The best 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).
Sort by:
God of Thunder
DOSWindows XP/98/951993freeware Adept Software
God of Thunder is a classic computer game developed by Adept Software and released in 1993. It's a puzzle platformer with a fantasy theme. In the game, you control Thor, the Norse god of thunder, on a quest to save Midgard (Earth)...
Star Command
DOS1988protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
OverKill
DOS1992freeware Tech-Noir
Wayne Gretzky Hockey
DOS1989 Bethesda Softworks
Carrier Strike: South Pacific 1942-44
DOS1992protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
If you ever wanted to command the Pacific fleet without getting wet, Carrier Strike is your game. Set during WWII, it’s a turn-based wargame where numbers, radar, and weather reports matter more than reflexes. You’ll p...
Dark Legions
DOS1994protected Silicon Knights
Darklands
DOSLinuxWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1992protected MicroProse Software
Darklands was a unique historical isometric RPG that mixed real historical data from medieval Germany during the 15th century with a touch of folklore and fantasy. Unfortunately it was also the only Microprose RPG o...
Psion Chess
DOSMac OS1985 Psion Software
Shard of Spring
DOS1987protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Disciples of Steel
DOS1994
Over the Reich
Windows XP/98/95Windows 3.x1996 Big Time Software
Kasparov's Gambit
DOS1993 Heuristic software
SkiFree
Windows 3.x1991
Lords of the Realm
DOSWindows XP/98/951994protected Impressions Games
Lords of the Realm is top-down kingdom simulation game set in medieval Europe (England and Germany), designed by Christopher J. Foster and David Lester, developed by Impressions Games and released 1994 for DOS, Windows and Amiga.
Action Fighter
DOS1989 Sega
Action Fighter (1989, DOS) is Sega’s way of saying, “Why choose between car chases and aerial dogfights when you can have both?” You start in a motorcycle, grab some power-ups, and suddenly you’re flying a ...
Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol
Windows 3.x1995protected
Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol is fantasy RPG game released in 1995 for Windows 3.x, but it runs flawlessy even Windows XP (see this faq if you want to play Mordor in a virtual machine). Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol is a mix ...
Scavengers of the Mutant World
DOS1988 Interstel Corporation
Power Dolls
DOS1994 Kogado Software Products
Atomino
DOS1991 Play Byte
In Atomino (1991), you’re not blowing things up — you’re building atoms. That’s right: this puzzle game puts you in charge of creating molecular structures under pressure, which is exactly as stressful and ...
Dark Reign: The Future of War
Windows XP/98/951997protected Auran Games
Sito Pons 500cc Grand Prix
DOS1990 Zigurat Software
Laser Squad
DOS1992 Target Games Limited
Laser Squad is an abandoned turn-based strategy/tactical game designed by Julian Gollop (the mind behind the X-COM series). Laser Squad was developed by Target Games Limited and released by MicroLeague Multimedia in 1992 for DOS a...
Into the Eagle's Nest
DOS1987 Pandora
Adventure Construction Set
DOS1987 Electronic Arts
Long before Minecraft let us build worlds, Adventure Construction Set handed you a digital Lego box and said, “Go nuts.” Want to make a dungeon full of orcs and ham sandwiches? Sure. A sci-fi epic with talking robots a...
Battle Isle 93: The Moon of Chromos
DOS1993 Blue Byte Software
A game with a name like Battle Isle 93: The Moon of Chromos clearly means business. Released in 1993, it’s an expansion-slash-standalone with new missions, harder AI, and an even more hostile moon. You’ll manage resour...
Moria
DOS1992freeware
The Aethra Chronicles
DOS1994
The Aethra Chronicles is not a well know fantasy RPG, but it deserves some praise. It was developed by only one person (Micheal Lawrence) and, as the title implies, was intended to be the first volume of a saga. Unfortunately, vol...
Subtrade: Return to Irata
DOS1993 Century Interactive
Subtrade: Return to Irata is an abandoned science fiction business simulation game developed by Century Interactive and published by Boeder Software in 1993 for Amiga and later ported to DOS. Subtrade is an updated multiplayer clo...
Mad Paradox
DOS1994NSFW Queen Soft
Beneath Apple Manor
DOS1983freeware
Beneath Apple Manor is a pioneering game in the roguelike genre, originally developed and released in 1978 by Don Worth for the Apple II and later re-released for DOS as a "Special Edition". It's one of the earliest known role-pla...