7 – Wargame: Red Dragon
Wargame: Red Dragon is one of the first games I have ever written about in Strategy and Wargaming. Did you know that? That’s because I spent an entire day building a Portuguese Army-inspired deck and wanted to share it with the world. Simpler times indeed. But What is Wargame: Red Dragon? I hear you say! It’s a massive-scale, modern real-time strategy (RTS) or Tactics (RTT) video game developed by the household studio Eugen Systems. The game is the third installment in the Wargame series and shifts the alternate-history Cold War conflict to East Asia, introducing naval forces and new factions. It focuses heavily on grand tactics, tactical and combined arms strategy, where players command a custom-built “deck” of ground, air, and now naval units—totaling over 1,450 types—meticulously modeled after real-world military hardware from 17 nations.
6 – Sins of a Solar Empire II
Sins of a Solar Empire II also marked the return of an amazing real-time strategy (RTS) series (with a massive pinch of 4X). This amazing new entry to the Sins of a Solar Empire franchise pits three returning races—the human Trader Emergency Coalition (TEC), the alien Vasari Empire, and the psychic Advent Unity—against each other in a struggle for galactic dominance, with each race now having two distinct sub-factions for more asymmetric and unique playstyles. The core gameplay loop of exploring, expanding, exploiting, and exterminating is preserved but enhanced by a host of new features and an entirely new 64-bit multi-core engine, which allows for vastly increased performance and battle scale. I reviewed it when it came out and called it the best real-time strategy (RTS) of 2024, and I still stand by it. And overall, the game has been generally well-received by fans of the series for keeping the spirit of the original while providing meaningful, technical, and mechanical upgrades. Its emphasis on real-time combat simulation, coupled with the strategic depth of its 4X elements, makes it a long-form grand strategy game with action-packed tactical battles.
5 – Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War- Definitive Edition
Just out and already at a discount during the Steam Autumn Sale of 2025, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Definitive Edition is one of the best RTS games you can buy right now. This official remaster of the original, critically-acclaimed real-time strategy (RTS) game, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, and all of its official expansions: Winter Assault, Dark Crusade, and Soulstorm. It offers the entire classic experience in a single package, featuring four full campaigns, all nine playable factions (including Space Marines, Orks, Eldar, Chaos, Imperial Guard, Necrons, Tau, Sisters of Battle, and Dark Eldar), and over 100 maps for multiplayer and skirmish play. All this for a discount? Yes please!
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