90s DOS Games Worth Revisiting
A game counts as a 90s DOS release here if it originally shipped to run under MS-DOS, whether or not you now play it through Windows, DOSBox, or a modern re-release. That excludes games that only ever ran natively in Windows, even if they shared a release year.
Picks by genre
- Shooters: Wolfenstein 3D (1992) and Doom (1993) defined the genre; Duke Nukem 3D (1996) pushed it further with destructible scenery and a more irreverent tone.
- Strategy: Sid Meier's Civilization (September 1991) established the turn-based 4X formula; Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (1994) and Command & Conquer (1995) did the same for real-time strategy.
- Simulation: SimCity 2000 (1993) added an isometric view and far more systems than the 1989 original.
- Space combat: Star Wars: X-Wing (1993) built a dedicated flight-stick following years before more mainstream joystick support.
Play the original Command & Conquer and Red Alert
Command & Conquer Remastered Collection includes both original 1995/1996 DOS-era games with a toggle between the original graphics and a 4K remaster, officially built by former Westwood Studios developers.
Check price on Amazon →Keyboard and sound quirks
- Sound Blaster and its many compatible clones were the de facto audio standard; games without Sound Blaster support were rare by mid-decade.
- Joysticks and gamepads existed but weren't universally supported. Many DOS games, including early shooters, were designed around keyboard controls first.
- Getting a new game running often meant editing
CONFIG.SYSandAUTOEXEC.BATto free enough conventional memory, a genuine skill at the time.
Modern access options
DOSBox (and front ends built on it) is the most common way to run original DOS game files today. Officially, GOG.com sells many of these titles pre-configured with DOSBox built in, and some, like the Command & Conquer games below, have had full modern remasters. Our separate guide on playing DOS games on a modern PC covers the setup steps in more detail.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a 90s DOS game versus a Windows game?
A DOS game originally shipped to run under MS-DOS, using DOS's own way of talking to sound and graphics hardware. A Windows game targeted Windows directly, and from 1995 onward increasingly used Microsoft's DirectX. Some games released on DOS were later ported to Windows separately.
Do I need original hardware to play 90s DOS games today?
No. DOSBox recreates a DOS-era PC environment on modern operating systems, and it's the basis for most current digital re-releases of DOS games, including many sold on GOG.com.
Which 90s DOS games are considered the most influential?
Doom (1993) and Wolfenstein 3D (1992) are widely credited with establishing the first-person shooter template, and Command & Conquer (1995) is commonly cited alongside Warcraft: Orcs & Humans as foundational to modern real-time strategy games. Influence isn't the same as sales figures, which we haven't sourced here.
Sourcing and corrections
Release years and platform details (Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Civilization, Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Command & Conquer, SimCity 2000, Star Wars: X-Wing) were checked via web search against sources including Wikipedia and MobyGames in September 2026.