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What are the best Grand Strategy games on Steam?

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May 24, 2023

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Best Grand Strategy games on Steam	Price	Genre	Platform
91 Europa Universalis IV	$39.99	Grand Strategy	Windows, macOS, SteamOS + Linux
89 Crusader Kings 2	Free / Paid	Grand Strategy	Windows, macOS, SteamOS + Linux
-- Total War: Shogun 2	$29.99	Grand Strategy	Windows, macOS
-- Hegemony 3: Clash of the Ancients	-	Grand Strategy RTS	-
-- Total War: Warhammer 2	$59.99	-	-

Europa Universalis IV

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Top Pro

Lots of depth

EUIV is a simulation of global politics and war. There is a relatively limited set of choices you can make under normal circumstances: hiring advisors to improve your capabilities, hiring troops, about two dozen diplomatic actions in peace, and a number of different peace deal options when terminating a war. However, these interact to produce a large number of interesting decisions that affect your outcomes. If you want to annex a neighbor, do you declare a holy war on them, or do you fabricate claims on their territory and demand that they "return" this land to you? Do you ally a much larger nation that might try to force you to be their vassal? Conversely, do you try to improve relations with a much smaller neighbor in order to become their suzerain overlord, or do you attempt to conquer them directly and risk pulling their larger allies into a war? On top of that, there are hundreds of events that can occur once certain preconditions are met. Some of them are specific to which country you're playing as. Some require you to hire the right set of advisors. And if you don't keep your country's internal affairs in order, you may find yourself on the wrong end of a peasant's war or facing other national disasters. See More

Top Con

Steep learning curve

When you start out, it can be overwhelming. You have a country and three thousand infantrymen -- what can you do? You decide to attack your neighbor -- and they cut you down like reeds. You start over as a bigger country and attack a smaller neighbor -- and suddenly you're in a war against several large countries at once. You start again and this time you find a weak neighbor with no allies. You crush them and bring them under your control -- and suddenly you find revolutions popping up everywhere. Even after you've learned the basics, you'll still find yourself wondering: if I declare a holy war, will it cost me diplomatic power to annex territory or not? And it's often hard -- certainly in ironman mode -- to undo decisions, so small mistakes and misclicks can end up costing you a lot. The game does give you guidance in the form of alert bubbles in the upper left of the screen, informing you of the things it thinks are most relevant, and paying attention to those can at least show you what you might want to think about. In the later patches, the user interface has been improving to help reduce surprises -- and the game mechanics as well. For instance, rebel uprising progress can be tracked easily -- you won't be surprised by a sudden uprising of Najdi nationalists, and when you're in for a long-term peasant revolt, the game will tell you why it's happening, how to prevent it, and how to get out of it once it happens. But simply finding all these parts of the user interface takes time playing. Determining what's important takes experience. You can pause the game at any time and find all the data you can handle, but if you're not just extracting the important parts, the deluge won't help. Your best bet is to find videos of people playing the game with a bit more skill than you. Streaming is best -- you can ask questions, and most streamers will answer. See More

CredibleAgrius's Experience

This is an amazing game. It has a lot of depth and its sheer complexity is what makes me love the game. See More

Specs

Genre:Grand Strategy

Co-Op:12 Player Online / 32 LAN

Controller Support:No

Top Pro

You get to choose how to play

You can either expand with colonies, martial might or be peaceful and attempt to ally neighboring nations. See More

Top Con

Expensive DLCs are required to experience the game fully

A lot of interesting game mechanics are locked behind downloadable content that costs up to an additional 200$ to purchase without waiting for sales. While the base game still offers a lot of content, but it can seem unfinished after getting to play with the DLCs. For example, exploration and colonization mechanics are completely revamped, war mechanics enhanced, new mission trees for nations are introduced and various different government forms and reforms are included only through purchasing the DLCs. See More

Top Pro

Pausable/adjustable speed RTS

Play straight through on real-time, or pause for as much micro-management as is needed. No rapid attacks and the key here, it is pausable even though it can be a real time system. Basically time can be slowed, sped up and paused with most gameplay taking place somewhere in between. See More

Top Con

Games can take a very long time

Due to the in depth, meticulous gameplay mechanics, the games can take weeks to finish which some people may not have the patience for. See More

Top Pro

You can set your own goals

While there are a lot of achievements for doing certain things in Iron Man mode, which runs can be tailored towards, and there is a points system allowing you to focus on becoming the "best" in the world, there is no definitive win condition and therefore a lot of players decide their own target for the campaign and focus on that, whether direct conquest or a trade empire or "playing tall" - highly developing a small nation without expanding geographically. See More

9 Other Games Considered

Crusader Kings 2

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Top Con

Relatively shallow economic engine

Economies, trade, and technology are portrayed relatively simply and shallowly (compared with other Paradox grand strategy games, such as Europa Universalis IV and especially Victoria II). However, economy is not the focus of the game, and considering that it is set in the feudal era, this may be appropriate. See More

Top Pro

Roleplaying

You can make yourself as an emperor or king in this game. The character design is great for its time. See More

Patrihawks 24's Experience

Highly recommend if you like dealing with internal politics and the middle ages. I would recommend playing the base game first before buying dlc, just to understand the game more and it's mechanics . See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Grand Strategy

Top Con

Extremely complicated

Crusader King II is a very complicated game that seems overly complex at first and may take a while to really learn as there are quite a lot of things to not only balance in the game but also figure out how to do either through in game tutorials or reading online. See More

Top Pro

Freedom to play how you like

The game allows for one to make their own choices with there being many "win" conditions in that you can choose to progress how you like. Want to take over all of Europe, that is possible, want to create a successful lineage of family that keeps to themselves, this is also possible. See More

Braydyn de Blois's Experience

This game isn't as complicated as it looks. See More

Top Con

No naval battles

No naval battles, which reduces the advantages of being an Island nation. See More

Top Pro

Immersive trait system

The trait system is broad and deep, and makes for an emergent storytelling engine. See More

Top Pro

Massive online multiplayer

Crusader Kings II has a whopping 32 player online multiplayer mode. Something not often found in games of this sort which can make for a very intense and strategic gameplay session. See More

Total War: Shogun 2

Top Pro

Play the campaign together in multiplayer

Every player takes control of a clan and can manage it to the same amount as in the single player. Fight together to conquer Japan - by force, trade and diplomacy. See More

Top Con

Games are long

Even a short campaign can fill countless hours. Sessions over 2 hours are recommended, or you won't get anything done. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Grand Strategy

Co-Op:2 Player Online / 2 PLayer LAN

Controller Support:No

Top Pro

Both players (in multiplayer) take part in every fight

If one of the players decides to fight in real-time (instead of auto-resolving a battle), the other joins the fight as well. The owner of the army can decide which units the other player might control. (This can be changed any time during the battle.) This system brings a lot of fun and strategy into the game. See More

Hegemony 3: Clash of the Ancients

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Top Pro

Period appropriate art and music

The art style and music support the setting in 500 BC and make it easy to immerse oneself. See More

Top Con

Not enough DLC

Coming from an indie studio with other games in their portfolio, development of expansions is at a snail's pace. Therefore the core gameplay loop, although solid, can feel repetitive. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Grand Strategy RTS

Top Pro

Seamless zoom

Zoom in from strategic map view to tactical battlefield map and back in real time. See More

Top Pro

All aspects of war

This game combines strategy, tactical maneuvering of armies and operational warfare. It's supply and logistics system enable expansion but also keeps it in check. Overextension is a real risk. See More

Top Pro

Elegantly designed

Good depth-complexity ratio. See More

Top Pro

Seamless Zoom

Zoom in from strategic map view to tactical battlefield map and back in real time. See More

Top Pro

Chill Supply Lines System

Nice implementation of supply lines and resource management. See More

Top Pro

Great resource and supply management

Resource management is meaningful, winter will starve troops and cities. Supply management is mostly done on the strategic map and adds a nice layer of optimization. It plays well and it's fun. See More

Top Pro

Meaningful decisions

All decisions in this game are meaningful, there is no fluff. E.g. upgrade options are all relevant in their own right, assimilating cities gives important ups and downs, etc. This game is not about min-maxing some shallow marginal stats. See More

Top Pro

Cool campaigns

The Eagle King DLC and the Iberia Mod add some cool narrative, historical scripted campaigns, which are equally fun and challenging to play. See More

Top Pro

Modding

There are some great mods available in the steam workshop and on moddb, e.g. the Classical World mod which brings a whole total war sized map of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. See More

Top Pro

Elegant design

Total War: Warhammer 2

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Top Pro

Epic battles

The Total War series is known for its large scale battles and tactical combat, so TW:W2 is no exception. You have armies advancing and clashing in massive brawls, squadrons of archers firing in unison, mounted troops performing flanking maneuvers, and siege engines such as catapults spreading havoc in enemy ranks. What makes it a lot more interesting, however, are the fantasy elements. This includes powerful spellcasters that can summon a rain of meteors, wiping away entire armies, massive dragons that soar over the battlefield while raining fire and death upon the enemies below them, and even gigantic dinosaurs that charge into enemy ranks, throwing them into every direction. Whenever a battle unfolds, it truly feels like a spectacle of epic proportions. See More

Top Con

Steep learning curve

There's a lot to learn in Total War: Warhammer 2. To start with - managing your empire, upgrading cities, diplomatic relations, recruiting soldiers, upkeep, and many other aspects that are different for each race. Then there are the battles themselves, requiring you to understand formations, positioning, terrain advantages, unit strengths and weaknesses, and even morale. The game relentlessly keeps throwing new concepts at you, which can be extremely daunting, especially if you're new to the Total War series. As a result, it might take a long time till you have a firm grasp on the game. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Outstanding visuals

The world of Warhammer is brought to life by the game's excellent graphics. This includes lighting, shadow-mapping, fog effects, particle effects, terrain, structures, and everything else you see on-screen. The most noteworthy aspect, however, is the incredible attention to detail on character models and their textures, with each unit looking like a finely crafted tabletop figure. This only becomes truly apparent when you zoom in during a battle and notice that no character model looks blocky at all. From the scales on a Lizardmans back, to the stitching on a Hell-pit abomination, to even the ripped webbing of a Black Dragon's wing. Whether you're a fantasy fan or not, it's something that's very easy to notice and appreciate. See More

Top Con

You'll need to buy the prequel and eventually the sequel for the full experience

While TW:W2 is a solid experience by itself, if you also own the prequel (TW:W), you get a free DLC called "Mortal Empires." It unlocks a gigantic campaign map, making all factions from both games playable. This will eventually extend to TW:W3 as well, so you'll have to spend money on three separate games to fully immerse yourself in the storied Warhammer universe. See More

Top Pro

Campaign mode that keeps you interested

While most similar games tend to have the total domination type of campaign, requiring you to capture all cities on the game map, TW:W2 instead attempts to focus on a grand objective – taking over the Great Vortex, a swirling mass of energy. Each of the game's races have their own reasons for wanting he Great Vortex's power, but taking control of it secures your victory. As a result, the campaign retains its focus throughout, keeping it fun and engaging without becoming tedious. See More

Total War: Rome II

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Top Pro

Easy army management

Streamlined from previous titles the player focuses more on generals and admirals over regions, which makes moving around the map easier as well as gearing up attacks See More

Top Con

Lacking explanation in areas

The decisions in the game sometimes have little context even though they may result in large consequences, which makes the decisions difficult as there is no way to know the reason to make them or how they will end up. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Grand Strategy

Top Pro

Depth through specilization

Due to the limited number of buildings that can be used in a town the player must weight their options smartly of what to build up in these slots in order to succeed. See More

Empire: Total War

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Top Pro

Multiplayer is the strongest part of the game

Not having to deal with the poor AI is a good thing, which is what makes the multiplayer stand out as it is now time to use real tactics instead of cheap exploits to get ahead. This can make for really challenging games depending on who your opponent is and can be a real blast. See More

Top Con

Poor AI

The AI in the game is not very smart, which can give an upper hand as well as hold one back. If one chooses to not go into a real time battle, but let the AI take charge for their own troops it can lead to disaster. On the other side of things when going into manual controlled battle the enemy AI can often be exploited, which also lessens the experience of the game. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Grand Strategy

Top Pro

Combines real time with turn based strategy

The combination of turn based combat and real time works well with this game dues to how it plays out. The player starts off planning in a 4X type strategy game that once a battle commences they take charge of the troops in real time combat. See More

Europa Universalis III

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Top Con

Graphics are not the best

While this is a strategy game and graphics are not as important as gameplay what is presented here is a bit lackluster and simplistic. While it is one of the devs first games that foray into 3D graphics it does not hold up when compared to other titles. See More

Top Pro

Unique real time gameplay

The user can pause, slow down and accelerate time while playing, which allows for the player to adapt what is happening to their decision making. This is a unique system that the developers have been using in their games for a good while and stands out a great way to manage their games. See More

RickZeeland's Experience

Complete version, including expansions, now on offer on Steam for only 2,99€ See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Grand Strategy

Victoria II

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PersonableKuninotokotachi's Experience

vic2 is the best grand strategy a must have See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

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