The Best RTS Games You Can Play Today

A Classic


If you’re in the mood for RTS games, then look no further than this epic list of great RTS games. RTS is a popular genre of gaming, and if you want to relive history, fight in epic mythological battles, or battle in the galaxies of space, then this is the ultimate list for you.  If you want some sci-fi RTS games set in the epic battlefields of Space. Games such as Executive 2 and Alien Dark Descent will let you command epic scopes of infantry and spaceships to fight against fearsome creatures and evil rival corporations. 

If you want fantasy, then the Age of Mythology and Northgard are set in mythical realms that include the Norse, and embrace an epic story campaign that will set you in a great setting. These are the best RTS Games you can play today. Let’s get on the list!

15) There are Billions

They Are Billions is set in a Steampunk era, focusing elements of steampunk similar to Frostpunk and is set in a post-apocalyptic setting. The goal of the game is simple: Survive. Build and defend colonies that protect the last of humanity in this abandoned desolate planet against hordes of the infected. Anyone who enjoys zombies infecting a world of the unliving? Then this is the game for you.

Zombies are never fun to deal with! Look at that beautiful train.

Discover a world within a story to uncover the secrets of how this apocalyptic crisis occurred. Build a colony that must stand the test of time as you keep fighting against the hordes of zombies coming close to your settlement. Hold them back at bay as you become humanity’s last hope with fortified colonies to survive in the territories that are infected with this scourge. 

Research over 90 viable technologies to aid your fledgling colony to become a bastion of humanity.  These events are played out with a random mode feature, consider it a sandbox with unique events, winter, geography and the infected. 

This is currently one of the best RTS games out there right now with zombies. Not many games cover RTS and combine it with the concept of zombies. This has more than 60 hours of gameplay and 48 brutal missions. This is the reason why you will have endless hours of fun playing this game!

 

14) Age of Mythology: Extended Edition

Age of Mythology is a timeless classic that introduced mythology into the series. One of the most renowned games of all time, it’s a game that will keep you up playing for hours. Command the Egyptians, Altanteans, Greeks and Norse as you go through three single-player campaigns to experience an epic story based on different mythologies helping each to get rid of the Titans. 

Arkantos! Prostima?

This was a game with atmospheric legendary music, and I’ve played hundreds of hours of this game in my childhood. It’s a game that will immerse you into a new world and is so fun.

 

13) Starship Troopers: Terran Command

Starships Troopers: Terran Command is a monumental game set in the Starships Troopers Movie Universe. It’s an exciting, real-time strategy game that allows you to take command of Mobile Infantry and you must prevent the Arachnid threat from consuming your end of civilization. Insects mustn’t dominate! 

Repel the Bug Invasion Men! Hold! Hold!

Build your armies to fight against these barbaric hordes of insects and savages. And control a new empire that will dominate the galaxy. There are story campaigns and tons of tactical strategies that you can deploy, guaranteeing hours of fun and hours of gameplay. This game has bugs, bugs and lots of insect bugs. This is a win-win for anyone who is looking for hours of fun in a sci-fi setting.

 

12) Aliens: Dark Descent

Lead a squadron of elite veteran Colonial Marines in the Alien Universe to stop the horrifying Xenomorphs that have broken into an outbreak on Planet Lethe. You have to infiltrate your squad, using real-time tactics. Defeating Xenomorphs is not going to be an easy job. Real-time combat will play a big role, as you will face rogue operatives and new creatures to the Alien Franchise.

Not a situation I wanna be in!

Your foes adapt to how you fight. You have to find ways for survival, shortcuts and safe zones, in an ever-adapting universe. This already sounds like a recipe for fun for fans of the Aliens Universe and newcomers. This is a gripping universe to get immersed into a new RTS.

 

11) Dungeons 4

A new Dungeons game is out, and it's turning out to be insane levels of fun. If you’re a fan of Dungeons and Dragons, then this game is for you. The Dark Elf Thalya returns after Dungeons 3 where it is imperative to gather the evilness in new ways and unleash it upon the Plains of the Overworld. 

Shiny gold! Shiny…what? Oh no. It’s the Evil Overlord all over again! Accursed-

This world must be turned to the Dark Side! And of course, comfortable dungeons are also a plus! Those dungeons must be protected and have enough traps to trap any pesky Overworlders that try to infiltrate them. The ultimate objective is to make the Overland into the Absoulete’s Evil holiday paradise. This is a long campaign with the English narrator making a return!  

Play in-player co-op multiplayer campaigns with maps from single-player and multiplayer being made available. Stop the Dwarves from trying to loot your dungeons for gold and prevent their raiding parties from emerging into your dungeons! Be the most evil person you can be in Dungeons 4!

 

10) NEBULOUS: Fleet Command

Fight in a three-dimensional battlespace using intelligence to gather information on your enemies, as you command a fleet of space warships that will tailor to the paystyle that you want. These specialised ships can act in many different roles, and this game favours heavily simulation tactical-based games. Use weapons from kinetics, and beam weapons, to electronic warfare. 

Give the orders sir!

The game encourages you to plan combat tactics and demonstrates the sheer tension of battle decision-making. If you want to feel like a Grand Admiral in the scions of space while commanding your navy, the pressure is ten-fold. You will feel the difficulty of fighting against AI and human players, and you will have to bear the consequences of hard decisions lest they impact your precious navy. 

Be careful if asteroids hide the enemy ships, or jam into your electronic communications. Signal detection plays a role.  If you make decisions that don’t succeed, those consequences will leave you. This game skips the economy while focusing on battle. Make a single mistake? 

That will help the enemy more than you do. It’s combat-focused, and already the game sounds exciting. There are no reinforcements, and counter-attacks can occur. Every hit and every loss will count in this fascinating game.

 

9) Airships: Conquer the Skies

Airships: Conquer the Skies is the game for ultimate fearsome warship combat. If you’re a lover of airships, craft the airship of your dreams and use them in battles that extend to a humongous scale. 

Construct some of the most powerful airships and land vehicles, using modules, weapons, armour types and structures that you modify consistently to have the most powerful warships at your disposal.

We are going to war! In the skies!

You will have loyal crews ready to fight with you, and there’s a lot of destruction. Choosing tactics will be wise, and face off against creatures such as Giant Kraken, Fleshcracker creatures, venomous spiders and more. 

You will build an empire, create your missions, or build a mighty empire in Conquest. Multiplayer matches also bring enormous potential. This already is a game teeming with content and is full of fun.

 

8) Anno 1800

I don’t need to introduce the name of this game; it is legendary in the space of City Simulation Builder Games. This is the era of the Industrial Age, where you create metropolises in a semi-fantasy Victorian-inspired setting of glorious Industrial cities. You get to decide whether you become innovators, exploiters, conquerors or liberators. Design bustling cities that will become economic commerce hubs, and use technology to upgrade your infrastructure. 

Step right up into the Emporium Ladies and Gentlemen!

build an empire from the cities of Europe to the Jungles of South America and Africa. This is one of the best titles in the Anno franchise. You’ll deal with diplomacy, and discovery playing a crucial role. You will create huge metropolises by taking logistic networks, dominate your opponents in trade and warfare, and build ships of the ages. 

This game is built upon 20 years of Anno history, a great rich-city-building experience and a deep story-based campaign, and season 4 which for next will bring even more additional content. This is a game highly recommended. 

 

7) Stronghold: Definitive Edition

Stronghold Definitive Edition is a blast to try out. It is a sure remake of the game and is remastered faithfully. The soundtrack has been remastered to such a good extent that you will feel as if you are in the Medieval Period. Set in war-torn England, you rise as a Lord, raising your town, making your citizens happy, and ensuring you build mighty armies to raise down castles and build your own. That is Stronghold in a nutshell. 

My Lord! Our Castle is under attack! To the gates! Defend her!

This game remasters most of the original story content and introduces castles, sieges and the will to unite a broken realm. You have to help the war-torn frontier of England to help the King against the monstrous Rat, Pig, Snake and Wolf. Engage in epic campaigns, strike down evil villainous Lords in lots of great missions, build epic fortresses and repel enemy assaults, and test the limits of your mind. You’ll have banquets and victory to feast upon! 

This is over 26 missions, with a remastered soundtrack and new visuals and has 14 new missions along with original voice actors returning. More RTS games need to return. This is an excellent game and I thoroughly recommend it. 

 

6) Northgard

Northgard is set in a fantasy Viking Universe where you lead a group of Vikings travelling the ocean and landing on an island. You must take over rival clans, and use RTS. You’ll have to use fame, wisdom and world domination as the three modes of gameplay, but this also includes many other numerous win conditions. Take control of an epic story to find the island of Northgard and avenge your father, with your clan. You’ll have tons of complex missions, and you’ll have difficulties to face.

A Shiny New Village…more to plunder!

You’ll have a single-player campaign with 11 chapters and over six starting clans that you’ll need to master for multiplayer as well. Different units, buildings, and playstyles, all factor in this RTS game. You’ll be facing mythological Viking creatures such as the Jotunn, Dwarf, unread Draugr and more. 

This is a feast of a game if you love Vikings. And there are tons of hours of content to make this game even more fun as the multiplayer is intense! This game is thoroughly recommended.

 

 

5) Buy Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront

Call to Arms is a WWII multiplayer RTS game that I’ve had intense fun with my friends in multiplayer matches. Play as the Axis or Allied Powers, and simulate the battles of Stalingrad, D-Day and more. This takes you from June 1941 to May 1945 focusing on the Eastern front. You have a ton of game modes; with a single-player campaign that puts you into the setting that also has been recreated with intense historical accuracy. You’ll have 12 single-player historical missions, over 250 weapons and 300 vehicles at your disposal. 

Bombs away!

You’ll have realistic armour penetration, as this game is heavily researched on WWII. Land mines, bombs, and authentic sound are all added as a part of immersion. This game already has tons of content that you will love. You have PvE PVP and co-op in multiplayer and can play from early WWII to late WWII as well. 

These modes all add immersion and have plenty of mods on the Steam Workshop. You also have a first-person POV for vehicles, and a third person for infantry as well. You can control hundreds of units, but you have to beat your enemy in battle to compose your army group, research new units and dominate the battlefield. This is a game worth playing if you want some epic WWII conflict and action.

 

4) Kingdoms and Castles

Take control of building your own Medieval Castle and City within this cosy city-building simulation game. Rise from a tiny village to become an impenetrable fortress. You’ll have to deal with starvation, famine, Viking raiders, and turn beasts back. Your skill as a city and castle planner will play an important role. You’ll need to tax, make your peasants happy, build churches and taverns, throw festivals, and collect resources. 

I must say I’m rather fond of my castle… a shame if someone destroyed it!

Build your castle and prevent the tide of the Viking invasion, and use towers and walls to build your castle and become a glorious Kingdom! The new land you're settling in is at risk of Viking invasion. These raiders seek to kidnap and kill your peasants, steal your resources, and burn your town to the ground. Use a powerful castle-building system where castles are constructed using blocks which can be placed anywhere.

Towers and walls are dynamically created based on how you stack and arrange them. Archer towers and other weapon emplacements have longer ranges the higher their tower. Try different layouts to best protect your kingdom and express your glory as a king or queen.

 

3) Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator 2

Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator 2 is everything you could dream of; have the most insane battles with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, to even fantasy realms! 

You have sandbox mode which will test the limits of your CPU if you want to go extreme. Command these armies in RTS mode, and play within 3rd or first person.

Legions of Rome! Legions! ADVANCE!

You’ll have multiple story and driven player campaigns and you can do sieges as well. You have an FPS invasion with hordes of zombies and new technology that utilises your GPU with AI to bring these massive battles to life. This is one of the most fun games out there and if you want to try it out, it's amazing.

 

2) Iron Harvest

This alternate WWI strategy game sets us into a universe where Europe is trying to recover from the brutal battles of WWI. This game is Dieselpunk in all its glory and is a real-time strategy game. You’ll find tradition clashing with scientific and technological progress, and it has some of the best battles you will want to play.

WW1 in an alternate timeline!

A great story campaign that immerses you in the period. You have secret societies playing havoc, and you’ll lead dozens of different units to take command and mechs and set the world on fire. This is how great this game is.

 

1) Executive Assault 2

This epic sci-fi RTS and FPS game embarks you into the depths of space. You assemble an armada of spaceships, tanks and lasers to fight against the enemy in intense buildings and great base-building tactics. 

Epic Space Battles!

You’ll be able to deploy outposts in space to claim sectors, mine resources and rapidly grow your economy by selling goods to traders, and new technologies. You’ll face enemies, and rival corporations, rebellious protestors, and you can switch from FPS to RTS in fast-paced combat. There’s so much content in this game that it is fun!

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I am a freelancer, writing in the RTS field and also playing RPG games. I've loved franchises such as Age of Empires/Total War, and games like Witcher/Assassin Creed, and CRPGs such as Warhammeer 40k
Gamer Since: 2004
Favorite Genre: RTS
Currently Playing: Total War Pharaoh, Age of Empires II and RPG games
Top 3 Favorite Games:The Elder Scrolls Online, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Assassins Creed Rogue