8. Eador: Masters of the Broken World (2013)

Make the shards your own

Developer: Snowbird Game Studios

Genre: Fantasy strategy game

Eador’s combat is reminiscent of the Heroes series

The world has been destroyed, blasted into inhabited shards that float through space, and it is up to you to claim them and put everything back together.

When starting a new game, you get to pick one of several randomly generated shards from which you start the game. Then, you may start your conquest, beginning from those nearest to you. As is the norm, you recruit heroes, items to equip them with, and units that make up their army. By building up your Stronghold, you gain access to upgrades and higher level units, like in the Heroes series.

Although the game is mercilessly difficult, the randomized nature of each individual game, along with a huge number of units and diverse heroes, make Eador an engaging and replayable experience.