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Best 3D games on GamesNostalgia

The arrival of 3D technology in computer games marked a revolutionary shift, opening up entirely new dimensions—literally and figuratively—for interactive entertainment. While the concept of 3D visuals had existed since the earliest days of computing, it wasn’t until the mid-1980s that developers began experimenting with rudimentary forms of three-dimensional gameplay.

One of the first attempts was Scarabaeus (also known as Invaders of the Lost Tomb) on the Commodore 64, which featured pseudo-3D maze exploration and atmospheric gameplay. It hinted at the immersive possibilities of depth and perspective, even within the limitations of 8-bit systems.

The real breakthrough came with The Sentinel in 1986, created by Geoff Crammond. This game offered a fully explorable 3D landscape rendered using solid polygons—a technical marvel at the time. Soon after, games like Driller, part of the Freescape series, allowed players to navigate complex 3D environments and solve spatial puzzles, paving the way for future first-person exploration titles. Damocles: Mercenary II took this even further by offering a seamless, open solar system where planets orbited in real time, and players could explore entire cities or spaceports in full 3D.

Flight simulators were among the first genres to fully embrace 3D. Titles like Falcon and Gunship delivered realistic aircraft physics and cockpit views, immersing players in highly detailed aerial combat and reconnaissance missions. Meanwhile, driving simulators such as Hard Drivin' introduced textureless polygonal tracks, stunts, and crashes in real-time 3D, while Formula 1 Grand Prix pushed the realism envelope with accurate racing physics and authentic Grand Prix circuits.

Role-playing games also found new life in the 3D era. Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (1992) was groundbreaking: a dungeon crawler with a first-person perspective, full mouse-look, and real-time movement in a fully rendered world. Around the same time, shooters like Spear of Destiny, the prequel to Wolfenstein 3D, brought fast-paced action to enclosed 3D environments, setting the stage for the FPS explosion.

A milestone came with Frontier: Elite II, which combined real-time planetary systems with an enormous galaxy, all in seamless 3D. It expanded on the legacy of Elite and offered a sandbox space sim experience unlike anything before.

Finally, the mid-1990s brought 3D technology to the masses with games like Tomb Raider in 1996. Lara Croft’s acrobatic exploration and combat in vast polygonal environments marked a turning point in both gameplay and character-driven storytelling, showing just how far 3D gaming had come in just over a decade.

From primitive shapes and wireframes to expansive, immersive worlds, 3D technology fundamentally reshaped the medium of computer games and laid the foundation for modern game design.

No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way windows

No One Lives Forever 2 is a first-person shooter with stealth elements created by Monolith and published by Sierra in 2002 for PC and Macintosh. As you may imagine, NOLF2 is the se...

Year: 2002 Genre: Action

3d action-adventure cold war espionage first-person fps humour shooter spy stealth

The House of the Dead windows

The House of the Dead is a shooter arcade game with an action-horror thematic created by Sega and released in 1996. The title was ported to Sega Saturn and Windows in 1998. These l...

Year: 1998 Genre: Shooter

3d arcade coin-op conversion first-person horror rail shooter

Stunt Rally windowsdos

Stunt Rally is a free racing game featuring 167 tracks in 34 sceneries, 19 cars + 4 vehicles and a Track Editor..

Year: 2014 Genre: Racing

3d freeware multiplayer off-roading racing

Quake II windows

Quake II doesn't need any introduction. The first-person shooter created by id Software was released in December 1997. The legendary John Carmack worked personally on coding this gem, that was not planned to be a sequel to Quake.

Year: 1997 Genre: Shooter

3d first-person fps multiplayer science fiction shooter texture map

Quake dos

Quake is a first-person shooter developed by id Software and published by GT Interactive in 1996. With the success it had with Doom in 1993, id Software decided to capitalize its m...

Year: 1996 Genre: Shooter

3d 3d acceleration first-person fps multiplayer quake engine science fiction shooter texture map

Wolfenstein 3D dos

Wolfenstein 3D is a first-person shooter developed by Id Software and published by Apogee Software in 1992 for DOS. It has since been ported for several systems including PC-98, Mac, Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

Year: 1992 Genre: Shooter

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Total Air War windows

Total Air War, released in 1998 by Digital Image Design and published by Infogrames, is one of the most ambitious and immersive flight simulators. Building upon the foundations of ...

Year: 1998 Genre: Simulation

3d 3d acceleration combat flight simulation military simulation

Midtown Madness windows

Midtown Madness is a racing sim created by Angel Studios for Windows and published by Microsoft in 1999. The game allows you to drive different vehicles in four different single-player modes: Blitz, Circuit, Checkpoint, and Cruise.

Year: 1999 Genre: Racing

3d automobile multiplayer north america open world racing street racing vehicle simulator

Magic Carpet 2: The Netherworlds dos

Magic Carpet 2: The Netherworlds, developed by Bullfrog Productions, is the direct sequel to the groundbreaking Magic Carpet. The game was published by Electronic Arts in 1996, two years after the predecessor.

Year: 1995 Genre: Simulation

3d action-adventure fantasy flight sim simulation

Metal Gear Solid windows

Metal Gear Solid is a stealth action game created by Konami and released initially for PlayStation in 1998. In 1999, an enhanced version was released for Windows. It's the third ga...

Year: 1999 Genre: Action

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No One Lives Forever windows

The Operative: No One Lives Forever, also known as NOLF, is a first-person shooter/stealth game created by Monolith Productions. It was published by Fox Interactive for PC in 2000.

Year: 2000 Genre: Shooter

3d action-adventure cold war espionage first-person humour shooter spy stealth

TFX amigados

TFX (Tactical Fighter Experiment) is a flight simulator developed by Digital Image Design and released in 1993 for MS-DOS. Initially, Ocean had planned to release an Amiga version in 1994.

Year: 1993 Genre: Simulation

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F1 Racing Simulation windows

F1 Racing Simulation by Ubi Soft was an attempt to deliver one of the most realistic and immersive Formula 1 racing experiences of its time. Released in 1997 for PC, the game was d...

Year: 1997 Genre: Racing

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Doctor Who: The Adventure Games windows

Doctor Who: The Adventure Games is a series of graphic adventures in 3D and third-person perspective, based on the famous BBC TV show Doctor Who. The games feature the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companion Amelia Pond.

Year: 2010 Genre: Adventure

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