Looking for hidden gems in the world of strategy gaming? While classics like Civilization and Age of Empires dominate the spotlight, many incredible strategy games have been left behind. In this article, I’ll uncover the 10 best forgotten strategy games that deserve a second chance. Whether you love deep tactical gameplay, base-building, or grand-scale warfare, these underrated titles offer unique experiences that stand the test of time. Keep reading to rediscover these overlooked masterpieces and add fresh challenges to your strategy gaming lineup!
Have fun with this one, and if you have some suggestions you would like to have me place on another list, please let me know in the comments!
10 – Knights of Honor
I believe that if Knights of Honor had come out just a couple of years prior, it might be considered quite the innovative and groundbreaking title, but having a 2D strategy game in the vein of Total War and Imperial release in 2005 just feels a bit anachronistic. However, that didn’t stop Knights of Honor from becoming quite the cult classic alternative to Medieval: Total War: the game plays out on a grand-strategy map where you manage your estates and vassals, and then you jump into real-time battles to test your military prowess. While the grand-strategy aspect of Knights of Honor might be able to go toe-to-toe with Total War, and it might be more detailed in its management aspect, the tactical battles don’t stand a chance when put side by side.
9 – Dark Reign: The Future of War
Look at Dark Reign: The Future of War from a glance and you probably think to yourself that you were looking at Total Annihilation, or Command and Conquer, and to be completely fair, that’s basically it. It’s a 90s RTS with an emphasis on base-building, resource gathering and fast unit combat. The main draw here is its campaign which can be played from both faction’s perspectives. In fact, that’s the main draw of going back and playing most of the games in this list, which is that strategy titles used to have fantastic campaigns.
8 – Myth II: Soul Blighter
Before being known as the company that revolutionized FPS gaming with Halo, Bungie was famous for having created the award-winning RTS “Myth” series. The main reason why the series is so famous now is mainly because, when it came out, all the way back in 1997, the game was (mostly) 3D, and it had a physics system. This system led to glorious gameplay moments that were seldom seen back then: there’s a massive emphasis on terrain usage and obstruction (like trees and rocks obscuring archers’ fields of fire), and the explosive devices at your disposal are as useful as they are dangerous: melee units poorly positioned can be teamkilled explosively by a poorly thrown grenade. If that comes to be, at least you’ll be showering in gore and watching the units blow up and their limbs roll down the hills in a very fun, 90s way.
7 – The Movies
A recent episode of Critical Moves had us discuss Hollywood Animal, an upcoming tycoon manager set in the dream fever that is the movie industry. But did you know that in 2005 Lionhead Studios and Sega launched The Movies, a business simulation game where you could run a Hollywood film studio? You started your journey sometime in the early 1900s and experienced the whole film industry history. The best part? You not only managed your studio (buildings, movie starts, personnel, etc.), but you could actually make your very own movies by using its version of Movie Maker. It was so cool! I miss it when the game industry dares to create new and innovative titles like this.
While I don’t think you can buy this game legitimately anymore, it’s available online on several abandonware websites, in case you want to give it a go.
6 – Civilization: Beyond Earth
Is Civilization: Beyond Earth the best Civilization game? No. Is it one of the top 3? Also no. But it is a damn good Civilization game in my eyes, and one that got a lot of undeserved hate because it wasn’t a reboot of Alpha Centauri. At its core, it’s still Civilization V, but you’re now tasked with colonizing a new planet after Earth fell into disrepair. The most exciting moments of its gameplay are when you’re starting out, and every alien threat can be a major challenge. It loses much of its appeal when you start to get into the late game when it devolves into being just regular Civilization. If you’re a player like me, who never finishes a game of Civ, but always starts anew, then you’ll find joy here.
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