in ,

Experts Tell Us the Best RTS Games

This article showcases our top picks for the Best RTS Games. We reached out to industry leaders and experts who have contributed the suggestions within this article (they have been credited for their contributions below). We are keen to hear your feedback on all of our content and our comment section is a moderated space to express your thoughts and feelings related (or not) to this article This list is in no particular order.

Command and Conquer: Red Alert

This product was recommended by Brian Lee from Drill and Driver

I don’t know for others, but this game is still the best real time strategy game for me. It has different sequels already and it gets better and better from the previous releases. Battling in custom maps with other players or playing through the campaign to know the story is both exciting. A story about the supposedly cold war that went hot between the Soviet Union and Allied forces brings you different special technologies for each country involved. Forming tactics and strategies should be quick as you don’t know if the enemies are already creeping near your base’s walls waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack. This game really brings excitement and fun that even unit’s voices will be stocked in your head.

StarCraft: Brood War

This product was recommended by Gelen Revilla from Good Noise

A very well-made game. The graphics seem archaic by current standards, and some of the normal elements of the RTS genre hadn’t fully developed yet, especially as regards the player interface. Nonetheless, this game lived up to all the hype. All three factions are fun and challenging to play, and each required an almost entirely different strategy, and wholly different tactics to win. A compelling story and fascinating universe, without any bugs or major game design failures that I noticed. Blizzard entertainment should strive to maintain its standard of excellence for all future releases.

Age of Empires III

This product was recommended by Rei Garnet from Bunnyhorde

Probably my most played game of all time. If you’re like me who loves the planning & tactics of the game, you’ll love this game so much. Be warned though, there will be times when you’ll play this in the morning and be surprised it suddenly noon. That’s how addicting this game is!

Minecraft

This product was recommended by Jonathan Tian from Mobitrix

Minecraft is the most demanded real-time strategy game. Up to 5 players can play this game at a time. It is supported by Xbox Live, and its interface facilitates various utilities like biome settlers, city folk, town folk.

Five Nights at Freddy’s

This product was recommended by Jonathan Tian from Mobitrix

This is a fascinating game developed by Scott Cawthon. It is a horror game consisting of Five Nights of animatronic terror. Along with this, it has an unlockable 6th night called nightmare mode.

Bloons TD 6

This product was recommended by Jonathan Tian from Mobitrix

This is the 4.4 rated, best RTS game. This is the fascinating tower defense game, having nine heroes. In this game, players can buy in-game currency and various perks.

Age of Empires IV

This product was recommended by Olivia Tan from CocoFax

Age of Empires II persists as a quality RTS game because it’s managed to stand the test of time and is still getting support today, but its newest sibling is by no means a slouch. Sporting an upgraded engine, new graphics, and a different approach to civilisation design, Age of Empires IV is a modern AOE game for the modern strategy gamer. It’s even turned up its treatment of history to 11, with hours of real-life documentary footage explaining the historical context of the campaigns, as well as specific aspects of medieval life.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

This product was recommended by Olivia Tan from CocoFax

Shadow Tactics: Blade of the Shogun is one of the best examples of modern RTS games. You don’t control vast armies with innumerable units, but instead, you guide an elite group of five characters, all of whom have different skills and strengths. While it does fit into the RTS genre, it also owes a debt to stealth games, meaning you have to be very careful when making decisions – your crew are skilled killers, but they’re no match for a fort full of samurai. It’s a neat twist on real-time strategy, with each new level of the campaign presenting you with a new stealth puzzle to solve using your five very different soldiers.

Land Air Sea Warfare RTS

This product was recommended by Harriet Chan from CocoFinder

A warfare game where you take up the commander role instructing the aircraft, and submarines to wage war against the enemies. You will be provided with a map where you can identify the location of the enemies and target them quickly in no time. This game has awesome graphics with an animated warfare environment. Moreover, the conversations are translated into many languages to add comfort to the users.

Command and Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath

This product was recommended by Donald Wilson from Fitness Solitude

This is an excellent choice for RTS fans. It has a lot of the same elements as Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium wars and also includes additional subfactions based on the original three you could play as in C&C3TW. Each subfaction has limitations on which units and abilities it’s able to use, adding a larger element of strategy to the game. In addition, there are a numerous array of maps to choose from for a large amount of replay value.

Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II

This product was recommended by Redha Ferr from Gaming PC Web

Dawn of War II is a game that has many well-written stories in it. It’s difficult to find other games which make you feel like you are playing an epic storyline. The graphics are also well done and it doesn’t feel like the game is outdated even after 10 years. The gameplay is also very smooth and if you know how to play, it’s easy to beat your opponent with the tactics that you can use. However, if you’re not familiar with the game, then it will be difficult for you to get the hang of everything in this game.

Age of Empires II HD Edition

This product was recommended by Redha Ferr from Gaming PC Web

Age of Empires II HD Edition is a massive redesign and improvement on the classic RTS game, Age of Empires II. The game was released in 2013 and has been well received by critics and gamers alike. With this remake, players can experience one of the most influential games in the RTS genre. Age Of Empires II HD Edition is worth playing because it offers a lot to players in terms of gameplay and graphics. The developer has done a wonderful job at bringing this old game to a whole new generation of gamers while still retaining its identity as a fan favorite.

The Walking Dead: Road to Survival

This product was recommended by Alina Clark from CocoDoc

The Walking Dead Road to Survival is the definitive Walking Dead strategy RPG game, brought to you by Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead comic series. Based on an all-new story from award-winning Walking Dead writer Jay Bonansinga, the dark aesthetic of this game reflects the uncompromising decisions you will need to make as you strategize for survival. It’s a good game that isn’t that pay to win like other games. I’m a big walking dead fan enjoy the game.

Northgard

This product was recommended by Karim from Dehumidifier Depot

This intriguing Viking game made its way to our strategic shores in mid-2018. Since then, it has occupied its own modest corner of the genre in a stoic and competent style. Each round of Northgard, set in a fictional planet, places you as newcomers on an island that you must explore and grow in order to construct a new life for your people. Rather than constructing buildings and recruiting units, you must assign your limited population to various ‘jobs,’ which are enabled by buildings. In many ways, the game is relatively hands-off, with even fighting following a guidance paradigm rather than direct control. You won’t be alone on the island, as others will be looking for new houses as well. Each Viking ‘clan’ has its own set of rules and playstyles; some want to build alliances, while others prefer to conquer. Others are simply looking for a way to generate money, perhaps by summoning a Kraken. There are several paths to win, and each dynamically generated island contains mystery and NPC monsters. There’s also a survival aspect to it, as you’ll need to make sure you have enough food and resources to get through the winter. Although there are some paid add-ons in the form of additional clans, most of the main updates have been free, including several new game modes.

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation

This product was recommended by Karim from Dehumidifier Depot

Through a long cycle of development and optimization, this game has matured significantly. It’s currently regarded as one of the most original approaches on large-scale RTS in recent memory. Ashes of the Singularity borrows elements from Total Annihilation-style games, Company of Heroes’ squad-based light vehicles, and interconnected resource nodes that resemble regions from Relic’s iconic World War 2 RTS in many ways. It makes use of structure-based support powers similar to those present in Command and Conquer 3, and the rare Quanta resource limits player upgrades and unit counts (which you can also use to activate support powers). While the game’s specifications make it impossible to run on any but the most powerful devices, Ashes is shaping up to be a real rival in the large-scale RTS field.

This post contains affiliate links. Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases from Amazon.com and other Amazon websites.

Written by Zak Parker

Journalist, writer, musician, professional procrastinator. I'll add more here later.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.