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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Cobra Mission

DOS1992NSFW4.1/5 MegaTech Software

SimCity

DOSWindows 3.xWindows XP/98/951989protected4.1/5 Maxis

SimCity (or SimCity Classic) is a popular city building simulation in which you, the mayor of a city, have to build a metropolis from the ground up. You can build police and fire departments, assign industrial, residential or commercial areas, manage power distribution, build ports and airports. Grow your city from village to metropolis and try to ...

Spacewar

DOS19854/5

Spacewar is one of the earliest digital computer games and is often considered the first interactive video game. It was created in 1962 by Steve Russell, Martin Graetz, and Wayne Wiitanen at the MIT. The game was developed on the PDP-1 minicomputer; this is a DOS port, released in 1985.Spacewar! features two spaceships, controlled by players, that ...

Rambo 3

DOS19883.6/5 Ocean Software

Rambo III is an action video game based on the 1988 action film of the same name, featuring the iconic character John Rambo, portrayed by Sylvester Stallone. The game was developed and published by various companies for different platforms, including Sega for its consoles and Ocean Software for home computers. The game follows the plot of the ...

Warlords

DOS19904.1/5 SSG Strategic Studies Group

Star Goose!

DOS19884/5 Logotron

Star Goose is a classic video game developed by Logotron and released in 1988 for various home computer systems of that era, including the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. It is a top-down, vertically scrolling shooter that combines elements of shoot 'em up gameplay with exploration and power-up mechanics.

Star Wars: Yoda Stories

Windows XP/98/9519974.2/5 LucasArts

Xenon 2: Megablast

DOS19904.2/5 Bitmap Brothers

Xenon 2: Megablast is a classic shoot'em up developed by Bitmap Brothers and released by Image Works in 1990 for DOS and for a plethora of other systems. Xenon was good, Xenon 2 was far better. Compared to today standards Xenon 2 is perhaps a mediocre shoot 'em up, but at the time every shooter fan loved it. Plus, it was developed by Bitmap Brother...

Colonization

DOSWindows 3.xLinuxMac OS1994protected4.2/5 MicroProse Software

Colonization is a turn-based strategy 4x game developed and published by MicroProse in 1994 for DOS, Windows 3.1, Linux and Mac. The setting is the European Colonization of the New World. Colonization gameplay and interface are similar to Civilization, another Sid Meier game. However, there are some differences between Civilization and Colonization...

Castle of the Winds

Windows 3.x1993freeware4.2/5 SaadaSoft

Castle of the Winds is a fantasy roguelike role-playing game developed by SaadaSoft in the early 1990s. It was designed for Windows 3.x and is notable for being one of the earliest graphical RPGs for that platform. The game features a top-down perspective and incorporates elements of dungeon crawling, exploration, and character development.The game...

Railroad Tycoon

DOSMac OS1990freeware4.1/5 MicroProse Software

Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar

DOS1985freeware4.1/5 Origin Systems

Ultima IV is remembered as one of the best Ultima games ever released, designed as usual by Richard Garriott. Garriott took the Ultima series to a whole new level by introducing the eight virtues: honesty, compassion, valor, justice, sacrifice, honor, spirituality, humility. Ultima IV started the trilogy known as "Age of Enlightenment".

Knights of Xentar

DOS1994NSFW4.1/5 MegaTech Software

Pinball Fantasies

DOS19944.2/5 Digital Illusions

Axis and Allies

Windows XP/98/9519984.2/5 Wargaming West

Indiana Jones and his Desktop Adventures

Windows 3.xMac OS1996demo4.1/5 LucasArts

Italy 1990

DOS19903.9/5 Tiertex Design Studios

Chessmaster 9000

Windows XP/98/95Mac OS20024.2/5 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...

North and South

DOS19904.2/5 Infogrames

Sensible Soccer

DOS19924.1/5 Sensible Software

Micro Machines

DOS19944.3/5 Codemasters

Micro Machines is an abandoned racing game developed and released by Codemasters in 1994 based on the Micro Machines toy line. Micro Machines was published for DOS, but also for Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Genesis, NES, SEGA Master System and SNES. Codemasters released a sequel called Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament.

SimEarth

DOSWindows 3.x19904.2/5 Maxis

SimEarth is a simulation in which you can shape and mold a planet in almost every way you can imagine. In SimEarth our planet is simulated as a whole: life, climate, atmosphere are all aspects of a single Gaia-like Earth. SimEarth can be played in two modes: game and experimental. In game mode, you have to to develop (and preserve) Earth with limit...

Gal Pani X

Windows XP/98/952000freewareNSFW4.1/5

Gal Pani X is an action-puzzle game reminiscent of the classic arcade Qix, developed by D2 and released in 2000 for Windows. Gal Pani X is an adult-themed Doujin game: it was made by fans and wasn't for profit.

Panzer General 2

Windows XP/98/951997protected4.1/5 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

The Chessmaster 2000

DOS19864.2/5 The Software Toolworks

Xonix

DOS1984remake4/5

Rogue

Windows XP/98/95DOSLinuxMac OS19844.2/5 Artificial Intelligence Design

Rogue is one of the first RPGs in the history of video gaming. It's a text-based dungeon crawler in which you have to fight your way in the dungeon to recover the Amulet of Yendor. Rogue became popular around 1980 on mainframes and later ported to various platforms, including DOS in 1984. Rogue is simply the father of all the roguelike games that c...