Why don't more top-down ARPG games exist?

Phantonix · 2021-04-04T14:08:58

I always wondered why games like that are not mainstream, because right off the bat I can't name any game where the camera is looking down on the character. Fighter games are either done in “2D view” (like in Mortal Kombat or Tekken) or it's done in first or third-person view (Skyrim, DmC). The exceptions are RPGs (like Pillars of Eternity), but those games aren't really action RPGs, they're more niche with their own systems. Other exception is of course Hades, possibly the only game that became mainstream with his combat style. ? Am I wrong on this observation or is there merit to this? Thanks. ?

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Started by Phantonix April 03, 2021 08:43 AM

10 comments, last by swiftcoder 3 years, 5 months ago

swiftcoder

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April 04, 2021 02:08 PM

Surely every game in the Diablo extended family qualifies as a top-down ARPG? And all the Diablo-likes: Path of Exile, Torchlight, Van Helsing…

There have also been a bunch of more offbeat top-down ARPGs the last few years. WarHammer 40K Inquisitor - Martyr (boy, isn't that a mouthful) is solidly in the genre, though it does subvert some of the genre tropes. Lost Ark is supposed to be coming over from Korea this year, and despite being an MMO, it's also a top-down ARPG.

It may not be the biggest genre, but there are quite a few if you look around.

Tristam MacDonald. Ex-BigTech Software Engineer. Future farmer. [https://trist.am]