The best strategy games of 2024

A look back at this year’s strategic and tactical highlights

Frostpunk 2 / 11 Bit Studios

What’s better than watching the snow drift peacefully outside your window while sitting in your comfy chair than doing so while committing absolutely vile acts in the name of world conquest? That was a rhetorical question.

From gripping and beautiful indie titles to a return to form of some of the most prolific developers of the genres, there have been a great many strategy and tactics games this year. I do not claim to have played them all, nor do I claim this to be a definitive list of any kind – but I wanted to share some of my personal favorites and highlights from 2024, because you may discover something to your taste that went under your radar or you simply didn’t have time for yet.

Ranked in no particular order, here are my best strategy games of 2024.

Tactical Breach Wizards

Tactical Breach Wizards / Suspicious Developments

Tactical Breach Wizards is a marvelous little game – and I’m not just saying that because it uses the word “defenestration” in just about every second sentence, though it does earn bonus points for that. No, this is pretty much a pocket version of XCOM – a tactical puzzle game, if you will. 

You are presented with varying combat scenarios, which you’ll need to solve with the minimum amount of moves possible. Additional spice comes in the form of side objectives, which could ask you to eliminate enemies in a certain way, for example, making it necessary to chain skills together in a very specific way. Thanks to a colorful character roster, good mission variety, and some brilliant humor in its narrative, Tactical Breach Wizards is one of 2024’s best indie games and one of my yearly strategy highlights.

Read more: Tactical Breach Wizards review

Frostpunk 2

Frostpunk 2 / 11 bit Studios

Fans have waited a long time for this one – and boy, was it worth it. Frostpunk 2 is a true rarity among sequels: It manages to evoke the same atmosphere and feelings as the original game while taking the gameplay in a completely fresh direction. Not to mention the change of scale.

Frostpunk 2 is still set in the icy apocalypse that threatens to wipe out humankind, but survival has become somewhat easier, and that has left people with time to think – the worst outcome. They suddenly get ideas, hopes, and dreams that you as the city’s leader have to somehow account for now. A survival city-builder with society-builder elements, Frostpunk 2 asks you not only to manage food and energy supplies, but deal with a fracturing community, political infighting, backroom dealmaking, and a world that has suddenly grown much more complicated than during the worst of the storms.

Read more: Frostpunk 2 review

Ara: History Untold

Ara: History Untold / Oxide Games / Microsoft

Combining the allure of complex production chains and the hustle-and-bustle of city-builders with the scale and ambitions of a grand strategy game, Ara: History Untold is a unique turn-based title that really gripped my attention this year.

You can lose hours to its stunning visuals, zooming in to watch your citizens work or some lions hunt, then zooming out to see your growing empire take over an entire continent. Though there’s plenty of in-depth management to take care of in Ara, the developers have taken care to provide lots of eye candy, which is not always the case in this genre. Oxide expanded what turn-based strategy games can be with Ara: History Untold, in a mechanical and visual sense, and that in itself makes it worth checking out.

Read more: Ara: History Untold review

Empire of the Ants

Empire of the Ants / Tower Five / Microids

I did not see this one coming until Gamescom 2024 brought it onto my radar – which I can’t really be blamed for, mind you, because ants are really small. Empire of the Ants is another unique title that is best described as borrowing elements from Mount & Blade, RTS, and 3D platformers.

You are slipping into the role of an experienced and intelligent worker ant, who is dutifully serving her Queen on special missions – from hunting fireflies to stock up additional food reserves and full-blown battlefield commands to sneaking behind enemy lines at night to scout their territory, you’ll sometimes feel like ant Napoleon and sometimes like an ant ninja. It’s an intriguing mix of genres with an oddly gripping narrative and solid strategy basics that’s absolutely worth a look.

Read more: Empire of the Ants review

Age of Mythology: Retold

Age of Mythology: Retold / World's Edge / Microsoft

I won’t really have to write much about this one, right? Age of Mythology: Retold is the return of a classic in modern gown, but treated in the same careful and detailed manner as examples such as Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition. This is not just the iconic RTS you know and love with enhanced graphics and modern controls, it’s been thoroughly rebalanced and complemented with additional content that the original lacked.

Read more: Age of Mythology: Retold

Songs of Silence

Songs of Silence / Chimera Entertainment

No strategy game – in fact, very few other games – can compete with Songs of Silence in terms of visual style. Art Nouveau, at its most vibrant and colorful, has influenced every aspect of it, from the map over to its characters and spell effects. Of course, there is more to games than artstyle and brilliant worldbuilding.

Songs of Silence combines elements of Heroes of Might & Magic with an auto-battle system that allows for some limited – but critical – direct influence from the player in the form of ability cards. These can be unlocked and organized into a deck over the course of a campaign, as characters level up and gain new cards or upgrade old ones. Another point in favor of this game is its broad and imaginative unit variety, which keeps the battles fresh despite their general passivity. This one is an indie treasure.

Read more: Songs of Silence Early Access review (1.0 has been released since)

Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic

Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic / Hooded Horse

Do you hate capitalism? Do you have too much free time? Well, in the overlapping circle of this particular Venn diagram, we have this wonderful game. Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic allows you to build your socialist utopia and become the envy of comrades around the world.

It’s also one of the most hardcore, detail-oriented city-builders you will find on the market – the simulation level of this title is nuts (not bananas, as you probably won’t be able to afford those). This is basically Cities: Skylines and Industry Giant mashed together and served with a dose of Tropico, which goes for both the cheeky humor and the fact that you shouldn’t let your population get too uppity.

Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties

Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties / Creative Assembly / Sega

It may not ultimately have been the commercial success Creative Assembly wanted it to be, but Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties is a triumph in every other department. Refining the already rock-solid foundations of the original release, CA Sofia went ahead and basically doubled the game’s content for free in this monumental update.

Dynasties expanded the map in the West and East, added prominent factions of the time, and reworked features such as the combat system as a reaction to player feedback, transforming the title into what players wanted it to be in the first place – a true Total War: Bronze Age. Fans who yearn for a historical Total War experience are highly recommended to pick up this gem from the scorching desert sand.

Read more: Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties: A swan song

Crusader Kings 3: Roads to Power

Crusader Kings 3: Roads to Power / Paradox Interactive

I’d like to give recognition to some DLCs I particularly enjoyed this year as well – and Crusader Kings 3: Roads to Power is one of those expansions. Roads to Power came in with updates to the Byzantine Empire, providing it with not only more flavor, but special mechanics that make it feel more true to its real-life counterpart, including tons of potential for court intrigue.

However, this DLC also added a completely new way to play the game, namely as a landless adventurer and fortune-seeker, transforming CK3 into even more of an RPG than it was. With that added flexibility, players have more ways than ever to mix up their experience.

Read more: Crusader Kings 3: Roads to Power review – Rome, sweet Rome

Total War: Warhammer 3 – Thrones of Decay

Total War: Warhammer 3 - Thrones of Decay / Creative Assembly

Thrones of Decay marked a monumental turning point for CA and Total War: Warhammer 3 this year on top of being an absolute marvel of an expansion with three fantastic characters, reworks of older factions that fans have been yearning for, and a more consumer-friendly sales model.

Thrones of Decay had stuff for everyone – gun lovers finally got access to the arsenal of Nuln, the Dwarfs took to the skies with the mighty Thunderbarge, and Nurgle’s followers got to play with one of the most iconic characters among the god’s followers.

Read more: Total War: Warhammer 3 – Thrones of Decay review: A return to form

Honorable Mentions

Sins of a Solar Empire 2 / Ironclad Games / Stardock

I could go on and on, but we’ll have to end it somewhere, right? Some shorter shout-outs, then. 

Hearts of Iron 4: Götterdämmerung is another pivotal DLC from this year, bringing a reworked Germany and fun science projects to the table. 

Solium Infernum is Game of Thrones meets Diablo meets Civilization, and it’s glorious, despite being a commercial flop. 

Sins of a Solar Empire 2 is the opposite type of sequel to Frostpunk 2 – it’s basically the original but with better graphics, and that’s perfect for some people.

Where the hell is Manor Lords?

Manor Lords / Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse

It’s right here – and it’d easily be part of the main list because it’s so bloody good, were it not an Early Access title at this point. At the end of the day, Manor Lords is not yet finished, and putting something unfinished – no matter how great it already is – into a list like this is unfair to that finished version of the future, robbing it of the opportunity to shine while in full bloom.

Read more: Manor Lords Early Access review: A city-builder that will settle your heart

I have every confidence at this moment that Manor Lords will be among the best strategy games in whichever year it reaches 1.0 – we’ve waited years to play it, so what’s a little more patience?