Strategy games have been fan-favorites for years now, whether classic strategy-based games such as Age of Empires or team strategy games such as Overwatch and Rainbow 6 Siege.
The titles on this list are ones you need to try with a game strategy to win, as well as the ability to out-skill your opponents. These are the best strategy-based games to play right now.
Crusader Kings III
Crusader Kings is known as a dynasty simulation game and a grand strategy game. You play on a macro level, building kingdoms, expanding your reach, invading foreign nations, creating alliances, and everything in between.
Even though you play on a macro level, there is more than enough micro-management to keep you occupied. You need to ensure your citizens are happy; you must trade, marry for alliances, and use the church as a way to spread your power. Crusader Kings gives you everything you need to create an empire that will never be forgotten.
Starcraft 2
Starcraft is the classic strategy game that tests your micro-management skills and your resource and army management skills. Using workers, you must mine for resources that are used to create buildings and soldiers.
You play against an opponent, and depending on your skill level, it is a race to control the resource points across the map. Whoever can raise the stronger army the fastest is the one that will take home the victory.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Counter-Strike is slightly different from other strategy games, but it relies heavily on strategy even though it is a first-person shooter. Two teams of five face-off, with one aiming to plant a bomb and the other seeking to defuse it; the game ends if all the members of one team are killed.
Since you only have one life, it is essential to work together as a team, plan which bombsite you will attack or defend, and plan attacks so that you aren’t picked off. If you watch a professional CS:GO game, you will see that strategy is sometimes more important than skill.
Rainbow 6 Siege
Like CS:GO, Rainbow 6 Siege is another team-based strategy game. Unlike CS:GO, though, R6 games are much more fast-paced, and each character has different abilities and gear they can use during a game.
This means teams need to account for what the other team can do with these extra abilities and what routes they will use to complete the objective. Again, shooting skill is essential, but you will lose every game if you don’t have a strategy.
Dota 2
Dota 2 is a multiplayer game where two teams of 5 players select a character and fight across a three-lane map. Each character has unique abilities, strengths, and weaknesses, and ensuring you have the right characters to combat the enemy team’s strengths is the key to success.
The mao contains “wild” creatures that you can defeat for extra points; control areas give you an edge in battle. The winner is the first team to destroy the opposing team’s base.
Overwatch
Another multiplayer first-person shooter game is Overwatch. It differs from CS:GO and R6 in several ways. The first is that your character has their own unique set of abilities that they can use in battle, in addition to having a unique weapon.
There are also different modes to play in, each needing its own strategy and thought process, as making a mistake can instantly turn the game’s tide. You also can’t just rush into battle, as there are ways to wipe out entire teams in a matter of seconds.
Civilization 6
Civilization goes a different route with regards to empire-building strategy games and adds a turn-based aspect. The goal of the game is to take an ancient civilization and build its empire through millennia.
You are able to expand your reach by becoming a trading superpower or forming alliances; you can also build the biggest and strongest army the world has ever seen and use it to dominate any and all that stand in your path.
Europa Universalis 4
Another grand strategy game that has taken over is Europa Universalis 4. You play as the leader of a nation as you build, trade, and battle your way from the middle-ages to the late modern period, 1444 to 1821.
The games feature real-life events that happen at the same time they did hundreds of years ago, and players can choose to expand their empire and conquer the globe through trade, diplomacy, or all-out war.
Endless Legend
Endless Legend is similar to Age of Empires as you have to build, mine, trade, and eliminate your enemies to win. However, it takes on a more mystical approach as there is magic involved, and the game allows you to conquer entire regions of the map by building a city.
There are fourteen different factions to choose from; each has its own unique buildings and soldiers, and therefore their own strengths and weaknesses. Like AoE, you can upgrade your buildings and soldiers as you gain more resources.
XCOM 2
XCOM 2 takes place 20 years after the events of the hit game XCOM: Enemy Unknown. XCOM is a military organization that fights alien invaders. The aliens have taken over in this game, and XCOM is now a resistance force fighting against them.
This turn-based game sees you control a squad of soldiers as you fight the alien invaders. You must use the environment, your movement, and items to out-maneuver your enemies and destroy them.
Final thoughts
Strategy games have stood the test of time in the gaming world. Not only have they continued to improve, but they have also managed to keep a massive, loyal fan base. They are games that are a true test of skill and quick-thinking.
If you have played these games before, there is no better time than now to fire them back up and enjoy them again, and if you haven’t had the chance to play them all yet, you should change that as soon as possible.
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