Abandonware DOS title

The most popular top down games

Top down games were very popular in the 80s and the 90s, when graphic cards were not capable of supporting 3D, and even when 3D started to become popular, 2D games continued to be easier to develop, at least in the infancy of 3D gaming. 2D game offered the player a viewpoint that helped keeping things easily under control (think about top down party-based RPGs or hex-based strategy games).
rings-of-medusa-01

Rings of Medusa

DOS19904/5 Starbyte Software
Rings of Medusa is a strategy / RPG developed by the German studio Starbyte Software. It was released in 1989 for various platforms including the Commodore 64, Amiga, and MS-DOS. In Rings of Medusa, players assume the role of a hero tasked with defeating the evil sorceress Medusa who has taken control of the city of Olympus. The game world is ...
sensiblesoccer-2

Sensible Soccer

DOS19924.1/5 Sensible Software
mordor-dephts-dejanol-07

Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol

Windows 3.x1995protected4/5
Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol is fantasy RPG game released in 1995 for Windows 3.x, but it runs flawlessy even Windows XP (see this faq if you want to play Mordor in a virtual machine). Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol is a mix of first-person and top-down perspective dungeon crawler; the game shows the dungeon in by both perspectives at onc...
packman-1

Pack-Man

DOS1983remake3.4/5 Magicom Multimedia
darklands-3

Darklands

DOSLinuxWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1992protected4/5 MicroProse Software
Darklands was a unique historical isometric RPG that mixed real historical data from medieval Germany during the 15th century with a touch of folklore and fantasy. Unfortunately it was also the only Microprose RPG of that kind and beauty. The original game box contained a huge manual with info on european folklore (including the live...
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Populous: The Beginning

Windows XP/98/951998protected4.2/5 Bullfrog
nhl_96-07

NHL 96

DOS19954.2/5 Electronic Arts
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Solar Winds 2: Galaxy

DOS19933.9/5 Stone Interactive Media
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Marble Cooking

DOS1994NSFW3.5/5 Negative
tristanpinball-1

Tristan Pinball

DOS19914/5 Littlewing
buckcountdown-04

Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday

DOS1990protected4.2/5 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
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Blood & Magic

DOS19963.9/5 Tachyon Studios
castle-wolfenstein-04

Castle Wolfenstein

DOS19844.1/5 Muse Software
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Amberstar

DOS19924/5 Thalion
Amberstar is a fantasy old school RPG very similar to Ultima 6 that uses a top-down view for interiors and small locations and a first person pseudo 3D view for everything else. Unfortunately, the sequel (called Ambermoon) was available for Amiga only and no version existed for DOS or Windows. Amberstar was developed and published by Thalion for DO...
z-03

Z

DOS1996protected4.1/5 Bitmap Brothers
Z is a real-time strategy game developed by The Bitmap Brothers and originally released in 1996 for MS-DOS. It's known for its fast-paced gameplay, humorous style, and distinctive art design.In Z, players control a robot army across various battlefields, aiming to conquer territories and defeat enemy forces. The game features a tongue-in-cheek narr...
btechcrescent-1

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception

DOS19884/5 Westwood Studios
fastfooddizzy-2

Fast Food Dizzy

DOS19894/5 Codemasters
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Master of Magic

DOSWindows XP/98/951994protected4.2/5 SimTex
Master of Magic is a turn based 4x strategy game developed by SimTex and published by the well know Microprose, very similar to Civilization, with a fantasy twist. You play as a wizard and your objective is to evolve your race from a small settlement to a bursting empire. To do so, you can produce military units to fight other computer controlled p...
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Heroes of Might and Magic

DOSWindows XP/98/951995protected4.2/5 New World Computing
uridium-2

Uridium

DOS19883.9/5 Graftgold
Uridium is a classic shoot 'em up video game that was originally developed by Andrew Braybrook and published by Hewson Consultants in 1986 for various home computer platforms (including MS-DOS). In Uridium, players control a spaceship known as the Manta, and the objective is to destroy a series of enemy spacecraft, as well as ground-based inst...
simlife-2

SimLife

DOSMac OSWindows 3.x19924/5 Maxis
SimLife is an abandoned simulation game focused on managing a ecosystems and experimenting with genetics. SimLife was designed by Ken Karakotsios, developed and released by Maxis in 1992 for DOS and later also published for Macintosh, Amiga, Windows 3.x and Amiga.
northandsouth-2

North and South

DOS19904.2/5 Infogrames
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Legend of the Silver Talisman

DOS1996freeware3.9/5 Inter-Active Arts
xonix-1

Xonix

DOS1984remake4/5
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Adventure Construction Set

DOS19873.9/5 Electronic Arts
Adventure Construction Set is an abandoned application developed by Stuart Smith and published for DOS, Amiga, Apple II and Commodore 64 by Electronic Arts in 1987. As the name suggests, ACS is a game-building system (we're talking about adventure RPGs) that lets you edit maps, items, creatures, etc. Included with ACS is a complete game called...
dungeon-crawl-dos-03

Dungeon Crawl

Windows XP/98/95DOSLinux1997freeware4/5
Dungeon Crawl (also known as Linley's Dungeon Crawl from the name of the original programmer: Linley Henzell) is a classic roguelike: an RPG with permadeath, procedural generation and high replayability. Dungeon Crawl was released on 1997 but it's not maintained anymore. The spiritual successr of Crawl is DCCS (Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup).
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Raptor: Call of the Shadows

DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1994protecteddemo4.1/5 Cygnus Studios
Raptor: Call of the Shadows is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up video game developed by Cygnus Studios and published by Apogee Software. The game was first released in 1994 for MS-DOS and later ported to other platforms. In Raptor, players control a fighter jet through various levels filled with enemy aircraft, ground targets, power-ups and boss...
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3D Ultra Lionel Traintown

Windows XP/98/9520004/5 Dynamix
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Scavengers of the Mutant World

DOS19883.9/5 Interstel Corporation
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Decision in the Desert

DOS19853.8/5 MicroProse Software