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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Space Rogue
DOS1989 Origin Systems
Space Rogue is a science fiction RPG developed by Richard Garriott's Origin and desined by Paul Neurath. Space Rogue combines a 3D space simulation with a top down view RPG gameplay. As a space pilot you can hunt bou...
Star Trek Combat Arena
DOS1989
Star Wars 2
DOS1989
Starflight 2: Trade routes of the Cloud Nebula
DOS1989 Binary Systems
Sword of Aragon
DOS1989protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Sword of the Samurai
DOS1989protected MicroProse Software
Tangled Tales
DOS1989 Origin Systems
The Big Three
DOS1989 SDJ Enterprises
The computer edition of Scrabble
DOS1989 Leisure Genius
The Magic Candle
DOS1989 Mindcraft Software
The Magic Candle: Volume 1 is the first chapter of a series of fantasy old school RPGs. The Magic Candle was developed and released by Mindcraft Software in 1989 for DOS but was also published for Apple II and Commodore 64. The wh...
Thunderblade
DOS1989 Sega
Time Bandit
DOS1989 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 contro...
Times of Lore
DOS1989 Origin Systems
Times of Lore is an abandoned action RPG designed by Chris Roberts, developed and released by Origin Systems in 1989 for DOS and many more 8 bit and 16 bit platforms. Compared to Ultima (the much more popular franchise also by Ori...
Titan
DOS1989 Titus Interactive
Toobin
DOS1989 Domark Software
Toobin is an abandoned action game developed by Domark Software and released in 1989. Toobin runs on DOS but was also published for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy Color, MSX, NES, ZX Spectrum. It's a conversi...
Tracon: Air Traffic Control Simulator
DOS1989 Wesson International
Trivial Pursuit
DOS1989
Trivial Pursuit is a popular trivia board game that was adapted into a computer game for various platforms, including DOS. In the game, players answer trivia questions from various categories in order to collect pie pieces th...
Vampyr: Talisman of Invocation
DOS1989
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 i...
Wayne Gretzky Hockey
DOS1989 Bethesda Softworks
Welltris
DOS1989 Sphere
Welltris is a puzzle video game designed by Alexey Pajitnov, the creator of Tetris. Released in 1989, Welltris offers a fresh take on the block-dropping mechanics of Tetris, expanding the gameplay into a 3D environment. Simil...
Windwalker (Moebius 2)
DOS1989 Origin Systems
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...
Atomix
DOS1990 Softtouch
Atomix is a tile-based puzzle game released in 1990 by Thalion Software for platforms like Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, and Commodore 64. The objective of Atomix is to assemble molecular structures by moving individual atoms arou...
Bad Blood
DOS1990 Origin Systems
Set in a post-apocalyptic world where leather vests are apparently immune to radiation, Bad Blood lets you wander the wasteland deciding whether to be a brute, a brainiac, or a mutant with questionable fashion sense. Dialogue-heav...
Battle for Atlantis
DOS1990
Fancy a war under the sea? Battle for Atlantis (1990) asks the age-old question: what if submarines had grudges? This top-down, action strategy title throws you into a deep-sea turf war with clunky controls and a soundtrack that f...
BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge
DOS1990 Westwood Studios
BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge is a turn-based strategy game developed by Westwood Associates and published by Infocom in 1990. It is the sequel to "Crescent Hawk's Inception" and is set in the BattleTech universe, a...
Beverly Hills Cop
DOS1990 Tynesoft Computer Software
Take Eddie Murphy’s swagger, remove the charm, add some DOS chiptunes, and you get Beverly Hills Cop—a game adaptation that asks: “What if being a wisecracking detective meant stiff animations and random driving ...
Billy The Kid
DOS1990 Level 9 Computing
Saddle up, pardner. Billy The Kid puts you in the dusty boots of the infamous outlaw himself. This is the Wild West, DOS-style — pixel pistols, wanted posters, and dialogue that might make a cactus wince. Whether you’r...
Blitzkrieg: Battle at the Ardennes
DOS1990 Command Simulations
In Blitzkrieg: Battle at the Ardennes, you’re not just playing a wargame — you’re being handed a clipboard, a stack of orders, and a freezing cold battlefield in 1944. This 1990 DOS title lets you relive one of W...