🎮 Play Total Carnage Online (DOS)

Developed by Midway and released in 1992, Total Carnage is a chaotic, top-down action shooter for DOS that serves as the spiritual successor to Smash TV. Playing as Captain Carnage or Major Mayhem, you are dropped into a satirical, war-torn setting to defeat the villainous General Akhboob and his mutant army. The game is famous for its massive waves of enemies, over-the-top explosions, and relentless pacing that demands constant movement to survive.

How to play

Your primary objective is to blast your way through enemy lines, rescue civilians, collect weapon power-ups, and reach the exit of each stage while taking out massive bosses. As a dual-directional shooter, you move and fire independently. Use your keyboard’s arrow keys to move and the assigned action keys to fire. For the most authentic arcade feel, mapping a modern controller’s twin analog sticks or a second set of directional keys in the emulator settings is highly recommended, mirroring the original arcade cabinet’s dual joysticks.

Tips

• Keep moving at all times; stopping makes you an easy target for enemy swarms and incoming airstrikes.
• Prioritize picking up weapon upgrades like the scatter gun and flamethrower to clear crowds faster, but remember they have limited ammo.
• Collect dog tags and rescue civilians to earn extra points and crucial extra lives.