Vertical scrolling shooters — or shmups — were a staple of arcade gaming, and in 1994, Apogee Software brought one of the best to DOS. Raptor: Call of the Shadows puts you in the cockpit of a futuristic fighter jet and sends you through wave after wave of enemies in some of the most polished shoot-em-up action the PC ever produced. The first episode is free.
About the Game
You are a mercenary pilot flying the experimental Raptor fighter. Your mission is to take on contracts from various megacorporations, each involving a series of increasingly dangerous combat missions. Between missions, you spend your earnings in an arms shop to upgrade your jet with new weapons, shields, and equipment. It is a simple loop — fly, shoot, earn, upgrade — but it is an incredibly satisfying one.
Gameplay Features
Raptor is a top-down vertical scroller where enemies approach from the top of the screen and you need to destroy them before they destroy you. What sets Raptor apart from typical shmups is its upgrade system. Each successful mission earns you cash, which you spend between levels on weapons like heat-seeking missiles, laser cannons, nuclear bombs, and shields. Building your loadout over the course of a campaign gives the game a satisfying RPG-lite progression.
The enemy variety is impressive — ground vehicles, aircraft, naval vessels, and enormous boss ships each require different tactics. The game runs silky smooth and features excellent sprite artwork that still looks sharp today.
Why It’s Worth Playing Today
Raptor is one of those games that is easy to pick up for five minutes and impossible to put down for an hour. The action is tight, the upgrade loop is compelling, and the difficulty scales well from easy (great for newcomers to shmups) to hard (genuinely challenging). If you have any interest in the shoot-em-up genre, Raptor is an essential DOS game.
Download Raptor for Free
How to Run with DOSBox
- Install DOSBox if you haven’t already.
- Extract the files to a folder like
C:RAPTOR. - In DOSBox:
mount c C:RAPTOR→c:→raptor.