5 – Balatro
Since the release of The Binding of Isaac, FTL: Faster Than Light, and Slay the Spire, everything became roguelike! We already saw that even musket warfare is roguelike now! Even you and I! And now, with Balatro, even Poker is a strategy-roguelike. With nearly 100.000 overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam, this satisfying deckbuilder is mandatory if you love crafting decks, forging insane combos, and seeing numbers go up really fast if your long-term strategy to create powerful synergies comes together.
4 – MENACE
MENACE just came out in February of 2026, and it’s already with a 25% discount, putting it at 30 dollars, which is still a bit hefty, all things considered, but I really enjoyed it, and have been having fun with it ever since it came out. Crafted by the same hands and minds that brought us Battle Brothers, MEANCE has players leading a strike force against mercenaries, aliens, bugs, and an unknown threat called the Menace. It’s a turn-based strategy very much in the vein of XCOM, but the focus isn’t on individual units, but instead on specialized squads. Read my full review of it if you want to know all the details, but if you love XCOM and Battle Brothers, you cannot go wrong with MENACE.
3 – Crusader Kings 3
Quite possibly the best strategy game set during the Medieval time period, Crusader Kings 3 is the only game that manages to turn the boring concept of interpersonal court politics into an exciting game of intrigue, assassinations, betrayal, love, and scheming. As much as a strategy game as it is a role-playing game, Crusader Kings 3 appeals as one of the special few games set in this time, where the main appeal isn’t just military prowess.
2 – RimWorld
RimWorld is in equal parts a strategy game, a story generator, a chaos machine, and sometimes, a war crime simulator (depending on how you play). At its core, it’s a colony management game where you guide a group of survivors trying to live on a distant planet. But what makes it truly special is its AI storyteller system, which dynamically throws events at you: raids, disasters, internal conflicts, creating completely unique narratives every time you play. One moment you’re building a peaceful farming colony, and the next you’re desperately defending against pirates while your doctor has a mental breakdown. It’s unpredictable, brutally difficult at times, and endlessly replayable. Add in the massive modding scene, and you have one of the deepest strategy experiences ever made. If you don’t own RimWorld yet, this sale is the perfect excuse.
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