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).

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Chess

DOS1981 International PC Owners

Decision at Gettysburg

DOS1990 TigLon Software

Incursion

Windows 10/11LinuxMac OS2007freeware

Iron Cross

DOS1994 New World Computing

Llamatron 2112

DOS1992 Llamasoft

Omega

DOSLinux1988freeware

Robbo

DOS1993freeware xLand Games

Stratego

DOS1990 Accolade

Tracon: Air Traffic Control Simulator

DOS1989 Wesson International

The Magic Candle 2: The Four and Forty

DOS1991 Mindcraft Software

Nobunaga's Ambition 2

DOS1989 KOEI

Beast

DOS1984

Beast is ASCII horror at its most gloriously minimal. You’re a brave soul (well, a smiley face) trapped in a dungeon with sentient blobs (the titular beasts) that want you very, very dead. Armed only with moving blocks and raw fear, you’ll test your puzzle reflexes against relentless monsters. It’s like Sokoban had a nightmare, an...

Lawn Mower

DOS1987

Ancient Domains of Mystery (ADOM) v1.1

Windows XP/98/95DOSLinux1996freeware

ADOM is what happens when a rogue, a wizard, and a hungry troll walk into a dungeon and never come out. Released in 1996, this roguelike classic is brutal, brilliant, and unapologetically text-heavy. Permadeath is the norm, the story is deep enough to drown in, and don’t even get me started on the corruption system. You’ll die often, po...

Ms. Pac-Man

DOS1984 Atarisoft

Ms. Pac-Man is a classic arcade game released by Midway in 1982 (1984 for DOS) as a follow-up to the original Pac-Man (1980), developed by Namco. While its core gameplay is similar - navigating a maze, eating dots, and avoiding ghosts - there are key differences. Ms. Pac-Man features four distinct maze designs, moving bonus fruits, and mo...

Mychess

DOS1984 The Software Toolworks

Pinball Illusions

DOS1995 Digital Illusions

Risk

Windows 3.x1991 Azeroth

Sarakon

DOS1991 Starbyte Software

The Final Crusade of Kroz

DOS1990freeware Apogee Software

Color Lines

DOS1992 Gamos

War in Middle Earth

DOS1989 Synergistic Software

War in Middle-earth is a real-time strategy game developed by Synergistic Software and published by Melbourne House. It was released in 1988 for various platforms including the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC.The game is based on J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy world of Middle-earth, specifically focusing on the events depicted in "The Lor...

Rampart

DOS1992 Atari

Rampart is an abandoned mix of strategy and shooter game designed by Dave Ralston and John Salwitz, developed by Atari and released by Electronic Arts in 1992 for DOS. Rampart was converted from the original arcade version to a number of platforms, including Amiga, Atari ST, C64, Game Boy, Genesis, Lynx, NES, SEGA Master System, SNES. Rampart is a ...

International Soccer

DOS1994 Zeppelin Games

Sensible World of Soccer 96/97

DOS1996protected Sensible Software

Operation: Inner Space

Windows 3.x1994protecteddemo Software Dynamics

Ballistix

DOS1989 Reflections Interactive

Ballistix asks: “What if air hockey was controlled by futuristic cannons?” The answer: chaos. You frantically shoot pucks with directional blasts while the physics engine does whatever it wants. It’s fast, it’s bizarre, and it kind of feels like trying to herd cats with a leaf blower. Multiplayer is where it shines — a...