Top-down perspective sorted by release date

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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Roadwar Europa

DOS1987protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

Robot Rascals

DOS1987 Ozark Softscape

Rockford: The Arcade Game

DOS1987protected Arcadia Systems

Shard of Spring

DOS1987protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

Sid Meier's Pirates!

DOS1987protected MicroProse Software

Sorcerer Lord

DOS1987 Personal Software Services

Storm

DOS1987 Mastertronic

Super Pinball by Russco

DOS1987 Russco

The Ancient Art of War at Sea

DOS1987 Evryware

The Civil War

DOS1987 Avalon Hill

The Hunt for Red October

DOSMac OS1987 Oxford Digital Enterprises

Wizard's Crown

DOS1987protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

X-Fighter

DOS1987 Wordworks Software

2400 A.D.

DOS1988 Origin Systems

Ah, 2400 A.D. A game where you can rebel against a robot police state… by slowly walking around in beige. Released in 1988, it’s what happens when you mix Orwellian dystopia with MS Paint aesthetics. You’ll snea...

Airborne Ranger

DOS1988 MicroProse Software

Strap in and crawl through the mud - Airborne Ranger (1988) is here to chew bubblegum and infiltrate enemy lines. And it's all out of bubblegum. This tactical action game lets you drop behind enemy territory, blow things up, and l...

Arnhem: The Market Garden Operation

DOS1988 Cases Computer Simulations

Arnhem is the kind of wargame where you spend more time reading hex maps than shooting anything. It’s all about recreating Operation Market Garden — you know, that WWII battle where everything went spectacularly sidewa...

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception

DOS1988 Westwood Studios

Released in 1988, BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception is part RPG, part strategy, part “did I just die in the tutorial again?” You’re a young MechWarrior on the run, assembling allies and blowing stuff up w...