PC/MS-DOS



Before 95, Windows was not really suited for gaming, so most developers stuck to tried-and-true MS-DOS.

This was an era of many changes and creativity. Point and click adventure games were in vogue with companies like Sierra and Lucas Arts leading the charge. Due to simple graphics more emphasis was put on the plot in general with humor livening things up across multiple genres. Not everything was plain, however: this was also the time when the first 3D engines rolled out with games like Blood making use of the new tech to it's fullest.

Games didn't have to be politically correct and often weren't. This was especially true in the shooter genre, but sometimes even the more innocuous-seeming genres like platformers had content that would have been censored in modern eras! In fact, this is the era that brought the infamous Leisure Suit Larry and the associated lawsuit that led to the modern game ratings systems and stricter censorship rules in general. This is the era of playing games before you let the kids play them just to be sure they're "safe".

The vast majority of the games on this page can be played via DOSbox or purchased ready to play on modern systems from vendors such as Good Old Games for those wishing to experience old school games from this era. A lot of these games are now abandonware, and can also be found, legally, on myabandonware.com and abandonia.com for free.
 * You may be able to find a few more DOS games here: Low end computer games.