LucasArtsis undoubtedly best known for creating iconic film franchises likeStar WarsandIndiana Jones, but throughout the ’90s, the company was also well known for developing and publishing video games.
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While games based on theStar WarsandIndiana Jonesuniverses took up a large portion of the company’s release schedule, people today may be surprised to learn that the company was also well-known at the time for itspoint-and-click adventures. The company released numerous classics in the ’90s, so we’ve decided to rank thebest LucasArts gamesfrom the decade.
Updated May 25, 2025 by Jack Pursey:Nearly a full decade sinceLucasArtswas directly involved in its last video game - thebusiness simulatormobile game Star Wars: Tiny Death Star - the company is back under its old name Lucasfilm Games to work on Return to Monkey Island.
The Monkey Island serieswas a staple of LucasArts' gaming ventures in the ’90s, and the announcement of its return has delighted those who still cherish the franchise. To celebrate their return to gaming, we’ve updated this list to include a few more of thebest LucasArts gamesfrom the ’90s.
15Indiana Jones And The Infernal Machine
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machinejust about makes this list, having been released in November 1999. The game was the first release inIndiana Jones' gaming franchise to be 3D, leaving behind the point-and-click gameplay from the iconicIndiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis(more on that later).
The game’s 17 levels feature a nice blend of puzzle-solving and combat action that earned the game a solid75 critic score and 8.0 user score on Metacritic. AnewIndiana Jonesgame from Bethesda and MachineGames was announced in Janurary 2021, though little has been heard about it since.
14Outlaws
Outlawsis a first-person shooter that was released in April 1997 andtakes place in the Wild West. The game’s lackluster visuals resulted in underwhelming sales figures by LucasArts' high standards, though the game did generate a cult following after its release.
The cult following was able to look past the disappointing visuals and appreciate the enjoyable FPS gameplay and excellent sound design that grabbed the player’s attention with crisp sound effects and astellar orchestral soundtrack. The game also featured a handful of recognizable names as voice actors, including John de Lancie, Jack Angel, and Richard Moll.
13Star Wars Episode I: Racer
WhenStar Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menacewas released, many children were desperate to get their hands on a podracing game. Luckily for them, they didn’t have to wait long to play one, asStar Wars Episode 1: Racerwas released on the 18th of May 1999, which was just two days after the film premiered in Los Angeles, and one day before it was released in cinemas.
Star Wars Episode I: Racerdidn’t disappoint, as it let players unlock every character and pod seen in the original film and also allowed them to race on a variety ofvisually uniquetracks, including the Mos Espa Circuit from the film. The gameplay was great too, as it gave players a great sense of speed while also punishing them for mistakes with an intricate but fair damage mechanic.
12Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Star Wars: Rogue Squadronwas released in December 1998 on PC and Nintendo 64. The game’s story and setting were based on theStar Wars: X-wing Rogue Squadroncomics that were released between 1995 and 1998.
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Theflight gamefeatures a third-person perspective, which is somewhat uncommon for space shooters, and features objective-based missions that are categorized as either Rescue, Protect, Search and Destroy, or Reconnaissance.
11Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces IIis one of the manyStar Warsvideo games that LucasArts released. It offered players the chance to live out their fantasy of being a Jedi or Sith, with excellent lightsaber combat and numerous force abilities like Choke for Sith and health restoration for Jedi.
Unsurprisingly,Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces IIis the only entry on this list that doesn’t fall under the genre of graphical adventure.
10Loom
Loomdifferentiates itself from LucasArts' other graphical adventures with its intricate and fleshed-out plot that isbased more on storytellingthan witty humor.
The game is also unique for the musical distaff, which can create spells with its four-note tunes.Loomwas released in January 1990 and set a high benchmark for all of LucasArts’subsequent 90s games.
9The Curse Of Monkey Island
LucasArts’Monkey Islandseries is one of the most iconic and well-recognized graphical adventure series in the genre.The Curse of Monkey Islandis the third game in the series and the final one to use point and click mechanics before the series returned in 2009.
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The point-and-click genre was quickly becoming outdated uponThe Curse of Monkey Island’s 1997 release, as 3D games likeSuper Mario 64andQuakemarked the beginning of the end for the genre’s AAA status. ButThe Curse of Monkey Islandshowed that the genre wasn’t going to go out without a fight.
8Full Throttle
1995sFull Throttleput players in control of Ben, a biker gang leader who is framed for murder. Unconventionally for the time, the game featured high-quality voice actors, such as Mark Hamill.Full Throttle Remasteredreleased in 2017, significantly updating the graphics and bringing the game to PlayStation users for the first time.
7Sam & Max Hit The Road
Iconic comic book characters Sam and Max were transformed into graphical adventure heroes in 1993.Sam & Max Hit The Roadtook the pair on a trip around the United States as they search for a bigfoot named Bruno, a once frozen carnival attraction.
The game epitomized much of what LucasArts' games were known for in the 90s, with well-written, genuinely funny dialogue andunorthodox puzzle solutionsthat rewarded players for thinking outside the box, however ridiculous the solution may have seemed.
6Day Of The Tentacle
Day of the Tentacle’s unique plot took players on a time-traveling adventure as the game’s three main characters attempt to change the course of history and stop the mutant monster Purple Tentacle from taking over the world. The time-machine malfunctioned though, sending the three protagonists to different points in history. Time travel is the core component of many of the game’s puzzles, as the player can switch between the three protagonists and send items to one another.
Double Fine productions remastered the game in 1993, releasing it on PC, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, and OS X devices.
