Ultimate General: Civil War
Look, I’ll admit it. I’m not the most well-informed guy when it comes to the American Civil War, ok? However, I do love the transitional time period it represents, when warfare started to slowly transition from the Napoleonic style of battle to a more modern form of combat, which would inevitably culminate in World War 1. The reason why I got so into the American Civil War is simple: It all started with Ultimate General: Gettysburg, a game that showed me that the battles had a lot more going for them than I ever thought. After playing that, I went on a binge of books and documentaries about the war, and when Ultimate General: Civil War came out, it was like I was once again glued to my monitor playing over the major battles I had read about in History books. If you want to play a game about the American Civil War, there are plenty of those available, from Scourge of War: Gettysburg, to Grand Tacticial: The Civil War (1861-1865)- and you’ll probably go with those if you want a higher level of detail- but Ultimate General will always take the cake, given that it manages to turn such a complicated affair into a compact and very easy to use package.
IL-2 Sturmovik
I had to include a flight sim somewhere. While I would go with War Thunder for some sweet, multiplayer action, without thinking twice about it, if I want something a bit more realistic and down-to-earth (pun not intended), I would certainly go with IL-2 Sturmovik. The franchise and I go a long way back, to 2006, when IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 came out and completely took me by surprise at just how good a game it was, to the point it became my favorite flight-sim ever. However, if I’m playing in 2026, an dI want something a bit more modern and up to date, I would go with IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad, and this one is, for all intents and purposes, the flight-sim to rule all flight sims if you’re looking for something set during World War 1 or World War 2 (a new IL-2 set in Korean is coming later in 2026). Being a realistic flight-sim, getting into it isn’t easy, and it will take you quite a long time before you’re acquainted with any of the available aircraft. My favorite experience playing it was doing a full campaign as a pilot of a C-47 during Normandy. Ferrying supplies and paradropping soldiers is quite a departure from the average dog-fighting or bombing run.
Hearts of Iron 4
It’s true that Paradox’s most recent title, Europa Universalis 5, is the grand-strategy game to rule all historical grand-strategy titles; the fact that it doesn’t reach World War 2 means that there’s still plenty of space for other historical games to make a show. Hearts of Iron 4 is one of the best of all time, and is special for those who enjoy playing with History, because the game was built with the specific purpose of giving players the largest amount of freedom possible, and to allow them to change one of the most pivotal moments in Human History in whatever way they see fit. The game also gives players the chance to navigate the treacherous waters of 1930s and 1940s politics with any country in the world, a unique proposition that no other World War 2 game allows for. It’s the perfect game to play if you want to challenge yourself to see how you would have done things differently, and how the World might have changed, or not.
The constant stream of DLC might be off-putting for some of you, and I get that. I personally don’t buy them all. So if you have a country in particular you want to experience, make sure to get that DLC exclusively, and make the most out of it, instead of splurging hundreds of dollars into something you might not have a lot of interest in, just for fear of missing out.
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