Paradox's long-running, flagship strategy romp is the ultimate grand strategy game, putting you in charge of a nation from the end of the Middle Ages all the way up to the 1800s. Release date: 2013 | Developer: Paradox | Steam (opens in new tab), Epic (opens in new tab)

Read more: This is my last chance to bring peace to Total War: Three Kingdoms (opens in new tab) Europa Universalis 4 Since launch, it's also benefited from some great DLC, including a new format that introduces historical bookmarks that expand on different events from the era. The fight over China also makes for a compelling campaign, blessed with a kind of dynamism that we've not seen in a Total War before. It feels like a leap for the series in the same way the first Rome did, bringing with it some fundemental changes to how diplomacy, trade and combat works. Each is part of a complicated web of relationships that affects everything from diplomacy to performance in battle, and like their Warhammer counterparts they're all superhuman warriors. Total War: Three Kingdoms (opens in new tab), the latest historical entry in the series, takes a few nods from Warhammer, which you'll find elsewhere in this list, giving us a sprawling Chinese civil war that's fuelled by its distinct characters, both off and on the battlefield. Release date: 2019 | Developer: Creative Assembly | Steam (opens in new tab) Read more: Were the Middle Ages really as sick and incestuous as Crusader Kings says? We asked a historian (opens in new tab) Total War: Three Kingdoms You can meander through life without any great plan and still find yourself embroiled in countless intrigues, wars and trysts. And all this soapy dynastic drama just has a brilliant flow to it, carrying you along with it. Getting to grips with it is thankfully considerably easier this time around, thanks to a helpful nested tooltip system and plenty of guidance.

At first glance it might seem a bit too familiar, but an even greater focus on roleplaying and simulating the lifestyles of medieval nobles, along with a big bag of new and reconsidered features, makes it well worth jumping ship to the latest iteration.ĬK3 is a ceaseless storyteller supported by countless complex systems that demand to be mucked around with and tweaked. It's a huge grand strategy RPG, more polished and cohesive than the venerable CK2, and quite a bit easier on the eyes, too. Release date: 2020 | Developer: Paradox | Steam (opens in new tab)Ĭrusader Kings 3, the best strategy game of 2020, has usurped its predecessor's spot on the list, unsurprisingly.

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