9 PC Games You Need To Play During Steam’s Latest Strategy Fest Sale
Steam’s latest sale event is its Strategy Fest which is offering discounts on some of the best strategic PC games around. If you need a meaty campaign full of tactics to devise and menus to tinker with, look no further than these excellent PC games.
In addition to seasonal sales, Steam has been running smaller genre-focused events throughout the year. Earlier this summer the Valve-owned storefront slashed prices on a ton of visual novels. This time around its turn-based strategy and tactics games. The Strategy Fest runs from August 28 to September 4, with discounts on hundreds of games, including some of the best in the genre and its many sub-genre spin-offs.
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Northgard: $9 (70 percent off)
Frostpunk: $6 (80 percent off)
Battletech: $10 (75 percent off)
Triangle Strategy: $30 (50 percent off)
For old school fans, a bunch of classics are on sale too:
Sid Meier’s Colonization: $3.50 (50 percent off)
Command & Conquer Red Alert 3: $5 (75 percent off)
Homeworld Remastered Collection: $3.5 (90 percent off)
Unity of Command II: $7.5 (75 percent off)
Sins of a Solar Empire: $11.25 (75 percent off)
Okay, Unity of Command II is technically a new sequel to an old game, and Sins of a Solar Empire came out in 2012, which certainly feels ancient in real-time strategy terms. Either way, both are excellent if you haven’t checked them out before. But if you need even more recommendations, you can click through the top image for nine more discounted heavy-weights.
Old World
“Old World actually feels pretty closer to those older, near-perfect Civ spin-offs like Colonization and Alpha Centauri. Games that took the basic 4X formula and repackaged it into a shorter, more focused setting which swapped out the passing of ages for some more interesting mechanics. In Colonization that meant turning tobacco into cigars and sending them back to Europe. In Old World it’s managing an ancient empire through not just roads and farms, but family ties as well.” - Luke Plunkett
Ixion
“Ixion’s strategic layer is also a blast, because though its design and pacing it really nails the feeling that you’re alone and hungry in the limitless expanse of space. Your crew are constantly short on resources, and putting mining on the same screen as your RPG adventures makes what could have been the game’s most boring element into its most immersive.” - Luke Plunkett
Hearts of Iron IV
“As deep as the game has run, and as challenging as it is to both learn and then drag through a war, it’s all worth it when its story has run its course, its villains vanquished and its victors triumphant. Then as soon as the dust has settled you can jump straight back in, telling a new story with a new country, and meeting a whole new cast of allies and enemies.” - Luke Plunkett
Crusader Kings III
“I would recommend Crusader Kings III to Crusader Kings II fans, obviously. But also to Civilization and Total War fans. To people who play The Sims. Or visual novels. Or Bioware RPGS. That’s testament to how wild and untamed this game’s scope it, but also how successful it is in delivering on the promise of wrapping it all up into a single cohesive offering.” - Luke Plunkett
Age of Wonders 4
“Where Age of Wonders 4 gets freaky, though, is the way it implements its fantasy setting. You get hero characters who can be leveled up and equipped with loot. There are spells you can cast at a strategic level that grant perks and even units. The tactical battles have swords and arrows, but also elemental magic, animals and dead dudes. There are even story missions you can work through. It’s great!” - Luke Plunkett
Wartales
“There’s a lot going on in Wartales, a lot of influences getting thrown into a pot and swirling around each other, so the best (or at least most succinct) way I’ve seen it described is “Wartales is a medieval open world role-playing game with turn-based combat in which the player leads a group of mercenaries. It’s mercenary management, basically. With some fighting. And a story. It’s like the management side of XCOM added the dietary and resting needs of a survival sim, then decided it wanted to go on a little RPG adventure.” - Luke Plunkett
Total War: Three Kingdoms
“For those new or interested in the series, this is absolutely the best place to start, as it’ll ease you in and communicate its complexities better than any other Total War. And if you’re experienced, you’ll just love how this is a smoother, smarter ride. Three Kingdoms isn’t a perfect Total War game, but it’s the closest the series has come in a long time.” - Luke Plunkett
Europa Universalis IV
“I guess the best way of describing the game is this: if you like Total War and/or Civilization, and you’re willing to trade those game’s character and visual flair for something with more meat, this is the game for you. Just make sure you find some good YouTube tutorial videos before you start.” - Luke Plunkett
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