DOS_deck/Martin Cole
Revisiting a classic game from the AUTOEXEC.BAT/CONFIG.SYS era for MS-DOS can be a fun distraction. But the more friction and configuration you have with a playable game, the more likely you are to fall before you get to the menu screen. You spend enough time fine-tuning your modern systems; Doing this within an ambiguous setting, in a single game, is not everyone’s idea of fun.
DOS_deck It seems to understand this, providing the easiest path to running classic DOS shareware and abandonware, such as death, Jazz Jackrabbit, Command and conquerAnd Association, with reconfigured controller support and a streamlined interface plundered from the Steam Deck. You can play it in your browser now, which is the browser you’re using to read this post.
In fact, I paused between that last sentence and this one to play two levels death In Chrome browser. And now I took another punctuation break to play the first level Association, which moves much faster than I remember. The control schemes are smart, the interface is easy to get used to and navigate, and there are a host of little extras to appreciate, including saving ongoing game progress (game state), linking specific games and setting them as favourites.
Martin Cole, creator of DOS_deck, takes full credit for its creation on the About page, specifically DOSBox Simulator and JS Dos The project that made DOSBox work in the browser. Cole wrote that DOS_deck’s programmers put “enormous effort” into developing the control schemes for their games. Of the six I looked at, I can confirm. I never expected to get far at all in the original script Cans or Association With a controller, but it is possible. Keyboard shortcuts are still valuable — and you can use a keyboard, of course — but the controller works well for this kind of bouncing enjoyment.
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Listen, I’d love to keep playing, but I have to write about this particular app, now.
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DOS_deck’s tilde key overlay gives you a summary of the controls, both classic and controller-minded.
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My memories from Association It involves more stealth gameplay, not a mass murder simulator. But discovering this only took about 5 minutes instead of a few hours.
There are 14 games in DOS_deck at the moment. Cole writes that more games are coming and Lists some of them in rough order In a post on the project’s subreddit (I’ll check back for… coming down). There are plenty of potential additions, but Kool notes: “I also don’t want DOS_deck to become one of the many abandonware sites with over 1,300 titles. I really want this service to feel like the Netflix of DOS games, offering only the best titles and a variety of genres.” “
Although you can’t upload your own games, “this may become possible in the future.” There are purchase buttons for the games, but it’s more of a tribute or convenience, as they won’t unlock the full versions in the DOS_deck itself.
DOS_deck can of course be set up on the Steam Deck. The project’s About page has a guide to setting it up as a modified Chrome or Edge browser. Tom’s devices, where We first read about this sitesuggests using Chromium to save Chrome or Edge for other uses, including browsing.
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