I was really hoping that the original Privateer would get some love today, but oh well... at least this release includes the Righteous Fire expansion. The included DOSBox config needs some tweaks.

Privateer remains one of my favorite games from the DOS era. Open world, trading, missions, grinding, ship upgrades, or simply make a living as a mercenary was something very special back in 1993. And it all takes place in the Wing Commander universe. Privateer gave you all the freedom in the world.

As with all DOS games: the graphics have aged, the interface can be clunky, and many of the original limitations are difficult to overlook today. Still the atmosphere, soundtrack, sense of progression and the feeling of being a small-time pilot trying to make it in a much larger universe still hold up remarkably well.

I've spent so much time with Privateer over the years that I've even become involved in developing OpenPrivateer, a SDL3 reimplementation for modern systems, with lots of improvements, modding, and working multiplayer. That probably tells you everything you need to know about how much I love this game.

If you've never played Privateer: give it a chance. And if you remember it from the 90s, now is a very good opportunity to play it again.

**Highly recommended**

When I was young I played this game and it was my favorite but a glitch back in the early 90s forced me to stop playing because I couldn't progress, and suddenly the other day, the whole Wing Commander series became available to me again! I leapt at the opportunity to pick this up during the sale and notwithstanding the fact that I have a library of 1100 games, this one is now my obsession to finish the story from yesteryear. Consequently, know that my opinion and review are favorably biased. However, what I find appealing about old games in general is their simplicity. I work in STEM, so all day every day is heavy thinking and complexity. Games like this are immediate gratification without putting an overwhelming demand on my time and energy. Take the classic game Contra, for instance. It's full of explosions and guns and like chess it can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it but you don't have to read a thousand page strategy guide to play the damn thing. And that's what I love about Privateer. Lots of upgrades, lots of new experience, but not a lot of heavy duty thinking.

Has the expansion pack, righteous fire.