezuma's Revenge | action |
4.00
|
| 06 | DND | rpg |
3.96
|
| 07 | King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown | adventure |
3.95
|
| 08 | Zork III: The Dungeon Master | adventure |
3.93
|
| 09 | Zyll | adventure |
3.90
|
| 10 | Jumpman | action |
3.84
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.08
|
| 02 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
4.07
|
| 03 | A mind forever voyaging | adventure |
4.05
|
| 04 | Star Trek: the Kobayashi alternative | adventure |
4.00
|
| 05 | 9 Princes in Amber | adventure |
4.00
|
| 06 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne | adventure |
4.00
|
| 07 | Spacewar | shooter |
3.96
|
| 08 | Hacker | simulation |
3.94
|
| 09 | Wishbringer | adventure |
3.90
|
| 10 | The mist | adventure |
3.89
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
4.14
|
| 02 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.13
|
| 03 | Turbo Prolog 2.0 | application |
4.11
|
| 04 | Leather Goddesses of Phobos | adventure |
4.09
|
| 05 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| 06 | The Chessmaster 2000 | strategy |
4.04
|
| 07 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation |
4.04
|
| 08 | Conflict in Vietnam | strategy |
4.03
|
| 09 | Psi 5 Trading Company | vehicle simulation |
4.00
|
| 10 | Larn | rpg |
4.00
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.18
|
| 02 | Test Drive | racing |
4.16
|
| 03 | Borland Turbo Basic 1.0 | application |
4.14
|
| 04 | Driller | action-adventure |
4.14
|
| 05 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.13
|
| 06 | Tetris | puzzle |
4.10
|
| 07 | Sid Meier's Pirates! | strategy |
4.09
|
| 08 | Elite | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| 09 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure |
4.07
|
| 10 | Wheel of fortune | puzzle |
4.05
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Leisure Suit Larry 2: Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) | adventure |
4.13
|
| 02 | Grand Prix Circuit | racing |
4.08
|
| 03 | Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny | rpg |
4.08
|
| 04 | Bad Dudes VS Dragon Ninja | action |
4.08
|
| 05 | Shadowgate | adventure |
4.07
|
| 06 | Arkanoid | action |
4.07
|
| 07 | Double Dragon II: The Revenge | action |
4.06
|
| 08 | Battle Chess | strategy |
4.06
|
| 09 | Batman: the Caped Crusader | action-adventure |
4.05
|
| 10 | Alternate Reality: The City | rpg |
4.03
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.17
|
| 02 | Pipe Dream | puzzle |
4.17
|
| 03 | Keef the Thief: A Boy and his Lockpick | rpg |
4.15
|
| 04 | Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals | adventure |
4.14
|
| 05 | Rick Dangerous | action |
4.13
|
| 06 | Cartooners | application |
4.13
|
| 07 | Operation Wolf | shooter |
4.12
|
| 08 | Ports of Call | simulation |
4.12
|
| 09 | Dungeon Master | rpg |
4.12
|
| 10 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure |
4.11
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.23
|
| 02 | The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate | rpg |
4.16
|
| 03 | Tetris 2.0 | puzzle |
4.15
|
| 04 | Xenon 2: Megablast | shooter |
4.14
|
| 05 | North and South | strategy |
4.13
|
| 06 | Ultima 6: The False Prophet | rpg |
4.13
|
| 07 | F29 Retaliator | vehicle simulation |
4.13
|
| 08 | Centurion: Defender of Rome | strategy |
4.12
|
| 09 | Prince of Persia | action |
4.11
|
| 10 | SimEarth | simulation |
4.11
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.21
|
| 02 | Golden Axe | action |
4.21
|
| 03 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure |
4.21
|
| 04 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.20
|
| 05 | Chip's Challenge | puzzle |
4.15
|
| 06 | Civilization | strategy |
4.15
|
| 07 | Gods | action |
4.15
|
| 08 | Formula 1 Grand Prix | racing |
4.12
|
| 09 | Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.10
|
| 10 | Sherlock: the Game of Logic | puzzle |
4.09
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.22
|
| 02 | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | application |
4.18
|
| 03 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.18
|
| 04 | Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant | rpg |
4.16
|
| 05 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | adventure |
4.13
|
| 06 | KGB | adventure |
4.13
|
| 07 | 1000 Miglia | racing |
4.12
|
| 08 | Dune II: The building of a dynasty | strategy |
4.12
|
| 09 | Dark Seed | adventure |
4.12
|
| 10 | Castles 2: Siege and Conquest | strategy |
4.11
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.17
|
| 02 | Doom | shooter |
4.15
|
| 03 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.15
|
| 04 | Populous 2: Trials of the Olympian Gods | strategy |
4.14
|
| 05 | Castle of the Winds | rpg |
4.14
|
| 06 | Frontier: Elite 2 | vehicle simulation |
4.14
|
| 07 | The Settlers | strategy |
4.14
|
| 08 | Dungeon Hack | rpg |
4.14
|
| 09 | The Incredible Machine | puzzle |
4.13
|
| 10 | Space Hulk | strategy |
4.12
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.24
|
| 02 | The Incredible Toon Machine | puzzle |
4.17
|
| 03 | NASCAR Racing | racing |
4.16
|
| 04 | Doom 2: Hell on Earth | shooter |
4.16
|
| 05 | Colonization | strategy |
4.13
|
| 06 | Warcraft: Orcs and Humans | strategy |
4.13
|
| 07 | Master of Magic | strategy |
4.13
|
| 08 | Cannon Fodder | strategy |
4.11
|
| 09 | Marathon | shooter |
4.11
|
| 10 | Micro Machines | racing |
4.10
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.18
|
| 02 | Hexen: Beyond Heretic | shooter |
4.15
|
| 03 | The Dig | adventure |
4.14
|
| 04 | Shannara | adventure |
4.13
|
| 05 | Star Wars: Dark Forces | shooter |
4.12
|
| 06 | High Seas Trader | simulation |
4.12
|
| 07 | The Need for Speed | racing |
4.10
|
| 08 | Heroes of Might and Magic | strategy |
4.09
|
| 09 | Caesar 2 | simulation |
4.09
|
| 10 | FIFA Soccer 96 | sports |
4.09
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.20
|
| 02 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.19
|
| 03 | The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall | rpg |
4.16
|
| 04 | Fantasy General | strategy |
4.13
|
| 05 | Crusader: No Regret | shooter |
4.13
|
| 06 | Quake | shooter |
4.12
|
| 07 | Road Rash | racing |
4.12
|
| 08 | Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) | strategy |
4.11
|
| 09 | Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games | strategy |
4.11
|
| 10 | Duke Nukem 3D | shooter |
4.09
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter |
4.17
|
| 02 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.16
|
| 03 | Dilbert's Desktop Games | action |
4.12
|
| 04 | Virtua Cop | shooter |
4.11
|
| 05 | Slash'Em | rpg |
4.10
|
| 06 | Entrepreneur | simulation |
4.09
|
| 07 | Atomic Bomberman | action |
4.08
|
| 08 | Fallout | rpg |
4.07
|
| 09 | An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire | rpg |
4.06
|
| 10 | Theme Hospital | simulation |
4.06
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Baldur's Gate | rpg |
4.16
|
| 02 | Mega Man X3 | shooter |
4.16
|
| 03 | People's General | strategy |
4.10
|
| 04 | Army Men | strategy |
4.10
|
| 05 | House of the Dead | shooter |
4.09
|
| 06 | 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy | strategy |
4.08
|
| 07 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.08
|
| 08 | Dope Wars | simulation |
4.08
|
| 09 | Caesar 3 | simulation |
4.07
|
| 10 | Axis and Allies | strategy |
4.06
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Roller Coaster Tycoon | simulation |
4.21
|
| 02 | Jagged Alliance 2 | strategy |
4.21
|
| 03 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.17
|
| 04 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure |
4.17
|
| 05 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.12
|
| 06 | Three Sisters' Story | adventure |
4.10
|
| 07 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter |
4.08
|
| 08 | Pharaoh | simulation |
4.07
|
| 09 | Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia | strategy |
4.05
|
| 10 | Yoot Tower | simulation |
4.02
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
4.07
|
| 02 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
4.05
|
| 03 | Ground Control | strategy |
4.04
|
| 04 | Icewind Dale | rpg |
4.04
|
| 05 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
3.91
|
| 06 | Cultures | strategy |
3.87
|
| 07 | Arrakis | strategy |
3.73
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Mario and Luigi | action |
4.02
|
| 02 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
3.98
|
| 03 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
3.97
|
| 04 | Empire Earth | strategy |
3.95
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.10
|
| 02 | Syberia | adventure |
4.09
|
| 03 | Hooligans: Storm Over Europe | strategy |
4.09
|
| 04 | DOSBox | application |
3.97
|
| 05 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
3.92
|
| 06 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
3.84
|
| 07 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.80
|