Strategy has been the defining PC genre, burying us in maps, army lists, and build orders since the dawn of PC gaming. And it's one of the most diversified, appealing to everyone from ardent grognards to those who simply want to watch Gandhi nuke Montezuma.
From fast-paced, competitive RTS games to long-burning 4X romps, this collection has it all. We have history if you want it. Sci-fi? Yes, there are a couple of them. Also, fantasy. In the event of series with numerous entries, we choose the best game to play right now. We may showcase more than one installment from the same series if we believe they are sufficiently diverse to warrant playing both.
Total War: Warhammer 3
Total War: Warhammer 3 (opens in new tab), the final installment in Creative Assembly's Warhammer trilogy, is also the strangest and most experimental, allowing players to leave the traditional Total War sandbox every 30 or so turns to journey through the Realm of Chaos, where the domains of the Chaos gods exist, culminating in massive survival battles that draw from tower defense games, with fortifications, in-battle recruitment, and waves of enemies.
It's a fantastic campaign, despite the fact that the story components and Realm of Chaos jaunts make it a little more linear than others. The list of factions, though, is the real treat. The Chaos factions, in particular, are a monstrous pleasure, particularly the Daemons of Chaos, which not only allows you to recruit soldiers from every daemonic faction, but also provides you with a completely configurable commander with limbs that you can mix and match. It's essentially an RPG.
There's plenty to keep you busy, and more is on the way, with the Immortal Empires mega-campaign, which will unite all three games into one massive conflict, on the way.
Total War: Three Kingdoms
Total War: Three Kingdoms (opens in new tab), the latest historical entry in the series, draws a few cues from Warhammer, which you'll find elsewhere on our list, and gives us a massive Chinese civil war powered by different personalities both on and off the battlefield. Each is part of a sophisticated network of alliances that influences everything from diplomacy to battle performance, and they're all superhuman fighters like their Warhammer counterparts.
It seems like a leap for the series, much like the first Rome did, bringing some fundamental changes to how diplomacy, trade, and military function. The conflict over China is also a riveting campaign, with a level of vitality rarely seen previously in a Total War game. Since its release, it has also received some fantastic DLC, including a new format that incorporates historical bookmarks that touch on various events from the era.
Europa Universalis 4
The ultimate grand strategy game, placing you in command of a nation from the end of the Middle Ages all the way up to the 1800s, is Paradox's long-running flagship strategic adventure. As ruler, you set its political policy, manage its economy, command its forces, and build an empire.
Europa Universalis 4 (opens in new tab) allows you to begin influencing history right now. Perhaps England destroys France in the Hundred Years War and establishes a large continental empire. Perhaps the Iroquois defeated European colonists, constructed ships, and invaded the Old World. It's massive, intricate, and has just been growing throughout the years. The simulation can be difficult to grasp at times, but it's worth digging in and seeing where alt-history leads you.
Old World
Few 4X games attempt to compete with Civ, although Old World(opens in new tab) has an advantage due to designer Soren Johnson's past association with the series. He was the chief designer of Civ 4, and his influence is palpable. But Old World is more than just another Civ variant. For one thing, rather than tracing the span of human history, it is set entirely in antiquity, yet this shift in scope allows it to focus on people as well as empires.
Instead of playing an eternal king, you play one who really lives, marries, has children, and finally dies. Then you take on the role of their heir. You have courtiers, spouses, children, and competitors to contend with, and this investigation of the human aspect of empire-building comes with a slew of events, plots, and surprises. You may even be assassinated by a family member. There's a strong resemblance to the Crusader Kings here.
Civilization 6
A best strategy games list would be incomplete without a mention of Civ. Civilization 6(opens in new tab) is our favorite game in the series right now, especially after a few of expansions. The district system, which unstacks cities in the same manner that its predecessor unstacked armies, is the most significant modification this time around. Cities are now huge things with specialized sectors that challenge you to think about the future while creating tiles.
The expansions added some more novel wrinkles that are very welcome but do stop short of revolutionising the venerable series. They introduce the concept of Golden Ages and Dark Ages, giving you bonuses and debuffs depending on your civilisation's development across the years, as well as climate change and environmental disasters. It's a forward-thinking, modern Civ.
Endless Legend
Fantasy 4X Endless Legend (opens in new tab) demonstrates that story does not have to be sacrificed in order to create an engaging 4X game. Each of its asymmetrical factions has a variety of distinct and quirky characteristics, which are enhanced by story missions that feature some of the greatest writing in any strategy game. The Broken Lords, for example, are vampiric spirits that live in suits of armour while grappling with their lethal nature, whilst the necrophage is a relentless force of nature that only wants to eat, rejecting diplomacy in favor of total conquest. There are 13 factions in all, including expansions, each with their own peculiar idiosyncrasies. This is the pinnacle of faction design.
Alpha Centauri
In space, Civ is a useful shorthand for Alpha Centauri, although it's a little reductive. Brian Reynolds' ambitious 4X odyssey led us to a mind-worm-infested world where ideological groups were sure that they could shepherd mankind to its next phase.
It was unlike any of its contemporaries in terms of technology, conflicts, and people, and with a few exceptions, no one has sought to imitate it. Not even when Firaxis created a Civ in space that wasn't particularly good. Alpha Centauri is just as interesting and strange now as it was in 1999, when we were first getting a taste of nerve-stapling naughty drones and becoming involved in yet another conflict with Sister Miriam.
Age of Wonders: Planetfall
You just can't go wrong with an Age of Wonders. If sci-fi isn't your thing, give Age of Wonders 3 a go, but it's Age of Wonders: Planetfall (opens in new tab) that has us all excited right now. Set in a galaxy that is awakening after a lengthy period of decadence, you must contend for a colorful world with a slew of other ambitious groups ranging from dinosaur-riding Amazons to telepathic bugs.
The methodical empire building is a big improvement over its fantastical predecessors, benefiting from big changes to its structure and pace, but just as engaging are the turn-based tactical battles between highly customisable units. Stick lasers on giant lizards, give everyone jetpacks, and nurture your heroes like they're RPG protagonists—there's so much fiddling to do, and it's all great.
Iron Harvest
If you like Company of Heroes and thought to yourself, "What this really needs is some gigantic mechs," Iron Harvest(opens in new tab) may be the RTS for you. Set in a different 1920s Europe, factions battle with squishy infantry, tanks, and, the main attraction, clumsy steampunk mechs. There are a plethora of them, ranging from little exosuits to enormous, smoke-spewing behemoths, and they're all a lot of fun to play with and, more importantly, blow up.
Iron Harvest does love its explosions. When the dust settles after a big fight, you'll hardly recognise the area. Thanks to mortars, tank shells and mechs that can walk right through buildings, expect little to remain standing. The level of destruction is as impressive as it is grim. To cheer yourself up, you can watch a bear fight a mech. Each faction has a heroic unit, each accompanied by their very own pet. All of them have some handy unique abilities, and yes, they can go toe-to-toe with massive war machines.
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2
The cosmic battles in Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2(opens in new tab) are breathtaking. There are three vaguely 4X-y campaigns that follow the three Warhammer 40K factions: the Imperium, the Necron Empire, and the nefarious Tyranid Hives, but you can ignore them and just delve into some chaotic conflicts consisting of spiky space cathedrals clashing with enormous, tentacle-covered leviathans.
Even when commanding the slowest of armadas, the real-time tactical battle manages to be exhilarating. You must oversee an entire fleet while broadside attacks pound your hulls, enemy begin boarding, and your own crews revolt. With all of the tabletop factions available, you may experiment with various fleet compositions and strange weaponry.