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).
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Turbo Gomoku
DOS1985
Battle for Atlantis
DOS1990
Fancy a war under the sea? Battle for Atlantis (1990) asks the age-old question: what if submarines had grudges? This top-down, action strategy title throws you into a deep-sea turf war with clunky controls and a soundtrack that f...
Mech Brigade
DOS1987protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Tracon for Windows
Windows 3.x1993 Wesson International
Slicks 'n' Slide
DOS1993
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 tha...
Sito Pons 500cc Grand Prix
DOS1990 Zigurat Software
Champion of the Raj
DOS1991 Personal Software Services
Conquest of Japan
DOS1992 Impressions Games
Daemonsgate
Windows XP/98/95DOSLinuxMac OS1993protected Imagitec Design
Legends of Murder: Volume 1 - Stonedale Castle
DOS1989protected Softdisk Publishing
Major Stryker
DOSWindows XP/98/951993freeware Apogee Software
Spiritual Warfare
DOS1993protected Wisdom Tree
King's Table: The Legend of Ragnarok
DOS1993protected Imagitec Design
Robbo
DOS1993freeware xLand Games
Indenture
DOS1995remake
Liverpool: the Computer Game
DOS1992 Arc Developments
War of the Lance
DOS1990protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Kingdoms of Germany
DOS1994 Realism Entertainment
Goal!
DOS1993 Dini & Dini Productions
Action in the North Atlantic
DOS1989 General Quarters Software
If you’ve ever dreamed of commanding a WWII convoy while cold, stressed, and staring at a pixelated radar screen, Action in the North Atlantic (1989, DOS) has you covered. It’s part strategy, part simulation, and all t...
Sword Quest 1: The Search
DOS1992
Feud
DOS1988 Binary Design
Exile III: Ruined World
Windows XP/98/95Mac OSWindows 3.x1997freeware Spiderweb Software
Global Conquest
DOS1992 Ozark Softscape
Xenopods
DOS1991 Softdisk Publishing
Heavy Barrel
DOS1989 Data East
Cap Man
Windows XP/98/951999
It’s Pac-Man, except it’s… not. Cap Man is a low-budget clone with just enough charm to avoid immediate deletion. You’ve got the dots, the ghosts, the power-ups—but everything feels slightly off, lik...
Wembley Rugby League
DOS1996 Denton Designs
Sorcerer Lord
DOS1987 Personal Software Services