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 |
4.01
|
| 02 | Microsoft Decathlon | sports |
3.70
|
| 03 | Deadline | adventure |
3.64
|
| 04 | Executive Suite | simulation |
3.57
|
| # | 1983 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Frogger | action |
4.11
|
| 02 | Rogue | rpg |
4.06
|
| 03 | Galaxian | shooter |
4.05
|
| 04 | Lode Runner | action |
4.04
|
| 05 | Digger | action |
4.02
|
| 06 | Donkey Kong | action |
4.00
|
| 07 | The Hobbit | adventure |
3.91
|
| 08 | Defender | shooter |
3.90
|
| 09 | Battlezone | shooter |
3.87
|
| 10 | Space Commanders | shooter |
3.75
|
| # | 1984 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alley Cat | action |
4.08
|
| 02 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | adventure |
4.01
|
| 03 | Soko-Ban | puzzle |
3.93
|
| 04 | DND | rpg |
3.84
|
| 05 | Jumpman | action |
3.79
|
| 06 | Pong v.2.1 clone | sports |
3.79
|
| 07 | Styx | action |
3.74
|
| 08 | Hack | rpg |
3.69
|
| 09 | Below The Root | action-adventure |
3.60
|
| 10 | Spy Hunter | racing |
3.39
|
| # | 1985 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | A mind forever voyaging | adventure |
4.12
|
| 02 | Rambo First Blood Part 2 | adventure |
4.08
|
| 03 | King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne | adventure |
3.94
|
| 04 | James Bond 007: A View to a Kill | adventure |
3.94
|
| 05 | Hacker | simulation |
3.93
|
| 06 | Spacewar | shooter |
3.91
|
| 07 | Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar | rpg |
3.88
|
| 08 | Strip Poker: A Sizzling Game of Chance | strategy |
3.67
|
| 09 | Ultima 3: Exodus | rpg |
3.56
|
| # | 1986 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Norton Commander 5.5 | application |
4.13
|
| 02 | James Bond 007: Goldfinger | adventure |
4.08
|
| 03 | Alter Ego: Female Version | simulation |
4.08
|
| 04 | Turbo Prolog 2.0 | application |
4.07
|
| 05 | Alter Ego: Male Version | simulation |
4.05
|
| 06 | Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter | adventure |
4.05
|
| 07 | Gunship | vehicle simulation |
4.03
|
| 08 | Wordstar 4 | application |
4.03
|
| 09 | Starflight | rpg |
4.00
|
| 10 | Karateka | action |
3.88
|
| # | 1987 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards | adventure |
4.16
|
| 02 | Tetris | puzzle |
4.13
|
| 03 | Maniac Mansion | adventure |
4.12
|
| 04 | Elite | vehicle simulation |
4.11
|
| 05 | Test Drive | racing |
4.06
|
| 06 | Project: Space Station | simulation |
4.06
|
| 07 | The Great Giana Sisters | action |
4.04
|
| 08 | Sid Meier's Pirates! | strategy |
4.02
|
| 09 | Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | adventure |
4.00
|
| 10 | The Bard's Tale | rpg |
3.95
|
| # | 1988 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Bad Dudes VS Dragon Ninja | action |
4.11
|
| 02 | Arkanoid | action |
4.09
|
| 03 | Life & Death | simulation |
4.09
|
| 04 | Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny | rpg |
4.08
|
| 05 | F-19 Stealth fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.07
|
| 06 | Star Command | strategy |
4.05
|
| 07 | Gold Rush! | adventure |
3.97
|
| 08 | Wasteland | rpg |
3.96
|
| 09 | Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders | adventure |
3.96
|
| 10 | Leisure Suit Larry 2: Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) | adventure |
3.94
|
| # | 1989 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Dungeon Master | rpg |
4.13
|
| 02 | Ferrari Formula 1 | racing |
4.12
|
| 03 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | adventure |
4.11
|
| 04 | Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs | sports |
4.11
|
| 05 | The Sentinel | puzzle |
4.11
|
| 06 | A-10 Tank Killer | vehicle simulation |
4.10
|
| 07 | Bubble Bobble | action |
4.10
|
| 08 | Indianapolis 500 | racing |
4.10
|
| 09 | F-15 Strike Eagle II | vehicle simulation |
4.09
|
| 10 | Ports of Call | simulation |
4.09
|
| # | 1990 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Secret of Monkey Island | adventure |
4.17
|
| 02 | Prince of Persia | action |
4.15
|
| 03 | Midwinter | strategy |
4.13
|
| 04 | Kick off 2 | sports |
4.10
|
| 05 | Sid Meier's Covert Action | simulation |
4.10
|
| 06 | Champions of Krynn | rpg |
4.09
|
| 07 | Operation Stealth | adventure |
4.09
|
| 08 | Centurion: Defender of Rome | strategy |
4.09
|
| 09 | F29 Retaliator | vehicle simulation |
4.09
|
| 10 | Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday | rpg |
4.08
|
| # | 1991 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon | rpg |
4.21
|
| 02 | Golden Axe | action |
4.14
|
| 03 | Civilization | strategy |
4.14
|
| 04 | SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony | simulation |
4.12
|
| 05 | Another World | action-adventure |
4.12
|
| 06 | Duke Nukem | action |
4.10
|
| 07 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | adventure |
4.09
|
| 08 | Eye of the Beholder | rpg |
4.09
|
| 09 | Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| 10 | Chuck Yeager's Air Combat | vehicle simulation |
4.08
|
| # | 1992 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate | rpg |
4.17
|
| 02 | Alone in the Dark | action-adventure |
4.13
|
| 03 | Street Fighter 2 | action |
4.12
|
| 04 | Aces of the Pacific | vehicle simulation |
4.12
|
| 05 | Titus the Fox | action |
4.11
|
| 06 | B-17 Flying fortress | vehicle simulation |
4.11
|
| 07 | Star Control 2 | strategy |
4.11
|
| 08 | Wolfenstein 3D | shooter |
4.10
|
| 09 | Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | action |
4.10
|
| 10 | Comanche: Maximum overkill | vehicle simulation |
4.10
|
| # | 1993 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Doom | shooter |
4.19
|
| 02 | The Settlers | strategy |
4.19
|
| 03 | Mortal Kombat | action |
4.17
|
| 04 | The Lost Vikings | action |
4.17
|
| 05 | Castle of the Winds | rpg |
4.15
|
| 06 | Interactive Girls Club Games | puzzle |
4.11
|
| 07 | Legend of Kyrandia 2: Hand of fate | adventure |
4.11
|
| 08 | Frontier: Elite 2 | vehicle simulation |
4.11
|
| 09 | Ultima 7 Part 2: Serpent Isle | rpg |
4.10
|
| 10 | Dungeon Hack | rpg |
4.10
|
| # | 1994 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | X-COM: Ufo Defense | strategy |
4.20
|
| 02 | One Must Fall 2097 | action |
4.15
|
| 03 | Panzer General | strategy |
4.14
|
| 04 | Master of Magic | strategy |
4.13
|
| 05 | Warcraft: Orcs and Humans | strategy |
4.13
|
| 06 | 1942: The Pacific air war | vehicle simulation |
4.13
|
| 07 | Disney's Aladdin | action |
4.12
|
| 08 | Mortal Kombat 2 | action |
4.11
|
| 09 | Quarantine | racing |
4.10
|
| 10 | Big Sea: The Better One Will Win | simulation |
4.08
|
| # | 1995 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Grand Prix 2 | racing |
4.16
|
| 02 | FIFA Soccer 96 | sports |
4.15
|
| 03 | Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness | strategy |
4.15
|
| 04 | Frontier: First Encounters | vehicle simulation |
4.13
|
| 05 | True love | adventure |
4.12
|
| 06 | Descent | shooter |
4.10
|
| 07 | Heroes of Might and Magic | strategy |
4.07
|
| 08 | The Need for Speed | racing |
4.07
|
| 09 | Ultimate Doom | shooter |
4.05
|
| 10 | X-COM: Terror from the Deep | strategy |
4.05
|
| # | 1996 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares | strategy |
4.22
|
| 02 | Civilization 2 | strategy |
4.18
|
| 03 | Duke Nukem 3D | shooter |
4.17
|
| 04 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert | strategy |
4.13
|
| 05 | Quake | shooter |
4.12
|
| 06 | Albion | rpg |
4.11
|
| 07 | Heroes of Might and Magic II | strategy |
4.09
|
| 08 | Discworld 2: Mortality Bytes! | adventure |
4.08
|
| 09 | Crusader: No Regret | shooter |
4.08
|
| 10 | Adom v1.1 | rpg |
4.06
|
| # | 1997 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Virtua Cop 2 | shooter |
4.14
|
| 02 | Championship Manager: Season 97/98 | sports |
4.13
|
| 03 | Dilbert's Desktop Games | action |
4.13
|
| 04 | Age of Empires | strategy |
4.11
|
| 05 | Season of the Sakura | adventure |
4.09
|
| 06 | Fallout | rpg |
4.08
|
| 07 | Theme Hospital | simulation |
4.08
|
| 08 | Blood | shooter |
4.07
|
| 09 | Virtua Cop | shooter |
4.07
|
| 10 | Magic: The Gathering | strategy |
4.07
|
| # | 1998 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Dune 2000 | strategy |
4.16
|
| 02 | House of the Dead | shooter |
4.13
|
| 03 | 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy | strategy |
4.11
|
| 04 | Axis and Allies | strategy |
4.09
|
| 05 | Railroad Tycoon 2 | simulation |
4.08
|
| 06 | Dope Wars | simulation |
4.06
|
| 07 | Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines | strategy |
4.04
|
| 08 | Avalon | rpg |
3.98
|
| 09 | Fatal Relations | adventure |
3.94
|
| 10 | Sanitarium | adventure |
3.88
|
| # | 1999 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Tyrian 2000 | shooter |
4.19
|
| 02 | Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia | strategy |
4.10
|
| 03 | Three Sisters' Story | adventure |
4.10
|
| 04 | Pharaoh | simulation |
4.08
|
| 05 | System Shock 2 | action-adventure |
4.07
|
| 06 | Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | strategy |
4.04
|
| 07 | Star Trek: Starfleet Command | vehicle simulation |
4.03
|
| 08 | Age of Wonders | strategy |
4.01
|
| 09 | Yoot Tower | simulation |
3.88
|
| 10 | SimCity 3000 | simulation |
3.79
|
| # | 2000 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Zeus: Master of Olympus | simulation |
4.08
|
| 02 | Patrician 2: Quest for Power | simulation |
3.95
|
| 03 | 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown | puzzle |
3.82
|
| # | 2001 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | strategy |
4.10
|
| 02 | Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | rpg |
3.89
|
| 03 | Mario and Luigi | action |
3.88
|
| 04 | Empire Earth | strategy |
3.80
|
| # | 2002 | genre | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Syberia | adventure |
4.12
|
| 02 | Sid Meier's SimGolf | sports |
4.07
|
| 03 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 | simulation |
3.93
|
| 04 | Icewind Dale 2 | rpg |
3.79
|
| 05 | Industry Giant 2 | simulation |
3.77
|
