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).
Sort by:
Risk
Windows 3.x1991 Azeroth
Rodent's Revenge
Windows 3.x1991 Microsoft
Rodent's Revenge is a puzzle video game originally released in 1991 as part of the Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows. Developed by Christopher Lee Fraley, the game is simple, with gameplay revolving around a small mouse cha...
Rotox
DOS1991 Creative Materials
Sarakon
DOS1991 Starbyte Software
Sargon V: World Class Chess
DOS1991 Activision
Sherlock: The Game of Logic
DOS1991protected Everett Kaser Software
SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony
DOS1991 Maxis
SimAnt is a life simulation and strategy game developed by Maxis, released in 1991, and part of the "Sim" series. Created by Will Wright, SimAnt focuses on simulating the life of an ant colony. In SimAnt, you play as the blac...
SkiFree
Windows 3.x1991
Solidarnosc
DOS1991 P. Z. Karen Co. Development Group
The Basket Manager
DOS1991 Simulmondo
The Lost Patrol
DOS1991 Astros Productions
The Lost Patrol is an abandoned multi-type action game set in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam war. The Lost Patrol was developed by Astros Productions (DOS version) and released by Ocean Software in 1991 for DOS, Amiga and Atari...
The Magic Candle 2: The Four and Forty
DOS1991 Mindcraft Software
The Perfect General
DOS1991 White Wolf Productions
The Perfect General is a turn-based strategy military game developed by White Wolf Productions and released in 1991 by Quantun Quality Production. The Perfect General gameplay is quite simple compared to other wargames, but it's b...
The Taking of Beverly Hills
DOS1991 Off The Wall Productions
Tristan Pinball
DOS1991 Littlewing
Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams
DOS1991 Origin Systems
Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams is an abandoned science fiction RPG designed by Jeff George, developed by Origin Systems and released in 1991 for DOS. Martian Dreams uses the Ultima VI engine to depict Mars in a top ...
V for Victory: D-day Utah Beach
DOS1991protected Atomic Games
Vengeance of Excalibur
DOS1991 Synergistic Software
Volfied
DOS1991 Taito
Volfied is an arcade game developed and released by Taito Corporation in 1989. It's a puzzle game that gained popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The game is named after the fictional planet "Volfied", where the gameplay...
Wild West World
DOS1991 Software 2000
X-Men 2: The Fall of the Mutants
DOS1991 Paragon Software
Xenopods
DOS1991 Softdisk Publishing
ZZT
DOS1991freeware Epic MegaGames
ZZT (1991, DOS) looks like it was drawn by an enthusiastic ASCII artist with too much time and not enough colors. And yet, it’s brilliant. Part action game, part puzzle adventure, part game creation tool, ZZT is the reason s...
A Line in the Sand
DOS1992protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
A Line in the Sand (1992) is what happens when a board game about modern Middle Eastern warfare gets turned into a DOS strategy title with all the subtlety of a cold war memo. You command military forces in a region that is perpet...
Air Force Commander
DOS1992 Impressions Games
In Air Force Commander (1992), you don’t just fly planes - you run the whole air force. Think of it as being a general with a spreadsheet addiction. Assign squadrons, manage budgets, and try not to start World War III. It's ...
Amberstar
DOS1992 Thalion
Amberstar is a fantasy old school RPG very similar to Ultima 6 that uses a top-down view for interiors and small locations and a first person pseudo 3D view for everything else. Unfortunately, the sequel (called Ambermoon) was ava...
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...
Bass Tour
DOS1992
Think of Bass Tour (1992) as the road trip version of virtual fishing. More simulation than arcade, it lets you travel, pick locations, study conditions, and obsess over bait types like you're preparing for a National Geographic s...
Bicycle Bridge
DOS1992
Ready to get your heart racing with the world’s slowest competitive sport? Bicycle Bridge brings the thrill of bidding, trick-taking, and utter confusion straight to your DOS machine. Whether you're a grandmaster or just som...
Blitz Draughts
DOS1992 PC Solutions
Don’t let the title fool you — Blitz Draughts isn’t a military simulation but rather a gloriously intense checkers game from 1992. This DOS brain-bender turns the classic board game into a high-speed duel of wits...