Introduction

Very few periods in History managed to capture the hearts and minds of historians and history buffs as much as Antiquity and Medieval times. Together, they span 2 millennia and witnessed the rise, fall, and rise again of major empires and civilizations, such as the Greek, Roman, Persian, Macedonian, and numerous others. Great figures and heroes emerged, states were formed, religions came and went, and warfare changed in more ways than one can count. Those are truly fascinating periods, and the ramifications and echoes of what transpired in these long threads on the tapestry of History are still felt to this very day. So join me, as we explore the games that do justice and would make Alexander the Great and Ceaser want to play them!

If you’re a fan of other time periods, check out my lists to find thousands of game suggestions on what might interest you the most!

10 – Ancestors Legacy

Here’s a fun fact: did you know that Ancestors Legacy was one of the first games I have ever reviewed for Strategy and Wargaming? This highly unique real-time strategy set during the High Middle Ages takes the squad-based combat that’s typical of games like Company of Heroes and adapts it to the setting, and it works surprisingly well. The game has an extensive single-player campaign that sees players fighting small skirmishes, massive sieges, stealth sections, defensive missions, and punitive raids. Still, the most interesting part to me is the fact that it’s one of the few games set during this time period that takes the importance of terrain and ambushes into account, as well as mechanics like flanking, stealth, and charges.

9 – Age of Empires: Definitive Edition

I always feel like the first Age of Empires: Definitive Edition never gets the credit it deserves for the amount of heavy lifting it did to elevate the RTS genre and essentially kickstart the most well-known series of strategy games in history, and that’s mainly because its successor was so good that it overshadowed everything else, and soon became one of the best RTS games of all time. However, Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is still one of the 10 best strategy games set in medieval and ancient times, in fact, it’s one of the few games set in ancient times, alloiwing players to take control of Greece, Rome, Egypt, Babylon and Carthage, among others. Colourful, filled with content, amazing, and tight unit controls, Age of Empires still stands tall as one of the best strategy games one can play in 2026.

8 – Praetorians

There are dozens of games that I remember deeply, but few left as much of an impression on me as Praetorians did, because it was just so different from what I was used to playing in the 90s. This 2003 gem of a real-time tactics game set during the height of the Roman Empire, focusing on disciplined formations, positioning, and battlefield awareness rather than base-building (which is a massive departure from any traditional RTS at the time).

Players command Roman legions across historically inspired campaigns in Egypt, Gaul, and Italy, and make use of instantly recognizable units such as legionaries, archers, cavalry, and auxiliary troops, each with clear strengths and weaknesses. The combat is very focused and limited to just a dozen units at a time, putting a lot of emphasis on tactics and picking the right fights. I fondly remember struggling with this, because as a kid, my tactical capabilities were based around using ranged units in AoE2 and Red Alert, and using a lot of units! Clearly, that didn’t work out, and I never finished the campaign. It’s one of those games that’s still on my “to finally finish” wishlist, and I hope I get to do that soon enough.

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