The app store is swimming in too many RTS games. Ranging from hardcore, unforgiving war simulators, to relaxing and cutesy. But how do you pick one to sink your valuable time into? After all, they all promise the world. Here are ten who can actually deliver.
10. Siege Up! - Medieval War
“Hey! I didn't know they made an Age of Empires version for android!” That was my first reaction to playing Siege Up! - Medieval war. That's because, in its essence, this game captures the same feel and experience as the best siege battle of the classic RTS games.
The game offers a campaign mode, with a chain of curated scenarios of increasing difficulty, and a skirmish mode. Both game modes are guaranteed to immerse you in the spirit of a medieval fantasy siege, beautifully depicted in a stylized, easy on the eyes, art style.
The gameplay mechanics borrow from the tried and tested elements of the best RTS games. You start with a town hall, walls, and workers. You gather gold, food, stone, and wood to build structures. You train units from those structures to improve your economy, defend your base, or make your enemy wish they had never built theirs.
The most notable deviation in those mechanics is that buildings can be repaired without workers and the workers themselves require less micromanagement. So you won't accidentally be sending your farmers to the front lines...
If you have fond memories of holding off countless zerg to the last man on Char, or valiantly defending a French castle against the invading English, Siege Up! - Medieval War is for you.
9. Strange World - RTS Survival
Now for something different (unless you are one of those people who for some reason main Tychus in Starcraft II co-op...). At a first glance and for the first couple of minutes of gameplay, I found myself wondering how Strange World - RTS Survival is even an RTS and not an adventure game. Then I was given a base and it all clicked into place.
Strange World - RTS Survival takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting, where lively, lush wildlife merges with unmistakable signs of destruction and decay. An aesthetic that instantly pulled me into its world. You play as Nick, having just left your cryosleep pod in which you rode out the apocalypse and you are now called to explore this new world.
Along the way you meet and recruit several other characters, each with unique personalities and skill-sets. These heroes are pretty weak at first, but that's where the base building comes in. You use the base to gather food to keep your heroes alive, and stone to craft weapons. Assembled and armed, you set off into the fray.
If you enjoy RTS games, but you find micromanaging a whole army with a touchscreen a hassle and would rather live out your power fantasy with a group of persistent, memorable characters, check out Strange World - RTS Survival.
8. Gunship Battle Total Warfare
The first time I stumbled across it, I tossed it aside. But then I watched Top Gun: Maverick and came back with an itch no other mobile game could scratch.
Gunship Battle Total Warfare puts you in control of a naval base, housing tanks, ships (including an aircraft carrier), and of course, jets! The models range from the start of the cold war to modern-day machines and you are called to use all of them to attack enemy fleets and bases as well as defend your own.
Now, I know, we've all seen it before in every other mobile strategy game. Endless base building and the typical PVP and clan (here called Alliance) mechanics. But have you seen two fleets of destroyers, cruisers, and aircraft carriers exchange volleys and torpedoes, all the while fighter jets make mad dashes from either side? Not on your android phone's screen you haven't.
Whether you're looking for gradual, methodical base and fleet building, or you want to set your airwing loose on enemy fleets while blasting “Danger Zone”, strap in for some Gunship Battle Total Warfare.
7. RedSun
Alright, atmosphere and cinematic action are all well and good, but it's high time for some demanding gameplay with a hefty dose of nostalgia.
Yes, this is basically Red Alert 2 in the palm of your hand. The early 2000's Rts gameplay, reborn. Build a base, harvest resources, build a bunch of infantry, tanks, and planes, and win. The good-old system in all its glory.
Redsun pulls no punches. You will have to micromanage. You will lose armies. But when you emerge victorious, it will all be worth it. Even if you cheesed the AI with nukes.
If you want to play an RTS game on your mobile, but don't want a typically “mobile” RTS. Get your hands on RedSun.
6. Land Air Sea Warfare RTS
Ok, how about another one for you Command and Conquer fans? Except, this time, we a cranking it up to 11!
Land Air Sea Warfare's depth of gameplay mechanics is a match for any RTS e-sport game. As the name suggests, you command land, air, and sea vehicles as you fight for control of a map against AI opponents. What the name doesn't give away is the sheer number of those vehicles and the size of the end-game units. They are glorious to behold.
And the carnage is customizable! Before the game even starts you can change the difficulty, tech level, terrain, climate, and much more. Every battle will be different than the last. Even in-game, you can zoom out until you can see the whole map and adjust the game speed. You may find yourself slowing the game down to order your massive army away from that nuke.
If you are anything like me, in that no RTS game is complex enough until I mod it to oblivion, take a dive into the mayhem of Land Air Sea Warfare.
5. World War Armies: WW2 PvP RTS
Atmosphere and immersion are coming back with a vengeance to immerse you into world war 2.
World War Armies: WW2 PvP RTS, is very reminiscent of the Company of Heroes series of games. Set right in the heat of WW2, you get to play intense and tactical PVP matches, centered around holding key points on a map. By commanding your troops to capture and defend those points, you get victory points, as well as resources to help you snowball your lead.
The game is currently in its beta stage, so only two factions are available: The US and Germany. The ingenious aspect of this game's design is the subtle, yet impactful difference between these two factions.
The US has a wider selection of infantry (yes, there are flamethrowers) with a couple of tank models for support. On the other hand, Germany has more and better tanks, but you have to keep them safe with your infantry because if you lose them you lose the game. It's nice to see historical war doctrines implemented in video game mechanics.
We all have a special place for our favorite World War 2 video games. World War Armies, deserves this place for the mobile game genre.
4. Shadows of Empires: PvP RTS
Did you ever dare to imagine a Total War game, in a Lord of the Rings type world, on mobile? Neither did I. But here it is.
Shadows of Empires is THE way to experience large-scale fantasy battles on android. Inspired by the Total War formula, it includes a strategy section where you build up your city and recruit your army, before sending it away on a grand map.
There you may encounter other cities and armies and fight them. When you do so, you are placed in a tactical mode where you can manage each unit type in a formation to outmaneuver your enemy. And that's where Shadows of Empires shines.
There is no repetitive grid, no single figure representing an entire section of the army. No, what you will find is dozens or hundreds of units clashing in grand battles. And with the help of a very well-optimized UI, you can comfortably control each unit type in real-time. Encircling with orc wolf riders, bombarding with human catapults, firing volleys from elven archers, it's all there.
For the fans of epic fantasy, Shadows of Empires is a must-play.
3. Ancient Planet Tower Defense
No RTS list is complete without a tower defense game, and this is my pick.
In Ancient Planet, you play as an alien civilization, defending your home from endless hordes of diverse enemies. All the classic elements of tower defense are there. You purchase and place a wide variety of towers along a path. Increasingly large waves of enemies spawn and drop money when dispatched. You use that money to get new towers or upgrade the existing ones to cope with the rising threat.
But there is a twist or two. First, there is an additional source of income: silver mines. A few of them exist on the map and you have to invest an initial amount of silver to begin mining. This adds a much-appreciated degree of strategic depth.
Secondly, it's the atmosphere. Oh, the atmosphere... Every aspect of this game, from the map, the towers, and the enemies, looks as if it's an expertly drawn oil painting, with vibrant colors and cool sci-fi designs. Add to that excellent sound effects and subtle, relaxing music and you won't notice the time fly by.
Most games on this list focus on making you struggle for victory or bask in large scale-battles. Ancient Planet, just wants to put a smile on your face and help you relax.
2. South Park: Phone Destroyer
Time to mix great gameplay with side-bursting humor.
South Park: Phone Destroyer is a card battler set in the universe of the legendary show South Park. Set so faithfully, in fact, that at times you may forget that you're playing and game and get lost in the hilarious plot. A plot worth several episodes of the series.
Every aspect of the show many of us have come to love over the years. The raunchy, yet brilliant, humor, to the sarcastic pop culture references, are all there. It's even integrated into the gameplay, with each card's abilities arising naturally from the character depicted. The tactical depth of those mechanics is featured best in the PVP mode, where both mindful crafting of your deck and skillful implication are necessary to win.
South Park: Phone Destroyer will have you cheering for victory one moment and dying of laughter the next. So check it out. Come on, new kid! Stan of Many Moons won't defeat himself!
1. Galaxy Reavers - Starships RTS
Spaceship-on-spaceship combat... Oh yes, this is what the RTS genre was meant for. And it's magnificent.
Bearing a LOT of similarities with the Battlefleet Gothic: Armada games, Galaxy Reavers thrusts you into some incredible deep space scenery and gives you control of an interstellar fleet. You start out with a couple of destroyers to end up with a grand fleet of titanic vessels. And all of that is rendered with a graphical fidelity unrivaled in the mobile market, bringing the battles to life.
But the battles are much more than mere spectacle. Set on a 2D plane, each side places its fleet in a formation. When combat starts, you may give your ships an infinite variety of commands. From a grand trajectory across the battlefield, to a minor maneuver of ability activation. And the exchange of fire results in much more than the mere draining of a health bar. A ship under fire can lose part of its weapons, its thrust, or its activatable abilities.
The result is a battle of infinite tactical depth, where each glorious explosion of an enemy ship is the result of your skill expression. Putting the cherry on the cake, between each mission, you get to pick upgrades for your ships and acquire new ones. Meaning that the fleet you enter each battle with feels intimately your own.
Ancient Planet may relax you, Phone destroyer may make you laugh, but Galaxy Reavers will blow you away.
