Few preservation projects move me as much as ScummVM. It was born in 2001 to run LucasArts point-and-click adventures and today brings together engines from dozens of studios, always with enormous care for every detail. And the loveliest part: several studios released their games as freeware, and ScummVM itself distributes those versions on the ScummVM games page.
The free and legal adventures
The official list includes Beneath a Steel Sky and Lure of the Temptress, from Revolution Software, Flight of the Amazon Queen, DreamWeb, Dráscula: The Vampire Strikes Back, from Spain’s Alcachofa Soft, the fan-made Broken Sword 2.5, and other titles such as The Griffon Legend and Mystery House. These are full games, released by their rights holders, not cut-down demos.
Can you play them in the browser?
Yes, with an honest caveat. ScummVM’s code already has a WebAssembly backend, and Christian Kündig, who develops that port, runs a ScummVM web demo with freeware and demos ready to open. The project page states plainly that this demo is not official yet, because the port is not complete. I confirmed today that its catalog has Beneath a Steel Sky, Flight of the Amazon Queen, Lure of the Temptress, Dráscula and DreamWeb. For commercial games, the demo accepts your own files through cloud storage.
My recommendation
To play calmly and keep your save safe, install ScummVM on your PC, phone or console and download the freeware versions from the official page. The browser is great for trying a game in five minutes.
If you enjoy this kind of digging, read our guide to games ported to the browser and PC, the tips on keeping your save in browser ports and the list of classics their creators made free.
Where to buy: Wireless mice on Amazon
Source: ScummVM and Revolution Software.
Lady Combo