Top-down perspective sorted by year, newest first
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).
Most popular top down games
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WitchavenRL
Windows 10/11Linux2013
Ascii Sector
Windows 10/11LinuxDOS2007freeware
Ascii Sector is what happens when someone takes Privateer, removes the graphics, and replaces them with pure ASCII and sheer willpower. It’s open-world space sim meets roguelike: you trade, fight, explore, get stabbed in sha...
Elona
Windows 10/112007freeware
Elona (short for Eternal League of Nefia) is a free roguelike RPG developed by Japanese indie developer named Noa in 2007. Its gameplay combines elements of open-world exploration, dungeon crawling, and life simulation. It has com...
Incursion
Windows 10/11LinuxMac OS2007freeware
Doom: The Roguelike
DOS2005freeware
Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space
Windows 10/11LinuxMac OS2005protected Digital Eel
Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space is a science fiction roguelike game developed by Digital Eel. Originally released in 2005, it is the sequel to Strange Adventures in Infinite Space. The game puts you in command of a sta...
Blues Brothers RPG
Windows XP/98/952004freeware
Yes, this exists. Blues Brothers RPG (2004, Windows XP) is what happens when someone looks at a legendary blues duo and says, “What if they fought zombies with saxophones?” Set in a world that’s part dungeon craw...
Push-Push Penguin
Windows XP/98/95Windows 10/112004freewareremake
Push-Push Penguin is an expanded version of the classic Sega's 1982 arcade game Pengo, incorporating features like power-ups, a combo system, and a more diverse array of enemies, breathing new life into Sega's original concept. Ac...
Warp Rogue
Windows 10/11Linux2004freeware
Master of Orion 3
Windows XP/98/95Mac OS2003protected Quicksilver Software
Chessmaster 9000
Windows XP/98/95Mac OS2002 UBI Soft
Chessmaster 9000 is a chess game developed by Ubisoft and released in 2002. It's part of the Chessmaster series, which has been around since the 1980s. Chessmaster 9000 was known for its strong chess engine and comprehensive tutor...
Decker
Windows 10/112002freeware
IVAN (Iter Vehemens ad Necem)
DOSWindows 10/11LinuxMac OS2001freeware
Outbound
Windows XP/98/952001freeware
TomeNET
Windows XP/98/95LinuxMac OS2001freeware
TomeNET (Troubles of Middle Earth, Net) is an online, multiplayer rogue-like game set in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth. It’s a persistent-world game inspired by Angband, a single-player dungeon-crawler based on ...
Arrakis
DOS2000
No relation to Dune (except for being a total rip-off), Arrakis is a homebrew strategy game that feels like a tribute to the sandiest planet in sci-fi. You mine spice, fight vaguely Harkonnen-looking enemies, and try not to crash ...
Dark Reign 2
Windows XP/98/952000protected Pandemic Studios
Gal Pani X
Windows XP/98/952000freewareNSFW
Gal Pani X is an action-puzzle game reminiscent of the classic arcade Qix, developed by D2 and released in 2000 for Windows. Gal Pani X is an adult-themed Doujin game: it was made by fans and wasn't for profit.
Ground Control
Windows XP/98/952000protected Massive Entertainment
Ground Control is a strategy game developed by Massive Entertainment and released by Sierra On-Line in 2000. More precisely Ground Control is a real time tactical game with a sci-fi setting.
Xenon 2000: Project PCF
Windows XP/98/952000remake Bitmap Brothers
Xenon 2000: Project PCF is a vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up video game and originally released in 2000. It is a sequel to the earlier game "Xenon 2: Megablast," which was developed by The Bitmap Brothers and released in 1989.In X...
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 ...
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 rea...
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 com...
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...
Fleet Command
DOS1999protected Sonalysts
Grand Theft Auto 2
Windows XP/98/951999 DMA Design
Grand Theft Auto 2 is the second chapter in the successful Grand Theft Auto series. GTA 2 is an abandoned top-down action-adventure / driving hybrid game developed by DMA Design and released by Rockstar Games in 1999 for various p...
Gruntz
Windows XP/98/951999 Monolith Productions
Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia
Windows XP/98/951999protected New World Computing
Star Trek: Birth of the Federation
Windows XP/98/951999 MicroProse Software
Star Trek: Birth of the Federation is a turn-based strategy video game set in the Star Trek universe. The game was developed by MicroProse Software and published by Infogrames for Windows in 1999. Players take on the role of ...
Total Annihilation Kingdoms
Windows XP/98/951999protected Cavedog Entertainment