The best ScummVM games

ScummVM plays classic adventure games (and so much more) on nearly every platform. Here are my favorite ScummVM compatible games.

ScummVM is one of my absolute favorite pieces of software. What started as a virtual machine for running SCUMM games (old Lucas Arts adventure titles), ScummVM has added numerous other game engines over the years — making it possible to run a huge number of amazing games.

Plus… ScummVM runs on oh-so-many platforms. Windows, Mac, & Linux. Sure. That’s a given. But also PSP, Android, 3DS, Haiku, RISCOS, and Amiga among others.

It’s crazy. If you have a computer (or a game console), decent odds you can run ScummVM on it.

What follows are some of my favorite games that run (and run well) on ScummVM. This is not a comprehensive list. Not even close. Hundreds of games run on ScummVM, so I’ll be trying to only include a few from each genre.

The Sierra On-Line adventure games are well supported. Kings Quest, Quest for Glory, Police Quest. They’re all there. But, for my money, it doesn’t get much better than Space Quest 4. Just such a ridiculous game.

A lot of folks don’t realize this, but Sierra published a number of Hoyle card game collections. And they play great on ScummVM! Looking for awesome Solitaire, Hearts, etc.? Doesn’t get much better.

First person dungeon crawling with Eye of the Beholder 2!

While we’re talking about dungeon crawlers… ScummVM supports all of the Might and Magic Xeen series. (This is Darkside of Xeen.) Amazing games.

Myst! You can play Myst in ScumVM! Riven, too!

Beavis and Butt-Head - Virtual Stupidity. Yeah. A Beavis and Butt-Head adventure game. And it plays great in ScummVM.

This is Ultima 8 (Pagan). Ultima 4 and 6 are also supported and playable. Not every Ultima game, but three great ones. So you can do some RPGing on just about any platform.

The Lucas Arts adventure games are, naturally, well supported (as that is what ScummVM was created for). The EGA version of Loom simply must be played. One of the most gorgeous and unique 16 color adventure games ever made. Classic.

I also highly recommend Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Especially the DOS VGA version, if you can get it, as it is the most amazing looking.

So many great kids games available from Humongous. Including Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon. Because the kiddos deserve some fun, too.

There’s a lot more. Hundreds of games. But these are ones you simply can’t go wrong with.

And, hopefully that gives you some idea of what is possible with ScummVM. So much more than just adventure games. Truly worth exploring what is possible.

I would also be remis if I did not mention that many of these games can be legally purchased, without DRM, over at GOG.com… and can than (often fairly easily) be played via ScummVM.

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