I don’t know if it technically counts as freeware, but Space Cadet Pinball. Back on XP it was my go-to for something quick to play on the offline computer, and I just brought it with me to every new machine. Also it’s now been decompiled and will run on pretty much anything!
Something about Castle of the Winds really seemed unique and even today it’s distinct from most roguelikes. I liked the fact that items could be enchanted or cursed. Simplistic graphics, but fun! I also liked the 3D pinball game (demo) that came with an old version of Windows…
Wow holy shit I’ve literally never heard another person speak of this game. I came here thinking, “it’s a shame Castle of the Winds is never mentioned in these kinds of threads” and here it is. I wasted a summer of my youth playing this game and listening to Blues Traveler Four every day.
We never had the sequel so the game just ended. I thought of it about fifteen years ago and found it! Beat the game and it was every bit as much fun as I remembered it being as a kid.
Random dungeon levels, traps, hidden doors, magic, monsters, treasure - this game is an absolute blast.
i also really fell into this game as a kid, it was included on a disc of free games for pc that my dad got at some point in the 90s. it was the first game i personally played with any sort of exploration mechanic, and it really hooked me. cool to see a couple of other people on lemmy have fond memories about it as well!
Desert strike? Not sure if it was free tho. Also road rash
I always have to have Hover! on my PC. It’s hella dumb that it doesn’t just come with Windows as it did originally.
I’ve been playing it off and on since maybe 2016-18 (somewhere within that range), so a pretty long time for me, but Pokemon Rejuvenation.
If you don’t mind swearing, death, and generally kinda edgy stuff, it’s a fun enough game with a lot of content. 15 out of 18 badges (one per type) are currently available, with a very long story to go with it.
Just started over on my Steam Deck, making this my umpteenth time starting over, because I felt like it and wanted to do a grass only run, similar to my fire only run. Also, unlike just about every other RPGMaker XP fangame, the devs have a Linux version available, which has an appimage instead of the .exe file to run the game and have made a bash script to update the game to replace the .exe file for that. Wine not required to play at all!
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They’re shareware but I think Pocket Tanks and Super DX Ball have been on every computer of mine since 2002
Dwarf Fortress, since 2008
ASCII no questions, I’ll tell you no lies
OpenTTD is open source, so not sure that fits.
I happened upon the original for $20 in Wal Mart in 1995 and I’ve been playing it on and off ever since!
One of the best games ever made.
Older? Check.
Free? Check.
Software/game? Check.Checks out in my book!
The powder toy. It’s a physics simulator. I fire it up during meetings
Every time I mess with a Mac emulator I play some Snood. I think it was only free on that platform though.
bubble tanks
SRB2 !
The Chzo Mythos games. Point and click adventure series made in AGS.
I first played 5 Days A Stranger when it was out, and it was my favourite adventure game.
Then 7 Days A Skeptic, which was basically more of the same and I thought it was very cool.
After that is Notes, which is a text parser instead of point and click. Still a lot of fun, but I always use the guide to help myself in parts.
Last one was 6 Days A Sacrifice, which I don’t remember very well, I haven’t played it as much as the other games.
Also the same guy made a game called 1213, which I loved. It played more like Flashback, cinematic platformer style.
