15 incredible DOS classics you can play in your browser

Published Jul 23, 2026, 9:30 AM EDT Gaming has been Samarveer’s greatest passion, and the Literature graduate in him takes immense joy in dissecting games for their themes, messages, and impact. Samarveer holds a deep appreciation of gaming, and considers the platform to be the most immersive and impactful across all media. He can be found engaging with gaming communities online, always ready to debate the finer points of ray tracing or itching to write an 8-page collegiate thesis on any game that impacts him emotionally. Sign in to your XDA account Between the bulk of the '80s and the '90s, DOS was the way to go for gamers, and was the backbone of PC gaming. Sure, there were plenty of other consoles and platforms with tons of games, yes, but DOS was where the most innovation was happening. We're talking about experimentation with 2.5D and 3D space, first-person shooters on PC, massive city-building sims, point-and-click adventures, and so much more. Devs were building games for DOS while pushing boundaries, experimenting with new perspectives, mechanics, and genres, effectively laying down the groundwork for modern gaming as we know it today. Now, what makes DOS games so easy to revisit today, is how lightweight they are compared to tech today. Even a top-of-the-line rig back then might've had a few MBs of RAM and double-digit megabyte storage at best. Even a $100 phone today has significantly more hardware under the hood than that, which means that not only can we run emulators for DOS in our browsers, but also run entire games without breaking a sweat. No excuse not to dive in, then. Dangerous Dave (1988) Perfect for short platforming breaks between work Dangerous Dave is one of the first games I can ever recall playing, and wouldn't you know it, it's still pretty darn fun. Does the music still grate a teeny tiny bit on my ears? Yes. Does the game continue to be just as fun as I remembered? Also yes. My first-ever platformer, Dave will have you running and gunning, and heck, it even has you sitting in a jetpack-propelled seat, shooting flying enemies while you collect gems and keys to move to the next stage. For short breaks during work (or even those I take instead of working), Dangerous Dave on Chrome is one of the first games I go to. Now, let's hope my boss isn't reading this. Sid Meier's Civilization (1991) One of the most important DOS games of all time Inarguably one of the greatest DOS games ever made, Sid Meier's Civilization let players build entire empires, take control over the whole world, and use any tool they wanted. Players could employ brute force, diplomacy, and/or technology to build and expand their empires, and through Sid Meier's Civilization, the foundation was laid for all strategy games to come. For everything Civilization let you do, it's amazing how the game, which once felt like it pushed the boundaries of the medium as well as the platform, is now simply playable in a RetroGames tab in any web browser you might have on your PC. Heck, the browsers take up tons more space and RAM than both the emulator and Civilization's files. Released September 1, 1991 ESRB t Developer(s) MicroProse Publisher(s) MicroProse Engine lore Multiplayer Online Multiplayer Franchise Civilization The original Civilization release that started the long-running franchise. This 90s strategy game set the groundwork for many of the concepts and designs that the newest Civilization games are known for today. Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty (1992) My Arrakis, my Dune, my browser You've probably heard it a hundred times before, but it bears repeating — Dune II essentially crafted the RTS genre as we know it. Before Command & Conquer and Warcraft, it was Dune II that made base-building, resource gathering, and unit commands feel like a full-blown battlefield on your screen. Yes, many RTS games came before it, but none came with mechanics as strong, and a blueprint as resonant as Dune II. Its playability by today's standards might not be great, but with a bit of patience, the structure and atmosphere remain just as riveting. Just make sure you keep the tab open if you're playing this in a browser, since that's the only downside to emulating DOS games online. Released December 1, 1992 ESRB T for Teen Developer(s) Westwood Studios Publisher(s) Virgin Interactive, Ocean Software Cross Save No Franchise Dune Number of Players Single Player Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty is a 1992 real-time strategy game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Games. Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons (1990) Platforming didn't get more colorful back in the day Before Doom, or Quake, id Software gave us Commander Keen. This game practically defined what PC platformers looked like in the early '90s. Instead of jumping around on some console, you were simply a genius kid running around in a football helmet, bouncing off pogo sticks and shooting aliens with a raygun on your own computer. That's what made the game feel like magic to anyone I talked to about Commander Keen. I just played Commander Keen on my browser through RetroGames, and it's vibrant, colorfast, fast, and surprisingly inventive. Most importantly, though, it's so much fun. Keen's world is quirky and full of secrets, with the occasional hidden level that put a smile on my face at the time of discovery. It's not nearly as iconic as id Software's FPS work, but the game deserves to be remembered as one of the cornerstones of DOS platforming. Carmageddon (1997) Back when edgy was actually cool If someone says 'car combat', Carmageddon is the only game that comes to mind. Alongside Test Drive and Monster Truck Madness, Carmageddon was one of the first racing games I ever played. Now, imagine a three-year-old toddler cackling as he runs over pedestrians and blows up rival cars, and you will just have pictured me in my living room in 2001. Carmageddon is an absolute classic, and I loved the latest Max Damage entry we got in 2016, too. However, there's nothing like the original, especially considering I can just hop on for a race full of cars and people going splat at the click of a button in my browser itself. Carmageddon is a vehicular combat racing game series known for its over-the-top violence, where players can win by completing races, eliminating opponents, or killing pedestrians. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (1992) Point-and-click adventures let me lean back in my chair and still have fun LucarArts' point-and-click golden era peaked with the Fate of Atlantis. It's one of the few Indiana Jones stories outside the films that feels entirely authentic, and in some ways, even better than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (okay, low bar, but still). With great puzzles, snappy dialogue, and branching story paths, it's no surprise many still consider this one of the best adventure games ever made. There's something rather charming about clicking your way through Nazi hideouts, solving riddles, and getting into fistfights as Indy. The Fate of Atlantis was smart, witty, and perfectly paced. It's tough to play longer games that require more hours in a browser itself, I admit. Still, in a time when we still have tens of tabs open from months prior, going to Atlantis as the hat-toting professor is quite alright, and doable. Released June 26, 1992 ESRB e Developer(s) LucasArts Publisher(s) LucasArts Engine scumm, iengine The Man With The Hat Is Back In His Greatest Adventure Yet! 1939 - The eve of World War II. Nazi agents are about to get their hands on a weapon more dangerous than the atom bomb. Only Indy can stop them before they unleash the deadly secret that sank Atlantis. Point 'n’ click your way through fistfights, puzzles, balloon rides, car chases and Indy one-liners. Genre(s) Graphic Adventure, Adventure The Oregon Trail (1990) Started as an educational project, ended up becoming a classic game Yes, yes, I get it — I've died of dysentery for the tenth time. If you've played The Oregon Trail, you've already heard that voice in your head. The Oregon Trail was interesting, since it began as an educational game for American schools, and ended up becoming one of the most accidentally hilarious and iconic games of the DOS era. Balancing food, supplies, and oxen while trying not to get wiped out by river crossings or broken legs is what The Oregon Trail was all about, and honestly, we wouldn't have modern survival games if it hadn't been for this game. This is a game that frustrates you with the same fact that it educates you about, which is how fragile our lives and wagons really are. Command and Conquer (1995) It became a full-blown war machine Source: DOS Zone Command & Conquer took everything Dune II built and turned it into a full-blown war machine. This game came with FMVs, and boy, did they lend a ton of credibility to the war. Add in a killer soundtrack and some of the most memorable unit barks in RTS history, and this game had the perfect recipe to make you feel like a real commander in the middle of a war. The mouse-click base building, harvester routes, and tank rushes that Command & Conquer had, were all revolutionary at the time. Every skirmish was an adrenaline-fueled strategy battle, and the series, to this day, goes strong. One missed shot is all it took Source: DOS Zone X-COM: UFO Defense was the kind of DOS game that would've laughed in the face of modern difficulty settings, to say the very least. One missed shot or misstep is all it would take for your allies to be eaten by aliens in the fog of war. Uncompromising, strategic, and deeply addictive, X-COM had you managing your base, budget, and soldiers, making sure that no two runs ever felt the same. My first X-COM game may have been Enemy Unknown on the Xbox 360, but revisiting the classic that started it all didn't feel unfamiliar, or outdated. Released March 1, 1994 ESRB m Developer(s) Firaxis Games Publisher(s) 2K Games Engine Unreal Engine 3 Franchise Xcom Genre(s) Strategy, Tactical, Action RPG, simulators Wolfenstein 3D (1992) The grandfather of modern-day first-person-shooters This was the game that truly laid the foundation for the FPS genre. While Doom got more sales, and consequently, more credit for birthing the FPS genre as we know it, Wolfenstein 3D came a year earlier. It handed you a rifle, put you in a Nazi camp, and told you to go crazy. Secret doors, dogs, big bosses, yelling nazi soldiers, tons of treasure to collect, and a mecha-Hitler to bring down — Wolfenstein 3D really had it all. At the time, hitting Spacebar to open a door, and seeing a big blue SS guard yell at you felt exhilarating. My favorite part about all of this? It's still just as exciting, and instead of having to jump through the hoops of DOSBox, I can just play it in my Chrome instead. Systems Released May 5, 1992 ESRB m Developer(s) id Software Engine id tech Franchise Wolfenstein Developed by id Software in 1992, Wolfenstein 3D is a ground-breaking and critically acclaimed, World War II, first-person shooter action game that started the modern-day FPS genre. King's Quest (1986) A classic blend of exploration and text-based adventure If there is one franchise that really defined early PC adventure gaming, it was King's Quest. This game was punishing, whimsical, and featured a lot of... dying. Type the wrong thing, take the wrong step, and you'll either fall off a cliff, get eaten by a witch, or just get stuck forever. It blended interactivity through the arrow keys, and the actions of typing, making for a rather interesting game where you can go into a pond, sure, but you'll drown unless you frantically type 'swim' into the box below. It's hard to deny the charm of King's Quest even today. What I can best describe it as is a playable fairy tale, with riddles and magical items aplenty. Prince of Persia (1989) A platformer that would lead to one of the greatest modern-day trilogies It's tough for me to talk about Prince of Persia, and for a lot of reasons. Before I veer off-topic and crash out about Ubisoft's mishandling of the IP (where is the damned remake of the remake?), I must talk about how the NES version of the game was the first I ever played on a Famiclone. Growing up, however, the game, for me, was synonymous with the Sands of Time trilogy. Regardless, going back to see how it all started is still fun, and for those who played the first game on DOS, no other platformer from the time compares. Now, we could always talk about great platformers you can buy from Steam, or other modern indie titles, but there's just nothing like hitting Ctrl+Tab while working and immediately resuming the quintessential Prince of Persia experience. The Secret of Monkey Island (1990) A truly funny point-and-click adventure Even if you've never played a LucasArts game, you've felt The Secret of Monkey Island's influence somewhere. For me, it was when I was whacked over the head by its existence for missing out on talking about it in a list of the greatest DOS games, and I went to go and play the game and educate myself about it. What became clear rather quickly was why Monkey Island remains one of the most beloved point-and-click adventures ever made. Its razor-sharp writing, witty puzzles, and goofy protagonist who wanted nothing more than to be a mighty pirate came together to make an immensely endearing classic that you can easily enjoy in the next tab on your browser. Systems Released October 1, 1990 ESRB e Developer(s) LucasArts Publisher(s) LucasArts Engine SCUMM Franchise Monkey Island The Secret of Monkey Island's twisty plot leads our naive hero on a hilarious, swash-buckling search for the fabled secret of Monkey Island. Genre(s) Puzzle, Graphic Adventure The Need for Speed (1994) The first (and last) NFS game on DOS The first-ever Need for Speed game, and the only one on DOS, The Need for Speed is a pretty good game to revisit on your browser. For me, the bar for a no-nonsense racing game will always be NFS II SE, and seeing its foundation laid down in the first game was a wonderful experience. It has some of the greatest cars of its time, with vibrant and varied tracks that genuinely look different. If you're looking for some fun racing without committing too much time, The Need for Speed is the game to play by simply heading on over to a website like DOSGames or DOSZone. Blood (1997) One of the best Doom clones ever made My favorite DOS game of all time, Blood is one title I simply can't get enough of. While I'm home with my PC, its modern remaster, Fresh Supply, is inarguably the best and only way I play it. However, while travelling with my barebones, work-only laptop, it's the original DOS version I play from time to time. It's still slick, it's still funny, and the moment-to-moment combat is immensely rewarding. The best part, though, is how quickly I can get into the game, with all its levels unlocked, and it actually takes the same time to open the browser as it takes to load into the game, select a level, and start poking cultists and demons with a rusty pitchfork. Released June 20, 1997 ESRB m Developer(s) 3D Realms, Monolith Productions Publisher(s) GT Interactive Blood is a 1997 first-person shooter game developed by Monolith Productions using the Build engine and published by GT Interactive. The shareware version was released for MS-DOS on March 7, 1997. Genre(s) First-Person Shooter DOS games will always be relevant, thanks to their accessibility These fantastic DOS-era games may be classics, but they sure aren't forgotten. DOS games laid the foundation of gaming today as we know it, and these titles are some of the greatest classics the platform had to offer in its heyday. They didn't need gigabytes of space or need flashy graphics, and that's why they're still alive today, because playing them is as easy as pie. These fantastic DOS-era games may be classics, but they sure aren't forgotten. Just fire up your browser, click a link, and you're off.