Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds Saga
Here’s another game from my early time in gaming- and gem that time forgot– that I still enjoy booting up from time to time and just turn off all the noise and relax to it. The funny part is that the only thing I had as a kid was a demo of Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds Saga, and it wasn’t until 2015 or 2017 that I bought the game on Steam to play the whole thing. For some reason, that demo stuck with me so. I suspect the reason why it stuck is that it was using the same engine as Age of Empires II, and it had a Star Wars skin on top, so you take a nerdy kid like myself, and put those two franchises together, and of course I would have enjoyed something like that. The game isn’t anything special, but I like its simplicity, iconic voice commands, sounds, and, for some reason, I find its animations to be quite soothing to my soul. Yes, it’s weird, but such is life.
Ultimate General: Gettysburg
Yeah, I know, another very weird entry. How can a real-time wargame be a comfort experience? I had very clear-cut explanations for most games in here, but not really for Ultimate General: Gettysburg; that won’t stop me from trying to make sense of the fact that I love giving this one a ride every time I have an unplanned evening. I especially enjoy the fact that the game focuses solely on a single battle, and I have, at this time, memorized almost everything that’s going to happen, and that degree of predictability allows me to just sit back with a nice cup of Coke Zero and experiment with the game’s mechanics without much risk or frustration. It’s relaxing for me.
Age of Mythology
Age of Mythology is the real-time strategy (RTS) game with the most memorable campaign ever created, and it’s the first one I have ever finished, way back when! For some reason, and maybe I’m hardwired that way, that’s enough to keep me coming back to it and re-experiencing the campaign time and time again, and I never get bored of it. With the recent release of Age of Mythology: Retold in 2024, it was the perfect excuse to go back and play again, and yes, it’s as great as it was in the early 2000s. I’m not writing this list to give you recommendations on which games to buy, but if you’re looking for a single-player campaign that will keep you glued to the screen for weeks on end, and you’ve never played Age of Mythology, consider it, please.
Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era
You know what? I’ve been growing more and more into Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era. I wrote in my review of the game that its design reminded me of old-school Heroes. It’s a game with a simple premise, easy-to-understand mechanics, and running a campaign with a solo hero is the perfect focused experience if you don’t want to be micromanaging way too much stuff at once. It’s also a fantastic throwback to the golden age of strategy games on PC, when Heroes 3 and AoE ruled the gaming discourse, and that’s something I’m always down to enjoy. Olden Era did a fantastic job of finally adding a modern Heroes game to my list of games to boot up, unplug my overactive brain, and just enjoy.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, we’re all humans. Humans love a challenge as much as they love to sit back and relax after a complicated day. What about you, dearest reader, what are your favorite strategy games that you use when you want to just unclench your jaw, untense your neck, and let your shoulders posture sulk into the chair? Do let me know in the comments; I would love to hear it!
Support Strategy and Wargaming
I do what I do in Strategy and Wargaming because I love to do this, and I’m never going to stop. If you would like to support me with that, you can buy me a coffee for a dollar if you’re feeling generous. If you can’t, no worries, Strategy and Wargaming will always be free, and I’d love to have you around!
Leave a Reply