It’s such an overcrowded genre isn’t it? I mean it’s ridiculous how many top down games there are out there… I’ve played so many now, they just blend into each other.
Are there any top down games that do something different (or the same but really really well). For example, my last really positive experiences with this format were Desperados 3 and Shadow Gambit The Cursed Crew.
I apologize if my recommendations are not what you are looking for but have you tried:
Disco Elysium? Cuz that game blew my fucking mind. I voice acting and characters are superb.
Signalis. Its such a lovely artsy game thats like resident evil but more story driven imo (less survival).
I love poe2 with wasd movement. I beg you to try it out. It was something i was hesitant at first but now I wish all arpg’s had this feature.
Kenshi is also a great option but I don’t think its for everyone. Still recommend it though cuz the world is very mysterious in first playthrough.
Xenonauts, part 2 is in early access
Warhammer 40k: chaos gate
Project zomboid
But yeah top down is not a genre, that’s like saying third person or first person is overcrowded.
Kenshi. There is really not a single game out there that I can really compare it to and they have a very strong community, showing the game has a high replayability value
Rimworld?
RTS like AoE or Warcraft
Bullet Hells like Assault Android Cactus
Hotline Miami
every 4X game
V Rising, Diablo or Baldurs Gate
Does Dungeons 3 or 4 count? If so, these games are great.
Factorio is a game in which you build and maintain factories. You will be mining resources, researching technologies, building infrastructure, automating production and fighting enemies.
How is this genuinely different?
The game defined the factory builder genre. Everything that followed (Dyson sphere project, satisfactory, shapez, etc etc etc) came after factorio (nicknamed cracktorio because of its addictive qualities) was released.
Gameplay wise it’s a top down with some vehicles and weapons, which is not unique at all, but the core of the gameplay loop was unique and spawned an entire sub genre of build games.
For the akshuallys in the room, it is possible that there were factory line builders before factorio that I’m not aware of, but none had the depth and breadth and definitely none were as popular/iconic.
That’s a really great question. I will leave it to other people in the comments to answer.
I took OP’s question to mean, “Give me some top-down game suggestions”.
Now that I read it again, I see your point. But also, I can’t think of any of the suggestions in this thread as being unique.
Thank you so much to everyone who commented with suggestions! Some really surprising ones in there too that I’m very much looking forwards to playing soon. So far thanks to this post I’ve grabbed Heat Signature as well as Shady Part of Me and I’m replaying Dysmantle. I’ve also wishlisted Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal and will nab that the minute it goes on sale.
Edit: Ooh and I’m also looking forward to the release of Outworld Station on Tuesday. That looks like a really interesting top down, space station factory automation game :)
Cocoon is very different, the worlds inside worlds puzzles are mind-breaking but really fun. Highly recommended!
Idk if it counts but “shady part of me” was an excellent game.
It’s more up and to the side then top down it is a really fun platformer with interesting light mechanics and worth checking out.
Wow, that looks amazing! and 85% off on Steam… Think I’ll grab that right now :)
It’s such an overcrowded genre isn’t it?
Well it’s not really a genre, just a mode of perspective.
Disco Elysium ditched combat for an everything-is-dialogue-approach and it is really really good.
Played the hell out of DE and I agree! :D
What actual genre do you like to play? Might get some more relevant recommendations. Otherwise, top-down is just a POV and there are a ton of genres that have been made this way.
- Factorio - Factory Building
- Door Kickers - Tactical CQB
- Dwarf Fortress - Roguelite Town Management
- The Battle for Wesnoth - Turn-based RPG
- GTA1/2/London 1969 - The best GTAs
- FTL - Roguelite space adventure. Real-time with pause.
Minesweeper
Solitaire - classic top down perspective.
Come to think of it, so was that Space Pinball game too.
played hundreds of hours of both lol
I could never get on with Minesweeper. I bet it’s something to do with my ADHD and Discalculia.
Heat Signature - https://store.steampowered.com/app/268130/Heat_Signature/
That looks amazing! Wishlisted :) I love the mechanic of intentionally blowing yourself out into space to escape an imminently exploding ship and then remote controlling your own ship to then rescue you lol
Not sure how old you are, have you played the first and second GTA?
Very old and yes I have (when they came out in fact 🤣)
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