Summary
Strategy games are one of the most saturated genres in gaming, only growing in popularity since the boom of RTS gamesin the 1990s, especially with PC gamers. Because of that, it’s hard to find unique strategy games that do something different, be that with their mechanics, narrative, or visual style.
This list covers all kinds of games, new and old, from turn-based indie strategy rogue-likes to combinations of third-person shooter and RTS. Furthermore, all of these games are available on Steam and easy to find.
This WW2 gamefeatures traditional RTS gameplay similar toCompany Of Heroes, also sharing its bleak setting and visceral battles. However, what makesMen Of Warso weird to play is the fact that players can not only order their squads around in regular RTS fashion, but also take direct control of their units.
This means that if a particular group of enemies is giving the player trouble, they can take control of a soldier, move them through the battlefield, and throw a grenade to take them out. This allows for some extremely dynamic gameplay that asks the player to master when and where to take direct control, and when they’re better off commanding from afar.
9Line War
This unique strategy game focuses on macro-management over micromanagement, severely decreasing the barrier to entry while keeping plenty of strategy in its gameplay. Players will form long-term strategies and overarching plans, form lines of defense, and order troops across the map in broad sweeps.
Line Warhas a simplistic but clear art style and features RTS gameplay that’s reminiscent of some 4X games, offering a distinct experience in a bloated genre; instead of moving their troops individually,Line Warhas players drawing lines of defense and ordering troops by creating their routes across the map. This simple change of control changes the game completely, and offers a truly unique experience.
8Silica
This immersive multiplayer FPS/RTS combination has up to three factions fighting over a distant planet, including a native alien race, in large-scale online battles.Silicafeaturesa large amount of vehicular combatand FPS gameplay, but players can also take on the role of a commander, playing the game using traditional RTS mechanics.
This is a large part of what makesSilicaso unique, and so strange; as the battle is fought, commanders build structures and issue orders in real-time using traditional RTS controls. The game can even be played solo and with low player counts, thanks to its AI.
7Frozen Synapse
This game’s distinctly strange visuals are both minimal and easy to read, which is important because positional awareness inFrozen Synapseis integral to success.Frozen Synapseis odd in the sense that it’s both real-time and turn-based; on their turn, players plan the moves of their various units (of which there are several types), plotting out their strategy for the next five seconds of combat.
After both players have decided on their actions, their turns are played out simultaneously, turningFrozen Synapseinto a psychological battle as players try to anticipate their opponent’s next move.
6Valkyria Chronicles
This cult classiccombination of turn-based tactics and third-person shooters has an evocative 1930s-style alternate history setting and a fantastic watercolor art style with a strong JRPG-style narrative, along with a broad cast of characters.
Valkyria Chroniclesis weird for its combinationof JRPG styleand unique mechanics. In the game, players can take control of individual units and control them in battle, moving and attacking with them in third-person. This allows for a more action-packed experience while simultaneously keeping the game tactical.
5Particle Fleet: Emergence
This strange physics-based RTS game may not be much to look at with its simplistic visuals and stark color palette, but its combination of ship designing and fleet command makes it one of the strangest and more interesting RTS games on Steam.
Particle Fleet: Emergencehasplayers designing shipsand building fleets, commanding them in large-scale top-down battles, fighting against a rapidly increasing horde of particles with real-time physics simulation.Particle Fleetstands out not only for its intuitive ship design system, but also for its solid RTS mechanics.
4Darwinia
This game from Introversion Software (the studio behindPrison Architect) was originally released in 2005 and features abstract, polygonal 3D visuals and a strange story about a computer virus in a meticulously simulated 3D world.
Darwinia’sweird and almost eerie visuals still hold up to this day thanks to their highly stylized look, and the game’s intuitive RTS controls make it easy to make orders and look around the battlefield.Darwiniaalso features mechanics reminiscent ofLemmings, adding a unique challenge to the game and further distinguishing it from other strategy games.
3Perimeter
This largely forgotten 2004 RTS game has a strange science fiction narrative and graphics that were rather impressive for its time, butPerimeter’sstrangest and most unique feature by far is its terraforming mechanics.
InPerimeter, players can temporarily “transmute” their units in strategic ways to cross different terrains, morph the surrounding terrain with terrain-eating drones, and activate energy-sapping “perimeters” that act as powerful energy shields that can block incoming attacks. These innovative mechanics mesh together to offer entirely unique strategies that aren’t found in traditional RTS games, makingPerimeteran odd entry in the history of strategy games that’s worth a closer look.
2Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal
This strategy simulation game is one of many games in theCreeper Worldseries, but it’s arguably one of the best.Creeper Worldis one of the weirdest strategy games on the market, particularly because it tasks players with facing down not an evil army, but an evolving mass of simulated particles threatening to take over the map.
InCreeper World 3, players build structures, defenses, and units to fend off the growing horde of cosmic creep, building themselves up until they’re strong enough to take out the source. The game also features unique gameplay that combines base building and defense with RTS mechanics, further distinguishing it from other games in the genre.
1Brutal Orchestra
Brutal Orchestrais a turn-based rogue-like strategy game that has a strange andgrotesque narrative and themewith unnerving characters and visuals that help to make it stand out regardless of its gameplay, but its mechanics are also weird and unique.
Set in Purgatory and featuring surreal 2D sprites in a 3D environment,Brutal Orchestratasks players with recruiting and managing their party members, managing their resources, and battling horrific creatures in tactical turn-based combat. There’s a huge amount of build variety inBrutal Orchestra, and the way it telegraphs enemy attacks, like games such asSlay The SpireandInto The Breach,prevents its challenging gameplay from becoming frustrating.
