Best Strategy War Games

Hearts of Iron IV

This WWII entry will satisfy the history nerd in you. Command any one of the Axis or Allied forces to win the war.

What Makes the Game Awesome:

• Different styles of play for each army offers gameplay variety and replay value
• Upgrade your armies using skill trees, gaining xp to go from a gun to an even better gun and eventually a tank

Protect your borders.

Move your units around a massive map.

Call to Arms

This is a bit of a weird one as it uses a combination of RTS and FPS mechanics.

Move your squad around the battlefield and possess one of them to enter the action and enjoy the gunplay.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Innovative combination of RTS and FPS that surprisingly works well
• Gunplay is exciting and strategy element is righteously satisfying to pull off

Move your units into prime tactical position.

Jump into the action as one of your men.

Total War: Three Kingdoms

The looooooooooooong-running series returns with an epic war set in ancient China. Build your empire and defend it in large scale real-time battles.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Interesting new unit types in the Chinese setting
• Interesting campaign full of content that will keep you busy

Build and defend your empire.

Watch the strategic carnage unfold up close.

Ultimate General: Civil War

You can take control of either side of the American Civil War. Go on mobile attacks of squat down and defend a stronghold. Just make sure your men don’t die.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Landscape offers both difficulties and opportunities. Hide in a nearby house, but be aware that your enemy could be hiding in the trees across the river.
• GUI puts your troops in formation for you, making the whole battlefield look more legit

Use the terrain to your advantage; hide your troops in the trees or across a river with only one bridge for the enemy to use.

Stage MASSIVE battles between the Union and Confederacy.

Total War: Rome II

Travel back to the times of ancient Rome where the wine was flowing, the hookers were cheap and everybody badly wanted to be emperor. It’s like a real-life Game of Thrones! Embark on one of many campaigns or take on people in the multiplayer for exciting battles without all that pesky plot getting in the way.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Tons of downloadable content to really flesh out the experience
• Ten campaigns to choose from, both for Rome and her enemies
• Large scale epic battles with dozens of unit types including siege towers and elephants

Choose from several factions other than the Romans.

Get an up close view of the carnage.

Men of War: Assault Squad 2

Take on battles of varying scale from tank skirmishes to stealth sniper duels. Now including a single player skirmish mode.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Multiplayer that allows for 8v8 matches at the most
• Requires a lot of attention to detail as you build up your army using scrap and keeping it together through constant repair. I personally find it investing; might be a bit much for others

Take on units ranging from tanks to snipers.

Multiplayer allows for 8 on 8 matches.

Best Fantasy War Games

Age of Mythology

Originally published in 2002, this classic has been upgraded with improved visuals and passive mechanics. You take control of either the Greeks, Egyptians of Norsemen. You then choose your patron god and use them to dominate your enemies.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Less focus on tedious resource collecting; more focus on combat
• Familiar controls for anybody who’s played the Civilization of Age of Empire games, making for a comfortable experience.

Choose your patron god and hope they smile upon you.

Gods and monsters interfere with your quest to make an empire.

Total War: Warhammer II

It’s not often that I see a strategy game based in a fantasy world. Probably because war strategy is thought to only exist in modern warfare while fantasy is more reserved for third person action games like “Shadow of Mordor” or “Dragon Age”. Thank God this niche is being filled by “Warhammer II,” which adds dragons and dinosaurs to a formula that didn’t need them but isn’t complaining.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Grand scale makes battles feel epic
• No detail is lost in close-up animation, so you can watch all the carnage in all its glory

Giant monsters!

Thanks to insignia, your armies are easy to make out on the battlefield apart from the enemy.

Age of Wonders III

What happens when you combine “Warhammer II” with D&D? Pretty much “Age of Wonders III,” where your character leads their army or empire in their own unique way.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Gameflow options (do you want to have an adventure or build an empire?)
• Role playing aspects (what race you play as and what class you are affects your relationships with other empires you interact with)

The character you create leads their forces in their own unique way.

Will you go on an adventure or will you try to conquer the world? Your call.

Endless Legend

Well, apparently RTS games set in a fantasy world aren’t as scarce as I first thought. While not quite the spectacle of “Warhammer II” or the mainstream appeal of “Age of Wonders III,” “Endless Legend” makes up the difference in sheer depth of involvement. This is one of those games where your economic and technological status is of constant importance; you need to be constantly working to get more money and more advanced machines.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Randomized maps with changing ecosystems and landmasses
• Emphasis on technological and economic development, which some players may find adds to their experience

How far you advance measures how much success you’ll have.

Mine and gather resources to advance your empire.

Dominions 5 - Warriors of the Faith

The “Dominions” series is like “Age of Mythology” but with the middle-man cut out; rather than choosing a patron god, you are the god (or wannabe god) trying to take over the world. Sure, the graphics aren’t the best, but when the gameplay is this fun it kind of makes you forget that you’re looking at graphics that look like they came from ten years ago.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Suuuuuuuuuper in depth. Like, you’ll be picking out what spells you want for like half an hour before you even think about moving to conquer a nearby kingdom
• The dated graphics do kind of have a charm to them; this is the kind of game I imagine first-gen PC nerds playing and having nostalgic memories of. Kind of gives me a nostalgic feeling even though I’m not remotely in that age bracket.

Indulge your god complex by trying to take over the world.

Lead your armies to victory through lovingly dated graphics.

Best Medieval War Games

Gloria Victis

Hey, we’ve finally got an MMORPG on this list. And if you ever wanted to be a Viking and can’t afford Skyrim Online (or are just smart enough not to pay for it because good Lord, those glitches) this is a damn good alternative.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Emphasis on realism, making for better immersion.
• Still on early access so it will get better

Slaughter all other players in your path...

... Or team up with others for better success.

M&B Warband

Huh... this is a first: a stand-alone expansion pack for the already existing “Mount and Blade”. In a land torn apart by war, you must gather your own band of warriors and enter the fray. Lead your men into battle, expand your realm and fight for the ultimate prize: the throne.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Political factor added that was absent from the first game. Now, you can forge alliances with other governments through marrying lords and ladies
• New multiplayer mode. Takes away the RPG elements, instead focusing on direct combat.

Multiplayer focuses more on combat.

Raid castles to conquer all in your path.

Crusader Kings II

Here’s something you don’t see often: a dynasty simulator. You take control of a whole medieval dynasty from the years 1066 to 1453. Through marriage, war and assassination, you make sure that your dynasty not only survives, but thrives.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Intricate political system with factors such as the church, the economy and other kingdoms having a say in how you run your empire
• Genetics and education systems where traits and culture are passed down through the generations

Make sure your dynasty survives above all else, no matter the cost.

The game’s political system makes sure you’re surrounded by those who are watching your every move. You may lose allies over your choices.

Stronghold HD

The OG castle sim, now with bumped up graphics that brings it into the 2010s. Build and destroy historic castles and engage in epic battles to defend your... well, stronghold.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Enhanced graphics, while keeping the charming pixelated look the original had.
• The isometric angle gives a strange sense of epicness

Stage assaults on epic castles...

... and protect your own from rival kingdoms.

Medieval 2 Total War

Set in the most turbulent era of Western history, your quest for territory and power takes you through Europe, Africa, the Middle East and even into the New World. The classic turn-based strategy game returns to us through Steam. Thank God.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Game of Thrones fan mod allows you to take control of one of the houses of Westeros and fight for the Iron Throne. Maybe we’ll get to recreate that god-awful series finale
• Not too much dissimilar from the other Total War titles, so it’s comfortable to just slip into

Get an up-close look at the epic battles you’ve staged.

Lead one of 17 factions on a conquest across the world.

Best Simulation War Games

Arma 3

Experience a legit combat sim experience in a massive military sandbox. “Arma 3” suits any needs you might have, displaying a wide variety of single and multiplayer modes to scratch any itch you’ve got.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Huge range of vehicles and weapons to choose from
• No hud display for added immersion (you’d be surprised how much difference that makes for a war game)

Choose from a dozen army classes to decimate your opponents in multiple fresh ways.

Optional hud that you can easily switch off in the options menu.

Insurgency: Sandstorm

Use teamwork to win the fight in this squad-based tactical FPS based on lethal close quarters combat. Skill is rewarded and cooperation is the key to victory.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Close-quarters environments make for a claustrophobic experience, making it more intense
• Teamwork is legitimately needed to achieve your objectives; you couldn’t get through this without squad mates to watch your back.

Fight your way through a close-quarters environment with your squad mates, being sure to watch every corner.

Make it through the map as fast as possible or risk getting overrun.

Project Reality

This is more a series of mods more than a game. These were added to the Battlefield games to add a bit more realism to the long-running modern war series.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Not a lot of flashiness to this mod, which does more to add to the realism
• No hud, thank goodness

Get stripped bare of all the comfortable handicaps often seen in modern FPS’s for a barebones experience.

Engage in massive multiplayer battles.

Squad

This long-awaited co-op shooter is still stuck in early access, but it runs well despite that. It’s a pretty enjoyable barebones shooting experience and a ton of fun if you’re playing it with friends.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Huge multiplayer games that can have up to 80 players going at each other
• Barebones FPS game design; not much bull to get in the way of a pure shooting experience

Multiplayer games can pit 40 on 40 in massive battles.

Another barebones shooting experience, without much pretense or polish. Just shoot shit.

War Thunder

It’s not often you see an MMO completely based on vehicle combat. Take control of everything from airplanes to tanks in this cross-platform multiplayer.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Entirely vehicle based combat
• Tons of battle modes to offer variety

Take control of dozens of different vehicles, from different types of planes to ground tanks.

Engage in exhilarating aerial dogfights and ground battles.

Best Sci-Fi War Games

Age of Wonders: Planetfall

From the long-running Age of Wonders series comes “Planetfall,” which brings their tactical turn-based gameplay into space. Use giant robots and space dragons to fight for peace between races or just straight-up conquest.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Cool sci-fi visuals (as you’d expect from a sci-fi setting)
• Space dinosaurs
• Challenging gameplay, making victories immensely satisfying

Get immersed in the rich sci-fi visuals mixed with fantasy elements.

Defend and conquer territory throughout the galaxy.

Starcraft 2

Oh hey! Blizzard can make something other than World of Warcraft and variations thereof. This long-awaited RTS was stuck in development hell for years until it was finally released to a grateful public.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Three different campaigns focusing on the three different factions, each having unique strategic features not found in the other two
• Campaign, map and mod editors for people to make their own of... well, all those things

Zealots attacking a Terran base.

Mine for resources to keep your camp running.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War

A video game based on a tabletop game? I guess it’s been done, but never heard of this one for a sci-fi property. Anyway, this one’s good too.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Morale system for your infantry; if their morale is low, you’re looking down the barrel of a huge L
• Limited number of units allowed on the field, necessitating quick thinking and well thought out strategy

Encounter many times of unique enemies.

Keep up your units’ morale to ensure victory in battle.

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance

The last days of mankind are upon you and it’s your responsibility to fight against a new enemy and bring your race back from annihilation. Complete with multiplayer and giant robots.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Multiple endings for the campaign
• Unique mix of futuristic and modern day tech

Defend mankind from a new alien invasion.

Take back land from the aliens and defend it with all the units you have.

Planetary Annihilation: TITANS

Honest to God, you should need no other motivation to play this game except the fact that it has giant robots and super lasers that fire from space. However, if that’s not enough for you, then it also has pretty tight gameplay to go along with it.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Giant robots and lasers
• Gameplay is so addictively fun; the kind of gameplay where you can lose like 30 hours of your week to it.
• Playable for everybody as it doesn’t have anything particularly violent or vulgar. Let the kiddies go nuts.

Build an army of giant robots…

… and use them to bombastically conquer the universe.

Stellaris

A massive space war game on the same level as Star Wars’ “Empire at War.” Individually conquer different sections of space to conquer the whole galactic map.

What Makes the Game Awesome

• Online multiplayer that can allow up to 40-player battles
• More space ships, lasers and robots

Today, planets! Tomorrow, the galaxy!

Upgrade and keep your ship functional.

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