Summary
Turn-based tactics gamesoften involve more short-term planning than they do long-term, focusing on turn-by-turn gameplay rather than encouraging the player to develop overarching strategies. Tactics games come in all shapes and sizes, from large-scale tacticsgames such asXCOMto tactical RPGs such asBattle Brothers.
The indie scenehas seen a variety of tactical games, though the tactics genre is arguably underserved when compared to the abundance of strategy games available today. These examples, however, offer a variety of high-quality tactical experiences developed by indie teams.
7Overland
Slow-Burning And Intense Tactical Encounters
Reminiscent ofThe Oregon Trail,Overlandis a heavily stylized turn-based tactics game that puts players in control of a small group of characters.The game’s eerie atmosphereand flat-color art-style may be its greatest strengths, but the slow-burning tactical encounters are frequently intense.
Overlanddoesn’t encourage players to be aggressive, with the best solution to any encounter usually being to go as fast as humanly possible. This is because the enemies inOverlandare incredibly deadly, and while fighting them is possible, it’s far from efficient. However, this leads to some intense situations in which every decision matters, adding weight to every choice the player makes.
6Mortal Glory 2
A Gladiator-Themed Tactical Roguelike
Thisturn-based tactics Roguelikeis a gladiator-themed fantasy game in which players control a group of characters, each with their own unique abilities, in small-scale tactical combat encounters. The game features a broad variety of races and items to equip them with, and each character can also level up over the course of a run.
Mortal Glory 2’svariety of relatively simple, grid-based battlegrounds are made more interesting via their array of environmental hazards. These include explosive barrels that can be pushed into enemies, and pits for players to knock enemies into.
Taking place ina cyberpunk setting,Cyber Knights: Flashpointis a combination of turn-based tactics and role-playing games. InCyber Knights, players build and manage a crew of rogues and mercenaries, pulling off heists with challenging combat and stealth mechanics.
While each mission can prove deeply tactical, players will also have to be strategic about how they build and customize each member of their crew. Picking the right skills in each character’s skill tree, and equipping them with the right weapon mods can have a dramatic effect on how each mission plays out.
4Fights In Tight Spaces
A Tactical Deck-Builder
Thiscombination of deck-buildingand turn-based tactics features a stylish, flat-color aesthetic that matches its slick combat.Fights In Tight Spacesonly has players controlling a single character, but the gameplay is both turn-based and highly tactical, thanks to each move requiring a card play.
Fights In Tight Spacesis focused predominantly on hand-to-hand combat in claustrophobic environments that will likely appeal to fans of action films such asJohn Wick. Fans of tactics games and the deck-building genre alike will appreciate this title’s combination of tactical positioning and careful card play.
3Xenonauts
A Love Letter To Old-School XCOM
Taking inspiration from old-schoolXCOMgames,Xenonautsis a decidedly retro experience that - like its inspirations - can be extremely unforgiving.Xenonautsis a love letter to the originalXCOMin many ways, but features several modernizations and, as a result, smoother gameplay.
Despite beinga relatively hardcore experience,Xenonautsis dramatically more accessible than the olderXCOMtitles. This is in large part thanks to its aforementioned modernizations, with improved graphics and a cleaner user-interface being the key factors.
This sandbox RPGtasks players with managing a mercenary company, taking on contracts and fighting gruesome turn-based battles.Battle Brotherstakes place in a dark, low-fantasy setting with several unique enemies, as well as a variety of factions, each with their own armies. The player also has a reputation with each of these factions, adding a layer of depth to the game’s management systems.
Characters inBattle Brothersare extremely customizable, each of whom has a set of statistics and perks that players can use to specialize them. This makes the game’s tactical combat all the more rewarding, with each perk having a dramatic effect on how combat plays out. Furthermore, the game’s hexagon-based battlefields also feature terrain that accounts for high and low ground, and the morale system adds an extra layer of complexity to an already deep game.
Developed by Subset Games, the team behindFTL: Faster Than Light,Into The Breachis a deep combination of turn-based tactics and puzzle games. In the game, players control a squad of mechs, defending cities from an alien invasion. What makesInto The Breachso special, though, is the abundance of information it provides to the player. This allows the player to make informed decisions, leading to an experience that’s rarely frustrating.
Furthermore,Into The Breachallows the player to undo moves and even reset their entire turn, encouraging experimentation. The variety of mechs, each with their own unique move-set, are also noteworthy, makingInto The Breacha highly-replayable game.
Special Mention: Tactical Breach Wizards
Tactical Breach Wizardsis the new game from Suspicious Developments, the studio behind games such asGunpointandHeat Signature.Tactical Breach Wizardsis a grid-based tactics game that will be immediately familiar to fans of games such asXCOM, though it plays very differently.
InTactical Breach Wizards, players control a team of wizards and witches with powerful abilities, taking out rooms full of enemies with guns and magic, or sending them flying out of windows. Similarly toInto The Breach,Tactical Breach Wizardsalso takes a more forgiving approach, allowing players to undo moves and experiment with the best solution to any given encounter.
