

The tone is a fantastic blend of horror and humour. The action follows a murdered Samurai into a violent afterlife to seek revenge. Which makes it all the more surprising that this little gem, a hit on mobile, seems to have passed so many Steam gamers by. Quality fantasy strategy games like the latter pick can be hard to come by. Skulls of the Shogunīy 17-BIT - buy on PC, Mac, and Linux (£6.99) Along with better graphics, collectibles, stats, options, online multiplayer, and all the other bells and whistles we've come to expect. This simple yet brilliant dynamic is intact for this modern remake. However, everyone had a disbelieve spell that destroyed illusions - at the cost of wasting that turns' casting slot. Wizards could summon creatures with a risk of failure, or cast an illusion that always worked. What made is special was the simple mechanic for illusions. One of his earliest commercial games was fantasy strategy title Chaos on the ZX Spectrum. The XCOM franchise is the brainchild of developer Julian Gollop. Chaos Rebornīy Snapshot Games - buy on PC, Mac, and Linux (£14.99) Anyone who's already suffered at the hands of XCOM might find that surprising, but seeing of the aliens is all the more satisfying as a result. Most notably in its punishing level of challenge. It's also quite different from its modern day descendants. This is the ancestor of almost all modern squad tactics titles. The gameplay, however, doesn't feel like it's aged a day. The presentation is as bad as you might expect by modern standards. Some gamers might not realise that XCOM is an up to date version of a much older game, originally released in 1993.
Turn based hex strategy games pc software#
X-COM: UFO Defenseīy MicroProse Software - buy on PC (£2.99) Quiet is the order of the day, with missteps ratcheting up the security level in an unbearable corkscrew of tension.Īdd in procedural generation, role-playing elements and terrifying time limits, to make one of the best indie games of the year so far. Your task is to guide agents through corporate buildings, hacking terminals for tasty secrets. Rather than a combat title, Invisible Inc is an almost unique stealth strategy game. One of the more obviously derivative spawn of XCOM turns out, on inspection, to not be derivative at all. Invisible, Inc.īy Klei Entertainment - buy on PC, Mac, and Linux (£14.99) While famed for its combat missions, managing the whole XCOM enterprise is equally fun, and can be just as deadly if you make a bad choice. The game also achieves a rare satisfying marriage of tactical and strategic elements. Add in the role-playing elements of gradually nurturing a squad of soliders toward elite status in a demanding environment and you've got a sure-fire winner. Staying with getting the most obvious choices out of the way first, here's the strategy smash of the decade.Īgain, an approachable interface hides a cybernetic fist of strategic depth underneath. XCOM: Enemy Unknownīy Firaxis Games - buy on PC, Mac, and Linux (£14.99)

And a choice of play styles, world seeds, and difficulty levels ensures an almost limitless play time. The chance to re-create human history in a randomly generated world is rarely less than enthralling. For the rest of us, the smooth balance of positional, diplomatic, and economic strategy offered by this game is a safer bet. Which it might be for micromanagement maniacs. Some say its predecessor Civ IV is more demanding and compelling. Let's get this out of the way first: the most popular and accessible 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate) game around.

Sid Meier's Civilization Vīy Firaxis Games - buy on PC, Mac, and Linux (£19.99) All of them guaranteed to give the gray matter a good stretch. A mix of introductory and in-depth titles with a particular eye toward those that work well on mobile. So here's our top picks for gamers looking for a change of pace. If you want a break from twitch gaming or role-playing, the mental workout of strategy can satisfy like nothing else. It's a neglected genre in the mainstream, yet contains so many unique titles. It rarely demands top-notch computing power and will wait patiently for you to fiddle with clumsy controls.Įven if you're just an everyday Steam gamer, top strategy titles are always worth a look. If you're looking for Steam games to run on an older laptop or a touchscreen device, turn-based strategy is a great genre.
