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).

Sort by:

Command & Conquer: Sole Survivor

Windows XP/98/951997 Westwood Studios

Dark Reign: The Future of War

Windows XP/98/951997protected Auran Games

Dungeon Crawl

Windows XP/98/95DOSLinux1997freeware

Dungeon Crawl (also known as Linley's Dungeon Crawl from the name of the original programmer: Linley Henzell) is a classic roguelike: an RPG with permadeath, procedural generation and high replayability. Dungeon Crawl was released...

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 ar...

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...

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, an...

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 Heroe...

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...

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 politel...

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 an...

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 maneu...

Bubble Trouble

Windows XP/98/951998

Here comes another bubble game—but this one packs a punch. Bubble Trouble is a frantic shoot-’em-up where you pop evil bouncing bubbles before they bounce you out of existence. It’s part arcade mayhem, part refle...

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 mov...