The best 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).

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Super Pinball by Russco

DOS19874.5/5 Russco

Time Bandit

DOS19894.4/5 MichTron

Time Bandit is a classic top-down arcade-style video game that was released in 1982 for various home computer systems, such as the Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, and others. It was developed by MichTron. In Time Bandit, players control a character who must navigate through a series of maze-like levels, battling various enemies and collecting treasure a...

TomeNET

Windows XP/98/95Linux2003freeware4.4/5

Mad Mix

DOS19884.3/5 Topo Soft

Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate

DOS19924.3/5 Origin Systems

Ultima VII: The Black Gate is a top-down RPG where you, the Avatar, have to find out what's happening in Britannia by solving quests, meeting interesting NPCs and fight hordes of headleass monsters. The land of Britannia is shaken by mysterious earthquakes, a new religion (the Fellowship) is spreading and is replacing the old virtues, and who is th...

Antix

DOS1985remake4.3/5

Warlords 3: Reign of Heroes

Windows XP/98/9519974.3/5 SSG Strategic Studies Group

Warlords 3: Reign of Heroes is an abandoned turn-based fantasy strategy game designed by Steve Fawkner, developed by SSG Strategic Studies Group and released by Red Orb Entertainment in 1997 for Windows. Warlords 3: Reign of Heroes is part of the Warlords game series and features quite a few multiplayer modes: from LAN to PBEM.

Volfied

DOS19914.3/5 Taito

Volfied is an arcade game developed and released by Taito Corporation in 1989. It's a puzzle game that gained popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The game is named after the fictional planet "Volfied", where the gameplay is set.In Volfied, players control a small spaceship called "Challenger" and must eliminate 80% or more of the playfiel...

Skate or Die

DOS19884.3/5 Electronic Arts

Skate or Die is an abandoned sports game, developed and released by Electronic Arts in 1988 for DOS and a number of other platforms. Skate or Die is a multi-sport kind of game, including every kind of unconventional "sport" done on skateboard. A sequel, Ski or Die, was released an year later.

Infiltrator

DOS19874.3/5 Chris Gray Enterprises

Power Drive

DOS19944.3/5 Rage Games

War of the Lance

DOS1990protected4.3/5 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

Super Stardust

DOS19964.3/5 Housemarque

Micro Machines

DOS19944.3/5 Codemasters

Micro Machines is an abandoned racing game developed and released by Codemasters in 1994 based on the Micro Machines toy line. Micro Machines was published for DOS, but also for Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Genesis, NES, SEGA Master System and SNES. Codemasters released a sequel called Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament.

Ms Pac PC

DOS1995remake4.3/5 Magicom Multimedia

Pipe Dream

DOSWindows 3.x19894.3/5 The Assembly Line

Pipe Mania (also known as Pipe Dream is a tile-matching (sort of) puzzle game about flowing liquids developed by The Assembly Line in 1989. You must build a path made of pipe pieces to let a green liquid (sewer goo?) flow. It's simple, original and addicting, that's why Pipe Mania was cloned a number of times.

Chip's Challenge

DOSWindows 3.x19914.3/5 Epyx

Chip's Challenge is an abandoned top-down puzzle game designed by Chuck Sommerville, developed and released by Epyx in 1991. Chip's Challenge was released on DOS, Windows 3.x and many other home computers such as Atari ST, Amiga, C64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC.

Action Soccer

DOS19954.3/5 UBI Soft

Face Off!

DOS19894.3/5 MindSpan

Face Off! is an abandoned hockey sports game developed by MindSpan (known for their Hardball series) and released by Gamestar in 1989 for DOS and also for Commodore 64. Face Off supports multiplayer in competitive or cooperative modes.

Global Conquest

DOS19924.3/5 Ozark Softscape

Lords of Midnight: The Citadel

DOS19954.3/5 Maelstrom Games

NFL Pro League Football

DOS19894.3/5 Micro Sports

Trog

DOS19904.3/5 Midway Manufacturing Company

Albion

DOSWindows XP/98/9519954.2/5 Blue Byte Software

Albion is a science fiction role-playing game (RPG) developed and published by German studio Blue Byte Software. It was released in 1995 for MS-DOS and later for Amiga. Albion is notable for its blend of traditional RPG elements with a unique setting and storyline.The game takes place on the planet Albion, a world with a rich history and diver...

Colonization

DOSWindows 3.xLinuxMac OS1994protected4.2/5 MicroProse Software

Colonization is a turn-based strategy 4x game developed and published by MicroProse in 1994 for DOS, Windows 3.1, Linux and Mac. The setting is the European Colonization of the New World. Colonization gameplay and interface are similar to Civilization, another Sid Meier game. However, there are some differences between Civilization and Colonization...

Civilization

DOSWindows 3.xMac OS19914.2/5 MicroProse Software

Civilization is the critically acclaimed strategy game designed by Sid Meier and Bruce Campbell Shelley that became a staple in 4X turn-based strategy. Civilization was developed by MicroProse Software and released in 1991 for DOS, Windows 3.x, Amiga, Atari ST, Mac, etc. Civilization was followed by sequels, the last one being published recently. T...

SimEarth

DOSWindows 3.x19904.2/5 Maxis

SimEarth is a simulation in which you can shape and mold a planet in almost every way you can imagine. In SimEarth our planet is simulated as a whole: life, climate, atmosphere are all aspects of a single Gaia-like Earth. SimEarth can be played in two modes: game and experimental. In game mode, you have to to develop (and preserve) Earth with limit...