Strategy is the quintessential PC genre, keeping us buried in maps, army lists and build orders since the earliest days of PC gaming. And it's one of the most diverse, catering to everyone from hardcore grognards to people who just want to see Gandhi nuke Montezuma. In this list, you'll find everything from fast-paced, competitive RTS games to long burn 4X romps. If you want history, we've got it. Yep, a few of them. Fantasy, too. In the case of series with multiple entries, we've picked what we feel was the best game to play now.
We might feature more than one entry from the same series if we think they're different enough that you might benefit from playing both. Crusader Kings 3, the best strategy game of , has usurped its predecessor's spot on the list, unsurprisingly. It's a huge grand strategy RPG, more polished and cohesive than the venerable CK2, and quite a bit easier on the eyes, too. At first glance it might seem a bit too familiar, but an even greater focus on roleplaying and simulating the lifestyles of medieval nobles, along with a big bag of new and reconsidered features, makes it well worth jumping ship to the latest iteration.
It's only going to get larger and more ambitious as the inevitable DLC piles up, but even in its vanilla form CK3 is a ceaseless storyteller supported by countless complex systems that demand to be mucked around with and tweaked. Getting to grips with it is thankfully considerably easier this time around, thanks to a helpful nested tooltip system and plenty of guidance.
And all this soapy dynastic drama just has a brilliant flow to it, carrying you along with it. You can meander through life without any great plan and still find yourself embroiled in countless intrigues, wars and trysts.
Total War: Three Kingdoms , the latest historical entry in the series, takes a few nods from Warhammer, which you'll find elsewhere in this list, giving us a sprawling Chinese civil war that's fuelled by its distinct characters, both off and on the battlefield.
Each is part of a complicated web of relationships that affects everything from diplomacy to performance in battle, and like their Warhammer counterparts they're all superhuman warriors. It feels like a leap for the series in the same way the first Rome did, bringing with it some fundemental changes to how diplomacy, trade and combat works. The fight over China also makes for a compelling campaign, blessed with a kind of dynamism that we've not seen in a Total War before.
Since launch, it's also benefited from some great DLC, including a new format that introduces historical bookmarks that expand on different events from the era. The first Total War: Warhammer showed that Games Workshop's fantasy universe was a perfect match for Creative Assembly's massive battles and impressively detailed units.
Total War: Warhammer 2 makes a whole host of improvements, in interface, tweaks to heroes, rogue armies that mix factions together and more. The game's four factions, Skaven, High Elves, Dark Elves and Lizardmen are all meaningfully different from one another, delving deeper into the odd corners of old Warhammer fantasy lore. If you're looking for a starting point with CA's Warhammer games, this is now the game to get—and if you already own the excellent original, too, the mortal empires campaign will unite both games into one giant map.
Paradox's long-running, flagship strategy romp is the ultimate grand strategy game, putting you in charge of a nation from the end of the Middle Ages all the way up to the s. As head honcho, you determine its political strategy, meddle with its economy, command its armies and craft an empire. Right from the get-go, Europa Universalis 4 lets you start changing history.
Maybe England crushes France in the Years War and builds a massive continental empire. Maybe the Iroquois defeat European colonists, build ships and invade the Old World. It's huge, complex, and through years of expansions has just kept growing.
The simulation can sometimes be tough to wrap one's head around, but it's worth diving in and just seeing where alt-history takes you. Few 4X games try to challenge Civ, but Old World already had a leg up thanks designer Soren Johnson's previous relationship with the series. He was the lead designer on Civ 4, and that legacy is very apparent. But Old World is more than another take on Civ.
For one, it's set exclusively in antiquity rather than charting the course of human history, but that change in scope also allows it to focus on people as well as empires. Instead of playing an immortal ruler, you play one who really lives, getting married, having kids and eventually dying.
Then you play their heir. You have courtiers, spouses, children and rivals to worry about, and with this exploration of the human side of empire-building also comes a bounty of events, plots and surprises. You might even find yourself assassinated by a family member.
There's more than a hint of Crusader Kings here. You can't have a best strategy games list without a bit of Civ. Civilization 6 is our game of choice in the series right now, especially now that it's seen a couple of expansions. The biggest change this time around is the district system, which unstacks cities in the way that its predecessor unstacked armies. Cities are now these sprawling things full of specialised areas that force you to really think about the future when you developing tiles.
The expansions added some more novel wrinkles that are very welcome but do stop short of revolutionising the venerable series. They introduce the concept of Golden Ages and Dark Ages, giving you bonuses and debuffs depending on your civilisation's development across the years, as well as climate change and environmental disasters. It's a forward-thinking, modern Civ. This is a game about star-spanning empires that rise, stabilise and fall in the space of an afternoon: and, particularly, about the moment when the vast capital ships of those empires emerge from hyperspace above half-burning worlds.
Diplomacy is an option too, of course, but also: giant spaceships. Play the Rebellion expansion to enlarge said spaceships to ridiculous proportions. Stellaris takes an 'everything and the kicthen sink' approach to the space 4X. It's got a dose of EU4, Paradox's grand strategy game, but applied to a sci-fi game that contains everything from robotic uprisings to aliens living in black holes.
It arguably tries to do to much and lacks the focus of some of the other genre greats, but as a celebration of interstellar sci-fi there are none that come close. It's a liberating sandbox designed to generate a cavalcade of stories as you guide your species and empire through the stars, meddling with their genetic code, enslaving aliens, or consuming the galaxy as a ravenous hive of cunning insects. Fantasy 4X Endless Legend is proof that you don't need to sacrifice story to make a compelling 4X game.
Each of its asymmetrical factions sports all sorts of unique and unusual traits, elevated by story quests featuring some of the best writing in any strategy game. The Broken Lords, for instance, are vampiric ghosts living in suits of armour, wrestling with their dangerous nature; while the necrophage is a relentless force of nature that just wants to consume, ignoring diplomacy in favour of complete conquest. Including the expansions, there are 13 factions, each blessed or cursed with their own strange quirks.
Faction design doesn't get better than this. Civ in space is a convenient shorthand for Alpha Centauri, but a bit reductive. Brian Reynolds' ambitious 4X journey took us to a mind-worm-infested world and ditched nation states and empires in favour of ideological factions who were adamant that they could guide humanity to its next evolution.
The techs, the conflicts, the characters— it was unlike any of its contemporaries and, with only a few exceptions, nobody has really attempted to replicate it. Not even when Firaxis literally made a Civ in space, which wasn't very good.
Alpha Centauri is as fascinating and weird now as it was back in '99, when we were first getting our taste of nerve stapling naughty drones and getting into yet another war with Sister Miriam. More than 20 years later, some of us are still holding out hope for Alpha Centauri 2.
Pick an Age of Wonders and you really can't go wrong. Thousands of you voted - thank you so much for taking the time - and now we have the results. What follows is your 50 favourite games of and a selection of the comments you submitted along with your selections. The voting was closer this year than it has been in a while. Your top game was out in front by a reasonable margin, but nothing like the gap that Skyrim built up in , and there wasn't much to separate the handful of games that followed.
It seems fair to say that there was a broad selection of very strong games this year rather than a few that dominated all others. It's also great to see so many independent games on the list, including our writers' game of the year and plenty of others. Putting this feature together certainly gave me a few ideas for things to play over the holidays, and I hope you all enjoy browsing the results. Thanks again if you took the time to vote and, since it will probably take you over 24 hours to read everything on this page, Happy New Year for when you finish!
What we said: "Legend of Grimrock walks a very fine tightrope with outrageous confidence. With its ruthless adherence to s design it shamelessly panders to nostalgia, but it never feels like it relies on that inherited fondness to get by. That's a trap too many retro-inspired indies fall into: letting the past do all the work to mask holes in the design.
Grimrock doesn't do that. It reminds us that the old ways still have value, but its thoughtful construction and nuanced balance ensure that it can still stand on its own two feet in and justify its existence on its own terms. Therapist wrote: "Proper old school gameplay - reminded me of Bloodwych on the Amiga all those years ago. What nostalgia? I never played this sort of game when I was young. This may owe a lot to certain games of yore but for those with shorter memories Grimrock isn't a throwback, it is a breath of fresh air that gives realism the boot in favour of pure adventuring fun.
What we said: "New Star Soccer is one of those games that makes you wonder how no one thought of it before now, because it's such a strong idea and so brilliantly executed. It's better on the iPad, where you can be more precise with your actions, but it's hugely entertaining on iPhone or Android too. If you like football at all, New Star Soccer is a must-buy. I've never spent so little and gained so much. Who knew Tomas Brolin scored 56 goals in 45 appearances for Arsenal at the wee age of 22?
Seffers wrote: "The best footy management game ever - had to delete it from my phone to stop playing. Flying the indie flag too. What we said: "Binary Domain is a third-person shooter with a few problems, but everything is forgiven once you start shooting its robots. These enemies are made up like Meccano sets, and though they lack the cutthroat threat of Vanquish's droids, they more make up for it in the details. Their destructible bodies hide endless delights - shoot an arm off, and watch the robot re-align its torso and pick up the gun with the other hand.
Shoot off a leg and the robot falls, but quickly balances with one arm and a leg while taking aim. Best of all, shoot off the head and it starts shooting at other robots. SubCyc wrote: "Great fun, fast-paced combat with responsive controls, made even better with the fact that the storyline was actually well thought out and developed, by computer game standards, giving it a Gears of Blade Runner feel.
This is by no means bad. VyseHazuky wrote: "Binary Domain confirmed how Nagoshi and his team could do this sort of game as well as any western developer, all the while taking it in new directions. Even if voice control didn't work per cent you can't fault them for trying - it still provided a fresh experience in a bloated genre, mixing proven core mechanics with a feel of Japanese science-fiction. What we said: "For all its stumbles - and there are an awkward handful - Mists of Pandaria nevertheless represents a WOW participating in the massively multiplayer genre rather than revelling in the cult of its own personality.
Yet Blizzard has managed to stamp its own mark on these features while introducing an unprecedented maturity to its storytelling. Nanonine wrote: "Blizzard's best expansion by far - wonderful level design and music as always and on top of that a million fun things to do once you hit the level cap.
Apaar wrote: "The best balance of quality and quantity Blizzard has ever reached with an expansion. Wonderful new atmosphere and great gameplay variety. What we said: "In defiance of the expectation that this out-sourced handheld update would be a second rate knock-off, the game builds on the past, rather than merely riffing on it. And in its own squall of ideas and creativity it invites you to contribute to the spectacle of ingenuity.
I can't believe I did that , it hopes you'll say. One of the greatest gaming communities ever. Now if Nintendo could only do something similar with Mario. MrFlump wrote: "While I don't expect it to come close to being in the overall top chart due to the slow uptake on Vita, LittleBigPlanet is a joy for me and my nieces to pick up and play through. Perfect use of the Vita system and just a shame that more people haven't got around to picking up the best handheld console and best handheld game there is.
Who thought anyone else but Media Molecule could do it? Delightful and inventive in equal measure. SomethingOriginal wrote: "Being able to play one of this generation's most creative games in bite-size chunks would be good enough, but clever use of the Vita itself elevated this game, for me at least, above even the high standards of its PS3 counterparts.
What we said: "The stunning ink-and-watercolour visuals are just the start of it. Washes of pastel colour fill in the bold, thick, black lines of a calligrapher's brush, which are then animated with trembling urgency.
It's very, very beautiful, and you cannot fault the sumptuous p widescreen presentation of this new version. If it doesn't have the impact you expect it to, it's only because the original artwork was so timeless, and dodged technical limitations with such grace, that Okami can't really look any better than how you remember it. Hieronymous wrote: "One of the most beautiful games I have ever played. The art, the characters, the humour, the fantastic gameplay. And here I was thinking only Zelda could give me that majestic feeling.
This is a gem I am glad I bought. I said it, happy? The fact we now have Okami looking easily on par with the best-looking games available today only increases its value. A true masterpiece. What we said: "Dear Esther is an interactive fiction - one which you can never derail or change by your input, only interpret.
But if the act of interaction seems slight, then the act of interpretation is far more complex, confounding and enriching than in most other games you might care to name. TheDevilTesla wrote: "Games have a tendency to overtell their stories, to put it mildly.
Dear Esther is in many ways a reminder that players can think for themselves, and it's more satisfying to fill in the blanks of what a story means than to have it dictated to us. That was accomplished in the original mod, but the remake manages to pair that with an unparalleled sensory experience, and the result is amazing.
This work of art is an evocative experience that will remain with me for the rest of my life. Bilstar wrote: "I really didn't know what to do with myself after I'd finished it. It hit me really hard and I loved it. KopparbergDave wrote: "I've been craving an experience like this for years - just something with no enemies, no boss battles, just something to experience, to utilise all the technology we have these days to create a mood, to explore, to really journey to a place, not a level.
Many will pointlessly argue about whether this is really valid as a game Which is just such a closed-minded attitude. As gamers we should be open to the myriad of experiences this technology can enable, not be enraged when someone decides to eschew high scores to give you a new experience. I loved this, a condensed journey into another life, which at time filled me with awe, and just made me think about it for days afterwards.
More of this please! What we said: "Publisher THQ's current troubles add a slight melancholic sting to proceedings; it's hard not to race through the final challenges wondering whether you're seeing the last of the series. Does Death mark the end for Darksiders?
I certainly hope not. The story draws to a close with a number of narrative strands flailing in the wind, and throughout the campaign there are signs that the adventure's borrowed elements are pulling themselves together to create something genuinely harmonious. Two riders down, and you'll still want more. If this is the apocalypse, let's make the most of it.
Cjail wrote: "A game that surely does not innovate but that delivers solid mechanics, great art style, and fluid combat and in the end is funny and satisfying to play. Now I know better! Death oozes effortless cool and the game rewards every button press with gameplay expertly distilled from many classics.
Only the ending looked a bit rushed. What we said: "It genuinely feels like something of an insult to its creators that we can all sample the fruits of their extensive labour for free. One can only hope that Uncle Valve might find a way to reward them for their startling act of devotion. Black Mesa turned out to be rather special. More of a love letter to one of the all-time greats than a mod.
Some things are so good they are worth repeating. That such an epic work can be summoned into existence by nothing but fan devotion is just astounding.
It also reminded me just how good Half-Life really was in terms of pacing and tension. I really enjoyed the original Half-Life so figured it would be worth a punt, but this remake was executed jaw-droppingly beautifully.
Those irritatingly stupid platforming sections are still there, but at least it's faithful to the original. What we said: "Its sense of character may be not be as forceful as Criterion's other games - but the sense of competition that informs it, the joy of discovery and the plain pleasure of driving haven't been dimmed in the slightest. This isn't quite paradise, but it comes very close.
SvennoJ wrote: "While Forza Horizon performs better from a technical standpoint, I find myself coming back to NFS over and over due to its fast, addictive and varied gameplay. It's not quite Burnout Paradise, but still very enjoyable for quick multiplayer fun. Popzeus wrote: "Criterion deserves massive praise for squeezing the spiritual successor to Burnout Paradise onto the Vita in a virtually uncompromised form. That it manages to improve on Paradise in pretty much all areas makes it all the more impressive.
What we said: "Metal Gear Solid is a potpourri of ideas that insists you take the good with the bad. Certainly indulgent, it's also melancholy, exhilarating, clever, and ludicrous. It's never entirely clear what, if anything, Kojima and company are taking seriously - and the end result, in this collection, is a fascinating chronicle of one of video games' strangest successes.
But discovering how much I'd overlooked MGS3 first time around kept me hooked. Still one of the best games on any system. The story is still nutty, the gameplay is still ace, and Snake is still one of gaming's best characters. For anyone who played these games upon their release, they each have moments that will stick with them forever. For anyone who has never played them, open your wallet and shell out the pittance that this game costs and see what the rest of us have gone on about for over a decade!
So much nicer to play on proper pad than the PSP. What we said: "It's managed to step out of Mario Kart's shadow, for sure, but the real achievement is one that's going to be much more thrilling for the Sega fans it so eagerly panders to. This manages to be more than just a tribute to the great and good of Sega's past - it does enough to earn its own place alongside them.
JRPC wrote: "A potent blend of nostalgia, tight handling and multi-faceted racing that adds up to one of the best Sega game in ages!
MysteryLamb wrote: "Finally a game that captures the joy of the original Mario Kart, and maybe even surpasses it. The Sky Sanctuary track is worth the asking price alone. Every game mechanic is note-perfect from the multi-use weapons to the boost systems. Handling is spot on with each craft feeling different and yet familiar.
The addition of split-screen across the game is utterly fantastic. Oh and it looks gob-smackingly good. What we said: "For the vast majority of the time, Golden Abyss is a cleverly constructed game that more than justifies its addition to a series already lathered in superlatives.
While the absence of multiplayer means it won't last you as long as previous instalments, new control options have allowed the developers to line the seams of Drake's adventure with flashy tassels and detailing that make for a varied and entertaining outing - perhaps even more so than its big brothers. At the very least, that should solidify Sony Bend's reputation as a trustworthy custodian for PlayStation's growing pile of first-party treasures. Longer than Uncharted 3, a story that did the job, visuals rivalling Drake's Fortune and great new characters meant that I had a lot of fun with this.
Sure, the final boss is as anticlimactic as they come touch-screen QTEs, really? I was surprised by how intuitive reloading was, and motion sensor aim fine-tuning should be in every Vita shooter.
Markitron wrote: "It's an Uncharted game, that feels like an Uncharted game, that advances the series in terms of its collectables, that I can play on the toilet.
What we said: "You never feel weightless, but are still able to navigate the levels with far more grace than the hapless guards in your path. Avoiding them is entirely possible - every level offers a hefty points bonus for clean runs with no enemy encounters or kills - but the fun really comes from the ever-escalating ways you can toy with your foes. Snidesworth wrote: "Tightly designed, well-crafted and immensely satisfying. The game clearly communicates information and teaches you how its mechanics work.
All of the above makes for a fantastic stealth experience. Malek86 wrote: "A mixture of Abe's Oddysee and Thief, and a good one at that. Although a violent approach works well and will make the game easier, getting through a level completely unseen is extremely satisfying. What we said: "Spelunky's astonishing creativity and the spectacular depth that opens up as you make progress make it easy to forget that it's also an extremely competent platformer, with tight, poppy controls that work far better on an Xbox pad than they ever did with a computer keyboard.
Playing feels tactile and physical yet precise and comfortable. It allows you to bounce around the world with ease, and focus on the meat of the game: the joy of discovery, the hilarity of death, the glorious secrets that pour from every crack. MrMarbles wrote: "Oh Spelunky, how the soundtrack for your Mines levels are firmly embedded in my psyche.
I remember my first couple of hours with this game, fumbling about, throwing rocks that bounced back into me. Result: death. Then standing on a ledge carrying a rock tip: always carry something , standing too close to a ledge, going off-balance and falling off, hitting the ground and having the rock falling on top of me. A new enemy, what does this one do? But many many, many, many hours later, the same red-turban-wearing spelunker is tactically leading the crazy shopkeeper to his death, stealing his gear and luring the Giant Ghost of Instant Death over gems to hike up their value.
Whilst still dying constantly. There's a steep learning curve for sure, and even when you have four players who know what they're doing tentatively but efficiently working their way through the levels, it still always inevitably goes to pot at some point, yet you'll be laughing and screaming throughout in the best possible way. Brilliantly designed. Perfectly mixing roguelike and platforming elements. Also angry shopkeepers!
I have played it and played it and played it and barely scratched the surface. Simple to understand but with oceans of depth and endlessly fun moment-to-moment gameplay. Plus it's super cute. Just perfect. I have not completed it yet just got to the Temple and most likely never will. However, the sheer amount of fun of just starting a run and seeing how far you can get is fabulous. The randomisation of levels gives the game an unmatched reply value.
No doubt in my mind, the best game released in What we said: "Life presents you with a number of crossroads, Catherine suggests, and it's only in choosing a way forward that you gain an identity. In Vincent's case, it's the difference between being a mere protagonist and a hero.
Even though Catherine is very story-driven it's also a game in the purest sense of the word as it's all wrapped around this amazing series of block puzzles that make for one of the most unique and mature games I've ever played. Proof that Japanese gaming isn't dead. Hunam wrote: "A game about drinking as far as I could tell. You get rewarded for mixing drinks.
You get rewarded for getting hammered every night. I think there was also something in there about the importance of perspective on your own life too, but mostly it was about getting hammered.
Discalceaterabbit wrote: "Watch entire days dissapear as you watch your dynasty slowly extend their tendrils throughout Europe. Starting as the King of Scotland but eventually weaselling my family line to be the heads of all of Scandinavia is a personal highlight. OrgasmicMutton wrote: "I'm never usually one for grand strategy games but the epic stories this game results in won me over. One of the few games where everything going wrong feels so right.
What we said: "Ubisoft Montpellier has indisputably crafted a delightful, playful, occasionally exhilarating platformer. But while this is a game whose visuals point to a bright, alternative future, its systems too often rely on the dusty past.
Half of a classic, then. It's the Vita's go-to platformer, but I mostly played it with my non-videogaming partner on the PS3. DrDamn wrote: "Works very well on Vita and the only title which challenges, and in many respects surpasses, the mighty Mario. The beautiful landscapes, quirky animations and fluid controls make for one of the most elegant and charming 2D platformers of all time. Where Mario is becoming stale, Rayman feels fresh and unique. It looks and plays absolutely fantastic on the Vita screen.
What we said: "More than a few Dota 2 players practically spit in each other's faces. Like the original Dota, Valve's Source Engine update has no sense of sympathy. That's not what you play it for. Nor is it what you expect from the remake of a game whose beginner's guide is simply titled 'Welcome to Dota.
You suck. Even though it hasn't been released. Hugely entertaining game. And yet the community might as well be a giant quivering pile of gelatanous urine for the trash talk. It gets you annoyed and incensed when you see people mouthing off - and then all of a sudden you too are doing it because you see the mistakes in your team.
Their build choices and item decisions and tactical awareness. You have the best of intentions of telling them where they've gone wrong but somewhere between your mind and your hands you tend to freak out and end up mashing the keyboard with obscenities and trollish repetitive comments that seem to never get old.
What's worse is you don't feel bad about it either. You feel justified. This one person is ruining something you have to experience for the next 40 minutes because they were too inept to simply read up on how the character or role should be played and put that into practice.
The community also manages to be the best community found in a MOBA game, with a newbie friendliness that's almost strange to find a game like this. It has changed our view of multiplayer gaming. Never have we had to work so much as a team. What we said: "Ambition is the word that best describes Black Ops 2 - and that's remarkable enough in itself.
This is still Call of Duty, with all that entails, and anyone who has resisted the series so far likely won't be won over this time either. For the fans, though, Black Ops 2 offers the rare sight of a series at its height choosing to experiment and change rather than stay loyal to a proven, but tired, formula. It may be a small victory in the battle for fresh blockbuster thinking, but it's a victory nonetheless. Those hoping to see Call of Duty knocked off its perch will have to wait another year.
I didn't really get along with Modern Warfare 3 and the story, maps, and small changes to this game have provided me with hours of shooting people in the face. If I feel like some mindless fun where I don't have to concentrate too hard, usually after a crappy day at work, this is the game I turn to. Pokemon Conquest DS [80; Related articles Best PS3 games of 5 best video game islands Wii U launch games you should play 5 best PC games of 5 iPhone game reviews in 5 minutes Games of Dec ember Forum discussion.
Authors Jeremy Proome. Tags , best games of , best pc games , headline , pokemon conquest , sins of a solar empire , strategy games , XCOM. Best strategy games of
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