90 – Phantom Brigade
Phantom Brigade is one of the more unique strategy games you can play in 2025. A hybrid of turn-based tactics that play out in real-time combat, where players command a squad of customizable mechs in a desperate resistance campaign which has been steadily getting better and better since the game first came out. Using a timeline-based prediction system, you can anticipate enemy moves and choreograph precise counterattacks, creating a deeply strategic experience where each bullet and missile is simulated and interacts with the environment, which is fully destructible With its very unique take on the strategy genre, the ability to build your mechs (if you know me, I love customizing everything), and a ton of tactical depth, Phantom Brigade stands out as a must-play for turn-based strategy fans in 2025.
89 – Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
What an oldie goldie! Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is a classic real-time strategy game that pits the Allied Forces against the Soviet Union in an alternate history where World War II never ended. Curious fact: it’s the second strategy game I have ever played, just after Age of Empires 2. With its fast-paced gameplay, players must gather resources, build bases, and command some of the more unique units of every RTS ever made, from tanks to aircraft, to jetpack troops, zeppelins, and squids!
Also, don’t forget the amazing FMV footage of Red Alert 2, which is probably some of the best ever made. Who would love to see a full-length movie about it?
88 – Close Combat 3: The Russian Front
As top which of the Close Combats should be here is always going to be a point of contention. I have previously highlighted The Longest Day and Panthers in the Fog, but right now I think that Close Combat III: The Russian Front deserves the spotlight, and is probably the most beloved title of the series according to everything I read online. These real-time tactical strategy games put players in charge of squad-based combat units during World War II on the Eastern Front. You’ll command infantry, tanks, and artillery and fight some of the more thrilling scuffles of your strategy gaming career. Why is that, you ask? Close Combat is one of the few series of games that goes out of its way to model the psychological aspect of warfare and the impact it has on your troops. They’ll stress, panic, hide, and refuse to act unless you take proper care of them. Despite being an old game, Close Combat III still plays extremely well in 2025 and it’s one of the more realistic World War 2 games you can play right now.
87 – Homeworld: Remastered Collection
If you’re disappointed with the release of Homeworld 3 after waiting for so long… Well, at least you have the Homeworld: Remastered Collection, the best version of the iconic 3D real-time strategy game that launched players into the vastness of space, commanding a fleet of ships to reclaim their homeworld. Featuring updated graphics, enhanced audio, and improved gameplay, this collection includes both the remastered version and the original, allowing fans to experience the epic saga with modern enhancements while preserving its classic charm. Hopefully, someone will remaster Homeworld 3 into a good game, someday. At least Homeworld: Remastered Collection holds up pretty well in 2025, and it came out in 2015, believe it or not.
86 – FTL: Faster Than Light
I will never get tired of singing praises to FTL: Faster Than Light. Not only is it one of my favorite games of all time, but it’s one of the best strategy and roguelike games ever made. You’re in control of a spaceship on a journey through a procedurally generated galaxy. Tasked with delivering vital information to the Federation, you must manage your crew, resources, and ship upgrades while battling hostile forces and making tough decisions that can mean life or death. You do this by battling the enemies in real-time combat, and by targeting their ship’s systems to get the upper hand. At the same time, you need to manage your crew and keep your ship’s systems working to avoid an untimely demise. The roguelike aspect of it, paired with the extremely difficult task at hand makes for such an addicting loop of trying to do your best, getting blown away, and going back to try all over again making it a standout choice for strategy enthusiasts in 2025. Also, the game’s usually on sale for less than 5 dollars, so if you never played it, this is the year you need to give it a whirl.
85 – Game Dev Tycoon
I know that Game Dev Tycoon isn’t the most in-depth management sim out there it’s quite simple, but it’s beloved by absolutely everyone, sporting an impressive 95% Steam rating with nearly 40,000 reviews. You’re in charge of a game studio, starting from the 1980s, and you’ll design, develop, and market your video games navigating through different eras of gaming history while managing your team’s creativity, and finances, and accurately charting the path to success and avoid becoming Ubisoft. It’s a great way to relive the history of video games, at least until 2013, when the game came out.
84 – Battle Academy 2: Eastern Front
Look! The friendliest of wargames is back on another list of mine! What can I say that I haven’t said before? Well, if you’re new here, then let me introduce you to Battle Academy 2: Eastern Front, a turn-based tactical strategy game that puts you in charge of German and Russian troops all over battlefields in the Eastern Theatre of World War II. It has a focus on squad-level combat and very plausible and authentic battle mechanics that make it feel very realistic. The best part? Unlike other, more unwieldy wargames, Battle Academy is a series known for being extremely accessible while, at the same time, still managing to be challenging, historically accurate and its battles fascinatingly complex. It’s a staple of the strategy and wargaming genre that doesn’t seem like it’s getting replaced any time soon, and it’s still a standout title for military strategy enthusiasts and wargamers in 2025.
83 – Darkest Dungeon
Do you like turn-based strategy? Enjoy reading H.P. Lovecraft? Love hard-as-nails roguelikes? Then the dark, damp, and cursed town of Darkest Dungeon is the place where you’ll unravel the history of your family and what happened to their ruined estate. Not only does the game present you with horrors beyond human comprehension, but forces your parties of adventures to also come to terms with what they witnessed and faced on the bowels of the Earth! This manifests in stress, mental breakdowns, heart attacks, and all sorts of other maladies. As you venture deeper into the abyss, the toll on your party’s mental and physical health becomes just as important as their combat skills, adding an extra layer of strategic depth. For me, the depth of the combat in Darkest Dungeon is what keeps me coming back to it in 2025. Add to that the gripping atmosphere and focus on character stress and fear, and Darkest Dungeon still delivers a unique, charming, and punishing experience.
82 – Stellaris
It’s surprising how many space strategy games are out there. What’s more surprising is how most of them are good. Case in point: Stellaris, Paradox’s otherworldly darling that’s essentially just Europa Universalis IV but at a cosmic level. Choose or create your faction, explore, expand, deal, and conquer your way to galactic domination. It’s a lovely title that’s still very much in active development to this day, with lots of DLC coming out every year, with new factions, new mechanics, and new features. If you’re one of those gamers who can’t get enough of Crusader Kings, Hearts of Iron, and Europa Universalis but never gave Stellaris a go because it isn’t historical, you might be missing something very special here.
81 – Fights in Tight Spaces
Ever wondered why there’s not a good game about John Wick? Well, there is, but the John Wick part isn’t in the name. Meet Fights in Tight Spaces, a tactical strategy game that combines deck-building and hand-to-hand combat in confined environments. You control a secret agent navigating through intense, turn-based fights in tight spaces, using cards to perform actions like maneuvering, punches, roundhouse kicks, dodges, grapples, and all kinds of martial arts/secret agent/trained killer stuff. Each decision must be calculated as you face off against multiple enemies in highly dynamic and ever-changing scenarios. Pair all of this with a stylish visual and the gameplay loop is addicting enough to keep you coming back for just another run. There’s also a new Knights in Tight Spaces where you control a party of medieval troublemakers, but I haven’t played it enough to give a solid recommendation, even though the demo was quite good.
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