Strategy games aren’t the most mainstream games out there. They’re only for a certain kind of patient gamer who wants total control of what they do in their game. These can range from taking care of farm animals to conquering entire continents. They’re usually not very flashy, but the important thing is an addictive gameplay loop, easy-to-navigate menus, and is easy to learn but hard to master. You usually spend hundreds of hours in these games and usually a single play-through will only show you a fraction of what the game holds.

Age of Empires IV

While it wasn’t exactly what we wanted it’s still miles better than AoE3. The gameplay feels mostly intact from AoE2 with modern upgrades and it just feels like an AoE game through and through. The graphics are a bit dated as well, but it looks the part, sounds the part, and plays really well. It’s hyper addictive and multiple play throughs are needed to see everything that’s on offer here.

Runner-Ups

Jurassic World Evolution 2

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Humankind

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Inscryption

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Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun – Aiko’s Choice

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