In this article, we will take a look at the best modern RTS games for PC and other platforms.
RTS is one of the oldest game genres and is considered the quintessential PC experience, as micro and macro management of your base and units sometimes require proper mouse and keyboard controls. From fantasy and sci-fi to post-apocalyptic and historical, RTS games can do many different tropes and ideas without sacrificing the core base-building and resource-gathering gameplay.
Let's take a look at the most important real-time strategy games of the last few decades.
15. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - 2004 ( PC )
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Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War blends the crazy lore of Warhammer 40k with the classic RTS formula with great success.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Trailer
Warhammer 40,00: Dawn of War is a best-selling RTS based in the Warhammer universe and developed by Relic Entertainment, who would become famous for their other titles like Homeworld and Company of Heroes.
This game doesn't reinvent the wheel when it comes it RTS, but it sure knows how to give the RTS fans what they need. Fast-paced combat, a huge variety of units, and tactics with well-balanced maps make this game a strategy masterpiece.
Fan favorite Warhammer 40,000 game
Dawn of war is the most beloved game by fans, even compared to later sequels. This is due to simple but well-balanced gameplay. Even almost 19 years after its release, Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War is still being played and modded by fans worldwide, adding new content to this already massive game.
Fun Factor Score: 80/100
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Orcs and humans have a civic discussion about important social-economic topics.
Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War - Gameplay
System Requirements:
Minimum:
Windows 2000/XP,
1.8 GHz Intel Pentium III or equivalent AMD Athlon XP, 256 MB RAM,
4.5 GB free hard drive space,
32 MB DirectX 9.0c compatible AGP video card with Hardware Transformation and Lighting,
16-bit DirectX 9.0b compatible sound card,
Mouse, Keyboard
Recommended:
2.4 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent,
512 MB system RAM (required for 8-player multiplayer games),
Nvidia GeForce 3 or ATI Radeon 8500 or equivalent with 64 MB of Video RAM
Required for Multiplayer: Internet: A cable modem, DSL modem, or 56.6 kbps modem for online multiplayer play; Network: TCP/IP compliant network
14. Cities: Skyline - 2015 ( PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, MacOS )
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Cities Skylines is a great city-building sim with a lot of customization and great attention to detail.
Cities: Skyline - Release Trailer
Cities: Skyline is a city-building game in a similar style to SimCity games. Here you play as a mayor of a new city, where you will need to manage everything from placing roads, to building hospitals, sewers, schools, and practically anything that could be done as a mayor in a real city.
This title is a spiritual successor to games like SimCity and Cities XL. But Cities: Skylines is more than just a SimCity clone, this city-building simulator is probably the best city-building game to date.
Complex but relaxing
If you are looking for a stress-relieving game, this title is perfect for you, as this game will have you spend numerous hours in it without even noticing.
But this is not a simple game by any means, as here even the wrong placement of a simple bus stop could ruin one of your zones or districts. This blend of macro and micro when it comes to managing a city is what makes this game so unique and addictive.
Fun Factor Score: 70/100
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Nice beach area, it will become the Rapture city from Bioshock in a few years of global warming.
Cities: Skyline - Gameplay
System Requirements:
Minimum:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows® 7 64 Bit | Windows® 8.1 64 Bit | Windows® 10 Home 64 Bit
13. Iron Harvest - 2020 ( PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S )
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Iron Harvest is a crazy mix of alternative steampunk history with real historic WWI trench warfare.
Iron Harvest - Official Trailer
Inspired by RTS classics like Starcraft and Warcraft, Iron Harvest brings us a unique and interesting world with a solid single-player campaign, which is something we haven't seen in strategy games in years.
This title is based on an alternative history, where around the 1920s several European nations revolutionized the industry with their auto-machine technology. Huge diesel-powered mechs are now a common part of every battlefield in this surreal game that follows three main factions: Poland, Saxony, and Russia.
Renewed RTS classic formula
The gameplay is more similar to Warhammer 40,000 games than classic titles like Starcraft. Here you will have a minimal base building, as it centers around combat, unit types, and heroes' abilities.
But where it comes very close to games like Warcraft and Starcraft is the storytelling. This title has a very unique and interesting 3-part campaign with many interesting characters and twists at every turn.
Fun Factor Score: 90/100
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Robots being Robots, as they smash through your buildings on their way to smash enemies' buildings.
Iron Harvest - Gameplay
System Requirements:
Minimum:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 x64
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4460 or AMD equivalent
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GTX 960 or AMD equivalent, 4 GB VRAM
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 30 GB available space
Recommended:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 x64
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 8700k or AMD equivalent
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce RTX 2060 or AMD equivalent, 4 GB VRAM
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 30 GB available space
12. Frostpunk - 2018 ( PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, MacOS )
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Frostpunk will have you make a difficult decision every time the populace is unhappy about something.
Frostpunk - Official Launch Trailer
Frostpunk is a best-selling and award-winning strategy game made by a small polish team made of former CD Projekt ( Witcher series) members. After publishing a few titles like This War of Mine and Anomaly: Warzone Earth, this team created one of the best and most unique strategy games in decades.
Frostpunk is a base-building simulator set in a post-apocalyptic frozen world. In this game, you will need to build houses, gather resources, build heaters, and manage your rations. The most interesting about this game is the cold system, where every now and then the temperature falls down and this brings a whole bunch of problems to your city.
Morally complex strategy game
Every decision here is a complex one. Will you force child labor or allow amputations as a medical remedy to frostbite? Those and many more questions will need to be answered by anyone willing to dive into this dark but unique game.
Fun Factor Score: 90/100
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So you feel like you don't need more heating this winter huh? Do you feel lucky, frost Punk?
Frostpunk - Gameplay
System Requirements:
Minimum:
OS: Windows 7/8/10 64-bit
Processor: 3.2 GHz Dual Core Processor
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GTX 660, Radeon R7 370 or equivalent with 2 GB of video RAM
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 8 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX compatible
Additional Notes: Please make sure that you have the latest VC package installed, and - if you're using Windows 7 or 8 - that you have the KB4019990 update applied.
Recommended:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 7/8/10 64-bit
Processor: 3.2 GHz Quad Core Processor
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce 970, Radeon RX 580 or equivalent with 4GB of video RAM
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 8 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX compatible
Additional Notes: Please make sure that you have the latest VC package installed, and - if you're using Windows 7 or 8 - that you have the KB4019990 update applied.
11. Halo Wars - 2009 ( PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360 )
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Halo Wars is a unique adaptation of the famous Halo FPS made into a dynamic RTS game for PC and consoles.
Halo Wars - First Announcement Trailer
Halo Wars is an RTS game based on the Halo universe made by Ensemble Studios. Here you can take control of the United Nations Space Command or the Covenant with all the units we know and love, from tough Spartans to alien Elites.
Immersive Halo universe
This strategy game is quite simple in many aspects, after all this is a very accessible game with little micro-management, designed to be played on PC and consoles alike.
But what this title does incredibly well is the overall presentation: music, menu design, and each halo lore connection make this game very loved by many Halo fans.
When it comes to the gameplay, Halo Wars take a simple but effective approach of focusing on a hero-centered story with several customizable options when it comes to units and base building.
The overall game loop can remind us of games like Command and Conquer and Warcraft, as it has a simple game loop consisting of building units and rapidly using them to attack or take control of a certain area
Fun Factor Score: 80/100.
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I always nervously build new units when asked about where are the old ones by their widows and children.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a great RTS about a bunch of factions fighting over lifeless dunes.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak - Launch Trailer
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a solid sequel to the original Homeworld games. This title shakes the original formula to create yet another RTS masterpiece, as now we take control of land vehicles on the desert dunes of a planet named Kharak.
A proud successor to Homeworld
This game does everything the original Homeworld did and even more. An original setting, a fully-narrated story with numerous twists and unique missions, and a world full of interesting lore to be explored are what made the Homeworld series so beloved and respected.
Changing the setting from space to a desert planet gives an interesting spin on the Homeworld formula, creating a new masterpiece for any Homeworld fan to enjoy.
Fun Factor Score: 90/100
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Here we have a new mobile IKEA store for dessert dwellers.
9. Tropico 6 - 2019 ( PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch )
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Tropico 6 will help you realize all your dictator fantasies and much more.
Tropico 6 - Release Trailer
Tropico 6 is the last game in a long dynasty of Tropico games. With each addition, game developers really polished each and every aspect of the complex yet simple gameplay loop of Tropico.
Becoming the real dictator
In this game, you will play as a leader of a small tropical island, where you will need to manage every political, economic, and military aspect of your young nation.
Do you want to build a huge palace? Steal a Statue of Liberty? Or just open your country to globalism and capitalism to make you rich? All of this and more could be done in this open-ended sandbox RTS.
Visually stunning and yet somehow cartoony, Tropico games had always a special charm to them. It always feels like a bizarre but fun adventure on a tropical island full of strange and quirky characters.
Fun Factor Score: 90/100
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“The statue of liberty is actually free to decide where it wants to live” - is my excuse if somebody asks why I stole it.
8. They Are Billions - 2017 ( PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One )
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They are Billions is a blend of Dota gameplay with classic RTS games like Warcraft and Age of empires.
They Are Billions - Official Trailer
They Are Billions is a base-building zombie survival RTS game with a huge deal of micro and macro-management. Here you will need to build houses, farms, walls, an infirmary, an armory, and many other buildings that will help you survive infinite hordes of zombies.
Millions of units on screen
One of the most publicized features of this game is how many units they could be at the same time on screen. Not actually close to a million, or a billion for that matter, this game has hundreds and maybe thousands of enemy zombie units attacking your walls. This is a sight to behold and probably the best thing about this unique indie RTS title.
Fun Factor Score: 80/100
They Are Billions - Gameplay
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This is the best moment to do the “nobody is home” trick.
System Requirements:
Minimum:
OS: Windows 7, 8, 10 (32 and 64 bits)
Processor: INTEL, AMD 2 cores CPU at 2Ghz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Intel HD3000, Radeon, Nvidia card with shader model 3, 1GB video ram.
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Storage: 4 GB available space
Additional Notes: Minimum resolution: 1360x768, recommended FULL HD 1920x1080.
Recommended:
OS: Windows 7, 8, 10 (64 bits)
Processor: INTEL. AMD 4 cores CPU at 3Ghz
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Radeon 7950 or above, Nvidia GTX 670 or above. 4GB video ram.
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Storage: 4 GB available space
Additional Notes: 4K Monitor (3840x2160)
7. Northgard - 2017 ( PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch )
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Northgard will let you conquest and raid any nations that looked funny at the Vikings.
Northgard - Official Release Trailer
Northgard is a beautiful RTS game heavily inspired by classics like Warcraft but based on Scandinavian and Viking lore. Here you will find all the classic tropes of a Warcraft-like game: resource management, heroes, base building, and numerous unit and building upgrades.
All of it is nicely done with a lot of attention to detail and overall balance for single or multiplayer maps.
A glorious return to old-school RTS games
With amazing visual hand-drawn art, excellent music, and sound effects, this title has a huge immersion factor to it, as it really feels like transporting to that Viking era.
With soothing and relaxing gameplay, Northgard brings us the calmness of northern plains and fjords to enjoy.
Fun Factor Score: 90/100
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A group of friendly Vikings gathered to share the bitcoins from their latest raid.
Northgard - Gameplay
System Requirements:
Minimum:
OS: Windows Vista or better: 64 bits required
Processor: Intel 2.0ghz Core 2 Duo or equivalent
Memory: 1 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia 450 GTS / Radeon HD 5750 or better
Ashes of the Singularity is a hardcore RTS with a lot of small details when it comes it to micro and macro management of your army.
Ashes of Singularity: Escalation - Release Trailer
Ashes of Singularity: Escalation is a complex RTS game made for hardcore games that love their micro-management and complex tactics on the battlefield.
This sci-fi RTS has a huge scope when it comes to units and maps, as it allows you to build enormous armies that you need to manage and upgrade. The unique design and abilities of each unit make this game a very complex but fun title for most strategy lovers.
A modern classic strategy game
As a stand-alone expansion, Ashes of Singularity: Escalation adds a lot of new features, units, and overall improvements to the original game such as a strategic overview map and new units and abilities.
Fun Factor Score: 90/100
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This is my favorite tactic when it comes to multiplayer - saturate the enemy with flashing colors and too many units on his screen.
Ashes of Singularity: Escalation - Gameplay
System Requirements:
Minimum:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: 64-bit Windows 10 / 8.1 / 7
Processor: Quad-core Intel / AMD Processor
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Graphics: 2 GB GDDR5 NVidia GeForce 660 / AMD R7 360 or better (GeForce 900+ / Radeon 290+ for Vulkan)
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 27 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
Additional Notes: 1920x1080 Display Resolution or Higher
Additional Notes: 1920x1080 Display Resolution or Higher
5. Steel Division 2 - 2019 ( PC )
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Steel Divison II is simple to learn but quite difficult to master, almost the same as being a real WWII general.
Steel Division 2 - Launch Trailer
Steel Division 2 is one of the best WW2 strategy games currently on the market. Beautifully rendered maps and units with a huge variety of tactics and tools to use on the battlefield, Steel Division 2 will surprise even the most demanding strategy games.
With huge 3D battlefields, Steel Division 2 has a very interesting and unique design to it, as when you zoom out you will only see the markers and symbols of your battalions, but if you zoom in closer you will see fully-rendered units with huge detail. This design decision makes you feel like you are a real general making decisions on the battle map.
Re-writing WWII history one battle at a time
In this game, you take control of an Axis or Allied general with a big rooster of units to choose from. From fighters, bombers, artillery, or tanks, each one has its own advantages and problems.
With practically no base-building, this game centers on the proper tactics on the battlefield, where you will need to learn to use every unit you have at your disposal.
This game has also very good multiplayer, as the well-balanced nature of this title offers a great challenge when played against other players.
Fun Factor Score: 90/100
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German airplanes are finally here, to probably get shot and fall on my own units.
Steel Division 2 - Gameplay
System Requirements:
Minimum:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: 64-bit Windows 11 / 10 / 8.1 / 7 with Service Pack 1
Red Alert 2 is a fever dream made by a bunch of history buffs high on cocaine.
Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 - Trailer
Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 is a decade-old classic RTS masterpiece. With a crazy story, interesting and unique unit designs, and a campaign with famous Hollywood actors playing wacky characters, Red Alert 2 is a perfect blend of crazy but fun ideas.
Alternative history on acid
What if Elbert Einstein created a time machine and used it to kill young Adolf Hitler? This is a basic premise of Red Alert games, which bring us this brilliant alternative history take with killer Delfines, tesla coils, zeppelin bombers, and many more shenanigans.
Although a little bit on the wacky side, this RTS has one of the best-balanced game loops out there, inspiring games like Warcraft and Starcraft. Each unit has its countermeasure, and no faction is too powerful in multiplayer, creating a unique but fun balance.
If you are looking for a solid single-player campaign with a Hollywood-like production story and crazy ideas all around, this is probably the only title that fully delivers on that.
Fun Factor Score: 100/100
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“All your bases are belong to us” is my general socio-economic policy here
Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 - Gameplay
Minimum system requirements:
CPU: Pentium II 266 or better
RAM: 64 MB of RAM
GPU: 2 MB of Video RAM 3D Hardware acceleration (optional)
OS: Windows 95, 98, NT 6.0, 2000, or Millennium
STO: 200 MB of additional hard drive space
Sound: Direct Sound Compliant Sound Card
RES: 16-bit color
ODD: 4X CD-ROM drive
NET: Multiplayer Requirements: 56 Kbps Modem TCP/IP Internet Connection or LAN w/ IPX ISP for Internet Play
Recommended peripheral: 100% Microsoft Compatible Mouse
3. Company of Heroes 2 - 2013 ( PC, MacOS )
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Company of Heroes 2 is a well-balanced fast-paced RTS that earned the respect of most RTS gamers all around the world.
Company of Heroes 2 - Official Trailer
Company of Heros 2 is a fast-paced WW2 RTS game made by Relic Entertainment, of Warhammer 40,000 and Homeworld fame. This game is very well admired and loved by millions of players around the world due to its simple but elegant mix of unit management and small-scale tactics.
A hardcore WW2 RTS
This game has very little base-building as it centers around capturing zones and using the points to build different units. Each unit has its own abilities and bonuses against specific types of enemies, for example, to destroy a tank you might need an anti-tank or engineer unit.
With a beautiful soundtrack and high-grade sound design, Company of Heroes 2 is a great experience through and through for any WW2 strategy games fan out there.
Fun Factor Score: 80/100
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German advance o take another frozen Russian village full of bears on a monocycle.
Company of Heroes 2 - Gameplay
System Requirements:
Minimum:
Memory: 2GB RAM
Processor: 2Ghz Intel Core2 Duo or equivalent
Graphics: 512MB Direct3D 10 capable video card (GeForce 8800 GT or Radeon HD 2900XT)
OS: 32bit Vista
Internet: Broadband Internet connection
Hard Drive: 30GB free Hard disc space
Recommended:
Memory: 4GB RAM
Processor: 3Ghz Intel i5 quad core or equivalent
Graphics: 1024 MB Direct3D 11 capable video card (GeForce GTX 470 or Radeon HD 5850)
OS: 64bit Windows 7 and above
Internet: Broadband Internet connection
Hard Drive: 30GB free Hard disc space
2. Age of Empires VI - 2021 ( PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S )
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Age of Empires IV is a proud successor to the world-renowned Age of Empires series, which actually created the modern RTS genre.
Age of Empires VI - Official Launch Trailer
Age of Empires VI is the latest edition to a long family of RTS games that actually created this genre. Age of Empires is all about building, gathering resources, upgrading, and conquest, which are tropes of the original RTS games such as Warcraft, Dune, and Command and Conquer.
The Return to Glory
The overall experience is top-notch, from beautiful cutscenes, fully-narrated characters, elegant menus, and a huge variety of units and nations o choose from. This is a proud successor to the Age of Empire series that takes the original idea and modernizes it to become a modern-day RTS classic.
Fun Factor Score: 100/100
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These walls are actually to stop my peasants when I raise their taxes to the max.
Age of Empires VI - Gameplay
System Requirements:
Minimum:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 64bit | Windows 11 64bit
Processor: Intel Core i5-6300U or AMD Ryzen 5 2400G | CPU with AVX support required
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Intel HD 520 or AMD Radeon RX Vega 11
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 50 GB available space
Recommended:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 64bit | Windows 11 64bit
Processor: 3.6 GHz 6-core (Intel i5) or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 | CPU with AVX support required
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 970 GPU or AMD Radeon RX 570 GPU with 4GB of VRAM
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 50 GB available space
Additional Notes: 4 GB of video RAM and 16 GB of system RAM
1. Starcraft II - 2010 ( PC, MacOS)
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Starcraft II is an RTS masterpiece with a huge story-driven campaign and many unique details and quality-of-life improvements.
Starcraft II - Trailer
Starcraft II is much more than just a simply RTS game. Starcraft II is a cinematic experience like no other, with a fully-narrated story, interactive menus, amazing AAA cutscenes, and great characters and stories.
With fast-paced action and unique yet balanced factions, Starcraft II uses the classic RTS formula but shakes it enough for it becomes something truly special.
The King of RTS games
As a sequel, Starcraft II expands on every small detail that made the original so popular. The fragile balance between Prottos, Terran, and Zerg is still the main part of the story, but it goes so much further than the original game.
If you looking to experience the best RTS game out there, look no further, as Starcraft II will provide hours of AAA entertainment for you.
Fun Factor Score: 100/100
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Prottos are a bunch of racist puritan aliens, basically elves in space.
Starcraft II - Gameplay
System Requirements:
Minimum:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+
RAM: 2 GB
OS: Windows 7 / Windows 8 / Windows 10
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT or ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT or Intel HD Graphics 3000 or better
PIXEL SHADER: 3.0
VERTEX SHADER: 3.0
FREE DISK SPACE: 30 GB
DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 64 MB
Recommended:
CPU: Intel Core i5 or AMD FX Series Processor or better
RAM: 4 GB
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 or AMD Radeon HD 7790 or better
Anthony is a chaotic neutral bard with a unique ability to provoke rage in monsters and NPC's with his horrible tunes. Please drop a coin to end the music and your suffering.
Gamer Since:
1997
Favorite Genre:
RPG
Currently Playing:
Into the Breach, Civilization VI, Metal Gear Solid V, Kerbal Space Program, Crusader Kings III, Post Scriptum
Top 3 Favorite Games:
Mount & Blade: Warband, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn, IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad
