Experience Real History With This Amazing Selection of My Favorite Historical Games
After the unfathomable and unexpected success of my previous personal list, which covered my favorite real-time strategy games, I wanted to offer another perspective on the titles I enjoy so that you get to know me a little bit better. These are the historical games that transport me back in time, allowing me to take on the roles of a soldier, a general, or the ruler of a massive empire, and simply experience History as it might have been. My definition of a historical game isn’t strict; I don’t demand perfect historical replication. Instead, this list focuses on games, even those like Total War and Age of Empires, that make me feel personally involved in the time period they portray, regardless of whether every detail perfectly aligns with historical reality.
Don’t be surprised to see a strong presence of World War 2 and Medieval games, as those are the historical topics that consistently capture my interest. This is a personal selection of games I fire up when I want to relive moments I’ve read about in a book or seen in a movie. While I could easily list hundreds, I’ve chosen only those titles that are truly special to me, offering a unique and engaging glimpse into the past. As a disclaimer, my bachelor’s degree is in History, so don’t be surprised if you see me nerding out a bit too much!
10 – Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway
The Brothers in Arms series of titles is, bar none, the best World War 2 first-person shooter (FPS) series ever made. Period. Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway ranks king amongst all titles for me because it takes the journey of the 101st Airborne Division away from Normandy, where the two previous titles took place, and explores the often less explored by video games Market Garden Operation, that saw the Allied airborne divisions attempting a daring operation to capture a series of bridges in Holland to allow for the XXX Corps to ride all the way to Arnhem. The operation failed.
A high production value, a cinematic story told alongside a faithful recreation of World War 2 tactical combat, is still something we don’t find in any other title in 2025. Better yet, the game still holds up incredibly well in terms of gameplay, and it’s still one of the best-looking World War 2 First-Person Shooter games ever made, despite being 3 years away from being 20 years old. If you love World War 2, have ever seen Band of Brothers, or have a passing interest in the Market Garden campaign, you should really give this one a go.
9 – Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
The medieval era has gotten a lot of love when it comes to strategy games, from absolute real-time strategy classics like Age of Empires and Stronghold, to century-spanning grand-strategy like Crusader Kings 3 and Total War: Medieval 2, but what we never saw much of were role-playing games. Well, if you have been living under a rock for the last 10 years, let me introduce you to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, a game that can be described as the closest thing you’ll ever experience to what living a medieval life would be like. Set in 15th-century Medieval Europe, players take on the role of Henry as he embarks on a journey to avenge the death of his parents. How you do that is up to you. I just want to highlight how amazing the first-person combat of the game is, how meaty, realistic, and fluid it feels. If you’re a fan of role-playing games and enjoy titles like The Witcher 3 and Skyrim, you might find something you’ll love in Kingdom Come: Deliverance. I cannot recommend it enough.
8 – Field of Glory II: Medieval
When I considering which game to choose to tackle Medieval historical battles I had only three options: I would either go with Total War: Medieval 2, and I would be well served, and had enough entertainment to keep me entertained for a while; Option number two would be Age of Longbow, from Wargame Design Studio, and despite it being a lot more realistic and a lot more historically accurate than Total War: Medieval 2, the lack of modern graphics is a blow to its appeal; and my option number three would the inimitable Field of Glory II: Medieval a game that, in my near-professional opinion as an historian, is the game with the most realism, most content, and with a decent presentation alongside an easier learning curve.
With hundreds of units and nations, army lists for nearly every army that existed during the Middle Ages, and plausible battle outcomes due to its mechanics emulating true-to-life battlefield dynamics, Field of Glory II: Medieval reigns supreme amongst its peers. Add to that that you can play an endless number of “what if” scenarios with the integration of Field of Glory II and its antiquity army lists, after all, who never dreamed of having the English longbowmen going against the Roman legionnaire cast the first stone. This is the underrated Historical Strategy Game you must try!
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