Putting a video game into a specific genre can be tricky. RPGs, for example, used to be pretty clear-cut and easy to organize, but now that more games include RPG-like elements, well, that specific genre gets a little vaster. Categorizing a shooter, RPG, racer,♛ and so forth can get complicated,𒁃 but there is another wrench in the system to consider: perspective
For example, Destiny and Tom Clancy’s The Division are both RPG shooters that operate within an MMO-like experience. You might think fans of this type may be into both, but some people may not like Destiny for its first-person perspective and this plays a big part in gamer choice. Despite it being such a massive style of games, some of the best top-down games ඣare s𓃲omething many gamers will consider a must-play.
Updated on March 11th, 2023, by Gabrielle Huston: We've updated this article with some new favorite games for you to try out!
24 Littlewood ♓
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Littlewood is the epitome of gorgeous simplicity. This top-down farming life-sim game oozes personality, charm, and vibrancy. Most importantly, it's a darn fun game, one that eases you into its farming, village-building, fishing, crafting, and many other enjoyable tasks.
In Littlewood, you play as a customizable character who has already saved the world from a big bad Dark Wizard and must now start 𒁃life anew back at the home village. This home village can become anything and everything you want it to be. What makes this top-down farming life-sim game so fun is that instead of tinkering with inventory and worrying about which item to equip, the game dynamically gives you the right tool at the exact right time.
23 ♕ Victor Vran
If you consider yourself a fan of isometric action RPGs168澳洲幸运5开奖网: with a dark fantasy flair then you owe it to yourself to try out Victor Vran. This highly underrated game is brimming with gothic ambiance, spooky set pieces, and an🍰 abundance✃ of loot to deck out your demon hunter with.
You, of course, play as Victor Vran, a demon hunter who is tasked with venturing all across a moody Victorian world. This top-down game featuresꦦ some really enjoyable activities where you get to equip yourself with swords, crossbows, magic, and plenty of other powerful macguffins. Plus, the go♏thic story ensures you will get a healthy dose of haunting beauty.
22 ♛ ⛎ Suikoden 2
The first two Suikoden games were released to little fanfare on the original PlayStation, and then became two of the most popular cult JRPGs of all time. Now Suikoden 2 costs more than a pretty penny to acquire, but it is one of the few top-down games that can compete with JRPG juggernauts like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Chrono Trigger and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dragon Quest 5.
Suikoden 2 has aged gracefully thanks to its 2D aesthetics. The battles are lightning-fast, and the plot tells a deep tale involving politics, friendship, betrayal, and more. Add castle building, 108 characters to find, and deep ties to the original game, and🃏 you have a near-flawless JRPG—minus some of the awful translation work. It is truly one of the greatest top-down games of all time, and it’s a shame more people have not played it.
21 🌃 Dorfromantik 🧜
Dorfromantik is a top-down puzzle game, to give you a break from the combat-themed titles on this list! You spend your time placing down hexagonal tiles that contain farms, cities, trains, rivers, and forests. Over time, you'll build up a significant little map of your own!
The goal is just to see how long you can last. The tiles will run out, you see, unless you complete quests on your map or score perfect placements. The more tiles you have, the higher score you can get! It's great for playing a round over your morning cup of coffee.
20 🃏 Final Fantasy 6 ಌ
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy 6 is often considered the pinnacle of the 2D Final Fantasy games, and it’s well-deserved. This game featured a robust cast—with one of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:most maniacal villains ever created—a huge world, and it told a much deeper story to tell than the previous Fin✅al Fantasy games. Many people still consider it the best FF game to this ꦺday.
FF6 remains surprisingly playable since it is 2D and has almost no loading time. Each character has unique skills in combat, and there is so much to eꦅxplore and discover. FF6 is one of the best top-down RPGs and playing it is mandatory for completing a course in JRPG 101.
19 Frogger
Frogger is so simple it defies the aging process that renders many games obsolete. Get the frog back to his home by cro💙ssing a road and a river while avoiding obstacles li♛ke cars and sinking logs—because frogs cannot swim in this universe for some reason.
Frogger was originally released in 1981, and it's been ported countless times. A lot of younger gamers might scoff at first sight, but anyone who picks up a controller and gives it a chance is guaranteed to get hooked.
18 Divinity: Original Sin 2 ✃ 👍
To many, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Divinity Original Sin 2 is the very best top-down RPG on modern🎉 platforms. While it might look a lot like a standard cRPG to the uninitiated, it is a giant game with its own identity that pays homage to classics like Plಞanescape: Torment.
The combat is simple to grasp but filled with complexities that can elude the player until the end of the game. The character creator is fun, and the world is staggeringly big. This is a game that beautifully meshes creativity and problem solving with classic sRꦿPG gameplay, and it somehow manages to challenge old players while being accessible for newcomers—no easy feat.
17 Fire Emblem Awakening ✃
Fire Emblem Awakening saved the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Fire Emblem series from potential demise, and it remains one of the very best 3DS games. It is classic Fire Emblem, but the story iꦛs more front and center, and the ability to combine units and increase their compatibility via supplemental dialogue fleshes out characters who would have had no real backstory in past entries.
Fire Emblem Awakening has tons of content including optional grinding battles, DLC, and paralogues. The series has never before or since achieved this perfect blend o꧅f story-gameplay ratio.
16 Crypt Of The Necrodancer 💛
Many people are familiar with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Cadence of Hyrule, the top-down rhythm and action hybrid that takes the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Legend of Zelda series in an utterly unique direction. While it’s a great game and a huge step in a famous series, it’s hard not to compare it to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Crypt of the Necrodancer, the spectacul💝ar roguelike this Zelda spinoff is based on.
Roguelikes can often be intimidating for players who don’t enjoy dying frequently, or prefer to play shorter experiences. By keeping combat simple a♈nd tying movement to the rhythm 🍃of a spectacular soundtrack, Crypt of the Necrodancer defies that for anyone who wants to dip their toes into this deep and popular top-down genre of games.
15 Ape Out
Asꦅ violent as Ape Out can be, it’s a great example of a modern arcade classic. This game is fast and fluid, using simple controls to toss around guards and mess with the environment while you sprint around as a bright orange gorilla sprinting its way to freedom.
It’s an extremely simple game, and those who aren’t fans of gore might be put off by the vivid blood splatter, but those able to handle the cartoonish violence are sure to get a t🍃on of value out of this game. It’s fairly short, but still an exciting top-down game with stunning visuals that you’re sure to replay and try getting better at.