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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Unnatural Selection
DOS1993 Maxis
Windwalker (Moebius 2)
DOS1989 Origin Systems
V for Victory: D-day Utah Beach
DOS1991protected Atomic Games
Star Command
DOS1988protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Sherlock: The Game of Logic
DOS1991protected Everett Kaser Software
Sleuth: A Murder Mystery
DOS1983freeware Norland Software
Buck Rogers: Matrix Cubed
DOS1992protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
This sequel takes the same D&D-in-space formula and tries to go bigger, bolder, and... okay, maybe just more complicated. Buck Rogers: Matrix Cubed continues the galactic struggle with improved combat depth and a slightly mess...
Pinball Dreams
DOS1993protected Digital Illusions
Alien Breed
DOS1993protected Team 17
If Doom and Gauntlet had a lovechild, Alien Breed would be the weird kid who hangs out in dark corridors with a shotgun. Released in 1993 for DOS, this top-down shooter throws you into a space station overrun by what can only be d...
Wizard's Crown
DOS1987protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Hard Nova
DOS1990 Malibu Interactive
Hard Nova is a sci-fi role-playing game (RPG) developed by Malibu Interactive and published by Electronic Arts. Released in 1990, it is available on platforms such as the DOS, Amiga, Atari ST. Hard Nova is set in a distant future ...
Star Control 3
DOS1996protected Legend Entertainment
Robotron 2084
DOS1983 Williams Entertainment
DND
DOS1984
Rockford: The Arcade Game
DOS1987protected Arcadia Systems
Angband
Windows XP/98/95DOSLinux1992freeware
If you’ve ever thought The Lord of the Rings needed more ASCII and fewer hobbit feelings, Angband is your jam. Since 1992, this dungeon-crawling roguelike has been throwing players into a 100-level deathtrap where the ultima...
It Came from the Desert
DOS1990freeware Cinemaware
It Came from the Desert is an abandonware action-adventure game developed by Cinemaware and released in 1990 for PC (DOS) and Amiga. It Came From the Desert is an action-adventure game with a peculiar flavor: it's set in the 50s, ...
Ys: The Vanished Omens
DOS1989 Nihon Falcom
Welcome to the Ys series, where you swing swords by running headfirst into enemies. The Vanished Omens introduces Adol Christin, red-haired hero extraordinaire, as he embarks on a journey filled with ancient ruins, awkward transla...
Cavequest
DOS1985
Pango
DOS1983remake
Minesweeper
Windows 3.x1992 Microsoft
Microsoft Minesweeper is an iconic puzzle game that has been included with Microsoft Windows operating systems since Windows 3.1. The game's objective is to clear a rectangular board containing hidden mines without detonating any ...
Antix
DOS1985remake
Antix (1985) is Snake, but with a death wish. Created by the same mad genius behind Tetris, this game takes the familiar snake-trail mechanic and cranks it to eleven. You’ve got to avoid walls, your own tail, and existential...
Ogre
DOS1986 Origin Systems
SSN-21 Seawolf
DOS1994 Electronic Arts
Reunion
DOS1994 Dinamic Multimedia
Xenon 2000: Project PCF
Windows XP/98/952000remake Bitmap Brothers
Xenon 2000: Project PCF is a vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up video game and originally released in 2000. It is a sequel to the earlier game "Xenon 2: Megablast," which was developed by The Bitmap Brothers and released in 1989.In X...
Uridium
DOS1988 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 ...
Berlin 1948
DOS1989 Time Warp Software
Berlin 1948 throws you into post-war Germany as a secret agent on a noir-flavored mission through a city drenched in trench coats and suspicion. It’s one part spy thriller, one part historical fiction, and three parts trying...
Conflict in Vietnam
DOS1986 MicroProse Software
Oxyd
DOS1992 Dongleware