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Looking for some limelight gaming? Did it sneak up on you, too? The fact that strategy games are back to kicking butts left and right? Younger gamers may not recall, but there was a glorious point in time when PC gaming was basically all about strategy games. Real-time? Turn-based? Questionable hybrids? You bet! We had all of that and more.
However, the strategy genre fell out of favor with modern gaming sensibilities sometime around the early aughts. For a while there, all we were getting were either ridiculously entrenched franchises such as Total War or basically experimental retrofits, such as XCOM. Both amazing IPs, mind! It's just that two franchises alone can't carry a whole genre forward. Indies helped, for sure, but the fact that AA gaming almost died, too, was a huge issue for strategy titles.
Thankfully, things are different at last in 2022. Not only are we positively inundated with a wealth of downright amazing small-scale projects, like the Slitherine offerings, but the strategy genre is back in the AAA limelight, too. Today, we're going to go over some of the most important upcoming strategy games, but also take a look at some recently released content for existing titles, as well as a few notable remasters. This is some true limelight gaming for you!
CHECK OUT: Top 10 Best Classic Games on PC Game Pass
Limelight Gaming: Notable Upcoming Strategy Games
Company of Heroes 3 - November 17, 2022
Company of Heroes was the very pinnacle of the real-time strategy genre at one point. It was this series that pioneered a more eyes-on, squad-based approach to combat, and allowed for downright unprecedented WW2 combat scenarios up until then. The next game in the series, Company of Heroes 3, aims to iterate upon this concept further still.
Having discussed COH3's biggest, most important novelties in a separate article, the developer is looking to combine its classically awesome RTS gameplay loop with a selection of grand strategy features. The goal, it seems, is to fully encapsulate the theatre of war. Add more unit customization to the mix, and you've got a hell of a package ready to go.
Men of War 2 - TBA 2023
Having been in the shadow of CoH during its initial heyday, Men of War 2 aims to right that wrong. Whereas the new CoH is trying to reinvent the wheel, this game is taking the opposite direction and streamlining and improving the classic RTS combat that we all know and love. Or, at least, the older gamers among us do. To that end, what you're getting here is precisely what made real-time strategies great way back when, but better.
Highlights include fully destructible environments, stunning visuals, and sophisticated unit control tools. Modding, too, will be a major feature in Men of War 2, allowing the community to tweak the game to their own preference. A "cinematic" campaign is also being pitched, though it remains to be seen how that particular bit is handled.
Victoria 3 - October 25, 2022
If real-time strategizing just isn't your forte, odds are good that Paradox Interactive always has something exciting coming up for you. The latest of these flagship projects is Victoria 3, which is set and primed to evolve the franchise once and for all. Whereas most strategy games focus on combat (as video games generally do), Victoria 3's primary focus is the development of an industrial-era society, no less.
Interested gamers can find lots of information about Victoria 3 in a separate article, but the gist of it is that Paradox is looking to make this its most detailed and exhaustive historical sim yet. Expect ridiculously in-depth POPs and interest groups as the focal points of this exciting new grand strategy prospect!
Big Strategy Game Remasters and Remakes
Commandos 2 & 3 HD Remaster
One of the older genre classics, Commando games were getting a tad long in the tooth, tech-wise. This called for a generalized update for modern PCs, as well as a selection of modernization improvements, one of the most important of which is the fact that the game's been updated to full-fledged 3D environments. This means you can rotate the camera by a full 360 degrees, and that all of the game's assets have been updated to a high-definition standard.
Command & Conquer Remastered Collection
One of Electronic Arts' most respectful and true-to-format remakes/remasters yet, the Remastered collection of all the old Command & Conquer titles is a monumentally valuable release. Quite simply, this is a way to play all the ancient RTS titles that EA used to be known for. Except, now you can play them on all-new PC hardware, too! For the most part, players can expect a hugely important quality-of-life update and substantial asset improvements. The mechanics are all the same, but it's a lovely way to re-experience an old classic.
Content Updates for Ongoing Strategy Games
Total War: Warhammer 3's Immortal Empires
Even on its own, Total War: Warhammer 3 is a monstrously large game. A Warhammer Fantasy tabletop given 3D form, this is a grand strategy like no other. In fact, one could argue that it is the crowning achievement of Creative Assembly - the team behind Total War at large. Having said that, the game's all-new Immortal Empires mode is its most impressive feature. A continent-sized super-map with hundreds of factions duking it out? Unique objectives and progression trees depending on your Legendary Lord of choice? Endgame invasion events that keep you busy for hours on end? All that, and more.
The Launch of Two Point Campus
While they're not classic strategy games but more of management sims, the Two Point games are an excellent choice if you're looking for non-combat RTS titles. Campus, in particular, is proving its worth having launched a few months back, and it's a delight to play. Much like baseline strategy games, management sims too had died off over the past decade, only to start making a return as of late.
Humankind Collection Launch
Finally, the last major strategy chapter of the year is the release of the Humankind Collection. Amplitude's first foray into a full-fledged Civilization competitor wasn't perfect, we'll admit, but it sure was ballsy and prospective. It's a lovely game - just not quite as polished and content-rich as Firaxis's flagship civilization builder. And, really, that's more than fine, and we can only hope that Amplitude's already working on an even more interesting sequel to this strategy wunderkind.
Limelight Gaming: What's Next For The Strategy Genre?
Who knows what strategy games might transmute into in the near and far future? Already, we've seen some potentially groundbreaking releases - like the early 2022 release of Expeditions: Rome, for example. As exciting as that might be, it's also good to see classic, true-to-form strategy games still being made. Or, rather, just to see the genre gaining ground once more.
Only time will tell how games such as Men of War 2 and Company of Heroes 3 fare in the modern gaming market. With luck, they'll nudge even more developers into experimenting with the genre. There's some comfort in knowing that companies like Paradox Interactive will, inevitably, keep producing grand strategy titles on the regular. Still, though - the more the merrier.
And with that in mind, 2022 may end up being the year that strategy games picked up steam once more. Let's hope this trend continues!
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