Want To Play More Strategy Games? Play These!
This is an article for the uninitiated! For the strategy game soon-to-be. Veterans that know the differences between an Ausf. A and Ausf. G, won’t be surprised and much less entertained. However, if you can’t spot a Dyrenkov from a Sherman in a crowded museum, this article is for you. Take full advantage of this article to pack your library full of games. There has never been a better time to get some of the greatest strategy titles ever made.
If you’re looking for more in-depth and strategy-focused recommendations, make sure you look here:
Why?
To create this list of recommendations, I looked at a variety of factors, including gameplay mechanics (and how different they might be from one another), graphics, positive reviews, and popularity. The goal was to provide you with a diverse selection of strategy games that appeal to different types of people.
My Top 25 Recommendations
Civilization VI
Civilization VI is the latest iteration of the famous turn-based strategy series that allows players to build and expand their own civilization while competing against other nations. The game offers a vast amount of content, including multiple game modes, different civilizations to play as, and unique victory conditions. The game is starting to show its age, but a substantial amount of DLC rolling out frequently manages to keep things fresh. For first-timers, the gameplay is both challenging and rewarding. If you never played Civilization in your life, this is the game where you should start.
XCOM
XCOM is a turn-based tactics game where players lead a squad of soldiers to fight against an alien invasion. The game offers a good enough narrative story, with a challenging campaign that will keep you engaged for dozens of hours. XCOM’s graphics still hold up pretty well, more than a decade later, and the tactical battles are still absolutely fantastic. Permanently losing an invaluable team member never loses its punch. If you’re looking for a turn-based tactical game, you cannot go wrong with this reboot of the 90’s original.
The remake of the early 90’s turn-based darling. It alone reinvigorated the turn-based strategy genre by streamlining the management aspects of the meta-narrative and base-building and by making tactical battles more concise, less grindy, and less frustrating than their predecessors. Enemy Unknown can be directly credited as the game that brought an obscure genre into the spotlight. Buy this one before getting the second.
Stellaris
Paradox titles will feature prominently here. Stellaris is a grand strategy game set in space where players can explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate their way to galactic dominance. The game offers a massive amount of customization, with players able to evolve their own species throughout time, build massive fleets, research technology, and explore new, unfound worlds. The gameplay is both complex and engaging, and this first foray into the beyond from Paradox was a massive success. There are 17 DLC packs, so don’t expect a content drought anytime soon.
Crusader Kings 3
My favorite Paradox title, Crusader Kings III is a grand strategy game set in the medieval world, where players can control a dynasty and rule over their lands. The game offers a deep and immersive story, with a complex web of relationships and politics to navigate. Crusader Kings is at its best when armies have their swords sheathed while court spies and assassins carry their blades and vials of poison close to them. It’s probably the most complex and unwieldy game on this list but if you have the time and learn it and enjoy the subject matter it’s going to be one of the most fulfilling gaming experiences you’ll ever have. Unfortunately, there’s no way I can justify purchasing Crusader Kings III at the time of this writing but from what I’ve read, it is pretty much the same with some more graphical flair to it.”
Total War: Three Kingdoms
In all honesty, Three Kingdoms is Creative Assembly’s attempt at trying to snag some Yuans, but it’s still a cool entry. What Total War: Three Kingdoms is, is a real-time tactics game set in ancient China where players can lead armies in epic battles and grand campaigns led by famous characters of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The game offers a unique blend of real-time tactics and turn-based strategy, with a deep and engaging campaign mode. The graphics are fantastic, and the gameplay is run-of-the-mill Total War. The development of the game has ceased, but there’s still a lot to enjoy here.
Hearts of Iron IV
Hearts of Iron IV is a grand strategy game (from Paradox) set during World War II, where players can lead any nation in the world to victory or defeat. The game offers a massive amount of content, with different scenarios, and multiple factions, each with its own unique paths. It’s a sandbox game, where you set your very own victory conditions and explore alternative paths to real-life History. It isn’t a hardcore military simulator, but it does a great job of easing you into the dark times of the Second World War.
In my review, I said that “Overall Hearts of Iron IV is an amazing game that is going to scratch a very specific itch for a very specific audience, if you’re not interested in learning about 21st-century warfare, logistics, and political diplomacy or, if you’re overall ignorant to these then this is not the game for you. While more streamlined than previous Hearts of Iron titles I disagree when it’s accused of being dumbed down. The opportunity for unlimited and varied play is there, you just need to engage with it. Don’t expect a historical title or a World War 2 simulator. See rather as what it is trying to be, a sandbox, and a pretty damn good one at that.”
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
Every single time anyone mentions the Real-Time-Strategy genre, it’s inevitable that Age of Empires II is the game that instantly comes to mind. The seminal RTS was released way back in 1999 and it still remains one of the most-played games in the genre. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is a real-time strategy game that allows players to build and manage their civilization while battling against other nations.
Europa Universalis IV
Europa Universalis IV is a grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. The game is set in the early modern period, from 1444 to 1821, and allows players to control a nation and guide it through history. The game includes a large map of the world with over 4,000 provinces, each with its own unique characteristics such as terrain, climate, and resources. It’s a deep and complex strategy game that will challenge you. See it as another of Paradox’s offerings if you don’t like World War 2 or the Medieval times.
Homeworld: Remastered Collection
Homeworld: Remastered Collection is a real-time strategy game set in space where players can lead fleets of spaceships to battle against enemies. The game offers stunning graphics and an immersive storyline, with a campaign that spans both Homeworld and Homeworld 2. The gameplay is both strategic and intense, and controlling your units in real 3D space is a unique experience I don’t recall being replicated anywhere else.
Total War: Warhammer II
It’s the best Total War game from the last 10 years. If you don’t have money to buy anything else, buy Total War: Warhammer II. Call it peculiar, unusual, captivating, engaging, or compelling. But the battles of Warhammer II are so much more interesting than those boring and pesky humans poking holes in each other. Dragons, zombie pirates, ghosts, elves, giant trees, lizards, Skaven, and chaos thingies all face one another with the most absurd army combinations available. Are Centaurs getting peppered by warp fire? Check. The wrecked hull of a ship with two legs firing hand cannons at lines of high elves? Check. Are feral manticores and witches tearing each other apart? Check.
Bad North: Jotunn Edition
Bad North: Jotunn Edition is a real-time strategy game with a rogue-lite meta-layer where players take the role of a tribe chieftain and are forced to defend their multi-island Kingdom from Viking invaders. A pretty neat concept, that brilliantly executes its minimalist real-time tactics by limiting the gameplay loop by having the player is always on the defensive and the objective is to always prevent the Vikings from setting fire to the buildings on each island.
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