10 – Homeworld Remastered Collection
Much has been said and written about the Homeworld series, but the clear consensus is that if you want a space real-time strategy game, this is it. And the best way to experience this quintessential real-time strategy is in the form of the Homeworld Remastered Collection. The 2016 remaster brings one of the most innovative and cinematic real-time strategy games ever made to a modern audience and updates the original title to modern standards in every aspect, making it one of the most beloved remasters ever made. What truly sets Homeworld apart from its contemporaries is its fully 3D battlefield, which allows for strategic movement on all three axes, something players had never seen before, and to be honest, since. You’re not just moving units across a flat plane; you’re commanding a fleet in the vastness of space, executing complex tactics and formations from any angle. The collection, which includes both the original Homeworld and Homeworld 2, elevates this timeless gameplay with stunningly updated graphics, a remastered soundtrack, and high-fidelity voice acting from the original cast.
Beyond its groundbreaking mechanics, the series is renowned for its profound and emotional narrative. You guide the last remnants of your people, a nomadic fleet of exiles, on a desperate pilgrimage across a war-torn galaxy to reclaim your long-lost homeworld.
9 – Age of Empires IV
I don’t think any other game had as hard a job of managing expectations as Age of Empires IV, but fortunately, the latest entry to the remarkable Age of Empires series marked a triumphant return to the beloved franchise, successfully bridging the gap between nostalgic classic gameplay and modern design. It’s a game that feels both new and familiar, maintaining the core mechanics of resource gathering, base building, and advancing through ages that made its predecessors so iconic. What truly sets AoE4 apart, however, is its commitment to creating highly asymmetrical civilizations. Each faction, from the Mongol Empire to the Delhi Sultanate, doesn’t just have unique units; they have fundamentally different gameplay styles, strategies, and even economic mechanics, offering an incredible amount of strategic depth and replayability.
What I personally love most about the game is its dedication to History. Beyond its refined and well-balanced multiplayer, the game features a cinematic and educational single-player campaign presented in a documentary style. It uses live-action footage and stunning historical recreations to immerse players in pivotal moments of world history, making every mission feel like a part of a larger historical narrative. For any fan of the best RTS games seeking a title that honors the past while pushing the genre forward with innovative design, Age of Empires IV is a definitive and modern masterpiece that must be experienced.
8 – Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
Total Annihilation walked so that Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance could run and eventually become a true titan of the genre, being widely regarded as the definitive version of Gas Powered Games’ epic-scale RTS. Supreme Commander was amazing, but the 2007 standalone expansion takes the principles of its spiritual predecessor, Total Annihilation, and magnifies them to a staggering degree. The game’s hallmark is its unparalleled scale, with players commanding massive armies of thousands of land, air, and naval units across gargantuan maps, all at the same time, in a massive spectacle of lasers, shells, and explosions. Crucial to this grand scope is the “strategic zoom” feature, which allows you to seamlessly pan from a single unit to a bird’s-eye view of the entire battlefield, making macro-management and strategic decision-making both possible and profoundly rewarding.
What makes Forged Alliance a must-play is its intricate economy, which rewards forward planning, and the inclusion of game-changing “experimental units”—colossal, late-game behemoths that can turn the tide of a battle in a single stroke. Supreme Commander and Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance very often go for pennies on the dollar on Steam, so if you’re a fan of massive real-time strategy (RTS) and have never experienced it, wishlist it, and it should go on sale soon enough!
7 – Sins of a Solar Empire 2
In all fairness, any of the Sins of a Solar Empire games could be here, and their spot would be well-earned, but in 2025 is hard to argue with Sins of a Solar Empire 2 taking the main stage, as the go-to title when it comes to the modern evolution of the classic “RT4X” genre, seamlessly blending the real-time tactical combat of an RTS with the grand strategic depth of a 4X game. This much-anticipated sequel managed to take the best elements of its predecessor and magnify them with a host of innovative, modern features. Sins 2 is built on a new 64-bit multi-core engine that allows for bigger, faster, and more detailed galactic warfare, complete with rotating turrets, physically simulated projectiles, and dynamic, orbiting planets that change the very fabric of the battlefield. I love the mix of 4X with real-time strategy alongside its asymmetrical faction design, where each of the game’s races- the TEC, Advent, and Vasari- doesn’t just have unique units but entirely different economic systems and playstyles. Alongside Homeworld, Sins of a Solar Empire 2 is the definitive RTS for players who want to experience what combat could be like in the vastness of space. Better yet, the game is still in active development, with a new faction and future DLC slated to come out in the future.
6 – Total War: Warhammer III
Creative Assembly’s bet on the Warhammer franchise was a game-changer for their struggling Total War franchise. It’s undeniable that Total War: Warhammer is quite possibly the biggest real-time strategy (RTS) game of recent memory, and a massive leap in the series’ quality and mechanics, with massive campaigns, unique factions that play widely differently from each other with unique mechanics and units, and even different campaign objectives. Total War: Warhammer III is the grand finale of a strategy trilogy that stands as a true masterpiece of the genre. It takes the award-winning formula of its predecessors—blending turn-based grand strategy on a campaign map with massive real-time tactical battles—and elevates it to an unprecedented scale. The game introduces new and wildly distinct factions, from the magical empire of Grand Cathay to the demonic hordes of the Chaos Gods, each with unique campaign mechanics and a deep roster of units that are a visual spectacle on the battlefield. Its ambitious Realm of Chaos campaign provides a captivating narrative, as factions race to either save or damn a dying god, leading to a truly epic finale.
The best way to truly experience the vastness of the Total War: Warhammer experience is its “Immortal Empires” campaign. This colossal, sandbox experience combines all the campaign maps, legendary lords, and factions from the entire trilogy into one definitive, sprawling world. This mode allows for nearly limitless replayability, and I think it’s fair to say that it’s one of the most comprehensive and exciting strategy game experiences ever created. So, if you love the Old World Warhammer and Total War, what are you waiting for?
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