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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Iron Cross

DOS1994 New World Computing

Released in 1994 for DOS, Iron Cross is a historical strategy game that tries very hard to make military planning look sexy. Spoiler: it doesn’t. You’re dealing with World War II battles, but instead of adrenaline-pump...

Iron Lord

DOS1990 UBI Soft

Iron Lord (1990, DOS) is the medieval fantasy game that tried to be everything at once—and somehow pulled it off. It’s part RPG, part action, part strategy, and part “please don’t make me play that archery ...

Ishido: The Way of the Stones

DOSMac OS1990 Publishing International

Ishido (1990, DOS/Mac) is the digital version of sitting in a Zen garden and realizing you’re terrible at strategy. The game’s premise is simple: place stones on a grid according to color and symbol, trying to match th...

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, ...

Italy 1990

DOS1990 Tiertex Design Studios

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 Spect...

IVAN (Iter Vehemens ad Necem)

DOSWindows 10/11LinuxMac OS2001freeware

J.R.R. Tolkien's Riders of Rohan

DOS1997 Papyrus Design Group

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I

DOS1990 Interplay Productions

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I is an abandoned fantasy top-down DOS RPG game set in the The Lord of the Rings universe. The Lord of the Rings I was developed and released by Interplay Productions in 1990. The ...

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers

DOS1992 Interplay Productions

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers is an abandoned fantasy top-down DOS RPG game set in the The Lord of the Rings universe. The Lord of the Rings II was developed and released by Interplay Productions ...

Jackal

DOS1989 Konami

Joan of Arc

DOS1989 Chip

John Madden Football

DOS1989 Electronic Arts

John Madden Football was the first of a series of american football sports games sponsored by the coach of the same name. The first John Madden Football is an abandoned game developed and released by Electronic Arts in 1988 for Ap...

Jones in the Fast Lane

DOS1991 Sierra On-Line

Jones in the Fast Lane is the kind of game that you don't see often these days. It's a mix between a digital board game and a modern day life simulation. The goal of the game is to live the life of Jones, making choices about scho...

Joyous Rebel

DOS1996freeware

Jurassic Park

DOS1993 Ocean Software

Kaiser

DOS1992

Kampfgruppe

DOS1987protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

Kasparov's Gambit

DOS1993 Heuristic software

Keys to Maramon

DOS1990 Mindcraft Software

Keys to Maramon is a role-playing game developed by Mindcraft Software and released in 1990 for the Amiga, MS-DOS, and Commodore 64 platforms. The game is set in the same universe as the "Magic Candle" series, another popular RPG ...

Khalaan

DOS1990 Chip

Kick off 2

DOS1990 Anco Software

King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table

DOS1994 MVP Software

King's Bounty

DOSMac OS1990 New World Computing

King’s Bounty is a turn-based strategy game with RPG elements, originally released in 1990 by New World Computing. It was created by Jon Van Caneghem, also known for the Might and Magic series. This game is often regarded as...