What are some of the best PC strategy games? Some would suggest Command and Conquer, while others would say "really, Civ IV was the better ga-," but we'd stop listening at that point because no one cares. Join us as we listen to a chosen selection of the genre's most popular songs, from newbies to legends.
Fun fact: Winston Churchill initially thought of the strategy genre when flying over France in 1938, when he peered out the plane window and thought, "Hey, this would make a pretty cool gaming, whatever that is." Probably. Since then, there have been over a hundred million different strategy games, mimicking as many various types of fighting as there have been causes for humans to fight one another.
This genre is as diverse as they come, whether it's turn-based or real-time, grand strategy or tactical. But which PC strategy games are the very best? We can find out by dragging a selection box over our bodies and right-clicking on the horizon. We now have a strategy editor on staff, so we can't possibly be incorrect.
What a heinous rip-off of a great strategic game. While only time will tell if this dynasty-spanning, the emergent-storytelling sequel can claim the throne of its now-free-to-play predecessor Crusader Kings 2, it's certainly off to a regal start.
Crusader Kings 3 has completely revamped the series' once befuddling interface, making it a welcoming option for newcomers while preserving much of the series' depth. While Crusader Kings 3 may appear to be a classic grand strategy map-painter, and while it does have in-depth mechanisms for conducting war, the game's heart rests in its personal, often funny storylines.
Will you use military might, wealth, religious clout, diplomacy, or deception to gain power? Each character you control has its personality and way of life, and each member of your dynasty will mold their kingdom, for better or worse, before passing it on to the next in line. It's a game where private plans conceived behind closed doors are equally as crucial as international wars.
If you're still hesitant, don't forget to read our Crusader Kings 3 review. While we wait for additional Crusader Kings 3 DLC, check out our Crusader Kings 3 starting characters guide, Crusader Kings 3 beginners guide, and Crusader Kings 3 mods guide.
Though its designer, Soren Johnson, also worked on Civilization IV, Offworld Trading Company is on the opposite end of the strategy game spectrum from Civilization. While Civ chronicles humanity's journey across history and into the future, Offworld Trading Company is all about making a fortune by exploiting our red neighbor, Mars.
It's an RTS with the complexities of the best management games, in which victory isn't won by hurling tanks at opponents or destroying their bases.
Instead, your weapons are money and resources, which you employ to manipulate the market not merely to make money but to destroy your competition. Offworld Trading Company encourages you to be just as antagonistic as a warmonger, which you may not anticipate from an economic strategy game.
It's almost as exciting as sending infantry across artillery-pounded fields or launching sneak air attacks against an enemy stronghold in Company of Heroes or StarCraft II when you're eyeing up menus, planning what to build next, what to sell, and which company to launch a hostile takeover against next. The same developers have just launched Old World, their take on 4X games/civilization.
In our XCOM 2 review, we gave it a very high rating since it is one of the best turn-based strategy games. It takes the greatest parts of the series so far — the ferocious struggle, the motley gang of heroes, the crafty aliens, the tight tactical skirmishes – and builds on them.
It's a toss-up whether the War of the Chosen expansion is objectively superior, but there are plenty of great XCOM 2 mods that can improve the base game. Both provide unique yet equally satisfying experiences. There's also a lot of XCOM 2 DLC to choose from.
The combat is hard and varied, full of terrifying foes with perplexing, surprising powers, but the strategic layer is where the most changes occur. You'll travel all over the world, building up cells, infiltrating dark sites, and seeking additional resources so you can field more powerful weapons and gadgets — it's more than just a sideline.
With Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, Blackbird Interactive has accomplished the seemingly impossible. That is, to bring the clean, minimalist space battles of the original Homeworld games to a single planet, resulting in one of the best strategy games ever. It works in some way. Very well done.
It's a perilous trek through a huge desert, guided by your quest to save a civilization. Each battle has a link to the previous one as well as the ones yet to come. Every unit that survives will go on to fight another day in a never-ending war for survival.
Kharak is a wonderful planet-sized battleground that does for the ground what the originals accomplished for space, despite being a big desert. The addition of geography and elevation recreates the three-dimensional conflicts of prior games, with dunes giving shelter, hiding areas, and high ground from which to launch devastating strikes.
The game, like its predecessors, has some of the best art designs you could hope for in an RTS, allowing you to take stunning Homeworld screenshots. Deserts of Kharak is a classic with its outstanding sound design and very engaging story.
Okay, that's alright. Total War: Warhammer II is undoubtedly the best Total War game, as much as I dislike admitting it. The tactical layer is easily the studio's most imaginative work to date, and the final representation of the long-lost Warhammer Fantasy realm, yet there's a credible argument that it's fairly terrible.
Nonetheless, the Warhammer Fantasy Total War games have done wonders for the strategic layer, providing a more varied and intriguing experience than ever before. These enhancements would go on to inspire the strategic layers of both Total Wars: Three Kingdoms and Total War Saga: Troy, which are both good historical strategy games featuring tactical combat that are more in line with the series' classic titles. If you need further proof, check out our Total Warhammer 2 review.
To further flesh out the base game's experience, there's a small but equally inventive stable of Total War: Warhammer 2 DLC packs, as well as some great Warhammer 2 mods. Not to mention the Mortal Empire’s add-on, which elevates the Old World to something close to a Paradox grand strategy epic and is available to owners of both Total Warhammer games.
Company of Heroes 2 was fantastic, yet it fell short of its predecessor's brilliance. Then came Ardennes Assault, which we deemed to be one of the best RTS games available in our Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault review.
In a campaign based on The Battle of the Bulge, US soldiers and the German Oberkommando are fighting for control of the Ardennes in a genuine wargaming style. That, combined with its non-linear single-player campaign set on a strategic meta map, distinguishes it from both Company of Heroes and the sequel. The Germans are adaptable, with withdrawing forces adding to the challenges given by both story objectives and dynamic clashes.
While the campaign is solely played from the perspective of the United States, the US forces are divided into three companies, each with distinct specialties in air, support, and mechanized duties. Each of these companies has unique officer talents and upgrade paths, and any of them can be employed to complete a mission. Even if you concentrate on one, the other two will remain on the board and can help by preventing the enemy from retreating from a captured province.
Now since you know almost everything about the best Xbox keyboard and mouse of 2022, let’s get back to our compact devices: mobile phones. You can now share with the world your experience while broadcasting anything on your mobile, by using the best screen recorder available on the market, the App Screen recorder. The app will allow you to learn the basics of screen recording like “what is screen recording?” or “What is a screen recorder?” to be able to seamlessly record the screen while also smashing to new levels in the game. The screen recorder comes enclosed with several features like direct live streaming to different platforms at the same time and many more.
Though this app is now available for both android as well as ios users. So, log in to your app stores and give this amazing screen recorder a try.
No Comments Yet
Be the first to share what you think!