Endless Legend
Endless Legend is a turn-based 4X strategy video game developed by Amplitude Studios and released in 2014. The game is set in the fantasy world of Auriga, a mysterious and beautiful land that is full of ancient ruins and secrets waiting to be discovered. One of the unique features of Endless Legend is the inclusion of minor factions, independent groups that can be befriended or conquered. These factions can provide unique bonuses and units, making them valuable allies or dangerous enemies. Endless Legend is a highly strategic 4X that offers a unique blend of exploration, diplomacy, and combat
Battle Academy
Never played a wargame before but getting ready to jump into the grog-bitat? Have a go with Battle Academy, the friendliest of wargames. Battle Academy deserves a spot in every beginners’ library and for less than a cheap, unhealthy breakfast, there’s really no excuse. The game offers a diverse range of units, including infantry, tanks, artillery, and aircraft, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. One of the key features of Battle Academy is its innovative control system, which allows players to easily select units, move them around the battlefield, and engage in combat. The game’s interface is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, allowing players to focus on strategy and tactics rather than wrestling with complicated controls
Darkest Dungeon
The pioneer of the PTSD-RPG genre, Early Access sweetheart, and one of the best RPGs/ Turn-based strategy games ever made, Darkest Dungeon will take you exploring the darkest corners of the deepest caves. Sending other human beings deeper and deeper into the wells of madness as they venture forth, hopeless and scared against the ancient creatures of eons past. All while trying to unravel what happened that lead your family estate into ruin. The striking aesthetic, the unusual character classes, the punishing combat, the management aspect, and the idea that your heroes are nothing more than frail-minded humans that can, in one second. deliver a critical strike that wins the day and, in the next dungeon run they can encounter a short near-death experience that will send them down into an unsavory mental breakdown. This focus on the mental health of your characters and the real impact it has on gameplay help carry on the idea that madness and death play along, hand in hand, in the Darkest of Dungeons.
FTL
THE Kickstarter success story, FTL is a rogue-like experience that puts the players in the shoes of a ship captain and tasks them with managing its various crew members and modules, choosing weapon targets, managing power distribution, fending off boarding parties, keeping fires under control and, above anything else- avoid dying at all costs. It has the best video game soundtrack of all time. It’s just glorious to listen to and never fails to make me smile while writing at the sound of it.
Starship Troopers: Terran Command
Starship Troopers: Terran Command is a videogame that screams homage and exudes reverence for the films of the franchise. A stellar presentation in combination with an expansive campaign that’s going to last you a good dozen hours before you’re done with it, allied with a fantastic friendly and enemy unit variety that is both movie-accurate and interesting to play with, plus the tactical conundrums present that are sure to stir some of your brain cells to make Starship Troopers an obvious purchase. If you’re either a fan of the franchise or want to play one of the best real-time strategy campaigns since the release of the first Company of Heroes and Starcraft II, Starship Troopers don’t fret.
“Despite some of the bugs and lighter criticism, I can’t help myself and must award Terran Command a Strategy and Wargaming Golden Seal of Approval. Starship Troopers: Terran Comand is what happens when the theme meets the mechanics with exquisite care. You made the Federation proud!”
Cities: Skylines
If any city builder has the claim to be the spiritual successor to Sim City 4 it’s this one. Bringing the formula back to its roots Cities: Skylines keeps it simple to play at first but grows incredibly complex the longer you play. Build roads, and zone areas by painting and keep plopping down utility buildings. Paradox has steadily been adding content for years and you won’t find a better game in this genre. Though the base game seems very bare when you start looking at all the cool stuff available in the expansion packs. Paradox will Paradox.
Stronghold Crusader
Stronghold Crusader was a definitive improvement over the first installment, by taking the game into the middle east during the crusades. Its respectful recreation of the ambiance of the Holy Land is just fantastic. The new mechanics give the game a sense of place and make it feel distinct from its predecessor: new units, farmable land, mercenaries, new defenses, and a swift shift in in-game aesthetic, Stronghold Crusader marks the pinnacle of the series. The Muslim rulers are a fun change of pace from their European counterparts, with Salahadin betting his luck on his medium-armored Arabian swordsmen and bowmen. The Caliph, under his keffiyeh, uses slaves to harass and weaken the player’s economies before striking. The Sultan serves as the comic relief of the bunch (similar to how the Rat was in the first). The Christians also get Richard The Lionheart and The Emperor.
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
If there’s anything I learned from playing both Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun and Desperados 3 is that Mimimi Games are masters at their craft and that they have perfected the Stealth-Strategy genre, reviving a bracket in gaming that had long perished.
Gears Tactics
Gears Tactics is a solid game, with a below-average storyline and an excellent visual presentation. It adds a lot of what makes Gears of War so recognizable into a fantastic and fun 3D tactics game that gets dragged down by the lack of options, replayability, and player agency. It’s a wasted opportunity that could have been one of the most entertaining games of the genre, only if it had been able to nail the management layer as well as it did the tactical one.
Door Kickers 2: Task Force North
Door Kickers 2: Task Force North is a great game and a considerable improvement on what was the tried and true formula of the original. Is it worth your time and money? Of course, if you enjoy free-flow, top-down tactical engagements with somewhat realistic and brutal combat. If you’re looking for an in-depth, military-grade simulation of desert warfare then Door Kickers 2 is not the game for that and some would be better served looking into Combat Mission: Shock Force 2.
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