Best Free MS-DOS Games Now Available From the Internet Archive
Earlier, I said that the Internet Archive is a great place to play your favorite unnecessary programs decades ago in the browser, and now it is even better. There are 2500 new MS-DOS games added to the archive that you can try, and they are all free.
If you’re wondering exactly how this is possible, the Internet Archive has a great blog post that explains how to get these games to work in a playable state. As digital historian Jason Scott writes:
“What makes the collection more than just a bunch of old games to play is how it addresses the challenges of preserving software and its history. Having an old executable file and a scanned copy of the manual are just the first few steps. DOS has remained somewhat consistent over the last (almost) 40 years, but much has changed internally, and programs were sometimes written only to run on very specific hardware and very specific settings. They were released, sold out, and then disappeared from the shelves, if not all of the memories.
All these additional under the hood steps, acquisitions, and customizations represent the hardest work of the eXoDOS project, and I acknowledge the long and daunting effort. As a result, the eXoDOS project has more than 7000 titles, on which they are working reliably and stably. “
Now, if you’d rather just jump to the games , know that browsing through 2,500 titles will take some time. And you may have to do a little internet searching to convince yourself to try names that might sound familiar to you, but you really don’t remember very well. To get started, here are a few guidelines that we think are worth trying (if you don’t want to download and play everything ).
Monkey Island Mystery
There is nothing more fun than this. Of course, you can probably buy this game from your favorite digital distribution service for a small fee, or you can simply spend hours on the MS-DOS version absolutely free. Say hello to Stan for me.
the Punisher
This is one of the earliest games I ever played on my MS-DOS system – probably a 386 or 486 computer with little memory (which probably seemed pretty cool at the time). The joy of this game is cruelty. You run around New York shooting all the bad guys you get your hands on. The more evil you stop, the more money you make and the closer you are to destroying the mighty Kingpin. In the days of MS-DOS, there was nothing more brutal than this.
The price is correct
I mean, how else are you going to prepare for a big show win like that guy from the documentary ?
Night trap
As a child, for some reason I was afraid of this game. It’s not that bad now. Your aim? Set traps to help keep the mysterious intruders – vampires if I’m right – from killing the people in front of the squad. It’s a dumb idea in 2019, but Night Trap made a big difference more than two decades ago.
Microsoft flight simulator
Practice flying as you did before – in 1993 – before embarking on the big redesign of Microsoft, which is scheduled to launch next year .
I still cannot make a good landing on an aircraft carrier.
Incredible car 2
I’m pretty sure I convinced my parents to buy me this back in the 90s because I said it was educational. It’s kind of because you solve puzzles in all sorts of creative ways, but it’s also a great way to have an afternoon game.
The Elder Scrolls – Daggerfall
Yes. Oh yeah. I was terribly good at navigating the dungeons of this game, but I would be damned if I didn’t have the most powerful character in the world – thanks to the clever trick of going into one of the game’s many stores, moving forward. time elapsed after the store was closed, steal everything on its shelves, and in the morning sell everything back to the store owner (or keep it for yourself). Ah, Daggerfall ; You taught me to be smart with creativity, which I carried with me right through my years in Dungeons & Dragons .
Star Trek – Justice Rites
I never got through this game, but I respect what she tried to do back in the early 90s. If you enjoy adventure mixed with little action – which is essentially Star Trek in a nutshell – you’ll enjoy this game that I claim was ahead of its time.