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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The Blue & the Gray
DOS1993 Impressions Games
Super Pinball by Russco
DOS1987 Russco
Chessmaster 3000
DOS1991 The Software Toolworks
Ah, Chessmaster 3000. The title alone sounds like it should have lasers and robot arms, but what you get is a thoughtful, elegant chess sim that finally brings charisma to the game. With clean VGA graphics, soothing commentary fro...
Power Drive
DOS1994 Rage Games
The Chaos Engine
DOS1994protected Bitmap Brothers
NFL Pro League Football
DOS1989 Micro Sports
Time Bandit
DOS1989 MichTron
Time Bandit is a classic top-down arcade-style video game that was released in 1982 for various home computer systems, such as the Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, and others. It was developed by MichTron. In Time Bandit, players contro...
Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate
DOS1992 Origin Systems
Ultima VII: The Black Gate is a top-down RPG where you, the Avatar, have to find out what's happening in Britannia by solving quests, meeting interesting NPCs and fight hordes of headleass monsters. The land of Britannia is shaken...
Volfied
DOS1991 Taito
Volfied is an arcade game developed and released by Taito Corporation in 1989. It's a puzzle game that gained popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The game is named after the fictional planet "Volfied", where the gameplay...
Jackal
DOS1989 Konami
Bicycle Bridge
DOS1992
Ready to get your heart racing with the world’s slowest competitive sport? Bicycle Bridge brings the thrill of bidding, trick-taking, and utter confusion straight to your DOS machine. Whether you're a grandmaster or just som...
Micro Machines
DOS1994 Codemasters
Micro Machines is an abandoned racing game developed and released by Codemasters in 1994 based on the Micro Machines toy line. Micro Machines was published for DOS, but also for Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Genesis, NES, SEGA Maste...
Super Stardust
DOS1996 Housemarque
Pipe Dream
DOSWindows 3.x1989 The Assembly Line
Pipe Mania (also known as Pipe Dream is a tile-matching (sort of) puzzle game about flowing liquids developed by The Assembly Line in 1989. You must build a path made of pipe pieces to let a green liquid (sewer goo?) flow. It's si...
Ogre
DOS1986 Origin Systems
Ms Pac PC
DOS1995remake Magicom Multimedia
The Grandest Fleet
DOS1994 Quantum quality productions
Chip's Challenge
DOSWindows 3.x1991 Epyx
Don’t let the pixelated graphics and cheerful music fool you—Chip’s Challenge is a gauntlet of logical torment. You play as Chip, a nerdy teen who agrees to navigate deadly mazes filled with monsters, traps, and ...
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...
Eight Ball Deluxe
DOSMac OS1993 Littlewing
Global Conquest
DOS1992 Ozark Softscape
Indenture
DOS1995remake
Lords of Midnight: The Citadel
DOS1995 Maelstrom Games
Pinball Fantasies
DOS1994 Digital Illusions
Skate or Die
DOS1988 Electronic Arts
Skate or Die is an abandoned sports game, developed and released by Electronic Arts in 1988 for DOS and a number of other platforms. Skate or Die is a multi-sport kind of game, including every kind of unconventional "sport" done o...
Alien Breed: Tower Assault
DOS1994protected Team 17
Alien Breed: Tower Assault (1994) takes everything you loved about the original - creepy corridors, limited ammo, sudden death - and adds something revolutionary for the time: non-linear level design. That's right, you can now die...
Ultima 6: The False Prophet
DOS1990protected Origin Systems
Ultima VI: The False Prophet is a classic RPG released in 1990 by Origin Systems. It’s the sixth main entry in the Ultima series and marks the conclusion of the Age of Enlightenment trilogy. The game was originally developed...
Pacific General
Windows XP/98/951997protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Virtual Pool
DOS1995 Celeris
Civilization 2
Windows XP/98/951996 MicroProse Software
Civilization II is a turn-based strategy game developed by MicroProse and released in 1996. It's the second installment in the "Civilization" series, created by Sid Meier. The game builds upon the concept of its predecessor, Civil...