26 '90s PC Games That Started Us On Our Gaming Journey

Any kid could live out their pirate fantasies in The Secret of Monkey Island, playing as Guybrush Threepwood, an aspiring pirate on a quest to rescue his beloved Elaine Marley from the ghost pirate LeChuck. The game follows Guybrush as he earns his pirate stripes by sword fighting, treasure hunting, and stealing precious artifacts. Along the way, he meets a cast of characters who eventually become his crew as he sets out to confront LeChuck on Monkey Island, hoping to reunite with Elaine. Guybrush is basically a '90s Will Turner from Pirates of the Caribbean, and you may have found a few similarities between Elaine Marley and Elizabeth Swann, too. 

A puzzle strategy game with a simple goal: get a certain amount of Lemmings to the exit. Now, at times that was easier said than done, as levels got increasingly more difficult and you had to deal with more obstacles to get your green-haired buddies to safety. This led to some interesting route building with the skills the game gives you, but in the end, this game was always fun, even if you saw plenty of Lemmings meet their untimely death. 

The predecessor to Doom, Wolfenstein 3D made for a great intro to first-person shooters. A straightforward game of an American spy trying to dismantle the Nazi regime after his prison escape, it was id Software's third installment of the game and at the time the most successful. Like many of the games on this list, you can go back and see how the game holds up now, although I can't imagine not being able to look up or down in an FPS. 

A city-building simulation game that really made the model for future games like it. At the time, it was critically acclaimed for its graphics and gameplay, but it was the details of how your city ran that made this game so engaging. The balance of making sure your city operated in the best interests of its population without going bankrupt was really interesting. Although as a kid I never did well with this game, it was always fun being able to make my own city as I liked. 

An adventure puzzle point and click game that dropped players onto the mysterious island Myst with no objectives or clear goals to reach. This leaves you to explore the island on your own and try to solve the mysteries of the island.  I can't remember a game more frustrating for me, seeing that as a kid I just could never get past the beginning portions of the game. 

I remember playing it and just being in awe of the gameplay. It was my first time ever playing an FPS, and I was addicted. Taking on the countless demons and trying to complete each map in its entirety made time pass too fast, and thus my love of first-person shooters began. 

While Dune II built the RTS model of building a base, raising an army, and then destroying your enemy, Warcraft really expanded it by allowing for different scenarios like rescue missions or only having a certain amount of forces to attack for a whole mission. This allowed for not only great storytelling but also gave players some challenges when it came to approaching a mission. Of course, this franchise is now known for its massive MMORPG, but it was its RTS games that really set the map for future games. 

It's crazy to think that this game was the first FPS to introduce all the things we need in an FPS now; looking up and down, ducking, and jumping were never a thing until Star Wars: Dark Forces. Not only did it bring us a new way of playing, but the story behind it was just as engaging, as Kyle Katarn, a mercenary, was tasked to steal the plans for the Death Star by the Rebel Alliance. If that sounds familiar, it's because that ended up being the plot to one of my favorite Star Wars movies, Star Wars: Rogue One. 

An FPS that made for hours of multiplayer mayhem for my friends and me. As the successor to Doom, id Software developed a new game engine that made for real-time 3D rendering, which really stepped up the graphics from its predecessor and also invested in the multiplayer aspect of the game. I never realized Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails (and more recently, the iconic Challengers soundtrack) was involved with the music, but it makes sense why I was always bopping in all my multiplayer matches. 

I lost hours of my life playing Civilization III when I got it back in 2001. I mainly purchased it because I had heard so much about its predecessors, specifically Civilization II. Coming off the success of the first Civilization, the sequel expanded even more with added civilizations to choose from, upgraded AI, and even diplomatic reputation and production waste. This game sold close to half a million copies in its first year in the US alone, showing how beloved this franchise is. 

One of the many IP's coming out of Blizzard Entertainment, Diablo brought us an action RPG that made for an engaging story involving the titular Diablo as the final boss. After choosing between a Warrior, Rogue, or Sorcerer, you go and cut through waves and waves of demons and monsters while collecting better weapons and armor to be fit to take on the ruler of the underworld. 

Another FPS that I probably shouldn't have been playing as a kid, considering Duke's filthy mouth, but it was the first game I played that had multiplayer where I could kill other players instead of the alien NPC's I was used to. It stole my attention away from Doom, since not only did it allow me to play online, but also, who else is gonna save all the civilians from aliens if I don't?... Exactly. 

We all know where this franchise has gone and are excited whenever the latest sequel hits stores but there's a reason why this game is so highly touted even with its bugs and it started with the original that dropped in 97. This critically acclaimed game was praised for its storytelling and skill system that was yet to be seen by many back in the late 90s. So if you have an opportunity to revisit this classic do it and see that although the gaming mechanics might feel old the world-building and story is still as good as the new stuff. 

I remember seeing a friend of mine playing Age of Empires at his place and thinking, I need this game immediately. I was impressed with the advancement through the different ages but also the strategy you had to take with your resources. Once a resource is acquired you have to choose wisely on how you spend it, and man did I make some mistakes before I figured that out. Like many other RTS games, this one had plenty of sequels that improved on an amazing game, but I have to acknowledge the first. 

One of the most highly acclaimed first-person shooters, Half-Life made it a point to try to keep players immersed in the game by cutting out cut-scenes and allowing the story to play out in front of the player in-game. They also upped the ante by making the game a visual masterpiece at the time and made it fun as hell to play as Gordon Freeman, a scientist turned badass.  

As a fan of the Rambo movies growing up, the idea that I could use a select number of Commandos to take down enemies was a blast, especially considering the tactical element of the game. Each Commando had their specialty and had their own objective in each mission, which meant you had to be on point with all your guys, because if one died then the mission is a fail. 

Every mission in the single-player campaign started with a briefing that allowed you to map out how you would like other SWAT teams to approach the objective. I was never great at mapping it out, but I loved the stealth portion and being able to take down enemies one by one. The realism of being killed by a single bullet or two made the margin of error that much smaller, which was a great challenge, and like other FPS' on this list, it had an addictive multiplayer. 

Another RTS coming from Blizzard Entertainment, StarCraft dove into the world of science fiction with players being able to choose from three races, each with their own pros and cons for how many resources it will take to build your army and bases. It was this great balance that had so many people in love with the game, especially when it came to playing online. 

I've always loved stealth games, and this one was no different, set in the Middle Ages with a steampunk flair, you would go and sneak around castles and the city with your blackjack, sword, bow, and array of arrows to get you by. Ultimately your goal was usually simple: sneak in and get your treasure and sneak out. Obviously, that gets more difficult, but with water arrows to take out torches or moss arrows to muffle footsteps, this game always had you strategizing on the best way to approach any situation. 

Out of all the Command & Conquer games from the franchise, this one stood out the most. It not only beefed up the graphics from the previous games but also featured some notable actors in the game like Star Wars' James Earl Jones and Terminator's Michael Biehn. Whether it's the awesome story progression or the fact that I played this game with my friends for hours, this one is a classic for me. 

If you ever want to know what it's like to build and manage an amusement park, then this game is for you. Not only do you get to choose from an array of rides, you also get to hire your staff to run your park and also to keep guests entertained. There was a lot of detail that really made you feel involved and invested in continuing your park's success. 

One of two MMORPGs that I remember, and at the time, I didn't have the game to play, unfortunately, but I remember being over at a friend's house and being amazed at the places they could explore and the quests that had them battle all types of monsters. This game is highly revered for creating the blueprint for how future MMORPGs would function. It's crazy to think that even today, people are still playing Everquest. It speaks volumes about how devoted fans of the game have been. 

With the success of Unreal, Epic Games took their FPS franchise to another level by making the single-player campaign feel like the multiplayer matches fans had fallen in love with. The level design, gameplay, and graphics were already in high regard from its previous title, but this game really put a bow on great first-person shooters leading into the 2000s with its tournament style and an amazing selection of weapons. 

I can't tell you how much joy this game gave me and my friends during lunch at school. We would all go to the library where the computers were and just try not to laugh from all the fun we were having. From the ridiculous names, we would come up with to the outrageous selection of weapons and gadgets this game was one of my favorite multiplayer games to play. The holy grenade was by far one of my favorite weapons to use on my friends while doing the sign of the cross as I dropped it on them.