Top 12 FREE Abandoned Or Open-Source Classic PC Games (Download Links Inside)

Take a step back in time as I've compiled a list of my favorite free classic abandoned or open-source remakes. Oh ok, some aren't the exact classics as you may know them but they all have that essence of what makes a game stick around for years after the rest of the world has moved on.

Browse my list below and let me know if any seem worthy of your time.

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(12) Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries

This is in 12th place not because I enjoyed this game the least of those on here, but because it is a damn trouble it get it to play on modern computers!

But wow, when you get it going it just throws me back into the days where I gripped onto my logitech joystick and sweated every second of a mission. With all the possible damage that could happen to your 'mech, you could even find yourself without any working weapon - which I remember fondly.

I was out of ammo for both my guns and SRM's and my lasers had just been knocked out. The mission was almost over, just one more enemy to kill and it was decently damaged itself. I didn't want to start this whole thing over and decided to just keep ramming into the enemy. It freakin worked!

Mission Complete

Download: ModDB
Installation Guide/Help: Reddit
(If you get this to work, show me how)

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(11) Dune II or OpenDUNE

He who controls the spice controls the universe

This game came out way back in 1992 for PC, but that is not the version I played. What I spent many hours on is the Sega Genesis version released in 1994.

Harvest spice. Build units. Fight. Repeat.

It certainly is a winning combo and one that Westwood studios used to propel themselves to greatness. At least that was the plan before EA Games bought them out and shat all over them. Damn EA...

You got two choices here. You can play the Original or the Open source project version. Both have the classic graphics and are just like you left them.

Play Original
Play OpenDUNE

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(10) Command & Conquer: Red Alert

Speaking of Westwood studios, I can't pass up the classic that was Red Alert! Released back in 1996 means that I had moved on from consoles and officially became a member of the PCMasterRace.

I remember dialing up my friends in the game because this was one of the first games that you could do that in! What times we were living in then. (The other one I would always play by modem was Diablo)

Anyways, this is a great battle and resource game and definitely worth playing. Again, you have a few options; Original or open source but the open source features better graphics, so I would start there.

Play Original
Play OpenRA

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(09) Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead

This isn't some nostalgia inducing classic, but a really well-done free roguelike game. You are a survivor in a zombie infested post-apocalyptic world and have to learn skills, scrounge up resources, craft, and fight to just live. There is no goal other than to live and the longer you are in the world, the stronger the monsters become.

Think of Skyrim and Fallout having a baby and you get Cataclysm: DDA.

Sounds good right? Well, not so fast as the base game is in ASCII script (you know, the matrix code). It also

So grab yourself a graphics tileset pack and at least know somewhat what you are looking at.

DDA Website

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(08) FreeCiv or CivONE

What can I say about Sid Meier's best franchise EVER (and that's saying a lot)! Start building a civilization from nothing but a bunch of nomads, research tech, fight wars, make alliances (damn you GHANDI!), and maybe even launch humanity into space.

This is the first and ultimare 'one more turn' game.

Open Source: FreeCiv (plays right in your browser)
Classic remake: CivONE

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(07) OpenTTD (Transport Tycoon Deluxe)

Look, if you ever wanted to be the master of logistics then this is your game. You build your routes using trucks, buses, trains (hell YES!), ships, airplanes and more. Move goods or passengers and watch the towns grow into cities. Its like sim city, but only the transportation part.

You can get REAL down and dirty with it too. Like you can schedule the times that a single bus arrives, too much for me but maybe that's your bag. I don't judge. What we play with on our own time is just for us.

OpenTTD

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(06) The Starflight or Star Control games

These are two separate franchises, but to me they have to share the same spot here. Both 1980's space-faring classics.

I had an old hand-me-down computer that my uncle gave me, complete with those old-school printers that had the holes on the side that you tore off. Remember those things? I wrote many a school report on that thing and printed it off on that paper. But I digress.

Yea, Star Control and Starflight are two game franchises that I remember fondly. That old hand-me-down computer was so slow when I was traveling in the Starflight galaxy that I used a big 'D' battery to hold down the direction button while I went off and did other things. Trying to solve the mysteries of the game without any outside help just doesn't happen anymore. I mean there was no internet to go and look something up. You had to write down every little hint that the game gave and refer to your notes for locations to go scout.

Star Control was a great game, I remember playing it on the Genesis with my buddy Rafael. Either the melee mode or the little map where you built up the planets and bases.

Damn good games, and you can get them for free or from GoG.com for a few bucks.

Star Control Open Source
Starflight Open Source

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(05) Battle for Wesnoth

To tell the truth I have only played this one briefly, but what I have played is really fun. It is a strategic turn-based game with fantasy armies. You have towns and fortresses and they give you money with which you can buy more units.

The trick is to fight the enemy units that your particular unit is best at fighting. Seems easy, but it is not. There is a lot going on that you can really only pick up in time. Speaking of time, a game can take quite a while to complete.

This game has been in development for YEARS, which adds to its high rating as they continuously balance and add new ideas - often from the community. This engagement keeps the community active and playing.

Battle for Wesnoth

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(04) Dwarf Fortress

I'll let you know right off the bat that this game isn't for everyone. It is incredibly detailed and the stories that some people have made are absolutely incredible. That is what drew me to the game, but I am nothing but an amateur at it and that's after watching HOURS of videos of people playing and explaining what everything does.

Basically, you get 7 dwarfs and an assortment of goods and you embark upon creating a new home. You will get raided, often by Were"things" like a damn Werebadger that will rip the arms off of your noob soldiers. Oh, and vampires and even more deadly things the deeper you dig.

If you can learn this, you basically have a game you can play for life. Like Cataclysm: DDA, you are best off with a graphic tileset pack.

Dwarf Fortress

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(03) 0 A.D.

Do you like Age of Empires? I bet you do! This is the game for you.

This is one smooth game, probably the most professional open source game I have ever seen. Do I need to explain it? It is a free open-source modern Age of Empires without Microsoft's name all over it.

Harvest resources, build buildings and soldiers, fight, and hopefully win! It spans the timeframe of 500 B.C. to 500 A.D. and the midpoint is - you guessed it - 0 A.D.!

Play 0 A.D.

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(02) Wing Commander - Privateer Gemini Gold

Oh, the place in my heart where the Wing Commander franchise (the GAMES not the shameful MOVIE!) lives. It is right next to my love of mac'n'cheese.

I remember getting Privateer right after windows 95 came out but it was for DOS. that created a little problem, I got it to work the first time but it never started up again! I don't know what I did wrong, but months later I somehow got it going again without sound. But hey, I was playing it at least.

Let me tell you, even the chintzy sounds this game makes today is better than what I had.

The story is that you have an old ship, a few credits, and the ability to do what you please. So go out there and fight or trade or (most-likely) do both.

The Open Source game hasn't been updated in ages, but you can get it here.

Wing Commander Privateer Gemini Gold

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(01) UnReal World

You have to survive in Iron Age Finland. This is one of my favorite games, and my favoritest (is that a word?) free game. So much so that it was one of my earliest articles here on Steemit many moons ago.

Go out there and kill bears and wear them as a cape! But only if the bear doesn't get you first, which is a very real possibility. Oh, and bear meat sure beats starving to death.

Here is what I had to say about it:

The UnReal World is a lifelong passion of one wild Finnish man, Sami Maaranen (with assistance from his friend Erkka). Work began on this Roguelike in 1992, when he was just a teenager. UnReal World has had many different iterations, beginning as a medieval fantasy game and gradually morphing into the world’s premier open world Finnish survival game.

Yes, the controls are a bit weird at the start. Yes, the graphics leave much to the imagination. But it’s wicked fun. So much fun that I come back to it year after year, and time and again it amazes me. With regular updates, Sami is always bringing something new to the land.

Check it out! The newest version costs money, but the older versions are free.

UnReal World