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.
CRUSADER KINGS III
What a heinous rip-off of a great strategic game. While only time will tell if this dynasty-spanning, 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.
OFFWORLD TRADING COMPANY
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 neighbour, 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.
XCOM 2
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.
HOMEWORLD: DESERTS OF KHARAK
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.
TOTAL WAR: WARHAMMER II
Total War: Warhammer II is the best Total War game to date. 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.