Summary
The vast expanse of strategy games could be divided into various sub-genres, such as real-time strategy which emphasizes seeing action in real-time, or turn-based strategy that divides a match into actions taken across turns. With the many strategy game variants available in the market, there’s certainly a strategy game that fits everyone’s interests.
However, hardcore gamers and strategy enthusiasts may be looking for strategy titles that force them to become more careful when it comes to securing victory. In fact, certain strategy games incentivize quick thinking by actively punishing players for moving slowly in a match. Just which strategy games train players to act faster in the thick of combat through punishing gameplay?
Set in a Galactic War, players ofPlanetary Annihilation: Titansfight for the conquest of a star system composed of planets, moons, and other stellar objects. Unlike other RTS titles, players wage war on an intergalactic scale, with units able to fly in space and land on planetary surfaces for the purposes of colonization.
The game’s different unit offerings centering around Titans and other planet-destroying doomsday weapons still provide a lot of multiplayer variety. Touted as more of a “macro” than a “micro” game,Planetary Annihilation: Titansplayers need to multitask to secure their victory. Since players eventually have to fight for planetary control on multiple fronts, controlling the right planets early on can secure victory.
Compared toTiberium-heavyCommand & Conquer, the story ofRed Alert 2revolves around the intense conflict between the Allied and Soviet nations beyond World War 2. Courtesy of the psychic Yuri working for the Soviets, the Allies need to secure an edge before they lose the war altogether.
Despite having only two teams (three, counting Yuri’s psychic army), the sheer level of diversity across unit types encourages quick thinking and playing according to the team’s strengths. Soviets tend to be popular in multiplayer as their cheap units can facilitate rushes, but Allies that get to survive these initial assaults can be overwhelming to deal with in the late game.
Set after the success of the Global Liberation Army inCommand & Conquer: Generals, the story ofCommand & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hourexplores how the USA, GLA, and China plan on thwarting a plan to use toxins to wreak havoc across the world. Despite its simple plot,Zero Hourboasts a deep multiplayer component, especially with its expanded 12 sub-faction factions that provide specific benefits to a chosen faction.
Thisadded variety enhancesZero Hourmultiplayer, as a sub-faction can dictate a player’s early-game strategy. Likewise, the game implementing extremely wide building zones encourages far-reaching strategic plays, forcing players early on to decidedly spread their resources to cover ground or keep a tight-knit base with little room to recover from punishment.
Unlike other games set in World War 2,Company of Heroes 2focuses on the Eastern Front. As withother Relic Entertainment RTS titles,Company of Heroes 2relies on a point-based system, where command points become the main source of base-building resources.
Compared to other RTS titles,Company of Heroes 2emphasizes squad management via individual weaponry and skill upgrades. Buildings may also be used as a temporary stronghold, while fights make use of cover. This time around, players need to ensure their captured points are within a “supply line” to benefit from resources, making supply lines a point of interest in early plays.
In the dire future of the Ascension War, techno-enhanced Post-Humans wage war against AI-controlled Substrate, makingAshes of the Singularityreminiscent of traditional sci-fi RTS titles. However, whereAshes of the Singularitymay feel boring due to the durability versus speed debate of faction units, the game more than makes up for its meta-unit system.
AsAshescan handle hundreds to thousands of units in the game at a time, players enjoy massive wars with carefully tailored unit combinations. However, the game demands a lot of macro-managing on the part of players, demanding more precise unit planning. This can be mitigated by auto-repeating production queues, making the early game more vital for players.
The story ofWargame: Red Dragondepicts a Cold War where the Soviets didn’t lose, but rather now interact with new Asia Pacific Nations. Unlike other RTS titles,Wargame: Red Dragonuses a deck-building systemwhere players create sets of units they carry into battle, with each match offering deployment points that further limit the deck’s roster. They also have limited movement due to fuel and ammunition stats, making supply units an integral part of a player’s arsenal.
The game enforcing limited deployment at the onset forces players to be more mindful of their pre-match setups. Being wary of unit interactions and having counters for specific enemies can secure the player’s survival, especially when multiplayer often has enemies that can quickly counter meta decks.
Serving as a love letter to theTotal Annihilationseries,Beyond All Reasonis another attempt at a large-scale RTS where even minute interactions matter. The game’s lack of single-player brings players straight to the action. Boasting more than 400 units, players can approach skirmishes in a myriad of ways.
What makesBeyond All Reasonquite the merciless RTS is how players need to understand meticulous unit interactions. Moreover, Commanders capable of one-shotting most threats on top of on-death explosions can make them viable aggressive units, allowing players to dominate team matches if they play their cards right.
Such is the critical acclaim ofSupreme Commander: Forged Allianceto fans that a dedicated community maintained its multiplayer servers after they shut down, resulting in the creation ofSupreme Commander: Forged Alliance Forever. Compared to the original game, themod-likeForged Alliance Foreverheavily focuses on the game’s multiplayer offerings by streamlining the game’s massive scale.
Unlike other RTS titles,Forged Alliance Foreverheavily emphasizes both macros and minute decision-making. For instance, wrong upgrades can ruin the player’s economy, whereas enemies can generally predict a player’s strategy based on their initial setups. It doesn’t help that unit intricacies mean the right upgrades can create units that can destroy the player’s Commander Unit, ending the fight before players build momentum.
Set between the 1,000-year timeline of the Dark Age and the Imperial Age (Renaissance),Age of Empires 2condenses the traditionalCrusader Kings 3experience into a hyper-competitive RTS experience. While players are still tasked to survive across four Ages, they must do so while dominating other factions. Compared to other RTS titles,Age of Empires 2depends on a straightforward rock-paper-scissors unit damage system, encouraging high-intensity plays.
Since its release in 1999,Age of Empireshas had an active multiplayer scene that is represented nowadays by the Hidden Cup Tournament, which thrills audiences by hiding participants under pseudonyms before their final reveal. For multiplayer hopefuls, getting into the game’s Art of War tutorial can get a lot of the basics out of the way, allowing players to figure out a basic fast castle strategy before branching out into specific routes in their matches.
Perhaps the game that catapulted Esports into the mainstream,StarCraft 2was the much-awaited continuation of the storyline started by theStarCraftseries in 1998. Split into three campaigns,StarCraft 2heralds the return of the Queen of Blades Kerrigan to aid in the survival of the galaxy. Returning to the RTS scene are the firepower-heavy Terrans, the utility-reliant Protoss, and the swarm-dependent Zerg.
However, it’s in multiplayer that players fight for supremacy in outer space, asStarCraft 2’s streamlined mechanics offer a lot of room for tactical viability. Perhaps the precursor to the modern RTS scene,StarCraft 2is a decent jumping-off point for playerswho want to familiarize themselves with now-standard unit variants such as rush-down troops, quick-builders, scout-fighters, and early-hitters - all of which offer early-game victories for players who aren’t careful.
