Recommend me a 90's PC game

[thejboy88]

Title says it all. As much as I've loved PC games in my life, I've found that I've been taking less and less interest in them as time goes on. So, recently, I decided that I'm going to just go back and maybe try out a few titles I never got the chance to do so at the time they came out. I get the feeling that many of you here will have played PC games in the 90's (a period I'm often told was the HEIGHT of PC gaming) more than I did, so, I would like some recommendations for games to go and find for myself.

And just to make sure you don't suggest titles I've already played, here are the games of that era I've already tried in the past that I can remember:

Little Big Adventure 2
Independence Day
Virtual Springfield
Age of Empire 2
Lords of the Realm 2
Disney's Hercules

 

[StatusNil]

Title says it all. As much as I've loved PC games in my life, I've found that I've been taking less and less interest in them as time goes on. So, recently, I decided that I'm going to just go back and maybe try out a few titles I never got the chance to do so at the time they came out. I get the feeling that many of you here will have played PC games in the 90's (a period I'm often told was the HEIGHT of PC gaming) more than I did, so, I would like some recommendations for games to go and find for myself.

And just to make sure you don't suggest titles I've already played, here are the games of that era I've already tried in the past that I can remember:

Little Big Adventure 2
Independence Day
Virtual Springfield
Age of Empire 2
Lords of the Realm 2
Disney's Hercules

How about the original Fallout?

Or maybe Baldur's Gate?

Planescape: Torment?

Those are some classic RPGs from the latter half of the decade.

 

[B-Cell_v1legacy]

Half life 1
Thief
System Shock 2
Doom
Quake

 

[Hawki]

StarCraft
Diablo
Warcraft II (maybe)
Doom
Marathon
Counter-Strike

 

[Saelune]

TES II: Daggerfall. Its the one that made TES what it is. Arena was a generic RPG game-wise, but Daggerfall is what added the skill system among other things.

 

[SmallHatLogan]

Jazz Jackrabbit 2 all the way baby. From a purely mechanical standpoint it's a decent 2D platformer if nothing exceptional, but I find the presentation elevates it. Graphics still look really nice to this day and the soundtrack is fantastic.

I'd also recommend Unreal if you like FPSs. Solid gameplay, great environments and atmosphere, great soundtrack (in fact I think it's by the same people who did Jazz Jackrabbit 2).

Everyone else has mentioned the obvious ones except Duke Nukem 3D which I also recommend.

 

[Felstaff]

Giants: Citizen Kabuto was technically made in the 90s.

 

[LonePunman]

Descent II.

It's like Doom, but you're in a fighter spacecraft so you have a full 6 axis range of motion. VERY fun game, and the music is awesome (if you can find the version with the non-midi music).

 

[Serio]

You seem to be going for a strategy theme here, so I'm going to suggest the Pharaoh, Cleopatra and Caesar games. They're city builders, and quite good ones at that. Aside from that, I'll also second the original Fallout games. They've held up surprisingly well, once you get past the resolution problems(which can all be fixed with some mods).

 

[TheMigrantSoldier]

Warcraft 2. Nice cartoony-fantasy graphics, fast-paced gameplay, fun spells to use, and great music. A bit dated by modern RTS standards but still worth playing. Now, if only Blizzard would get off their rockers and rerelease the thing like they said they would a few years ago.

The original X-COM is also worth playing, if you can stand a little micromanagement. Your troops tend to be squishier but more numerous.

Gonna slightly break your "90s" rule and say Shogun: Total War (2000). It's still pretty neat and the AI actually plays really well.

 

[Random Gamer]

Exile: Escape from the Pit
Exile II: Crystal Souls
Exile III: Ruined World

I'm some random dude on the internet, and I support this statement. Add Blades of Exile/Avernum as well, that's the scenario editor with plenty of player-made scenarios, some totally awesome.
Heck, I'm actually re-playing Avernum II (XP/Win7 remake) right now.

Other than that, I fully concur on many other choices:
Starcraft
Age of Empires 1+2
Warcraft 2
Doom/Quake/Wolfenstein/Duke Nukem
Diablo
Thief
Baldur's Gate
Planescape Torment

I'll add:
Populous
Syndicate
Pirates! (probably Gold version)
Civilization
Sim City 2000

 

[Totenkreuz]

I would recommend "Lighthouse: The Dark Being". It was the first PC game I ever played and I loved it, it felt so mystical and grand and the graphics blew me away at the time.

Now, I'm rather sure this game doesn't show it's age well and I understand why someone wouldn't want to try this out. I remember this game being hard as hell because there were so many puzzles which really didn't make sense ( remember the umbrella! ).

One request from me: If you were to try this game out then remember this forum user, who loved the game, when you're laughing how cringeworthy this game might be. You can also PM me and tell me how stupid of an idea playing this game was.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse:_The_Dark_Being

Cheers and sorry in advance.

 

[CaitSeith]

Under a Killing Moon. Even with FMV, this first-person adventure game is pretty good.

 

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

Boy, you face an ocean of possibilities.

Heroes of Might and Magic III - unless you're allergic to turn-based gameplay, it's a must. I don't recommed the HD Remake, since you'll be missing on expansion packs.

Fallout 1/2 - Again, if you don't mind TB combat, and you're interested in the Falloutverse, you should give them a try.

Thief: Dark Project/Metal Age - First "Thief" is basicly the mother of stealth genre on PC, and one of these cases where "atmospheric" and "immersive" aren't just nice words to put on the back of a cover.

Grim Fandango - Magnum Opus and the Swan Song of Lucas Arts. If you liked ANY of the games made by Tim Schaefer, you gotta play this one.

Blade Runner - One of my favorite movie-based games, and of the few legitimately good ones. Definitely worth playing if you're a fan of the movie, although getting a copy nowadays might be a problem.

Duke Nukem 3D - I've played it only last year, and still had a blast. (But seriously, fuck Sentry Drones)

Deus Ex - I might be one of those few heretics that liked Human Revolution a bit more than it's predecessor, but first DE is still worth playing, nevertheless.

Half-Life - until Black Mesa gets the Xen level, atleast

GTA 2 - fun, arcadey, over-the-top action. Last GTA before it went 3D and became Rockstar's huge cash cow we know nowadays.


[footnote]Okay, these two are from 2001, but i'll let them slip because a)love them b)they still have that 90's feel to them [/footnote]Max Payne - Do you like Noir genre? Pulp detective stories? Sin City? John Woo flicks? The Matrix? Long, romantic walks around snow covered streets in the evening? Any of the above? Don't answer that. A rhetorical question. If yes, then give a try this TPS that made Bullet Time(tm) famous.

Gothic - this one might be a bit obscure if you're not from EU, but you should give them a try, if you're down for a bit more down-to-earth fantasy(albeit, not Witcher/GoT levels of gritty). The controls might feel a bit clunky and require a bit of practice in the beggining, but in return you'll get a beautifully crafted open world with total of maybe 2(yes, two) loading screens.

 

[Rastrelly]

In addition to above there are some other great stuff:
* Command & Conquer originals (Dune 2, Dune 2000, C&C, C&C: Tiberian Sun);
* Warhammer 40k/WFB: Chaos Gate, Final Liberation, Shadow of the Horned Rat, Dark Omen
* Older Settlers
* Homeworld
* Disciples
* Age of Wonders
* Master of Magic
* Master of Orion (I, II)
* Hexen, Heretic
* Strife
* Uprising
* Wizardry VII (VI is REALLY old, and VII came out in 2001), so...
* Kyrandia series
* Monkey Island series
* Tomb Raider
* ... I think, enough for now.

 

[hermes]

Since you listed Independence Day, I would suggest Freespace and (specially) Freespace 2, the best game in the genre.

 

[Bilious Green_v1legacy]

No-one has mentioned the original X-Com (UFO: Enemy Unknown)! What is this?

Also Diablo 1&2, X-Wing, and Tie Fighter.

 

[Recusant]

Somebody asks for 90's games, gives a fairly strategy-heavy list, and this far in no one's suggested X-Com or Alpha Centauri? Did I wake up in opposite land?

 

[Bad Jim]

This is back when Peter Molyneux actually made good stuff. Such as:
Populous: The Beginning
Dungeon Keeper
Syndicate

Also, I feel I should mention Total Annihilation. One of the best RTS games ever.