Best space strategy games, ranked

Best space strategy games, ranked

News, By Fran Ruiz published 3 hours ago

Conquer the cosmos and lead ships, fleets, and even entire civilizations to victory in the best space strategy games.

Dominate galaxies and engage in epic space battles with the best space strategy games. Whether it’s turn-based or real-time, small-scale skirmishes, or interstellar wars, if you want to dominate entire galaxies from the comfort of your chair, you’re in the right place. Here’s our ranked list of the greatest space strategy games to ever take to the stars.

Space and strategy go together like PB&J, so there’s a huge roster of games for us to choose from, whether it’s retro classics, timeless gems, or modern-day masterpieces. We’ve tried to bring balance to the Force by highlighting the best space strategy games from across time. And if we don’t acknowledge one of your favs, know that we probably thought about it, but it’s a crowded galaxy out there!

Some final book-keeping. This is space strategy games… as in space battles and taking control of planets and sectors. That means no terrestrial strategy titles, even if they’re firmly sci-fi. Sorry, StarCraft 2, this is one ranked list you can’t win. We’ll do a sci-fi strategy games list in the future to cover those. You may like

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Looking for other genre-specific gaming picks? We’ve got plenty. Start with the best space exploration and settlement games, and if you’re feeling daring, maybe take a look at our top 10 space flight sims.

Now, the final frontier calls…

10. Five Nations

Five Nations – trailer – YouTubeWatch On YouTube

• Release date: May 4, 2021
• Platform: PC (Steam)
• Developer: SilverForge

Five Nations released in 2021, but feels like it came out more than 20 years ago — and we mean that as a compliment.

Self-published by developer SilverForge, Five Nations is one of the most satisfying — and sadly overlooked — indies we’ve come across in recent years. It’s got everything you’d want out of a traditional real-time strategy (RTS) game, with asymmetrical factions, a huge campaign mode, and customizable offline skirmishes vs. AI opponents. We were also surprised by its extensive in-game map and scenario editor, and the developers have even released a meaty expansion pack called Renegades.

The only downside to Five Nations is that SilverForge completely skipped online play, so this is a space strategy game you must enjoy and learn on your own. With plenty of macro and micro-management as you try to expand your space bases and defeat your opponents, it perfectly captures the ‘magic’ of golden-era RTS thanks to its beautiful 2D sprites. It’s not just about the amount of content or its looks, though; the dev team perfectly captured why and how the real-time strategy games of the early 2000s were so addictive.

9. AI War 2

AI War II 1.0 Launch Trailer – YouTubeWatch On YouTube

• Release date: October 22, 2019
• Platform: PC
• Developer: Arcen Games

AI War: Fleet Command was hailed as a refreshing and unique take on sci-fi strategy games in 2009 due to its bold mix of 4X, tower defense, and traditional RTS elements. With the 2019 sequel, AI Wars 2, Arcen Games took things to the next level and largely succeeded. Whether you want to stay offline or go up against human opponents online, this is a ‘big brain’ grand strategy/RTS hybrid that will wow newcomers and veterans alike.

At the start of the game, “you’ve already lost the war,” so that’s depressing. Having already been pounded into the space dirt does present a unique strategic scenario, though, as you engage in a guerrilla warfare campaign, carefully expanding one’s territory without drawing too much attention from the AI faction, which controls most of the galaxy.

Continue/Read Original Article: https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-games/best-space-strategy-games-ranked