Retro PC games

Colossal Cave Adventure
1976
One of the first (if not the first) text adventure game, developed by William Crowther in 1976.

Pac-Man
1980
One of the most widespread successes among arcade games, Pac-Man was available on almost any platform available in 8-bit era.

Tigers in the Snow
1981
Early strategy game simulating one of the major battles of 1944, famous Battle of the Bulge, the last offensive of Wehrmacht in World War 2.

Moon Patrol
1982
Japanese arcade game that was later cloned and adapted several times. On the surface of the Moon you patrol in small buggy while bad guys are trying to stop you.

MysteryDisc: Murder, Anyone?
1982
One of the two FMV (full motion video) games from 1980s in the series called MysteryDisc.

Online detective game
Can you solve this murder mystery?

One on One
1983
Classic basketball game with two of the most famous players of their times, Julius Erving and Larry Bird, meeting on the court in one-on-one duel.

Spy Hunter
1983
Arcade game inspired by James Bond movies - you drive a heavily armed car on the road full of people that want you dead.

Murder on the Zinderneuf
1983
In 1936, aboard a luxury airship murder took place. What are the chances that you are the only detective on board capable of solving the mystery?

Solo Flight
1983
One of the early flight simulators that did not involved the aerial combat elements.

Montezuma’s Revenge
1984
Platform game set in an Aztec pyramids, where dangers await Panama Joe, the main character.

Karateka
1984
The evil warlord Akuma have imprisoned Princess Mariko in his castle and you have to rescue her because... Because you just do, stop asking questions!

Silent Service
1985
Classic submarine simulator that set the standards for the genre that more or less are still in use in modern titles.

Balance of Power
1985
Strategy game simulating the tense atmosphere in geopolitics during Cold War - choose a side and try to bully the opponent to give up his sphere of influence.

Roadwar 2000
1986
After nuclear war deadly bacteria are killing the survivors. The answer to solve that problem is quite obvious - road gangs. Ok, maybe not that obvious...

Ace of Aces
1986
World War 2 flight simulator, in which we flight de Havilland Mosquito, multi-role airplane, in missions over occupied Europe attacking strategic targets.

The Hunt for Red October
1987
Game advertised as "ultimate submarine combat simulator" that did not managed to live up to the optimism of the publisher.

Strikefleet
1987
While flight simulators and submarine simulators were quite popular genre in early computer games the simulators of surface warships were not that popular and Strikefleet is shining example why.

The Train: Escape to Normandy
1987
One of the early simulations based on the 1964 war movie The Train - during World War 2 French resistance takes control over a train and drives it towards Normandy, where Allied forces have landed.

Genghis Khan
1987
One of the early examples of grand strategy - as Genghis Khan we take part in building the reputation of Mongols as the flail of God, sent to punish the world for its sins.

Dungeon Master
1987
One of the most revolutionary early RPG games that introduced a lot of elements that today are quite obvious, but back in 1987 were the novelty that changed the genre.

Empire
1987
A lost gem of strategy games - in a reality of World War 2 you build your empire by conquering the opponents.

Gunboat
1988
1988 simulator of American fast patrol boats that were used during Vietnam War to operate on the great rivers of Southeast Asia.

Carrier Command
1988
Classic strategy game with action elements - on surface a very simple looking game, but once you take a look at the details it is a great piece of software from 1988.

Life & Death
1988
If you dream of becoming a surgeon or... you are psychopath in making, this is the game for you - sharp objects, helpless patients and only your meagre skills separate those alive from the dead.

Storm Across Europe
1989
Classic grand strategy that took the best elements of the board games and put together a truly remarkable computer game simulating World War 2 in the way that is challenging and entertaining at the same time.

Murders in Venice
1989
French detective adventure that mixed some unusual and quite innovative elements, like events taking place even without involvement of the player.

Harpoon
1989
Naval strategy game set during Cold War - take part in scenarios on the side of NATO or USSR.

688 Attack Sub
1989
Simulator of a 688 class attack submarine or its Soviet counterpart, Alfa class.

Ports of Call
1989
Have you ever dreamed of becoming a shipowner? I know, not many people have. But here you can learn how tough this business can be.

The Lost Patrol
1990
The Lost Patrol is one of the games that simply can’t be described in just few words. It can’t even be assigned to a particular genre. It is something that has to be played to understand.

Test Drive III: the Passion
1990
Third of the Test Drive racing games was offering simple 3D vector graphics and... not much more, unfortunately.

Silent Service II
1990
Five years after Silent Service MicroProse published second version of the game with improved graphics, but basically identical with the original. As they say you can’t improve the perfection...

Player Manager
1990
After success of Kick Off Dino Dini came up with extension to the game that completely changed the character of the game - as player-manager we not only play in the matches, but also take care of the whole team.

Wings of Fury
1990
Simple arcade game that id set in different reality most probably would never make much impact - control American fighter during operations on the Pacific islands during World War 2.

Imperium
1990
Improved version of classic space exploration games from 8-bit computers - as leader of galactic empire you set out to take over the Universe... for no particular reason.

Covert Action
1990
One of the best games of the era - become an CIA agent and solve problem that is brewing somewhere in the world.

Pirates!
1990
In the world of no rules all you have to do is survive. And build your own career among the pirates of the Caribbean.

B.A.T.
1990
As an agent of Bureau of Astral Troubleshooters (B.A.T.) you are sent with a mission to an alien planet with aesthetics and atmosphere of a cyberpunk world.

Sim City
1990
A city-builder from times that there were no city-builders yet - you start from an empty lot and build your metropolis.

Team Yankee
1990
A bit of a strategy, a bit of simulation and a bit of a tactical shooter. Confused yet? Good.

Operation Stealth
1990
Secret agent John Glames travels to Santa Paragua in the Caribbean in order to find the stealth fighter F-19 that was stolen from a US base.

Beverly Hills Cop
1990
Arcade game based upon the action / comedy movie starring Eddie Murphy.

MiG-29 Fulcrum
1991
First ever flight simulator that concentrated on the Soviet airplane, the workhorse of Soviet Army, MiG-29 Fulcrum. The creators decided to take up a bit of revolution with mouse as the main controller.

Perfect General
1991
Classic strategy game set during or after World War 2 with emphasis on mobility of the units and artillery fire.

F-117 Stealth Fighter
1991
Flight simulator centred around the first stealth plane that went into active service, F-117 Nighthawk, and offering randomly generated missions around the world.

Civilization
1991
Strategy game that brought a 4X games to a brand new level - as a leader of a tribe you build a civilization.

Bundesliga Manager
1991
German classic soccer manager game that despite its simplicity was one of the icons of the genre in 1990s.

Hill Street Blues
1991
Game that is hard to describe in just few words - adaptation of a police TV show from 1980s, with a nice twist.

Championship Manager
1992
Classic soccer management game that created new standards of the genre - while simulating British professional division it gave the options to run youth team and simulated all the clubs plus option to build your own career.

Formula One Grand Prix
1992
One of the first racing games that was using real physics rules to simulate the car behaviour and was using early 3D graphics to give us the feeling of being in the middle of the action.

Dark Seed
1992
You buy a house and, oh no, it is filled with alien ancient creatures from another dimension. I know, I know, every bloody week the same story...

Sabre Team
1992
Back, in the times when mommy and daddy of Rainbow Six Siege haven’t even met yet, there were games like Sabre Team to give you a taste of what special operations look like.

KGB
1992
Soviet Union in 1991, Captain Maksim Rukov of KGB is assigned a murder case that could turn the whole empire upside down.

Desert Strike
1992
A shoot ’em up game with a twist - you actually need to think from time to time and choose when and how approach the enemies.

Anstoss
1993
Classic German football manager that changed the genre by introducing some of the elements that are present in today games.

Detective: A Text Adventure Game
1993
A short text adventure that is a parody of detective stories and text adventures.

Transarctica
1993
Strategy game set in a post-apocalyptic reality full of cold winds and even colder hearts.

Detroit
1994
German economy game, in which you are put in charge of one of the companies in brand new raising brand of industry - the car manufacturing. And yes, it takes place in early years of 20th century.

Panzer General
1994
Classic strategy game recreating selected battles that took place during World War 2.

UFO: Enemy Unknown
1994
One of the best strategy games ever made - mixture of strategy, combat, economy and little green men.

Christoph Kolumbus
1994
There is a brand new world waiting for you out there, on the other side of the ocean.

Liga Polska Manager
1995
Polish soccer manager game that simulated Polish league only with sufficient set of options to run your team in the reality of 1990s.

Ultimate Soccer Manager
1995
British game created by company that specialized in strategy games, Impressions Games, but with help of good graphics they actually pulled that off.

Zeppelin Giants of the Sky
1995
Economy simulation set in the golden age of airships, the 1920s, where you are put in charge of the company building and operating them.

Silent Hunter
1996
First real subsim after the 8-bit computers classics Silent Service and Silent Service 2 - you are put in charge of World War 2 submarine on Pacific.

Sensible World of Soccer
1996
After publishing one of the best arcade soccer games, Sensible Soccer, the creators published the title that was an extension of the game - this time we were able to run the club and play the matches.

Euro League Manager
1996
Italian soccer manager game inspired by Championship Manager, but lacking the style or sophistication of the original.

Duke Nukem 3D
1996
Duke Nukem 3D was in many ways not very good game - it lacked story as such, the enemy AI was struggling, the levels were sometimes too repetitive, but at the same time it was one of the most enjoyable FPS games ever.

The Last Express
1997
Point-and-click adventure game with the twist. Actually quite few twists.

Railroad Tycoon II
1998
Second, and the best, in the series started by Sid Meier - as a new company you enter the tricky world of railroads and locomotives.

Director of Football
1999
German football manager that was published at turning point of the genre - when matches were shown in continuous animated form, rather than classic text and simple graphics.

Driver
1999
Classic racing game with a twist. And some spins. Set in 1970s or 1980s when cars were so much more fun than today and with a criminals in the background.

Grand Prix 3
2000
Third instalment of Grand Prix series of Formula One simulators, this time with improved graphics and updated driver data.
