Crusader: No Remorse (1995): Origin’s Forgotten Isometric Shooter
Ask a room of DOS gaming fans to name Origin Systems’ best 1995 release and most will say Ultima VIII. […]
Shooter
Spear of Destiny (1992): id Software’s Wolfenstein Prequel
id Software had a formula that worked with Wolfenstein 3D, and rather than tinker with it right away, they went
Abuse (1995): The Mouse-Aimed Shooter That Was a Decade Ahead of Its Time
A Control Scheme From the Future, Stuck in 1995 Twin-stick shooters didn’t really exist as a concept in 1995, but
Kiloblaster (1992): Epic MegaGames’ Free Galaga Tribute
A lone fighter, three episodes of escalating alien assault, and a weapons upgrade path that gets genuinely out of hand
Stargunner (1996): Apogee’s Last Word on the DOS Shooter
By 1996, Apogee had shipped enough shooters to know exactly what worked, and exactly how to end an era on
Terminal Velocity (1995): 3D Realms’ Free Need-for-Speed in Space
Earth is under attack, alien empires are massing, and none of that matters nearly as much as how fast your
Major Stryker (1993): Apogee’s First Triple-Parallax Shooter
Space shooters were a DOS staple, so by 1993 the bar for standing out was genuinely high. Major Stryker cleared
Tyrian 2000 (1995): The Free Shoot-‘Em-Up That Took Itself Seriously
Vertical scrolling shooters were everywhere on DOS, and most of them were content to be a joystick and a bullet
Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold (1993): The Free Spy Shooter Doom Overshadowed
Doom changed everything about first-person shooters the week it launched in December 1993. A few days earlier, a different game
Raptor: Call of the Shadows (1994): Apogee’s Polished Shoot-‘Em-Up
Vertical scrolling shooters were an arcade staple throughout the 80s and early 90s, but DOS never had a huge number
Duke Nukem 3D (1996): The Build Engine’s Loudest, Funniest Showcase
Doom taught players to fear the dark. Duke Nukem 3D, released three years later, taught them to enjoy blowing up
Wolfenstein 3D (1992): The Free Episode That Started the FPS Genre
Before Doom, there was Wolfenstein 3D. Released in 1992 by id Software, this first-person shooter is widely credited as the