Are you a fan of strategy games and can’t bear to constantly spend money on new titles? Then games that you can invest an insane amount of time into are the way to go – here are 6 such titles that you can find on Steam.
What criteria was this list created based on? In this list, we will only present RTS, so real-time strategy games. Global and turn-based strategy are left out. It’s also important that you can spend as much time in the games as possible without it getting boring immediately, and that they are available on Steam (although we will have to make a small exception for a few).
How much time you can spend in a game naturally also depends on personal taste. It’s not guaranteed that the gameplay loop of a game will remain enjoyable for 1,000 hours (or more) – but in these games, that applies to many.
Age of Empires
The “Age of Empires” (AoE) series starts things off. It has produced some of the most popular RTS games of all time. In its Definitive Edition, the original trilogy is still easily playable on modern systems.
Especially worthwhile are parts 2 and 4: Both games still receive DLCs today that add new historical factions and campaigns. So both single players and multiplayer fans are catered to here, with the strong multiplayer keeping the games alive.
With the “Rise of Rome” DLC for AoE 2, you also essentially get part 1 in a better form, and the Chronicles expansions also offer new peoples and campaigns for fans of antiquity. You can safely skip the first game nowadays. If you want primarily modern graphics, AoE 4 is your best bet.
- Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition on Steam
- Age of Empires 3 Definitive Edition on Steam
- Age of Empires 4: Anniversary Edition on Steam
Age of Empires 3 is also recommended if you don’t mind that no new content is being released for the game anymore. With home cities and card decks, it offers unique mechanics for the series, and the campaigns are also engaging and well-presented. There is even a free demo of the game if you want to take a look.
The Settlers
The strategy series is somewhat between classic RTS and city-builders. Each installment focused on a different aspect – sometimes more on combat, sometimes more on economic management. Depending on what you prefer, you should choose another installment of the series.
Unfortunately, you can only find a part of the games on Steam, but in modernized versions. These are:
- The Settlers: Heritage of Kings on Steam
- The Settlers: Rise of an Empire on Steam
- The Settlers 7 on Steam
Here comes the only exception to our Steam rule since the rest of the games are only available via the Ubisoft Store. There, you will also find the individual games in the improved History Edition, or in a collection with all games (except The Settlers: New Alliances).
