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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Super Pinball by Russco
DOS19874.5/5 Russco
Time Bandit
DOS19894.4/5 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 control a character who must navigate through a series of maze-like levels, battling various enemies and collecting treasure a...
TomeNET
Windows XP/98/95Linux2003freeware4.4/5
Mad Mix
DOS19884.3/5 Topo Soft
Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate
DOS19924.3/5 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 by mysterious earthquakes, a new religion (the Fellowship) is spreading and is replacing the old virtues, and who is th...
Antix
DOS1985remake4.3/5
Warlords 3: Reign of Heroes
Windows XP/98/9519974.3/5 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.
Volfied
DOS19914.3/5 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 is set.In Volfied, players control a small spaceship called "Challenger" and must eliminate 80% or more of the playfiel...
Skate or Die
DOS19884.3/5 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 on skateboard. A sequel, Ski or Die, was released an year later.
Infiltrator
DOS19874.3/5 Chris Gray Enterprises
Power Drive
DOS19944.3/5 Rage Games
War of the Lance
DOS1990protected4.3/5 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Super Stardust
DOS19964.3/5 Housemarque
Micro Machines
DOS19944.3/5 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 Master System and SNES. Codemasters released a sequel called Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament.
Ms Pac PC
DOS1995remake4.3/5 Magicom Multimedia
Pipe Dream
DOSWindows 3.x19894.3/5 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 simple, original and addicting, that's why Pipe Mania was cloned a number of times.
Chip's Challenge
DOSWindows 3.x19914.3/5 Epyx
Chip's Challenge is an abandoned top-down puzzle game designed by Chuck Sommerville, developed and released by Epyx in 1991. Chip's Challenge was released on DOS, Windows 3.x and many other home computers such as Atari ST, Amiga, C64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC.
Action Soccer
DOS19954.3/5 UBI Soft
Face Off!
DOS19894.3/5 MindSpan
Face Off! is an abandoned hockey sports game developed by MindSpan (known for their Hardball series) and released by Gamestar in 1989 for DOS and also for Commodore 64. Face Off supports multiplayer in competitive or cooperative modes.
Global Conquest
DOS19924.3/5 Ozark Softscape
Lords of Midnight: The Citadel
DOS19954.3/5 Maelstrom Games
NFL Pro League Football
DOS19894.3/5 Micro Sports
Trog
DOS19904.3/5 Midway Manufacturing Company
Albion
DOSWindows XP/98/9519954.2/5 Blue Byte Software
Albion is a science fiction role-playing game (RPG) developed and published by German studio Blue Byte Software. It was released in 1995 for MS-DOS and later for Amiga. Albion is notable for its blend of traditional RPG elements with a unique setting and storyline.The game takes place on the planet Albion, a world with a rich history and diver...
Colonization
DOSWindows 3.xLinuxMac OS1994protected4.2/5 MicroProse Software
Colonization is a turn-based strategy 4x game developed and published by MicroProse in 1994 for DOS, Windows 3.1, Linux and Mac. The setting is the European Colonization of the New World. Colonization gameplay and interface are similar to Civilization, another Sid Meier game. However, there are some differences between Civilization and Colonization...
Civilization
DOSWindows 3.xMac OS19914.2/5 MicroProse Software
Civilization is the critically acclaimed strategy game designed by Sid Meier and Bruce Campbell Shelley that became a staple in 4X turn-based strategy. Civilization was developed by MicroProse Software and released in 1991 for DOS, Windows 3.x, Amiga, Atari ST, Mac, etc. Civilization was followed by sequels, the last one being published recently. T...
SimEarth
DOSWindows 3.x19904.2/5 Maxis
SimEarth is a simulation in which you can shape and mold a planet in almost every way you can imagine. In SimEarth our planet is simulated as a whole: life, climate, atmosphere are all aspects of a single Gaia-like Earth. SimEarth can be played in two modes: game and experimental. In game mode, you have to to develop (and preserve) Earth with limit...
Psycho Pinball
DOS19954.2/5 Codemasters
Ogre
DOS19864.2/5 Origin Systems
Sword of Aragon
DOS1989protected4.2/5 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.