Abandonware DOS title

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).
raptor-1

Raptor: Call of the Shadows

DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1994protecteddemo Cygnus Studios
Back when PC shoot-’em-ups were still proving they could match arcades, Raptor: Call of the Shadows landed like a missile. Fast, crunchy, and blessed with explosions that fee...
pacpc-04

Pac PC

DOS1995freewareremake
bombuzal-4

Bombuzal

DOS1989 Image Works
Part puzzle, part platformer, part “what is even happening,” Bombuzal (1989, DOS) is a game where your job is to blow up every bomb on the screen—while not accide...
autobots-1

Autobots

DOS1989
Before Michael Bay got his hands on the franchise, Autobots (1989, DOS) offered a more... subtle approach to transforming robot mayhem. Well, not subtle exactly — more like c...
merchant-colony-07

Merchant Colony

DOS1991 Impressions Games
robotrascals-splash

Robot Rascals

DOS1987 Ozark Softscape
finalcrusadekroz-2

The Final Crusade of Kroz

DOS1990freeware Apogee Software
civilwar-splash

The Civil War

DOS1987 Avalon Hill
pictionary-01

Pictionary: The Game of Quick Draw

DOS1989 Oxford Mobius
pattonvsrommel-splash

Patton vs. Rommel

DOS1987 Electronic Arts
flying-tigers-2-04

Flying Tigers 2

DOS1994
Flying Tigers 2 (1994, DOS) doubles down on the formula of its predecessor and adds a bit more bite to the bark. The action is still brisk, but the skies feel busier, the stakes sl...
roadwareuropa-1

Roadwar Europa

DOS1987protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
future-classics-03

Future Classics Collection

DOS1990
Compilation titles often feel like a random pile of games tossed together with minimal ceremony, but Future Classics Collection from 1990 tries to do something slightly more ambiti...
keen5-4

Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine

DOS1991protected id Software
In Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine, Keen infiltrates a massive space station engineered to obliterate planets like it’s swatting flies. This is Keen at his most tech...
microprose-soccer-05

MicroProse Soccer

DOS1988protected Sensible Software
MicroProse Soccer is an abandoned action-oriented soccer game, developed by Sensible Software and released by MicroProse Software in 1988. The appeal of MicroProse Soccer was its s...
star-wars-2-04

Star Wars 2

DOS1989
global-conquest-04

Global Conquest

DOS1992 Ozark Softscape
Global Conquest is strategy boiled down to its essentials, offering a streamlined take on world domination that’s easy to pick up but harder to master. You’ll move armi...
battleausterlitz-2

Austerlitz 1805

DOS1989 Cornerstone Software
2400ad-4

2400 A.D.

DOS1988 Origin Systems
Ah, 2400 A.D. A game where you can rebel against a robot police state… by slowly walking around in beige. Released in 1988, it’s what happens when you mix Orwellian dy...
oxyd-extra-01

Oxyd Extra

DOS1994 Dongleware
nectaris-splash

Nectaris

DOS1995 Hudson soft
highway-hunter-03

Highway Hunter

DOS1994 Safari Software
Highway Hunter combines driving and shooting in a way that feels both chaotic and entertaining. The concept is simple, survive while dealing with whatever the road throws at you, b...
machiavelli-1

Machiavelli the Prince

DOS1995protected Holistic Design
guardians-loriciels-02

Guardians

DOS1991 Loriciel
darkspyre-02

DarkSpyre

DOS1990 Event Horizon
Before Diablo made clicking on dungeons cool, DarkSpyre was already throwing players into labyrinths filled with monsters and puzzles. Released in 1990, it combines hack-and-slash ...
blitzardennes-2

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 ...
hi-command-03

High Command: Europe 1939-45

DOS1992 Colorado Computer Creations
High Command: Europe 1939-45 is a strategy game that does not shy away from complexity, asking players to engage with history on a grand scale. The mechanics are detailed, sometime...
battlestar-05

Battlestar

Windows 3.x1996freeware
No, not that Battlestar. Battlestar (1996) is more obscure than a reboot that never happened. Set in deep space with a top-down view and UI only a Windows 3.x user could love, it m...