Top-down perspective
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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Command & Conquer: Red Alert
DOS1996freeware Westwood Studios
Command & Conquer: Red Alert is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive in 1996. It is part of the Command & Conquer series and is set in an alternate history...
Command & Conquer: Sole Survivor
Windows XP/98/951997 Westwood Studios
Command & Conquer: Sole Survivor (1997, Windows XP) took the RTS formula and flipped it into a weird deathmatch where you control a single unit and try not to die... horribly. It’s like a survival game set inside the Red...
Command Adventures: Starship
DOS1995 Future Vision
In Command Adventures: Starship (1995, DOS), you’re the captain, the admiral, and occasionally the guy who has to fix the hyperdrive when it’s on fire. This obscure gem lets you command massive fleets in space battles ...
Command HQ
DOSMac OS1990 Ozark Softscape
Before Command & Conquer, there was Command HQ (1990, DOS/Mac)—an early RTS that said “what if we made World War III playable?” It’s global domination meets real-time tactics, minus the explosions and p...
Commander Keen 1: Marooned on Mars
DOS1990 id software
Commander Keen 1: Marooned on Mars is a platform video game developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software in 1990 as shareware for MS-DOS. The game follows the adventures of an eight-year-old genius named Billy Bl...
Commander Keen 2: The Earth Explodes
DOS1990protected id software
In Commander Keen 2: The Earth Explodes, the stakes go from “oops, stranded on Mars” to “uh-oh, Earth is doomed.” The Vorticons have planted death lasers in orbit (as you do), and only one 8-year-old with a...
Commander Keen 3: Keen Must Die!
DOS1990protected id software
Commander Keen 3: Keen Must Die! is the kind of title that makes you wonder what this kid did to tick off an entire alien race. After foiling their plans twice, Keen takes the fight to the Vorticon home planet, where enemies are s...
Commander Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle
DOS1991protected id software
Just when you thought Keen could catch a break, Commander Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle drops him into a mystical realm full of bouncing jelly beans and sentient toasters. This is where the series finds its sweet spot: colorful gra...
Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine
DOS1991protected id software
In Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine, Keen infiltrates a massive space station engineered to obliterate planets like it’s swatting flies. This is Keen at his most tech-savvy, with blinking lights, metallic corridors, ...
Computer Diplomacy
DOS1984 Avalon Hill
Do you enjoy betrayal, backstabbing, and pretending to be a global power while actually being terrible at geography? Computer Diplomacy is the digital version of the classic board game, where alliances are fleeting and wars are fo...
Conan: the Cimmerian
DOS1991 Synergistic Software
Conan: The Cimmerian lets you brawl your way through the Hyborian Age like a shirtless rage machine with a sword and questionable dialogue. It’s got all the ingredients: dark sorcery, evil cults, and enough loincloths to out...
Conflict
DOS1990 Mastertronic
Conflict is a turn-based war game where you get to play Commander-in-Chief and yell at your virtual generals when things go wrong (which they often do). It's part military sim, part lesson in frustration, with menus nested inside ...
Conflict in Vietnam
DOS1986 MicroProse Software
This one's not for the faint of heart. Conflict in Vietnam tries to simulate the complexity and chaos of guerrilla warfare in a game where every click can cost lives. The graphics are minimal, the tension maximal. Logistics, terra...
Conflict: Europe
DOS1989 Personal Software Services
In Conflict: Europe, the Cold War goes hot, and you’re in charge of keeping things cool—or launching World War III. It’s a strategy game with a doomsday timer, where each decision feels like it's going to be stud...
Conflict: Korea
DOS1992protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Step into the Korean War with Conflict: Korea, where you command UN forces and discover that even in strategy games, North Korea is a problem. It follows the same system as the rest of the Conflict series: cold interfaces, hot war...
Conquest of Japan
DOS1992 Impressions Games
Feudal Japan gets the wargame treatment in Conquest of Japan, a strategy title that mixes historical context with tactical ambition. You manage provinces, wage war, and occasionally wonder why your samurai keep rebelling. The grap...
Cosmic Crusader
DOS1982 Funatics Software
Cosmic Crusader is proof that sometimes simple is perfect. You’re a lone pilot defending space against endless waves of enemies, in a game that’s basically a love letter to classic arcade shooters. The controls are tig...
Crazy Nick's Parlor Games with Laura Bow
DOS1992 Sierra On-Line
In Crazy Nick’s Parlor Games with Laura Bow, the famous young detective swaps clues for checkers, backgammon, and card tables. The change of pace is gentle—no bodies to find, no culprits to catch—just the soft cl...
Crazy Nick's Software Picks: King Graham's Board Game Challenge
DOS1992 Sierra On-Line
Trade in your sword and crown for a dice cup in King Graham’s Board Game Challenge. The noble hero of King’s Quest takes a break from slaying dragons to play board games like checkers and backgammon, all wrapped in med...
Crossfire
DOS1982 Sierra On-Line
Crossfire is what happens when you throw a tank into a maze, give it infinite ammo, and tell it to go wild. Released in 1982, it’s all about twitch reflexes and precise shooting as enemies pour in from every angle. The maze ...
Crusade in Europe
DOS1985 MicroProse Software
Crusade in Europe is a detailed World War II strategy game that lets you take command of the Allied or Axis forces during some of the war’s most famous campaigns. It’s not about flashy graphics or explosive sound&mdash...
Cyrus
DOS1985
Cyrus is a chess program that doesn’t just play well—it plays with personality. The AI adjusts to your skill level, offering a challenge whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned player. The interface is clean and ...
D-Day: The Beginning of the End
DOS1994 Impressions Games
D-Day: The Beginning of the End is not your average “storm the beach” simulator—it’s a grand strategy title that drops you into the nerve-wracking planning and execution of the Normandy invasion. You’...
D-Zone
DOS1992
D-Zone is what you’d get if someone blended city-building with military strategy and sprinkled in a dash of chaos. You’re tasked with running a base while fending off attackers, balancing infrastructure growth with the...
Daemonsgate
Windows XP/98/95DOSLinuxMac OS1993protected Imagitec Design
Daemonsgate is what happens when someone decides RPGs need more moral ambiguity, political intrigue, and sprawling maps that require an actual notebook to navigate. You’re tossed into a gritty fantasy world teetering on the ...
Daffy Duck PI: The Case of the Missing Letters
DOS1991 Riedel Software Productions
Daffy Duck PI: The Case of the Missing Letters is a Looney Tunes spin on the classic edutainment formula. As Daffy, you’re on the trail of a nefarious plot to steal the alphabet—yes, literally. You’ll hop between...
Dark Legions
DOS1994protected Silicon Knights
Dark Legions is a 1994 strategy gem that asks: what if Archon got a DOS makeover with bloodier battles? You command armies of fantastical creatures, from vampires to trolls, across grid-based maps. When units clash, the action zoo...
Dark Reign 2
Windows XP/98/952000protected Pandemic Studios
Released in 2000, Dark Reign 2 took the futuristic RTS series into full 3D territory. While other games were content with flashy visuals, this one focused on tactical depth and resource management. You control factions fighting ov...
Dark Reign: The Future of War
Windows XP/98/951997protected Auran Games
Before its sequel, there was Dark Reign: The Future of War (1997), a forward-thinking RTS that introduced mechanics ahead of its time, like customizable AI scripts for units. The result was a game that demanded brains as much as r...
Dark Sun 2: Wake of the Ravager
DOS1994protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Dark Sun 2: Wake of the Ravager takes the harsh desert world of Athas and turns up the intensity. Building on its predecessor, it offers deeper role-playing, improved combat, and a sprawling narrative about saving civilization fro...