These rankings are based on a direct vote put out to DualShockers’ 100+ contributors, writers, and editors, not our individual reviews.
There have been a lot of great strategy games in 2023 — so many, in fact, that even with three votes apiece to spread across the available entries, less than half (47%) of our staff at DualShockers were able to agree on a single entry, and only the top two cleared the 25% benchmark. It’d take a skilled tactician to try to get to the top of the strategy charts this year.
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Whether you’d rather command troops with guns or swords, in real time or a turn-based format, here are our picks for the top strategy games of 2023.
10Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition
One For The Ages
Some games are timeless, and with the recent success that AoE2 has seen, it clearly falls into that category. Originally releasing all the way back in 1997, this RTS title has been delighting players for more than 25 years, featuring classic resource gathering and technology spread across four different ages.
With a port of the game’s Definitive Edition arriving on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One back in January, this game is an amazing throwback to the early days of the RTS genre, and the release of two different DLC (The Return of Rome and The Mountain Royals) this year have given it another amazing shot at reaching players old and new. Our ownChris Harding gave the game an 8/10 for review, stating: “Empires 2: Definitive Edition is the perfect example of taking an ancient game and giving it just enough love to make it feel almost new, something that many other remasters and re-releases so often miss the mark on.”
Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition
9Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp
Blasting Its Way Onto The Charts
Another new take on an older set of games, Re-Boot Camp blasted onto the scene in April, bringing back the grid-based, turn-based action that made the series famous. Making the move to 3D graphics for the remake was a contentious choice among this series' longtime fans, but it doesn’t take away from the enticing PvE campaigns, of which two beloved ones are contained in this collection.
Making the move to 3D graphics for the remake was a contentious choice among this series' longtime fans, but it doesn’t take away from the enticing PvE campaigns.
While its sales figureshave been unfortunately low, for the select group that has decided to pick it up, Re-Boot Camp has served up a great helping of nostalgia for fans of the series.
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp
8Wargroove 2
Succeeding As A Successor
It’s fun to see a game that was created to bea spiritual successor to Advance Warsjump past its inspiration in the rankings, and that’s just what Wargroove 2 managed to do this year. Another turn-based tactical game, this entry moves that format to a high-fantasy setting.
…the added features like a roguelite mode are a nice touch.
Giving players their choice of commanders, as well as including multiple campaigns, are hallmarks of Wargroove, and something that keeps Wargroove 2 close to the hearts of its players. Plus, the added features like a roguelite mode are a nice touch.
Wargroove 2
7Age Of Wonders 4
A Whole Different Kind Of Age
Age of Wonders is a storied turn-based strategy series. Set in a high fantasy world, AoW4 ups its own ante, allowing an amazing amount of customization that lets you adjust the traits, behavior, and look of the many different factions and leaders included in the game.
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you may even set up the layout, both physical and sociopolitical, of your custom worlds, allowing you to craft your own epic fantasy story. Adding to that, it’s like a Legacy board game, letting you team up with a Pantheon made up of the characters you’ve already played in past games. With all that legacy and customization, Age of Wonders 4 has a nearly unparalleled amount of replayability.
Age Of Wonders 4
6Minecraft Legends
Assemble The Mobs!
Putting a familiar-looking coat of paint over a brand-new style of play,Minecraft Legendsbrings a fun new entry into the underrepresented Action RTS genre.Building up Piglinsto serve as an organized, antagonistic force, Legends lets you command an army of just about any other type of mob from Minecraft, all while battling alongside your troops and swinging your sword from the back of a trusty mount.
It’s a lot of fun to play, and it probably could have been successful even without the Minecraft franchise name and iconic graphics to help it along, but for fans of the blocky builder, it’s sure to bring an even greater sense of joyful immersion. One of our Evergreen Editors,Emma Ward, reviewed the game a 7.2/10, feeling, “Minecraft Legends … doesn’t take itself too seriously, making it an easy game to hop into, while simultaneously lacking the depth to keep hardcore fans of the strategy genre coming back.”
Minecraft Legends
5Age Of Empires IV
The Fourth Age
While Age of Empires II Definitive Edition brought back nostalgia from yesteryear, the latest entry in the series (originally released for PC in 2021) cracks the Top 5 on our list with its own Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One port. Stretching its action from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, it won Best Sim/Strategy Game in its debut year at The Game Awards.
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With the series' latest DLC, The Sultans Ascend, releasing for AoE4 in November, it’s safe to say we haven’t seen the last of this 4X RTS title. For strategy fans, that’s a very good thing. Our ownMehrdad Khayyat, gave the original version a 9/10score back in 2021, stating: “The amount of effort that the developers have put into the campaign mode ofAge of Empires 4really pays off. Every mission and every battle feels epic as if you are re-living the history.”
Age of Empires 4
4Dune: Spice Wars
Spice Up Your Life!
Making a game as part of one of the most celebrated sci-fi franchises ever has its risks. There’s a lot to live up to, but if you can pull it off as Shiro Games did, you’re likely to make a lot of people happy.
… this one takes the top honors, even if it does just miss out on the Top 3.
Releasing in Early Access in 2022, the full version of the game finally debuted in September, arriving to only Mixed or Average user reviews on MetaCritic (butmuch more favorable numbers on Steam), which just goes to show how much those who enjoy it are convinced of its greatness. With plenty of 4X real-time strategy games making the list this year, this one takes the top honors, even if it does just miss out on the Top 3.
Dune: Spice Wars
3Fire Emblem: Engage
Building On The Past, Not Living In It
TheFire Emblemseries carries a lot of weight in the turn-based strategy game community, soFire Emblem: Engagehad a lot to live up to this year. While it may not be the most adored entry in the longstanding series, it garnered the votes of 24 percent of our staff, and it has managed to cement its place in greatness thanks to a couple of fun new mechanics, as well as the high-fantasy aesthetic its fans expect to see.
At the forefront of this entry are theEmblem Rings, magical devices that can summon copies of characters from previous Fire Emblem games, and there are a bunch to collect. Following the trend established in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Engage also includes a main base that will let you feel right at home in this strategy RPG. Despite it’s high ranking on our list, our own Mohamed Hassanreviewed the game a 5.5/10, feeling that it “lacks genuine innovation, and doesn’t quite meet the standards set by previous entries or establish a challenging and balanced system that reflects Fire Emblem’s core identity.”
Fire Emblem Engage
2Persona 5 Tactica
Raise The Flag Of Victory
The Phantom Thieves have had a lot of different adventures in a wide variety of genres since their original RPG back in 2016, butTacticamarks their first jaunt into the world of turn-based strategy. Incorporating plenty of elements that have madePersona 5the phenomenon that it is, like its bumping funk soundtrack and epic outfits, it’s not surprising that it got the votes of 27 percent of our staff.
Brilliantly designed Phantom Thieves goodness wrapped up into an excellent tactical adventure.
Our own Peter Hunt Szpytekgave the game an8/10 for review, describing it as “simple but flashy, and makes every encounter feel like it was designed by a studio with years of tactics experience under its belt.” That pretty much sums up Tactica; more brilliantly designed Phantom Thieves goodness wrapped up into an excellent tactical adventure, and our second-best turn-based strategy game of the year.
Persona 5 Tactica
Can I Pet That Dog?
The Rescue Corps came back in full force this year, bringing two new Pikmin types, some new single-use items, and a rewind feature that makes the lack of difficulty settings a little more manageable (although it does skew to the easy side).Plus there’s Oatchi, your new doglike mount who not only comes with powerful charge and chomp attacks, but can also heal your little herbish helpers or help you sniff out the widely expanded amount of treasures hidden throughout the world. With all of that going on, it’s no surprise that 47% of our staff cast votes forPikmin 4as the best strategy game of the year.
Pikmin 4 is unique on this list in that it’s not just a strategy game; it also has puzzle elements, forcing you to use your brain and the resources at your disposal in a wider variety of ways. For such a cutesy-looking game, in a way, that makes it the most mature game on our list and deserving of the title of Strategy GOTY.
