Abandonware DOS title

Classic DOS games

Before the age of blockbuster titles created by armies of programmers, level designers, visual artists and musicians, there was a time when small companies (or single developers) struggled to publish DOS games and to sell a modest quantity of copies.

Imagine a time when a video game was developed by one or two people at most, sometimes in a garage. A game could fit into a single floppy disk (do you even know what a floppy disk is?) and you had to actually go in a shop and buy a tangible big box full of goodies. There were no downloads and no Internet (at least not the Internet we know today).

In those years, before Windows came to be, game companies developed some of the best games ever made for a Personal Computer. That's what I mean when I talk about DOS game classics.

  • alleycat-splash
    action1984 Synapse Software

    Alley Cat is an arcade platform game designed by Bill Williams, developed by Synapse and released for IBM in 1984. As a cat, your goal is to jump around the neighborhood, enter apartments - each being a mini-game - to find your lost loved one.

  • battlehawks1942-04
    vehicle simulation1988 LucasArts
  • bubblebobble-3
    action1989 Taito

    Bubble Bobble is perhaps one of the most popular (and cute!) platform arcade games of all times. The goal of Bubble Bobble is simple: clear each screen from various monsters and reach the final stage. In order to get rid of enemies, dinosaurs Bub and Bob can spit bubbles to trap them, then pop the bubbles to kill them.

  • caesar-3-09
    simulation1998 Impressions Games
  • civ1-7
    strategy1991 MicroProse Software

    Civilization is the critically acclaimed strategy game designed by Sid Meier and Bruce Campbell Shelley that became a staple in 4X turn-based strategy. Civilization was developed by MicroProse Software and released in 1991 for DOS, Windows 3.x, Amiga, Atari ST, Mac, etc. Civilization was followed by sequels, the last one being published recently. The goal of the game and the main gameplay features never changed; the fan-base is still strong to this day.

  • colonization-6
    strategy1994 MicroProse Software

    Colonization is a turn-based strategy 4x game developed and published by MicroProse in 1994 for DOS, Windows 3.1, Linux and Mac. The setting is the European Colonization of the New World. Colonization gameplay and interface are similar to Civilization, another Sid Meier game. However, there are some differences between Civilization and Colonization: playable nations (European powers), resources and commodities, declaration of independence, etc.

  • doom-3
    shooter1993 id software
  • dukenukem3d-4
    shooter1996 3d Realms
  • eotb1-4
    rpg1991 Westwood Studios
  • eotb2-4
    rpg1991 Westwood Studios

    Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon is an old DOS fantasy RPG set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, developed by Westwood Studios and published by SSI Strategic Simulations Inc. in 1991. Eye of the Beholder 2 (also called EotB2) is one of the most popular party-based dungeon crawlers every released for PC.

  • lakersceltics-2
    sports1989 Electronic Arts

    Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs is an abandoned action sports basketball game. It was developed and released by Electronic Arts in 1989 for DOS. Lakers versus Celtics features 1988-1989 NBA teams and some of the NBA all-time star players. It can be played in single-player mode or by 2 players on the same screen.

  • lslarry1-1
    adventure1987NSFW Sierra On-Line

    Leisure Suit Larry: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards is the first adventure of the Leisure Suit Larry series, created by Al Lowe and published by Sierra On-Line. As a virgin male in his forties, your goal is to, well, find the woman of your dreams. In 1991 Sierra released a VGA remake.

  • moo2-administratoroffer
    strategy1996 SimTex

    Master of Orion II is a 4X turn-based sci-fi strategy game set in space. Master of Orion 2 gives the player an empire to run by controlling food and production, managing economy and researching new technology. The player can wage war against other races or use spies and diplomacy to achieve victory.

  • pipedreams-2
    puzzle1989 The Assembly Line

    Pipe Mania (also known as Pipe Dream is a tile-matching (sort of) puzzle game about flowing liquids developed by The Assembly Line in 1989. You must build a path made of pipe pieces to let a green liquid (sewer goo?) flow. It's simple, original and addicting, that's why Pipe Mania was cloned a number of times.

  • premiermanager-1
    sports1992 Gremlin Graphics / Gremlin Interactive
  • princeofpersia4d-4
    action1990 Broderbund

    Prince of Persia is an abandoned DOS platform game set in Middle East, developed and released by Broderbund in 1990. Designer Jordan Mechner created a game that made a lasting impression of gamers thanks to a clever use of a tecnique called rotoscoping which makes the animation of the protagonist very realistic.

  • quake_002
    shooter1996 id software

    Quake is a real-time 3D FPS developed by idSoftware and a spiritual successor to the popular Doom series. Quake became very popular and spawned many sequels and fan made mods such as Team Fortress.

  • sensiblesoccer-2
    sports1992 Sensible Software
  • starcontrol2-11
    strategy1992 Toys for Bob
  • street-fighter-2-6
    action1992 Capcom

    Street Fighter 2 is one of the most popular fighting game ever released in the 90s. Street Fighter 2 was designed by Akira Nishitani and Akira Yasuda, developed and published by Capcom in 1991 for the arcades and then converted for many platforms from Spectrum ZX to DOS (in 1992).

  • bardstale3-2
    rpg1990 Interplay Productions
  • daggerfall-01
    rpg1996 Bethesda Softworks

    The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall is an old school first-person 3D RPG developed by Bethesda Softworks and released in 1996 for DOS. Daggerfall is the second chapter in The Elder Scrolls Series. The open world gameplay, the procedural generation of dungeons and the freedom of exploring and taking on the quests at your own pace are some of the features that contributed to make this game one the most loved RPGs of the time.

  • lostvikings-1
    action1993 Silicon & Synapse

    The Lost Vikings is an old DOS platform-puzzle game, developed by Silicon & Synapse and published by Interplay Productions in 1993. In The Lost Vikings you have to solve puzzles by controlling three characters (glorious vikings!), each with a single skill of its own.

  • needforspeed-4
    racing1995 Electronic Arts

    The Need for Speed is a first-person perspective racing game developed and published by Electronic Arts in 1995 for DOS where the main goal is to win race after race in a variety of game modes. In the process, the player must elude traffic, pedestrians, and the police.

  • oregontrail-2
    simulation1990 MECC
  • monkey1-2
    adventure1990 LucasArts

    The Secret of Monkey Island is perhaps the most popular point and click adventure game developed by Lucasfilm Games and designed by the trio Ron Gilbert, Dave Grossman and Tim Schafer. In Monkey Island you're the would-be pirate Guybrush Threepwood on a quest to become a fearsome pirate in the Caribbean. Monkey Island uses one of the most friendlier interfaces for adventure games: the SCUMM engine.

  • transporttycoon-2
    simulation1994 MicroProse Software

    Transport Tycoon is a business simulation game that puts the player at the head of a transport company to compete against rival companies. The player can build stations, airports, railroads to transport passengers, mail and various goods using trucks, trains and planes. The game became a cult and a few talented fans created some of the best remakes ever seen: OpenTTD and Simutrans.

  • transport-tycoon-deluxe-02
    simulation1995 Chris Sawyer Productions

    Transport Tycoon Deluxe is a business simulation game that puts the player at the head of a transport company to compete against rival companies. The player can build stations, airports, railroads to transport passengers, mail and various goods using trucks, trains and planes. The game became a cult and a few talented fans created some of the best remakes ever seen: OpenTTD and Simutrans.

  • ultima6-3
    rpg1990 Origin Systems
  • ultima7-2
    rpg1992 Origin Systems

    Ultima VII: The Black Gate is a top-down RPG where you, the Avatar, have to find out what's happening in Britannia by solving quests, meeting interesting NPCs and fight hordes of headleass monsters. The land of Britannia is shaken by mysterious earthquakes, a new religion (the Fellowship) is spreading and is replacing the old virtues, and who is the Guardian? Ultima 7 takes another leap forward in the Ultima Series by upgrading both graphics and the interface. 

  • ufo-5
    strategy1994 MicroProse Software

    UFO: Enemy Unknown (or X-COM: Ufo Defense) is a sci-fi tactical strategy game created by Julian Gollop set in a not-to-distant future where aliens are invading the Earth. The gameplay switches between tactical combat, where you fight aliens in a turn-based fashion, and strategic micromanagement, where you manage your X-COM base and personnel.


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