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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Homey D. Clown
DOS1993 Synergistic Software
IVAN (Iter Vehemens ad Necem)
DOSWindows 10/11LinuxMac OS2001freeware
Knights of the Desert
DOS1983protected Tactical Design Group
Mini Putt
DOS1988 Artech Studios
Sargon V: World Class Chess
DOS1991 Activision
Star Trek Combat Arena
DOS1989
Swap
DOS1992 Microids
Temple of Kroz
DOS1990freeware Apogee Software
The Battle of the Bulge: Tigers in the Snow
DOS1982protected Tactical Design Group
The Big Three
DOS1989 SDJ Enterprises
Tracon for Windows
Windows 3.x1993 Wesson International
Trivial Pursuit Deluxe
DOS1992 Oxford Digital Enterprises
WitchavenRL
Windows 10/11Linux2013
Demon's Winter
DOS1989protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Super Speed
DOS1995
Challenge of the Five Realms
DOS1992protected MicroProse Software
Beyond the Black Hole
DOS1989 The Software Toolworks
Beyond the Black Hole promises an interstellar voyage into mystery—and delivers... a disorienting 3D shooter that kind of feels like flying a cardboard spaceship through a kaleidoscope. The idea is noble: space combat meets puzzle-solving. The execution? Let’s say it was ambitious for 1989. You fly through wormholes, blast weird shapes,...
Champion of the Raj
DOS1991 Personal Software Services
Command & Conquer: Sole Survivor
Windows XP/98/951997 Westwood Studios
Hillsfar
DOS1989protected Westwood Studios
Blues Brothers RPG
Windows XP/98/952004freeware
Yes, this exists. Blues Brothers RPG (2004, Windows XP) is what happens when someone looks at a legendary blues duo and says, “What if they fought zombies with saxophones?” Set in a world that’s part dungeon crawler, part fever dream, this unofficial game combines bad puns, turn-based battles, and a plot that feels like it was wri...
Aspar GP Master
DOS1989 Dinamic Multimedia
Aspar GP Master is a 1989 motorcycle racing game that invites you to tear up the track with the same grace and control as a caffeinated squirrel on rollerblades. Loosely inspired by Jorge “Aspar” Martínez, the game offers you the thrill of high-speed competition rendered in delightful DOS graphics. You’ll wrestle your pixel...
Robot Rascals
DOS1987 Ozark Softscape
Battle for Normandy
DOS1983protected Tactical Design Group
Released in 1983, Battle for Normandy plays less like a game and more like a history book that came alive, donned a helmet, and asked for a coffee. This is wargaming at its purest: grid maps, unit stats, and more abbreviations than a tax form. It’s not flashy, but it’s serious, cerebral, and kind of hypnotic if you’re into micro-m...
Gary Grigsby's War in Russia
DOS1993protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
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 mixes tactical combat and sci-fi storytelling like a B-movie got turned into a spreadsheet. The controls are awkward, the visuals retro even for ‘96, but there&rsquo...
The Global Dilemma: Guns or Butter
DOS1990 Mindscape
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 dry in places, but the micromanagement will scratch an itch you didn’t know you had. A game where you’ll spe...
Battleship
DOS1983 Mirror Images Software
Released in 1983, this is your grandpa’s Battleship—minus the plastic pegs, but with all the tension of blind naval warfare. There are no fancy graphics, no Hollywood explosions, just good old-fashioned "Is it a hit?" suspense. It’s simple, almost stupidly so, but oddly addictive. You’ll curse every miss and cheer every sunk...
Dawn Raider
DOS1990 Softstar Entertainment