What are the best games on Steam with turn-based combat?

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Civilization V

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XCOM 2

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Endless Legend

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Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension

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Invisible, Inc.

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Age of Wonders III

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Pandora: First Contact

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XCOM

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Xenonauts

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score 2 · Answer 1

Civilization V

Civilization V has a great combat system that feels very tactical over previous versions as there is no stacking of troops, but with the new hexagonal grid players can surround enemies as well as allow for better tactics when planning attacks.

Top Pro

Fantastic tactical combat

Top Pro

Beautiful graphics

From the players cities and armies to the lush landscape, Civilization is quite a beautiful game for those with systems powerful enough to push the graphics to the limit. Even when on lower graphical settings the game looks lush and well animated.

Top Pro

Customization through policies

Policies are used as a tool to gain a variety of customizations that benefit ones society. There is a branching tree of policies that will allow the user to pick certain aspects that will suit them best such as adding law or religion to ones society which will give gains in certain aspects.

Top Pro

Endless scenarios and replayability

Civilization V has a large assortment of nation leaders to choose from that have an even bigger assortment of scenarios that are able to play out for said leaders. Each game can be quite unique in this way as each leader allows for a different nation to be controlled.

Top Con

Most victories won by timed or military victory

It can be pretty difficult to win by diplomacy or culture which does add some challenge to the game but it can get tiresome if one keeps winning by only military or timed victories.

Top Con

One unit per tile

Civ 5 restricts you to having one unit per tile, but has an AI unable to handle that restriction well, and doesn't even have decent pathing for units. Late game becomes a slog of ordering each unit individually due to poor pathing.

Top Con

No steam workshop support on Linux

The Linux port currently does not support steam workshop, and as the mac port made by the same developers has not received workshop support despite having been out for several years, it is unlikely that it ever will. Though there are unofficial workarounds to get the mods working.

Top Con

No stats on other Civ attitudes

Unlike past Civilization games there are no longer stats on the attitudes of the players surrounding Civilizations. This allowed one to see how each other nation felt about the player, but now that it is gone one has to guess, which is definitely not as helpful.

Specs

Controller Support:Steam Controller Officallly supported

Co-Op:2 to 21 Player Online / LAN

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score 1 · Answer 2

XCOM 2

Top Pro

Excellent suspense

You're always against the clock in one way or another. Globally your enemies are moving forward with their plans and unless you actively work towards countering them, they will win. You'll be short on cash, manpower, and will have to work with inferior tech. On the field most missions have...

Top Pro

It's fun to upgrade and manage your squad

As you progress through the game you can train and promote your soldiers to make them more effective in combat, unlock new abilities and upgrade their weapons armor. The interesting part of it is if a member gets injured (which is really easy to happen on the harder difficulties) they are not avail...

Top Con

Performance could be better

Even when using well above the recommended hardware the game does show some performance issues as it is difficult to hold 60fps. While not the biggest problem thanks to this being a turn based game it would have been nice to see better performance and a constant 60fps when using what the developers...

Specs

score 1 · Answer 3

XCOM

There are quite a few add-ons available for XCOM, including the Enemy Within expansion pack.

Top Pro

Assortment of add-on content available

Top Pro

Effective resource management mechanics

Resource management feels like a juggling act, in the best way possible. Users have to make hard decisions on what options to give priority to, as they all will effect gameplay in some manner.

Top Pro

Death is permanent

Death is very permanent in XCOM, meaning if a player looses a high level player mid game that they may have a pretty tough time advancing past that point.

Top Con

Proper choices not obvious until after the fact

Choices that effect the game are not obvious when they are happening and once realized is too late.

Specs

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score 1 · Answer 4

Endless Legend

If you're into a more fantasy settings, this is the game to go to as there are few fantasy set 4X games.

Top Pro

Fantasy 4X game

Top Pro

As good as Civ, if not better in some areas

Tends to have more nuance to the way you play it, especially with different factions. Strategy and diplomacy also have larger roles in Endless Legend, helping to round out how one can play.

Top Con

Can get difficult sometimes

The gameplay can be difficult and may be a turn off to some gamers, but apparently there are mods to remove or tone down all of the annoying features (such as winters). For those that are willing to install mods to make the game easier or more palatable.

Specs

score 1 · Answer 5

Invisible, Inc.

As you take longer time during missions, the general difficulty level increases gradually. Time and mission profits must be balanced wisely.

Top Pro

Excellent difficulty progression

Top Con

Very static story

While the gameplay is randomized and meant to be played repeatedly due to the randomization, the story is still static, so after every mission there will be cut scenes that are always the same. After a while this becomes annoying due to familiarity, while they can be skipped, it would be nice to tu...

Specs

score 1 · Answer 6

Age of Wonders III

throughout the game players troops are leveling as long as they are being used. This adds to each's pool of abilities. There are also points one can earn in battle that can be used to unlock new abilities. Both of these systems add up to a competent way to always be leveling and give a feeling...

Top Pro

Worthwhile leveling system

Top Pro

Intuitive tactical battles

The tactical battles in the game play out in a way that feels different depending on what enemies are being fought , which makes for a good way to differentiate play. The battles also play out in a fast fashion that is easy to understand making for an experience that feels well made due to how the...

Top Con

Some areas are too easy

At certain points of the game decision need to be made, which would normally mean something is lost when choosing, but sadly things like buildings are too easy to build meaning there is no loss when choosing what to do, which makes the choices meaningless.

Specs

score 1 · Answer 7

Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension

If you're familiar with any other games by Illwinter Game Design, you'll recognize the difficult game design. These games are extremely complex, takes ages to learn, and have enormous replayability. Provided you have the guts to go through the tough stuff first.

Top Pro

Extremely complex

Top Con

Extremely complex

No hand holding here, and the learning curve is a killer. However, people who invest the time to learn the game tend to be satisfied at the end.

Top Con

Graphics outdated

If you care about graphics much, this game won't make you a fan.

Specs

Genre:Grand Strategy

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score 1 · Answer 8

Pandora: First Contact

Upgrading ones units and operations is quite fun and intelligently done. As new equipment is developed the user has the choice to bring their units in, in order to equip them with the new equipment. Not only is this intuitive but it adds to the strategy of the game as the player must decide who and...

Top Pro

Upgrading is done well

Top Con

Gameplay is too simple

Short of being a constant aggressor there is really no worthwhile way to win battles. While there are a few different victory conditions non of them really amount to anything as they will not be achieved unless dominating with ones military in the first place.

Specs

Steam Rating:Mixed

score 1 · Answer 9

X-COM: UFO Defense

Keeping track of more than a dozen soldiers with 10 skills, their inventories (including ammo count and weight), dynamic visibility, line of sight, destructible terrain, consequences of missed shots (like friendly fire or destroyed loot), etc. quickly overwhelms noobies, putting the real strategy m...

Top Pro

Very deep strategy

Top Pro

Active open source clone

The openxcom team have re-implemented the entire game and fixed many of the longstanding bugs in the original. It allows you to play on modern machines and in much higher resolution. A copy of the original game is still required for the assets.

Add a Con

Know any negative aspects of this option?

Specs

See 1 more Pro

score 1 · Answer 10

Shadowrun: Hong Kong

Fantastic setting blends science with magic. The Classic Shadowrun experience from the original creators.

Top Pro

Engrossing theme

Top Pro

Rich story and universe

This is the 3rd installment of Shadowrun from Hairbrained Schemes Development, giving us even more fantastic story content to explore. Much like the previous game the story is BladeRunner esque as a cyberpunk type story but with a twist of involving fantasy elements such as Orks and Elves.

Top Con

Nothing much new added to the gameplay from previous games

While the developers are not trying to stray from a working formula it would have been nice to see some new elements added tot the gameplay over just refinement.

Specs

score 1 · Answer 11

Xenonauts

Xenonauts took its inspiration from the original X-Com game, giving fans a new game in similar style but expanded on the finer details of the game to give an even more deep experience. This should appeal to those familiar with X-Com as well as those looking for a fun yet deep strategy game.

Top Pro

Spiritual successor to original X-Com franchise

Top Con

Can be difficult for newcomers of the genre

There is no in-game tutorial and there is only an online manual for the game, which means users who are not familiar with this game type and what is expected in play may have a difficult time learning all of the ins and outs. Online video tutorials may help as well, but of course this is all time s...

Specs

score 1 · Answer 12

Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land

Each character in the game has a set amount of action points meaning the player needs to tally how much it would take to move and then use a weapon when deciding on where to place each of their characters. this requires careful planning and makes for fun strategy focused gameplay.

Top Pro

Requires good planning

Top Con

Individual characters much more important

While gameplay-wise this is very similar, there are mission fail-states if core characters die, meaning you don't get quite the same meat-grinder recruitment as in the X-COM/XCOM games.

Specs

Steam Rating:Mixed

score 1 · Answer 13

Ultimate Space Commando

This is a difficult turn based strategy that offers many detailed combat mechanics such as armor, knockback, various hazards, etc. These mechanics come into play when considering each and every move making for a game where the player needs to plan out their attacks appropriately as any mistake will...

Top Pro

Fun but difficult gameplay

Top Con

Can be difficult for newcomers

But only for a short time, because everyone who loves TBS can pick up the beat and rock in this game. Of course there are difficulty levels in this game made for the hardcore players too, which can appear to be unwinnable, but they are not.

Specs

Steam Rating:Positive