Early Days
Wolfenstein 3D - The original 3D, first-person shooter from id Software that could actually run on a TRS-80 in DOS. Also one of the most popular pieces of shareware back then.
Stephen King’s The Mist - A text-based adventure PC game released in 1985 (Angelsoft). The game is based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name. It places the player in the midst of a terrifying scenario where a mysterious mist has unleashed hideous mutants and horrors.
Sim City 2000 - Did you know that SimCity 2000 was the ninth best-selling computer game between 1993 and 1999? Maxis and Will Wright really delivered with this sequel to the original Sim City game.
Dark Days
Doom - Who can forget Doom? id Software, in 1993, delivers another pioneering First-Person Shooter (FPS) game. The game features the player as a space marine who battles through hordes of demons and the undead. If you played it late at night, it was kind of scary.
Star Wars: Dark Forces - a “Doom clone” from LucasArts in 1995 that managed to expand the FPS formula to include: looking up/down, environment puzzles and power-ups.
Unreal - Not just an amazing game, but also a game engine that would go on to become a staple in the industry. Unreal didn’t remain at the top of the game sales charts in 1998, but it sure gave StarCraft a run for its money!
![Amazing Games of the 90s!.. Unreal (1998), Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995), The Sims (2000)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F611d57e8-d40f-4d3b-a180-d3d0be64fc62_800x982.jpeg)
![Amazing Games of the 90s!.. Unreal (1998), Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995), The Sims (2000)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F23759a79-7d18-4337-a031-e0e0feb8f2cd_280x357.jpeg)
![Amazing Games of the 90s!.. Unreal (1998), Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995), The Sims (2000)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffb891ac0-57d2-4ba6-afac-2696656257bf_256x306.png)
“Amazing Games of the 90s!.. Unreal (1998), Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995), The Sims (2000)”
Thoroughgoing and Sandboxing Days
Halflife - On Metacritic, it has a score of 96 out of 100. Halflife managed to setup and deliver on an epic, fast paced single player, story driven game, inside an FPS.
Age of Empires - The original Age of Empires game from 1997 is known for its historical real-time strategy gameplay and key features: Civilizations, Four Ages, Advancement and Expansion packs (like “Rise of Rome”).
The Sims - The ultimate simulation game on PC in 2000 was The Sims from Maxis. The sales and critical reception were all top notch, but for good reason. The game was a total sandbox game and you could continue playing it as an open world of Sim families and properties for a very long, long time!