Real time strategy games are making a comeback,
and for real this time, as 2023 turned out to be the Year of Delays so it is 2024 that will become
known as the True Year of RTS and RTT games. Homeworld 3 can’t possibly be
delayed for yet another year, so we are finally going to sail our
motherships into the depths of the galaxy and experience the most atmospheric 3D
space combat and storytelling game out there. Also landing in 2024 due to a delay, Manor
Lords is a settlement builder and ma
nager, with a complete medieval army recruitment
and unit combat system. It is an Indie game whose lone creator has put every
AAA game development team to shame. Tempest Rising is developed by one such
team who lovingly crafted a mysterious universe for its cinematic single player
campaigns and perfectly blended base building and unit combat for its skirmish and
multiplayer. Every RTS fan’s dream come true. This next one has no base building, but what
Men of War II lacks in construction it
more than makes up for in historical
accuracy and the sheer amount of playable modes and content that these
developers even delayed the game for. Stormgate developers on the other hand
work tirelessly to bring to life an original universe while trying to improve a
classic PvP gameplay loop so tight it might burst right out of your monitor. But who’s
more competent for this than ex-Blizzard devs. And what about ex-Westwood devs? They
announced 9-Bit Armies: A Bit Too Far, and the only clas
sic element they are messing
with is the graphics style. Here land, air and sea units battle across player
built bases in every game mode possible. D.O.R.F Real-Time Strategic Conflict on the
other hand embraces the classical 2D look mixed with 3D and wears it like a badge.
If RTS nostalgia had a name it would be D.O.R.F and it hits like a freight train,
which is included in the game by the way. A similar 2D nostalgia trip is called Dying
Breed and it mixes giant sandworms, zombies, explos
ive rats, walking brains and
much more with base building gameplay, unit recruitment led by a commando and tops
it all off with live-action FMV sequences. Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance is a more
modern game, but it too features live action cutscenes in its single player campaign. Lack
of base building is made up by a whole other gameplay layer with unit customization,
trade, and travel on a global map. Another game with a global map as well
as unique factions and a dieselpunk art style
is Dust Front. It does have base
building during combat missions with fast, all out land and air warfare and its developer
is focused on the campaign experience. Space Gears is the opposite as its developers are
making an intricate PvP experience with minimal PvE content. There is a lot of progression
and unit roster management before going into tactical combat with a small force of
robots which have different attack modes. For those of you who prefer much grander scale
strategic warfare w
ith lots of production of units Industrial Annihilation might become just
the game for you. It promises construction of map wide factories and in them small combat
units as well as giant, planet destroying ones. Sanctuary: Shattered Sun is a similar grand scale
RTS, but almost finished and already working, and it received an endorsement from
Chris Taylor himself. It is one of the most ambitious indie projects with base
building and unit counts in the thousands. Its biggest competitor in equ
al size
and scale is no doubt Beyond All Reason, which is already playable for up to 16
players per match, and being constantly upgraded and updated by dedicated developers.
Multiplayer is the core gameplay mode here. Warpaws is built for much smaller scale combat
and with no base building but rather tactical maneuvering where your main resource
is time. It takes you into the conflict of cats vs dogs with territory control
gameplay and as much humor as possible. A game with no less humor b
ut far more firepower
is Nuke Them All. Following the same idea of time and territory your aim is to destroy the
enemy fort by slowly gathering your army, capturing key map buildings
and protecting your own HQ. Chromosome Evil 2 is of a much
darker shade of tactical gameplay, and considerably more focused on individual
soldiers. Its Lovecraftian theme is not for the faint of heart but its gameplay of item
management, survival and research is addictive. That dark theme and addictive gamepla
y
is shared by Infection Free Zone but with the added benefit of base building.
Its apocalyptic setting offers a look at a world with few rules except survival
by scavenging, teamwork and preparation. White Sands offers a similar singleplayer
experience with an equally devastated world full of monstrous enemies. Defense of the
last human encampments is paramount so your job is not to build, but to protect
with all the weapons at your disposal. This isn’t much unlike when insects defend
th
eir own colony like in Empire of the Ants. It is not the first game with this
idea, but it's near photorealistic Unreal Engine graphics will put a new p in phobia for
anyone who’s not comfortable with these animals. Dinolords is another game with animals,
prehistoric ones in this one and misplaced in the medieval times. But since it is currently
more of a concept than an actual game, we should wait to see just what kind of collecting,
building and combat gameplay it will really offer. Anoth
er game with no actual gameplay yet
is Age of Mythology Retold. But here we at least know what gameplay to expect, even
if there is no info will it be reimagined or remastered and will it contain all
the content from the original one. The same company is also looking to publish Age
of Empires for mobile phones. I am personally not big on mobile games, but I don’t want
to be judging games for you anymore, and instead inform you and let you
make up your own minds about them. Falling Frontier
is a game people are so
impressed by they would write positive reviews before even playing it. This grand
strategy and RTS sci-fi hybrid spans an entire solar system and you will be both a manager
and an admiral, if it ever gets finished. A game you can already play by the time
you watch this is Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin. Its gameplay is based
on a rock paper scissors system of unit counters across several quite different
factions but it has no real base building. Annihilate
The Spance is wholly different
as here base building is a core mechanic, with even resource generation being done
inside it as you expand your constantly rebuilding fleet of warships and try to
outplay your opponent and destroy his base. This next game is browser based, free to play,
and it has no base building. Because in Age of Cores your base, outside roguelike battles,
is your upgradable mothership, while in them, the carrier is your main ship and all others
follow its lead in single
player campaign and PvP. The Shattered Kingdom: Road to Dominance is
nowhere near as feature complete right now, but the short snippets of gameplay showcasing
huge medieval armies clashing give hope for a very interesting game which will have
settlement building once completed. A similar game, designed for smaller
scale medieval combat vs monsters is Cataclismo. It trades massive army sized
battles for more detailed castle building, literary block by block. Its dark atmosphere
fits perfect
ly with waves of walking terrors. Age of Goblins also has monsters in it but
it is a far more lighthearted game in which you will take your tribe of custom Goblins on
a conquest to take over the entire land. Every building and cave here is of tactical
importance and offers some bonuses. A far more classical RTS with base building is
Requiem Nuclear Song. It also features resource gathering and modern unit production
with combat between different factions across large maps with a single play
er campaign
developers have been ironing out for a while now. RED CHAOS - The Strict Order has a
similar base building style and also uses modern units with abilities in combat,
but many other aspects function differently, including the use of superweapons and
additional resource gathering mechanics. For those who prefer might and magic
Godsworn will scratch that itch for you with its spell welding heroes, as
well as a mix of monsters and different races from myths and legend. It is alread
y
playable and many gamers enjoyed its demo. Warchief developers skipped that whole base
building aspect and make you jump straight into action with instant deployment of units
into battle. Spells and abilities are present, and you can even customize
your army in advance of battle. This pre battle customization is also
a huge feature of Broken Arrow. Here you will get to experience large-scale all
out warfare between several specialized army corps of USA and Russia on detailed
maps with r
einforcements and airstrikes. Hyperwar is the opposite of this in so many
ways as it has a detailed base building system, with resource collection. It is made by
a solo developer in the Unreal Engine, there are only cosmetic customization
options and it is set in the near future. But for a true Sci-fi RTS on a grand
scale you will want to play Fragile Existence. It has space travel with a fleet
of warships on the run from extermination, planetary conquest in orbit and on the ground,
with s
hips and units you can customize. Star Exodus could become a game with
a similar theme if it ever moves past the concept phase. It is described to be
a singleplayer game of exploration with spaceships full of crews you have
to protect from menacing aliens. One more concept only game like this is
Roman Empire Wars. Besides some gameplay footage of animated legions fighting
barbarians and their elephants for the glory of the Roman Empire that isn’t
much else to look at or talk about. Sins of
a Solar Empire 2 on the other hand
is shaping up to be a great sequel to the original real time, almost 4X galactic conquest
game as each update brings the game closer to being feature complete. Its giant battleships
and space stations are glorious to behold. An indie version of this is
the game called Existence: The Outer Reach. But here you also have
planet side battles with ground units which should become especially interesting
in PvP and Co-Op multiplayer modes. Global Conflagration
is one game whose
multiplayer mode I couldn’t get enough of during its playtests. The perfect mix of base
building and unit production, capturing points on the map, and stelar combat balance made me
even more excited for its future singleplayer. If you don’t like a capture points
system than Tactical Combat Operations: Desert Storm is probably more your
thing. This RTS has simple base building, no unit powers or superpowers and relies on, as
its title says, tactics over actions per minute.
Last Train Home is tactics on an even
smaller scale, with a troop of highly trained and motivated soldiers on their way home
through a mostly hostile country in shambles. The added gameplay layer of the moving train
as your camp makes it even more interesting. For those who prefer a story-driven campaign
in a sci-fi setting over a historical one, Stargate: Timekeepers offers very similar
gameplay just on alien planets. Stealth, use of drones and other unique skills of your
SG squad should
make for a fun experience. Ardent Seas' renewed development is something
I am really happy to report on as this land and sea futuristic RTS captured my
imagination years ago and I would love to see it finalized because who wouldn't
want to play with seafaring motherships. Another game that is showing
progress, and a name change is Mythos: Build & Survive. Based on myths and legends,
with vikings, monsters, and demons mixed in, this survival builder has combat aplenty along
with exploratio
n and resource collection. Cold Engines unfortunately hasn’t shown any
progress so this multiplayer focused classic RTS set in the harshest ice and frost encrusted
environments is still just smoke in the distance, but I do hope these developers will
light some new fuel in their engines. A similar situation is with Middle East
Crisis. Despite actually having a working game, showing off gameplay footage with
both base building and modern unit combat not much can be seen or heard
from the dev
elopers for a while now. Era One on the other hand
just had a huge gameplay drop, and despite being behind schedule this
kickstarted 3D combat and space station builder with customizable warships is looking
good. Let's hope for a playable build this year. And one game I keep seeing year after year but
never really finished or published is Grimstar: Crystals are the New Oil! An ambitious project
of a lone developer where your objective is to exploit alien planets as efficiently as possible
despite opposition from local lifeforms. Ephemeris is also solo developed but this sci-fi
mix of real time 3D space combat and 4X galactic conquest gameplay is progressing by leaps and
bounds. Realistic spaceship movement physics, formations, and third person flying
are just some of its amazing features. Another sci-fi 3D spaceship combat game
from a solo developer is Soil. An odd name for a space game I know, but do try
out the playable campaign and skirmish modes which come with a mothers
hip, asteroid
miners, research and warship construction. Moduwar also has a strange name
and even stranger gameplay, as here you don’t construct buildings and units,
but grow them. Modu is the alien creature with the ability to grow different organs, split
and merge them as if they were your units. A much more classical but also cinematic
RTS is ZeroSpace. This sci-fi, super successfully kickstarted, multiplayer focused
title, will have a storytelling campaign, and a lot of factions and su
b fractions
to mix and match for unique play styles. Barkhan is a game where basically nothing
is unique as its developers simply ripped off past Dune games as well as the
Dune lore in everything but actual names due to copyright concerns. Other
than that it plays like the classics. Another indie game with familiar looking
units and lore is Liquidation. A strong sense of Warhammer 40k and other sci-fi
franchises is felt in this title while the gameplay has been changed a few times
finally
getting to a playable version. Ratten Reich might not be a classical
RTS and plays more as a tactical game, but at least the lore is much more original
where rats, mice, roaches and lizards in human forms use dieselpunk and steampunk
weaponry and tech against each other. To once again play in the familiar lore of
WarCraft you only need your phone… you all have one right? Haha, I am sorry I know that
leaves a bad taste behind. WarCraft Rumble is already out and… well yeah, that is
that. No
t my thing, might be yours. Neolithic : First City States is much more my
thing, but it's been on a slow development road. Huge maps, different land and sea areas and
a game about real time civilization building does tend to take a while to finish in
the hands of a lone indie developer. Developers of Age of Space are similarly
short handed and so their space sci-fi game with fun looking starship combat is slow to
move into the next stage of development. It also has resource management gamep
lay as
you can salvage wrecks of your enemies. IMMORTAL: Gates of Pyre has had better
fortune as of late so this dynamic, fast paced and full blooded base building
RTS has more progress to show in its playable version. It is not a mold breaking game, but
does attempt a special twist on hero units. This next voxel based game borrows most of its
lore and playable races from the usual myths and legends. But Heart Of Muriet developers are at
least trying out new ways of combining units, buildi
ngs and spells to give players a
novel kind of gameplay and control systems. Iron Marines Invasion definitely isn’t your
typical RTS game either and it is after all an expanded version of a mobile game. The developers
do however make a good effort to give you an extended campaign, and lots of abilities and
upgrades for heroes to keep things interesting. A game with similar but retro-futuristic
aesthetics that is definitely not a mobile game at its core is Space Tales. Large scale
strategic
warfare and resource management with base building puts it much closer to what
you would expect from a classical RTS game. Ancient Wars: Medieval Crusades is one
such classic and in its setting too, as here you will have Crusaders, Mongols and other
civilizations known for historical battles in five different game modes with not just base
building but also a unit experience system. If you would rather have more novel elements
in your next RTS than take a look at the deck building system in
Rogue Command where your
chosen cards represent units, factories, skills or abilities which set up synergies
or make drastic changes to your army. Corsairs - Battle of the Caribbean offers a
novel setting for a real time tactical game. The pirate infested shores and waters
of the warm Caribbean will get a lot more floatsm in them once your 24 pound
cannons start ripping apart enemy ships. But there is one setting that is far more
unique: Hell. This is where the story of a demonic succubus
unfolds in Agony: Lords of
Hell. The gameplay is as you would expect, full of fire and brimstone as you develop
a city and manage your armies in combat. Arcane Wilds seems more earthly but the
presence of shamans, creatures, relics, spells and a resource called essence makes
it just as hellish. The reinforcement system by ships and a global progression system
make it play out differently than the norm. A game with no spells or the
supernatural is Assembly RTS. A work of a lone indie devel
oper who
is aiming to create an immersive, physics-based strategy game with faction and
unit customization in single and multiplayer. IAH: INTERNET WAR is a fascinating idea from
an equally talented developer about a game where you are a hacker who performs various
cyber crimes with bots on the internet. Well, a highly stylized imagining of how the
internet works on the backend that is. An equally ambitious but far more classical
game is Empire Eternal. This is basically a reimagining of E
mpire Earth and its
most bellowed features, especially the one where you go from a Prehistoric
age to the Machines age in one sitting. Astronomics Rise of a New Empire is
well… another Empire builder just in space. This means managing planetary
economies, conducting negotiations and diplomacy spiced up with espionage, and
of course fleet building and conquest. If you want a more combat focused space game
than Zeta Leporis RTS is the one you should look into and try out its playtest. Buildi
ng
and upgrading everything from fighters to battleships as you annihilate the opposing
cybernetic lifeform among asteroid fields. Drevepsina is a game similarly focused
on warfare with large scale battles. In its huge Campaign you can build
up your base, train your army, and try to destroy your opponents watching
the simple graphics and cute effects top down. A smaller scale game with management beyond
just combat and building is Ascent of Ashes. It is set in a post-apocalyptic
dystopia
where your survivors, who have unique personalities, fight
raiders, aliens and enemy soldiers. Siege of Irdor appears to be a similar game,
where you design and build your village, castle and resource collection buildings as you train your future army to defend
everything from the Shadow Realm. A much more dynamic game is Operation: Polygon
Storm which cuts out all the micromanagement of base building and resource collecting to
focus on map warfare with the objective to take out the enemy b
ase by using the
correct mix of troops and tactics. Commandos: Origins is the second coming
of the well known and well regarded king of the tactical subgenre. With just a
squad of soldiers and light weapons you are taking on the whole enemy army
which requires a lot of patience. Basically an indie version of this is
Red Glare. It too is a WW2 singleplayer real-time tactics game focused on
a shadow war between the OSS and a German secret force which landed in
South America and is up to no
good. NeuroSlicers is also an indie project but
a sci-fi one, and unfortunately it hasn’t found a lot of support. Developers have remade it
into a different project but I still feel bad for the original concept of two computer hacking
forces meating on a digital field of battle. A remaster of a classic base building
RTS with an advanced economy management system and medieval combat is already out.
Stronghold: Definitive Edition is an upgrade for the original so new generations of RTS gamers
can experience this marvel in the next decade. WarBreeds is also an attempt to bring back a
very old RTS game from the Abandonware pile. This one featured genetic engineering
and the ability to fully customize your soldiers with many types of weapons which
provide thousands of unique combinations. A totally new addition to Steam’s
RTS lineup is World War Armies, a PVP focused mobile port, based
on the concept of call in troops, use of general’s powers and battle over resource
generating
objectives in a world war two setting. From Glory To Goo is set far in
the future where you use riflemen, cyborgs and robots to fight off the
relentless Goo, a shape-shifting lifeform which is trying to scrub your presence from
this alien world you are trying to colonize. With much different aesthetics and
a free to play model, developers of Smelogs Playground want to attract you
to try out their single and multiplayer game. Here units can become buildings and vice
versa in a mystical and
colorful Aztec world. Polygon Fantasy Battle Simulator is another recent
release which is more of a sandbox experience than anything else as it allows you to spawn and send
into huge battles up to 100,000 different units. An opposite experience is
going to be Shattered Lands, where you lead a far smaller number of units,
more like heroes from both top down and third person perspective while still having base
building and resource collection in the game. Night is Coming is much darker than t
hat,
with survival, combat and building set in a fantasy world inspired by Slavic mythology and
Carpathian mystique full of monsters and terrors in the night. Settlers are individuals, weather is
another enemy and heroes will be put to the test. Now before I get to a few juicy rumors about
highly anticipated RTS games let me tell you about games that will soon, or already, depending
on when you watch this video, have an expansion, big DLC or their content finalized and
should offer good re
play value in 2024. The Liberation DLC is coming to
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront and it introduces the western front
battles of 1944, featuring the US faction, as well as Germany's western front,
for both single and multiplayer modes. Retro Commander, the free RTS with expansive base
building and resource collection, big maps as well as land, air and sea combat gameplay has had its
campaign finished as well as many skirmish maps. Newest game mixing RTS and FPS elements,
Silica ad
ded air units to its large maps and vehicular combat. Playing as the
commander from a top down perspective or as a grunt with sand in your eyes,
now you will have more options for fun. Five Nations, the old school type of an
RTS, received the Renegades expansion which brings new skirmish maps, heroes, units
and their abilities, new stations to build, tech to research as well as a whole new sector
and faction with an enhanced AI to battle against. A similar expansion has been released for
S
tarship Troopers: Terran Command titled: Raising Hell. Mercenary units are
in the spotlight here with their own special abilities but there are
new singleplayer missions as well. Two Age of Empires games got new content
added to them recently. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition was the first with
The Mountain Royals, adding two new civilizations and three campaigns, while
Age of Empires IV got The Sultans Ascend expansion with a similar amount of content.
The Japanese and Byzantines civ
ilizations and one extra campaign set in the middle east
as the expansion’s title would suggest. Dune Spice Wars has finally been completed with
the additions of a new faction, multiplayer, air and sand units and a single player
conquest mode. It might lean into 4X gameplay but that is a small price to pay to
enjoy the Dune universe at your fingertips. A game which plays much more like an
old school RTS but with wave survival and settlement building gameplay at its
heart is Diplomacy is no
t an option and it too gained a lot of new features
and gameplay modes worth playing. TFC The Fertile Crescent is that 100%
old classic base building and unit combat RTS down to its graphics and
art design but thankfully with many quality of life additions modern
games should come with in 2024. One more game that tries to blend FPS and
RTS elements is Executive Assault 2. Here you build bases in space and mine resources
to be able to construct robots and ships which you can control in firs
t person to
fight alongside and against other players. Several more honorable mentions from both mini
and larger indie developers include NEBULOUS: Fleet Command and Northgard with their constant
updates and upgrades to content and gameplay as well as Cepheus Protocol, 2089 - Space Divided,
Line War and Empires of the Undergrowth which all show continual progress to gameplay, performance
and playable content making them much better player experiences if you are returning
to them or just di
scovering them in 2024. In my next video I will give you a much more
in depth look at many of the games on this list with exclusive new footage I captured
or received directly from their developers as well as all the relevant and up to date news
on their release dates, content and gameplay. I know you have certainly noticed that in this
video list I have shown far more games than in previous years and that is because I took my
personal filter down to its lowest setting, removing only scams,
totally
fake games or asset flips. I made the decision to let you be the judge
of these real time strategy games and also to give more exposure to indie developers who are
already struggling to get their games noticed by the gaming public. In addition to that
and because of my many conversations with you my viewers and fellow gamers as well as
developers I have also decided to expand the scope of what I consider to be a real time
strategy game. This is something I will talk about directly
in my upcoming video on
what is the definition of an RTS game. If you are wondering where are games like
Total War Pharoah or Company of Heroes 3 on this expanded list… well in my opinion
they and their developers have a lot more work ahead of them to deserve a
place on it after disappointing their audience. Simple as that, but if you
don’t agree, tell me why in the comments. Now some of the games that we all would love to
see a sequel of, or at least an announcement about them made this
year are the next Star Wars RTS,
a Stronghold game in the Unreal Engine as well as potential for WarCraft 4 or StartCraft 3 now that
Blizzard is under new management from Microsoft. Of these the most substantial rumor is the one
about a Star Wars RTS probably in development and production by Respawn Entertainment, under
Electronic Arts. This would make it the first proper RTS published by EA in who knows how
long and a shock to me if I am being honest. In case you think I should have mentio
ned
any other game or project in development which you just discovered or is already
close to your heart please tell me so in the comments below. Thank you
for watching and happy gaming.
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