Base Wars
Base Wars is a unique strategy concept, it feels mechanically similar to RTS games like Age of Empires and Starcraft but packaged in a turn based format. I’d describe it as chess without a grid.
I’ve been following development for a couple years and the game is actively getting updates every month or two. As of 1.0 the core gameplay is great. Online games are easy to set up and the map editor is very in-depth. There are some missing extras like a full singleplayer campaign and a replay system, but those are claimed to be coming soon.
– Real player with 8.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Turn-Based Strategy Resource Management Games.
Eternal Warfare
I have been dabbling in this game for a few years now and I have watched it develop and improve with the developer happy to listen and take on boards ideas and suggestions. Whilst it easy to describe it as a turn based Command and Conquer it is more than that and what is important about it is that it is simply great fun. Different game modes cater for your mood- you can battle through the various campaigns (which vary in challenge from winning through sheer force to more subtle and stealth scenarios), fight off waves of enemies in the invasion mode or conquer the world in huge skirmishes against an impressive AI which cannot be bargained with and which has had me on the ropes more than once when I let my guard down. The graphics are fun, the selection of units is interesting and all for a bargain price. What more do you want?
– Real player with 56.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Turn-Based Strategy Multiplayer Games.
please play this advace wars clone… please… i need someone to play with
– Real player with 16.6 hrs in game
Xenonauts 2
XENONAUTS-2 is a vast single player strategy game in which you control a multi-national military organisation defending our planet from alien invasion.
Battle the extraterrestrials in tense, complex turn-based combat across a variety of maps and missions, recovering and researching their technology to unlock new weapons and equipment!
Take a global view with the real-time strategic management layer: you must establish and develop your bases, conduct research, battle for air supremacy and try to keep the panic level in your funding regions under control.
The strategic and tactical layers of the game are directly related, with ground missions affecting the overall balance of the Geoscape and your research efforts on the recovered items unlocking new equipment for your squads and aircraft. Every management decision you make filters down to the troops you control in battle; every shot you fire could change the balance of strategic power.
Can you hold off the invasion long enough to discover a way to defeat the alien forces?
No knowledge of the previous game is required to play - XENONAUTS-2 is a standalone title with its own setting and narrative.
Key Features
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Ground Combat: The highly-detailed turn-based combat system gives you fine control over your soldiers as they battle the aliens across multiple different mission types and numerous varied environments. The day / night cycle and destructible battlefields open up endless tactical possibilities to defeat your enemies, and your soldiers will grow stronger as they gain combat experience - provided you can keep them alive!
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Strategic Management: A complex strategic layer allows you to coordinate the defence of our planet. Establish bases to extend your reach and use customisable interceptors to shoot down attacking UFOs, then deploy your soldiers to secure resources. Capturing crash sites can secure alien technology and live specimens for research, whereas protecting regions from alien activity and terror attacks will protect your funding and prevent them surrendering to the aliens.
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In-depth Simulation: The structure of Xenonauts-2 is not linear; no two campaigns unfold in exactly the same way. Every element of this complex interlocking simulation has been designed to create maximum coherence between the strategic and tactical layers: small decisions can have an impact across the entire game.
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Extensive Tech Tree: XENONAUTS-2 contains a vast variety of aircraft, vehicles, weapons, armour, and battlefield equipment for you to experiment with. and a deep research tree with over a hundred projects to unlock. Play the game the way you want to play, devising your own tactics and strategies to defeat the extraterrestrial threat!
Key Improvements from XENONAUTS-1
In addition to the new modular upgrade systems mentioned previously, here is a very small selection of key changes and enhancements:
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Improved visuals across all parts of the game, including full 3D tactical environments with a rotatable camera!
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A more detailed and immersive Geoscape simulation incorporating greater player choice and stronger elements of territory control!
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More environments and maps to fight in - including our new Jungle and Boreal biomes!
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New aliens have been added and many existing ones have been redesigned, all of which will benefit from our new and improved AI system!
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A larger research tree with more lore and an expanded variety of equipment for your soldiers to use in battle!
Read More: Best Turn-Based Strategy Turn-Based Tactics Games.
Xenonauts
More faithful than the modern XCOM games. You can build multiple bases to your own style and needs! Multiple drop ships, not a single one and an anthill for you to save the world with. Troops are expendable like they should be! Yay!
Eagerly awaiting the sequel, and hopefully eventual Terror From the Deep spiritual successor.
Only thing letting it down is lack of final polish - quicksave works, quickload doesn’t for some reason, and there’s a few minor glitches like the camera being stuck panning in a direction after an alien turn which requires a quick reload to fix, etc. Sometimes the AI acts a little omnipotent, such as sitting in a corner in a building never moving until the moment you get close enough for it to take a fair shot at your soldiers and then dip back into cover again, even though it shouldn’t have known you were there.
– Real player with 347.6 hrs in game
Good: Mostly faithful recreation of XCOM UFO Defense but with significantly better controls and a cool Cold War setting. No class restrictions like Firaxis XCOM and fewer restrictions in general. You make your own classes. Four gun and explosive tiers.
Nice, detailed lore with the Xenopaedia. Great music overall. Overall good weapon design, with humans getting their own distinctly designed plasma weapons. Sound effects are fantastic, especially for high level weapons and explosions. They even have different sounds for the weapon reloads.
– Real player with 140.7 hrs in game
Chambers of Devious Design
“Build me a lair… And it better be devious!”
The evil mastermind is in need of a lair suited to his devious demeanor. Can you come up with a fiendishly creative design to bury your competition?
Each room type comes with a unique effect that is boosted when the room is placed next to supporting room types. Try to come up with an optimal design that unleashes the full potential of your rooms!
Your opponent shouldn’t have started building so close to you… Teach them a lesson by planting a room full of dynamite next to their control room! Or maybe you should shoot at them with a cannon instead?
“No, no, NO! This will not do. We need to have a puppy jail! What do you mean “why”? Because we’re EVIL, duh!"
The evil mastermind knows exactly what he wants… And usually, it’s the complete opposite of what he wanted 5 minutes ago. If the boss wants his bedroom next to a snake pit, it’s best to follow along.
GhostControl Inc.
This review need updating. The game has been updated and polished even further. Will update when I get around to playing it again.
In short:
Ghostcontrol Inc. is a solid and fun turn-based strategy ghost hunting simulator with very good humor.
Ghostcontrol Inc. style and feel is that of a casual and fun game (but not easy :) ). The graphical style, sounds and music are similar to Theme Hospital. Gameplay is sufficiently deep for a turn based game and incorporates a simple 2 AP system which makes the game flow nicely. Menus and action are understandable and there is enough amount of micromanaging to have variety. The story of the game is humorous and well written.
– Real player with 40.5 hrs in game
Ghost Control Inc seemingly has everything going for it. It’s a game where you essentially play team manager for Ghosbusters! And it has a nearly-perfect blend of tactics and management gameplay! What could possibly be more fun?
Unfortunately, the game is marred by several issues.
Firstly, the art direction is uneven at best. Most of the ghosts have very uninspired designs that won’t stick in your mind like those of other franchises involving catching ghosts. Several of the ghosts are just recolors or slight redesigns of the lower level ghosts you fight early in the game, so they’re both boring to look at and repetitive. This also makes it slightly harder to tell what you’re figthing at times.
– Real player with 39.5 hrs in game
Gladiator Guild Manager
Gladiator Guild Manager is the best auto battler i have played. I have had lots of fun coming up with various strategies and team comp’s. Unlike other team manager games, it has a strong RPG element that isn’t there just for fluff. For instance, I have 2 Mana Assassins (Rogues), one that does a very high backstab, where the other one is a brawler with stealth. The various quirks your gladiator can have also spice up the selection, as well as the ability to equip various items that boost stats, or add effects.
– Real player with 36.2 hrs in game
Very fun auto-battler! Very addictive and has a good amount of variety. The randomness option with the building/units at the start and the option for permadeath makes the replay value high! I am look forward for more randomness with the quests and more buildings/units and an even greater replay value with the full release.
Give the game a chance! I found it, watched a youtube video of it, bought it, and played 8 hours of it all in the same day. It is very stable for an early access game with a lot of room for growth :)
– Real player with 26.3 hrs in game
Hoplichess
what does a temple and granary do
– Real player with 0.2 hrs in game
MoonBase Commander
Chess meets Tower Defense
Originally realeased in 2002, this game shows its age. Nevertheless, its simple rules and complex gameplay are genius.
First, the only game mode I have spent any significant time in is singleplayer skirmish. I do not know if Multiplayer works yet, but if I try it, I will update this review to include it. Skirmish seems like the only gamemode that really shines; challenge mode is generally irrelevant / uninteresting, in my opinion.
Pros / things I personally like:
– Real player with 48.1 hrs in game
The best game that only I have played. My hours on Steam don’t do it justice - I’ve owned the game in physical form since the early 2000’s and I’ve put hundreds of hours into it.
It’s got great music, it’s graphically pleasing, and most importantly, it’s fun to play. It’s got that “easy to learn but tough to master” thing going for it, since with the golf-like controls and obstacles like water, wind and elevation, even an experienced player like myself can mess up sometimes. This can be an issue even against NPCs, as the campaign gets hard as nails towards the end. The AI isn’t perfect, but it mostly competent, and can definitely provide a challenge if you choose the tougher bots.
– Real player with 25.1 hrs in game
Zodiac Legion
Zodiac Legion is a turn-based tactical RPG featuring lethal combat, squad management and strategic elements. Lead your heroes through daring raids and forgotten ruins, defend your land in a time of conquest and betrayal, and master the secrets of volatile ancient magic to restore a realm beset by the armies of undying fiendish sorcerers.
features
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Lead your knights in turn-based tactical battles.
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Explore ancient ruins and places of power, thwart the plans of enemy lieutenants, forge alliances, and restore the Zodiac Order.
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Smash your way through fully destructible dungeons.
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Expand and strengthen your stronghold, research new spells and craft powerful artifacts.
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Reshape the terrain to your advantage.
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Develop your warriors into mighty champions.
As the Grandmaster of the Zodiac Order, it will be your duty to restore this knightly brotherhood and rally its champions under the banners of the thirteen Zodiac signs. You will manage your domain, take important diplomatic decisions and train your warriors in the arcane arts. Enemy armies will invade your borders, forcing you to dispatch your knights on missions resolved through turn-based, tactical battles. Their superhuman powers will tip the scales in the face of overwhelming odds, but beware: many will not survive the ordeal. Yet exploring the secrets of necromancy may reveal that a Zodiac Knight’s duty need not end in death.
The work on Zodiac Legion began because we shared the vision of a game that would combine the tactical combat and strategic campaign of X-COM, with the fantasy aspects and dungeon crawling typical of most roleplaying games.
We decided to use the theme of the Zodiac because of its association with classical mythology, and due to its ties with distinct character archetypes, which served as the foundation of our class system. There are hundreds of distinct features and qualities attributed to the signs by astrology, which lends itself to a robust and interconnected system that has an impact on all the aspects of Zodiac Legion’s gameplay and storytelling.