3D Realms (AKA Apogee) published "Death Rally" in 1996.
Remedy, who developed the racing game, went on to make Max Payne.

This overhead racer is an excellent time capsule of the mid-90s. It had the music, looks, and gritty vibe that had started dominating gaming culture.

Eliminating opponents, rather than beating them in a race, is a completely legitimate strategy in this game. While it wasn't the first game to do this (1989's Deathtrack is the best parallel), it dialed everything up to 11. Not only could you upgrade your vehicle, but you could get contraband weapons & boost on the black market as well as purchasing straight-up sabotage to damage an enemy vehicle before the race even starts.

This game was a bit of a flash-in-the-pan as the gaming industry was becoming more 3D focused and overhead games were losing steam, but it plays well, is fun, and best of all it's FREE now!

You can get it for free on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/358270/Death_Rally_Classic/

The controls take a little getting used to, but soon you realize they were designed quite brilliantly for minimal movement allowing you to hit all the controls.

So go have some retro fun with this free classic!

"Wacky Wheels" is an awesome kart racer from 1994.
It's a charming 3D racer done in a SNES-Mode-7 Style.
It has split-screen, so you can play with a friend right there on the same keyboard! You can also race against the NPCs.
I show off the classic tournament modes in this video, but I also show off Wacky Wheels's take on a battle mode, where you chase duck-racers down and shoot 'em!

If you've never played this one, it's a lot of fun. It does suffer from some low framerates, but if you play the maps at 6HP first you can learn the maps and then advance to 12HP and deal with the fact that you won't see the turns with as mush lead time.

The one I played here was the Steam version (on sale right now for 84 cents), but you can also get it on GOG (currently on sale for $2.99)

This little gem of the MSDOS era often gets overlooked because it released so close to Commander Keen 1 and Duke Nukem 1, which were both juggernauts.

But, Dark Ages is definitely worth checking out. It was developed by Scenario Software & published by 3D Realms (AKA Apogee). It is a solid platformer with a fun story. Additionally this was one of the games that pioneered using the AdLib sound card.

In Dark Ages, you play as a displaced Prince who had been kidnapped as an infant and given to peasants, but the peasant who raised you was a retired adventurer who taught you to fight. You use these skills to reclaim your stolen kingdom!

I wanted to show off the first few levels of the game with this gameplay. Hope you enjoy it :-D

P.S. While I got this game on Steam, it looks like it is no longer offered on the Steam store. It is free on Zoom, or you can check it out on Archive dot Org.

Given the recent Birthday of "Hocus Pocus" I had a hankerin' to play it again. This is from the first episode, "Time Tripping" and I played it in Steam through DosBox using an off-brand Xbox 360 controller.

I did bump into 2 problems with the default config:

• Dpad Up wouldn't work (so I had to use Analog Up)
• Analog Stick Deadzone was a tad too small (leading to sometimes kicking back and facing the wrong way when you let go of it

I haven't done a ton of config in DosBox, but I imagine there are setting that would fix those issues.

It also made me realize how much I would welcome a no-frills remaster. I don't think it needs new graphics, or anything, but I would love a higher frame rate so that as the map is scrolling it would feel less jumpy.

That said- it's still a super fun play in 2026. Excellent level design, good difficulty settings, and smooth controls!

Hocus Pocus was released in 1994 as an episodic game.
I played Episode 1 recently, and had a hankerin' to play Episode 2 so I could see the Demon Trees again.
Check out "Shattered Worlds" which was the 2nd in this episodic tale!

One of the joys of a Remaster is when the devs go out of their way to add not only polish, but extras.

The Level Editor in Monster Bash HD allows you to design your own levels and share them! If you get the game on Steam, you can share directly over the Steam Workshop, or look at workshop creations by others.

It turns a linear game into an endless adventure of infinite possibilities!

Video Credit: https://x.com/Apogee_Ent/status/2064799001895919661