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).
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Entrepreneur
Windows XP/98/951997 Stardock Entertainment
Exile III: Ruined World
Windows XP/98/95Mac OSWindows 3.x1997freeware Spiderweb Software
Grand Theft Auto
DOSWindows XP/98/951997 DMA Design
In Grand Theft Auto the player takes the role of a criminal who can freely roam around the city (Liberty City) completing tasks for the local mobs: stealing cars, killing pedestrians, all of it while avoiding the police and the army. The freedom of gameplay and the "I'm the bad guy" appeal of the game made the Grand Theft Auto series very popular.
J.R.R. Tolkien's Riders of Rohan
DOS1997 Papyrus Design Group
Mageslayer
Windows XP/98/951997 Raven Software
Mageslayer is an action game developed by Raven Software and published by GT Interactive in 1997 for MS-DOS. It stands out as a top-down, hack-and-slash dungeon crawler inspired by games like Gauntlet, but with an original fantasy setting and a darker, more intense tone. The game uses the same engine as Take No Prisoners, another Raven Software tit...
NetStorm: Islands at War
Windows XP/98/951997
Pacific General
Windows XP/98/951997protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Panzer General 2
Windows XP/98/951997protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Slash'Em
Windows XP/98/95LinuxMac OS1997freewareremake
SLASH'EM (Super Lotsa Added Stuff Hack - Extended Magic) is a roguelike game based on NetHack, one of the most famous dungeon-crawling games of all time. It expands upon NetHack 3.4.3, adding new monsters, items, spells, roles, and challenges while keeping the core mechanics of exploration, permadeath, and turn-based combat intact. SLASH'EM is...
Star Wars: Yoda Stories
Windows XP/98/951997 LucasArts
Steel Panthers 3: Brigade Command - 1939-1999
DOS1997protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Super Bomber Blast Beta
DOS1997remake
Total Annihilation
Windows XP/98/951997protected Cavedog Entertainment
Vlad Tepes Dracula
Windows XP/98/951997 ComputerHouse
Warlords 3: Reign of Heroes
Windows XP/98/951997 SSG Strategic Studies Group
Warlords 3: Reign of Heroes is an abandoned turn-based fantasy strategy game designed by Steve Fawkner, developed by SSG Strategic Studies Group and released by Red Orb Entertainment in 1997 for Windows. Warlords 3: Reign of Heroes is part of the Warlords game series and features quite a few multiplayer modes: from LAN to PBEM.
Waterworld
DOS1997 Intelligent Games
101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy
Windows XP/98/951998 Empire Interactive
So you think you're ready to storm Normandy? Think again. 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy drops you into the chaos of World War II with all the grace of a paratrooper landing in a barn. This is a tactical strategy game that rewards patience, planning, and a high tolerance for being outflanked. It’s gritty, detailed, and makes you feel ...
240 Racing
DOS1998
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to drive very fast in what looks like a PowerPoint presentation with a need for speed, 240 Racing from 1998 delivers the thrill. With blocky graphics and a frame rate that politely walks rather than runs, it’s a racing game that screams “DOS never dies.” The cars handle like shopp...
Avalon
DOS1998freeware MiG Outpost
In Avalon (1998, DOS), you are a wizard, possibly a hero, definitely confused. This fantasy RPG drops you into a world of magic, mayhem, and menu navigation straight out of a Tolkien-themed tax return. The graphics aim for epic and land somewhere near "vague," but the ambition is undeniable. There's a real sense of wonder here — once you figu...
Axis and Allies
Windows XP/98/951998 Wargaming West
Board game night went digital in 1998 with Axis and Allies, a strategy title that lets you rewrite WWII—assuming you don’t forget where you left your infantry. Fans of the tabletop classic will feel right at home maneuvering little units across the world map, making huge plans and then watching them fail because you rolled a one. It&rsq...
Bubble Trouble
Windows XP/98/951998
Dune 2000
Windows XP/98/951998 Westwood Studios
Dune 2000 is an abandoned science fiction classic real-time strategy game based on the popular Dune franchise. The Dune "universe" took form in the books of science fiction writer Frank Herbert and went on to include movies, TV series, comics, and of course video games. Dune 2000 is one of the finest RTS of its era; it was developed by We...
Lego Loco
Windows XP/98/951998 Intelligent Games
Monopoly (Adam Stevens)
DOS1998
People's General
Windows XP/98/951998protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Populous: The Beginning
Windows XP/98/951998protected Bullfrog
Settlers of Catan
DOS1998
Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz
Windows XP/98/951999 Wargaming West
Now with 27% more diplomacy and 300% more frustration! Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz (1999) takes everything from the original game and throws in extra scenarios, improved AI, and more ways to accidentally cause a Cold War. Want to play as Italy and change the course of history? Go for it. Just don’t expect your allies to be, you know, allied. ...
BitStorm
DOS1999
1999’s BitStorm is what happens when someone decides to make a strategy game and forgets to put the brakes on the caffeine. It’s fast, it’s furious, and you’ll probably lose your first five games before realizing how to build anything that doesn’t explode in five seconds. Set in a vaguely cyberpunkish future full of fl...
Black Moon Chronicles
DOS1999protected Cryo Interactive Entertainment
Based on a French comic series, Black Moon Chronicles (1999) is what you'd get if a fantasy novel and a real-time strategy game had a slightly awkward baby. The art is dark, the tone is darker, and the gameplay is surprisingly complex. You’ll command armies, cast spells, and occasionally wonder what’s happening. The interface takes some...