10 – Rule The Waves 3
The fact that Rule The Waves 3 can be considered a lighter version of something like Command: Modern Operations is a bit misleading because this isn’t a light game by any chance. It’s a massively complex naval simulator where you must manage naval forces, design ships, and engage in complex strategic warfare spanning the 20th century. It’s particularly cool because of its campaign, where you pretty much act like a permanent Secretary of the Navy across several decades.
9 – Armoured Commander II
Armoured Commander II is such a delightful and charming game that I feel went too much under the radar! A unique, turn-based tactical roguelike that places players in command of a tank crew during World War II, offering a deeply immersive and challenging experience that can end at a moment’s notice and will make you feel like Brad Pitt in Fury! You can play pretty much on every front, and every campaign of the Second World War, and commandeer dozens (might be hundreds now) of armoured lead-spitting killdozers. The game’s roguelike elements, including randomized missions and a variety of crew upgrades, keep each playthrough fresh and unpredictable.
8 – Pike and Shot: Campaigns
Ah! I bet you were not expecting this one to be here, but I have gone on record on the Critical Moves Podcast that I think the period of the Tercio has gone ignored for too long! Pike and Shot: Campaigns is probably the only game that I know about that does this interesting period justice, a time in History when cavalry had mostly gone obsolete, but muskets were really at their best just yet. Set during the age of the English Civil War, the Thirty Years’ War, and other pivotal conflicts, the game allows players to command armies in historical campaigns. Featuring detailed unit types, including pikemen, musketeers, and cavalry, Pike and Shot: Campaigns emphasize the importance of battlefield positioning, unit cohesion, and morale.
7 – Graviteam Tactics: Mius-Front
If Command: Modern Operations is the gold standard for post-World War 2 operations, then Graviteam Tactics: Mius-Front is the ultimate World War 2 tactical wargame experience, delivering unmatched 1:1 scale realism that even surpasses genre heavyweights like my all-time favourite, Combat Mission series. Focused exclusively on the Eastern Front, the Graviteam Tactics: Mius Front zooms into specific operations with extraordinary detail and precision, meticulously researched orders of battle, vast photorealistic battlegrounds, and high-quality 3D models that impress even the most discerning wargamers. While its a steep learning curve, minimal tutorials, and complex UI, which I think it’s even harder to decipher than the Voynich manuscript, Graviteam Tactics: Mius-Front tactical depth is second to none.
6 – Shadow Empire
Shadow Empire has become quite the cult classic since it came out a couple of years back. It’s a 4X wargame set in a post-apocalyptic science fiction world, where players must rebuild a fractured empire and navigate political, military, and economic challenges, and the game leads to some rather funny stories and emergent gameplay. The game’s systems include managing resources, developing technologies, controlling military units, and handling the diplomacy of your “empire” and its internal politics. It’s the kind of game you might look at if you wish Civilization and Old World were a bit more edgy, and a lot more complex at every step of the way.
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