8 Turn-Based Strategy Games Where Every Decision Counts

Strategy games encompass many unique design philosophies and mechanics. Each game needs to bring some new spin to the table, whether that’s a new world for the player to immerse themselves in, a unique twist on typical tropes of the subgenre, or complexity and tactical depth to keep the more dedicated players engrossed for hours on end. What’s important in a strategy game is that players feel like their every move has a bearing on the outcome of a situation, whether that’s difficult narrative choices or intense battles with many units.

In more difficult or tactical strategy titles, where players might have to focus on the individual minutae of every unit, or on the other end of the spectrum, commanding colossal armies, it becomes clear that one wrong move will spell the player’s doom. These strategy games in particular make sure every decision, mechanically, narratively, or both, has weight and impact.

Build A Resistance, Or Die Trying

The legendary sequel to XCom has been going strong for over ten years, with a thriving community and an active player base that have fallen in love with the tactical and grim gameplay experience that is unique to Xcom 2.

Guerrilla fighters who die in Xcom 2 remain that way, and players will have to be very careful about sending out fighters without cover and a solid game plan. This game pulls no punches, and every decision a unit makes could very well be their last.

7 Civilization 6

Every Choice Can Shape The Identity Of Your Civilization

Shaping a Civilization is no easy task, and Civilization 6 showcases all the peaks and troughs that come with an evolving society. Carrying a society from antiquity to the near future is an experience filled with trials and perils.

Players need to make a plethora of decisions, from what technology to research and what nations to form alliances with, and each one will shape the nature of their world. Technology researched in one era will alter what’s available in the next, and every choice the player makes shapes them into a particular technological niche.

6 Romance Of The Three Kingdoms 8 Remake

Choices Affect Every Battle And Every Relationship

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Choices made in Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake have huge ripple effects, and every battle brings with it more than just a victory for one officer and defeat for another. Tales and events have branching outcomes, and the choices made in these RPG-style events can shape your officer for better or worse.

Every choice doesn’t just account for the theater of war, but also for the personal lives of you officers, and love, friendship, and rivalry, with all the events these relationships bring, wait behind every decision players make.

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5 Total War: Warhammer 3

One Wrong Choice Can End The Battle Decisively

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Released

February 17, 2022

Fans of strategy games with deep tactics and longtime Warhammer fans alike will fall in love with Total War: Warhammer 3. It’s a game with an incredible sense of scale, wide and deep in terms of its tactics and unit choices, and players will need to coordinate their armies efficiently and intelligently in order to surpass the enemy.

It’s by no means an easy game, and every decision from which units to protect and which enemy units to focus on can radically shift the outcome of the battle, or else completely change the doctrine of your assaulting grimdark force. While battles are in real time, the map exploration is turn based, giving players the time they need to plan out where they wish to battle next.

4 Age of Wonders 4

Every Decision Can Alter Your Realm

Age of Wonders 4 puts players in charge of an entire kingdom looking to expand and flourish. Decisions are not just made in battle but in exploration as well. Dedicating time to finding and clearing out an ancient wonder can be a great way to gain resources and items, but might also leave your cities open to attack.

Diplomacy with one nation to forge an alliance might seem beneficial, but that can also drag you into your allies’ wars. There are many common pitfalls players can fall into with this title, but making the right decisions can help them recover before an enemy capitalizes on them.

3 Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Decisions Affect Battles, Units, Relationships, And The Story

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Released

July 26, 2019

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Fire Emblem: Three Houses sees the player shaping the progression of a host of students, turning them from simple commoners and nobles into advanced, powerful soldiers on the battlefield. The decisions Byleth makes on the field are only one piece of the puzzle, however.

Byleth also shapes these people through the relationships they form, both with one another and with Byleth themselves. As well as this, every narrative choice Byleth makes, from the first decision of which house to join onward, greatly changes the path of the narrative.

2 Battle Brothers

Death Occurs Often In This Brutal Title

A masterwork among open world roguelikes, Battle Brothers is a game of high stakes and high lethality, pulling no punches and punishing players who don’t enter battles prepared. It also sometimes punishes players who do, just for fun.

Every contract taken is a decision made, a gamble that the strength of your men bests the perils of the job. Each contract shapes reputation, experience among Brothers, and the possibilities of loot. Each decision made in battle can be what saves – or destroys – each Brother.

1 Triangle Strategy

Decisions Are Vital In This Game – But The Player Isn’t The Only One Making Them

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Serenoa’s convictions in Triangle Strategy are what shape this game and the direction the narrative takes. Every decision matters both in and out of combat here, as the strength of Serenoa’s convictions is vital to convincing his comrades to follow him in the votes that determine what the party as a whole does.

Players shouldn’t worry about ensuring they’ve maxed out one conviction though, and should simply play the game organically and naturally. New Game+ has an option for seeing Serenoa’s convictions so that players can track more accurately how each choice has shaped the Lord of House Wolfort.

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