Abandonware DOS title

abandonware games sorted by popularity

betrayal-02

Betrayal

DOS1990protected strategy
Ah, Betrayal—a game with a name that really sets the tone. Is it about backstabbing? Politics? Lost love? Not really. It’s actually a hybrid of strategy and role-playin...
boomtown-02

Visions of the Aftermath: The Boomtown

DOS1988 simulation
Visions of the Aftermath: The Boomtown is an abandoned simulation game with role-playing elements developed by Mindscape and released in 1988 exclusively for DOS. Visions of the Af...
secret-silver-blades-03

Secret of the Silver Blades

DOSMac OS1990protected rpg
Secret of the Silver Blades is a fantasy RPG set in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons universe, developed and released by SSI Strategic Simulations Inc. in 1990 for DOS, Macintos...
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Aquanoid

DOS1992remake action
Aquanoid (1992) takes the classic Breakout formula and throws it underwater, because bricks are apparently much more intimidating when they're wet. You control a paddle, you bounce...
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Tau Ceti

DOS1987 vehicle simulation
In Tau Ceti, you’re the lone pilot of a heavily armed hoverbike trying to reboot a dying colony under an alien sun. It’s slow, moody, and brilliantly atmospheric. The v...
diehard-splash

Die Hard

DOS1989 shooter
Before “yippee-ki-yay” became gaming shorthand for chaos, Die Hard (1989) tried to capture the movie’s skyscraper shootout on DOS. You play as John McClane, trapp...
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Battle Isle

DOS1991protected strategy
Turns out war is a lot tidier when it’s turn-based. Battle Isle (1991) gives you neat little hexagons to move your units on, like a very angry board game. It’s got stra...
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Dungeons of Kroz

DOS1989freeware action
Ah, Dungeons of Kroz, the glorious mess of ASCII characters that somehow became addictive. Created by Apogee in 1989, it’s a fast-paced dungeon adventure where every symbol m...
free-dc-03

Free D.C.!

DOS1991 adventure
Released in 1991, Free D.C.! is one of those games that feels like a time capsule of early PC experimentation. It mixes political satire with arcade-style action, letting you fight...
noexit-02

No Exit

DOS1990 action
blasteroids-3

Blasteroids

DOS1989 shooter
Blasteroids is a video game developed and released by Atari, Inc. in 1987. It's a sequel to the classic arcade game Asteroids, which was released in 1979. In Blasteroids, players c...
dominium-02

Dominium

DOS1992 strategy
Dominium (1992) is an ambitious mix of real-time strategy and empire management, though perhaps “ambitious” is just another word for “slightly overwhelming.&rdquo...
arj-1

Arj

DOS1990 application
ARJ is a file compression utility and file format created by Robert K. Jung. The name "ARJ" stands for "Archived by Robert Jung." It was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s a...
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Grandmaster Chess

DOS1992protected strategy
keen5-4

Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine

DOS1991protected action
In Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine, Keen infiltrates a massive space station engineered to obliterate planets like it’s swatting flies. This is Keen at his most tech...
designasaurus-01

Designasaurus

DOS1988 simulation
In 1988, kids with floppy disks instead of smartphones got Designasaurus, a quirky blend of education and prehistoric fantasy. The premise: design your own dinosaur and see if it s...
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Demon's Forge

DOS1987 adventure
In this 1987 DOS game, you delve into a dungeon filled with traps and monsters. Solve puzzles, defeat enemies, and uncover the secrets of the forge. It's like playing Dungeons &...
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Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos

DOSMac OS1993protected rpg
Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos (1993) is a classic first-person RPG that understands pacing better than many of its peers. It offers a rich fantasy world, memorable characters,...
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Mortville Manor

DOS1988 adventure
constructor-4

Constructor

DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OSLinux1997protected simulation
Constructor is a simulation and strategy video game developed by System 3 and first released in 1997. In the game, players take on the role of a property developer with the goal of...
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Chagunitzu

DOS1990 puzzle
Before Indiana Jones had a whip, Chagunitzu had block puzzles. Released in 1990 by Softdisk (and developed by a young John Romero), this game is a precursor to God of Thunder and p...
knightorc-2

Knight Orc

DOSMac OS1987 adventure
Knight Orc (1987, DOS/Mac) flips the fantasy script: you’re not the hero, you’re the orc. Tired of being slaughtered by noble knights, you decide it’s payback tim...
dragons-lair-1-1

Dragon's Lair

DOS1989protected adventure
By 1989, Dragon’s Lair had already become legendary in arcades, so its DOS port had a lot to live up to. Spoiler: it couldn’t quite match the arcade’s gorgeous la...
moo3-07

Master of Orion 3

Windows XP/98/95Mac OS2003protected strategy
formula_one-03

Formula One

DOS1994 racing
Formula One (1994) approaches racing with a slightly more accessible grin than its stern predecessors. It still wants you to care about apexes and braking zones, but it’s hap...
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Dig Dug

DOS1983 action
Dig Dug is a classic maze arcade action game that was first released by Namco in 1982 as a coin-op and later for a number of other systems. The gameplay of Dig Dug involves digging...