The underground adventure scene is chock full of fantastic adventure games that harken back to the classic Sierra and LucasArts adventures of yesteryear. It can certainly be overwhelming, though, for someone who is new to the scene and has no idea where to start! Here are our suggestions of five of the strongest complete amateur adventure games avilable for free download. The graphics of these range from mediocre to above-average, but the writing is some of the best in adventure games, amateur or commercial. And most importantly, they're all incredibly fun! These five games combined will provide well over fifteen hours of playing time, and will give you a very good introduction to the strength of the underground scene!


Aftershocked! by Matt "Madguy" Dabrowski
Just your typical small-town zombie post-nuclear-attack crazy-dictator comedy adventure—drawn in classic Crayola marker style. The surprisingly young Dabrowski, using AGAST, has created a very funny and very extensive little game, with an innocent look and a wickedly offbeat sense of humor. The download file is very large, but it's worth it!
Download AfterShocked!


King's Quest II VGA remake by Tierra Entertainment
The Sierra On-Line classic has been remade in gorgeous VGA graphics the likes of which have not yet been seen in amateur adventures. But besides that, the story and puzzles have been strengthened to make the game much better than the 1986 original. Plus, Tierra offers a digital music pack for download along with the game! A must-play for all Sierra fans.
Download King's Quest II VGA


Larry Vales: Traffic Division by Phil Reed
The brilliantly nutty Phil Reed created one of the most legendary amateur adventure characters ever in the lovable loser police officer Larry Vales. The extremely successful AGS game spawned a successful sequel, and the third in the trilogy is nearing completion. Nonstop laughs for everyone who thinks police games should be serious!
Download Larry Vales


Out of Order by Tim Furnish
After an extensive time of developing and testing for what he planned to be a commercial adventure, Tim has decided just this week to release this sci-fi comedy as freeware, to advertise the greatness of his SLUDGE adventure engine. This is certainly a game of commercial quality; very well-written, interesting plot, and incredibly funny. I can think of ten games I've paid for that weren't nearly as expansive or fun as this!
Download Out of Order


Rob Blanc I by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw
The eccentric Yahtzee, now retired from the amateur community, can be accurately described as one of the founders of the scene, and here is his immortal first game. This very short adventure introduces us to Rob Blanc, normal guy called on to be the Defender of the Universe. Yahtzee was kind enough to give us two other excellent Rob Blanc adventures before retiring, but make sure you play the one that started it all!
Download Rob Blanc