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).
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The Grandest Fleet
DOS1994 Quantum quality productions
SimFarm
DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1993 Maxis
SimFarm is a simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts in 1993. In SimFarm, players take on the role of a farmer and manage various aspects of running a farm, including planting crops, raising livestock, and dealing with natural disasters.Players start with a basic farm and a limited amount of resources, and they mus...
Arrakis
DOS2000
Kasparov's Gambit
DOS1993 Heuristic software
Ys: The Vanished Omens
DOS1989 Nihon Falcom
Ys: The Vanished Omens (also known as The Ancient Land of Ys) is an abandoned top-down open-world action RPG designed by Masaya Hashimoto, developed by Nihon Falcom and released by Kyodai Software Marketing for DOS in 1989. Ys: The Vanished Omens was published (earlier) for quite a few other home computers and console.
Operation: Inner Space
Windows 3.x1994protecteddemo Software Dynamics
Global Domination
DOS1993 Impressions Games
Amberstar
DOS1992 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...
Nobunaga's Ambition 6
DOS1994 KOEI
Lords of Midnight: The Citadel
DOS1995 Maelstrom Games
Ivan 'Iron Man' Stewart's Super Off Road
DOS1990 Leland
Ivan 'Iron Man' Stewart's Super Off Road is an abandoned diagonal-down off-road racing game developed by Leland and released by Virgin Interactive in 1990 for DOS, but also published for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, C64, ZX Spectrum and a lot of 8-bit and 16-bit consoles. Super Off Road is a classic fixed-screen track-racing similar to S...
Conquest of Japan
DOS1992 Impressions Games
Settlers of Catan
DOS1998
NHL Hockey
DOS1993 Electronic Arts
Extreme Pinball
DOS1995 Epic MegaGames
Logo
DOS1990NSFW Starbyte Software
Moraff's Morejongg
Windows XP/98/951992 Moraffware
Epic Pinball
DOSMac OS1993protected Digital Extremes
Z
DOS1996protected 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...
War in Middle Earth
DOS1989 Synergistic Software
War in Middle-earth is a real-time strategy game developed by Synergistic Software and published by Melbourne House. It was released in 1988 for various platforms including the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC.The game is based on J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy world of Middle-earth, specifically focusing on the events depicted in "The Lor...
Roadwar 2000
DOS1987protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Chessmaster 9000
Windows XP/98/95Mac OS2002 UBI Soft
Chessmaster 9000 is a chess game developed by Ubisoft and released in 2002. It's part of the Chessmaster series, which has been around since the 1980s. Chessmaster 9000 was known for its strong chess engine and comprehensive tutorial features, making it popular among both beginners and advanced players. The software also included annotated gam...
Front Lines
DOS1994 Impressions Games
Bombuzal
DOS1989 Image Works
ZZT
DOS1991freeware Epic MegaGames
Future Classics Collection
DOS1990
Dungeon Crawl
Windows XP/98/95DOSLinux1997freeware
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).
Lords of the Realm 2
DOSWindows XP/98/95Windows 10/11Mac OS1996protected Impressions Games
Lords of the Realm II is a medieval-themed real-time strategy (RTS) and turn-based strategy game developed by Impressions Games and published by Sierra On-Line. Released in 1996, it is the second game in the "Lords of the Realm" series. Players manage their kingdom by balancing resources such as food, weapons, and gold, engaging in diplomacy w...
Unnatural Selection
DOS1993 Maxis
Gauntlet 2
DOS1989 Atari