RTS Games: 5 Indie Titles That Keep the Strategy Game Alive 🕹️✨

Summary

• Big-budget RTS (real-time strategy) games have declined, while indie developers keep the genre alive. 🕹️
• Consoles dominate the gaming market, making it difficult for RTS games to emerge that don't have mouse and keyboard support.
• While there are few RTS game options on consoles, there's a vast library of modern titles available for PC gamers. 💻

There was a time when FPS (First-Person Shooter) and RTS games were equally popular, but today, the star of RTS games has faded, while FPS games reign supreme. If you ask me, I think consoles had a lot to do with this. 🎮

Great RTS Games Are Few These Days

If you open Steam and search for RTS games by release date, there are basically no more big-budget titles. Like other lesser-known genres, such as point-and-click adventures, it's indie developers who continue to keep the real-time strategy game alive. 🔥

The last RTS game that generated some buzz before I wrote this was Homeworld 3. The long-awaited sequel to probably my favorite RTS series of all time. Unfortunately, that game turned out not to be what I expected. Before that, Deserts of Kharak (a prequel to Homeworld) is the next title that comes to mind. Of course, Age of Empires IV, a new installment in another legendary RTS series, also made headlines, and in this case, the game is truly brilliant. 🌟

So where are the RTS games?

Consoles Dominate the Video Game Market

The reality is that, despite what PC gamers may believe, it is consoles that drive video game development. Consoles like the PlayStation 5 and the Nintendo Switch are the target platforms, and PC ports are the happy result of that. These days, it's rare for a game to be PC-first.

Traditionally, RTS games haven't sold or performed well on consoles. And since you want to sell your game to as many people as possible, it makes sense to choose a genre and game design that plays well to the hardware most people own. However, that still leaves the question of because There are so few RTS games on console. 🤔

RTS Games Require a Mouse and Keyboard

The simple answer is that RTS games really need mouse input to play well, and having a keyboard is also a huge advantage. Being able to quickly click buttons, maps, or drag to select units is crucial. At the same time, a keyboard allows you to link groups of units and quickly activate specific actions using shortcuts.

With a controller, things aren't so simple. There's simply too much in a typical RTS game to manage with a controller. 😩

There are RTS games on consoles

That said, there have been more than a few passionate attempts to make RTS games play well with a controller on a TV. While there's no shortage of turn-based strategy games in the 4X genre on console, the list of notable RTS games is extremely short. 😢

There is the original port of Command & Conquer for PlayStation. We had Halo Wars, which attempted to adapt the RTS formula to work better with a controller scheme, and, famously, Halo started out as a RTS game for Macs, of all places.

Tom Clancy's EndWar offered players the option of voice control as an attempt to compensate for the controller's limitations, but it was a huge commercial failure. And, as I mentioned earlier, Age of Empires IV has been praised for doing a great job bringing the RTS series to consoles. 👍

These Are The Best Modern RTS Games You Should Try

While core RTS games are scarce, if you're a PC gamer, you still have access to a vast library of amazing RTS games. 🎉

If you are wondering what this genre has to offer, I would recommend Starcraft Remastered and Starcraft II. Homeworld Remastered Collection is at the top of my personal list. The various Command & Conquer games still run great on modern systems, if you don't mind the retro graphics. If not, you can always opt for Command & Conquer Remastered.

The games of Ashes of the Singularity They are cult classics, just like Supreme Commander. You'll find most of these titles on Steam, although for Starcraft you'll need to use the client Battle.Net from Blizzard.

The series Total War is absolutely phenomenal too, and there really isn't a wrong choice, but I personally prefer the versions of Warhammer. Speaking of which, the series Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War It's also excellent. 🏆

Of course, there are many more, but these are some of the best RTS games ever created, and I think they're a great starting point. 🚀