About the nomination
The strategic genre is alive in spite of: even now, during the active offensive of virtual reality and games, outstanding projects for managers, strategists and tactics continue to come out.
We selected ten games that rightly carry the title of the best in the niche and which should not be passed regardless of preferences. TOP includes projects very different in style and content, but they are united by one – the highest level of execution and the talent of developers.
Tenth place – Two Point Hospital (2018)
Brainchild Two Point Studios In some way, it rethought the hit Theme Hospital from the 1990s, and in it the developers showed how surprisingly entertaining can be the control of the hospital.
Of course, you will not see suffering and pain here: it is rather a parody of a real hospital in the presentation of modern pop culture. Players have to mess with staff, engage in construction and rack their heads over the decor; Local doctors treat mostly fictional diseases, and there must be a ghost hunter in the state. Methods for achieving the goal – in abundance, random events will not allow you to get bored, and a cute picture and good jokes complement a portrait of the best economic strategy for a relaxing vacation before bedtime.
Ninth place —ShoGun 2: Total War (2011)
British series of global step -by -step strategies Total War I have long won the love of the public. In addition to the main franchise Creative Assembly I released two spin-offs- Warhammer And Saga , and none of the many games and additions can be called a failure.
For our top we have chosen Shogun 2 , and there were reasons for this. The main one is a realistic flavor of the Japanese islands in the bloody era of internodists. War of Japanese clans in Shogun 2: Total War You will not confuse with the Crusades or the invasion of the orcs to the lands of the empire. Units of an exotic type and characteristics. Siege of castles of unusual architecture. Fantastic ships without sails. Rice as an economy engine. Dozens of different mechanics – from espionage to science. In addition, in the year of release, the game could safely be called the most beautiful strategy in history, and for this title it may well compete even today.
Eighth place – Rimworld (2016)
Who would have thought that the best Robinsonade from the world of video games is not an action and not RPG, but a modest look at a strategy Rimworld? The tie is simple: a cosmic disaster, after which a group of survivors found himself on an unfamiliar planet and tries to escape. And the charm of Rimworld is that we do not control the settlers directly, but this does not interfere with the immersion in their exciting troubles and the construction of the colony in the middle of the hostile tundra.
Random events are pouring out, like from a cornucopia, constantly surprising and challenging. You never know what will happen the next night: the attack of predators, a fire or outbreak of a deadly cold. The decision that to cook for lunch may turn out to be no less fateful than the salvation of a prisoner running away from a pack of evil pirates. Yes, and here is the best guitar soundtrack that you heard – at least in strategies for sure.
Seventh place —The Banner Saga (2014-2018)
The unique mixture of role -playing play, step -by -step tactics and management was one of the first successful projects born using the platform Kickstarter. The first part The Banner Saga I was remembered and fell in love with many, and thanks to the support of fans, a sad story about the end of time grew into a trilogy – to the joy of aesthetes and lovers of novelty in the genre.
The player is offered to command the caravan of immigrants who leave their native lands, running away from the army of bloodthirsty drages. To bring the detachment to a quiet harbor, it is reasonable to distribute supplies and keep the moral spirit, you will have to try. A lot of events and unexpected meetings are scattered on the way, and text quests constantly put before a difficult choice where each solution is really important. You can’t call a step -by -step baton standard: the fighters have a single indicator of the force of attack and health, and the armor must be circled with separate blows. Pumping and bright characters, original setting and unpredictable scenario – in The Banner Saga everything is done with the soul. And the picture resembling the expensive full -length animation of the pre -computer era, and atmospheric music only give this gloomy fairy tale an additional charm.
Sixth place – Frostpunk (2018)
The apocalypse has come – a new ice age has come, and humanity balances on the verge of extinction. From these gloomy introductories begins Frostpunk : the best statement in the genre on the topic of decadence and degradation.
The hard pace and the cruel mood of the project did not scare away, but only attracted sophisticated gamers. There are no clamping burghers and needs to operate with millionth budgets, as in other economic strategies: we lead a small settlement of the survivors and daily balancing the knife blades. Precious coal instantly ends, the crumbs of resources have to be used as efficiently as possible, and hungry, frostbite and sick settlers will not let the town just expand the town for their pleasure. The stylistics of steampunk gives what is happening a special charm, and you can find so many important elections between more and less evil only in good RPG. It is difficult, scary and cold to survive in Frostpunk, but because it succeeds when it succeeds.
Fifth place –Into The Breach (2018)
Everyone loves robots. Giant robots – even more. And giant robots against huge monsters are generally a win -win formula. In strategies, this topic did not have time to become beaten, so Into the Breach I occupied an empty niche: here we command a detachment of combat fur and protect the cities from terrible monsters-kaiju.
A step-by-step indie project hides behind a modest pixel picture that still insatiable eater of free time. The sea of nuances was wound on a simple plot, and the similarity of the battlefield with a chessboard was not accidental at all. Different maps and biomes, a rich assortment of fur, pilots and weapons, a bunch of monsters with unique techniques – the reiglabicity of Into the Breach was built into the absolute. Fifteen passages? Easy to!
Fourth place —cites: Skylines (2015)
CITIES: SkyLines It copes with the role of an antidepressant: it resembles a huge box with a designer for children of all ages (even if the child is hidden in the soul of the father of the family or energetic grandfather). The purpose of the game is to establish the life of a large city, providing it with a comfortable existence. In order for virtual townspeople to live well, you will have to lay roads, break the territory into quarters, monitor construction and road traffic, forbid smoking … exciting classes, convenient tools in excess, social activity draws up with the head, and a meditative leisurely process immerses the pure joy of architecture.
However, the main advantage of CITIES: SkyLines became large, convincing, reliable and busy cities. No statics – only the rhythm of the metropolis and a pretty picture. This is what the project put on the shoulder blades of competitors like Simcity And won the hearts of fans.
Third place – Plague Inc. (2012)
Before you come to the PC, this strategic non -format successfully conquered the world of mobile games. Rather, he infected, because they are offered to manage the invisible but powerful army of viruses.
The purpose of the game is the success of global pandemia, infection of the whole genus of human and its extinction (well, or an irreversible mutation). The misanthropic idea is just a framing for a fascinating, not similar game where you need to take care of a viral culture since its origin, spread the globe and take measures when cunning people will try to stop the victorious march of deadly microbes. There are no familiar teams for soldiers or the construction of barracks, but the player will have to take into account dozens of variables and respond to the most unexpected development of events. And the fascinating process and an extraordinary idea provide Plague Inc. Honorary bronze pedestal in our top.
Second place – Starcraft II (2010)
The second part of the cult scientific and fiction series from Blizzard Entertainment Fans of protosss and Zergs have been waiting for twelve years. It was worth it: a sequel Starcraft -In fact, three full-fledged games-organically continued and deepened the original story, expanded the universe and gave users the new experience of the online Batalia.
All races got a separate large -scale episode with their special mechanics, visual style and atmosphere. The gamemerase of single campaigns would like to admire in every mission, but the developers also provided a lot of interesting classes at the bases while the heroes are taking a breath between tasks. Dynamic, perfectly balanced adversarial mechanics gave rise to one of the largest e -sports disciplines. Although the second part to the fullest used the graphic achievements of those years that separated it from the first, unforgettable art design of units and buildings here is even more important than a bright three-dimensional picture with excellent animation and sound.
First place —Sid Meier’s Civilization v (2010)
After a successful fourth part Civilization No one expected the team Firaxis will add so many innovations to the new game, but the risk of which it went is fully justified. The hexagons came to replace the square breakdown of the card. All mechanics added flexibility. Most of all the fighting has changed – for the better: the players took the opportunity to collect an invincible army on one cage, allocating a separate hex to each detachment. Tactical tricks, which were so lacking before, are represented here in abundance.
Many gaming elements from previous parts were launched under the knife, and this was the fifth only to the benefit. Civilization 4 with all additions became overloaded and sometimes clumsy; Sid Meier’s Civilization V has a great iron, but successfully combined the cosmic depth with the dynamics of state development and war. And for this it can confidently be called not only the best part of the series, but also the best strategy of the decade.
