Looking back at it now, 2020 doesn’t feel like a banner year for strategy games, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been a few gems. The list below – gathered by a panel of experts and regularly updated – contains games from as recently as 12 months ago alongside classics from as far back as 28 years ago. They’re all games we think you could play and love right now.

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Commander, it’s once again time to save the Earth – but this time you can do it from the comfort of your toilet seat. XCOM 2 today launched on iPhones, iPads, I don’t know anymore. The iOS release comes with all the DLC too, enough game to occupy your attention for potentially thousands of bowel movements. And I think technically you’re allowed to play phone games in other places too?

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The strategic squad-shooting antics of XCOM return today by way of XCOM: Chimera Squad, a standalone spin-off that takes place amidst a new world order. Whereas in previous games the player fought directly against the alien menace, in Chimera Squad, developer Firaxis Games have fast-forwarded events to five years after XCOM 2’s campaign. Now humans and aliens have made peace, and characters from both factions must fight side-by-side against separatist groups who oppose the interspecies alliance.

It’s a big shift for XCOM, and one Matt enjoyed in his XCOM: Chimera Squad review, albeit with caveats. I spoke to the game’s lead designer ahead of its release, however, to find out why they decided to make a spin-off rather than an expansion, and one that makes so many changes to the beloved formula.

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Fancy a follow-up game to XCOM 2? Well you’re in luck, because there’s one coming out next Friday. 2K Games surprised everyone today by announcing a new spin-off, XCOM: Chimera Squad – it’s not a proper sequel, but a shorter standalone story set after the events of XCOM 2.

It’s bringing a bunch of new and improved features to the series – like letting you select your squad from 11 agents each with their own personalities, and an update to the turn-based combat to make encounters more “intense and unpredictable”.

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It s Friday the 13th, the day of Saint Badluck, patron saint of ladders and casinos. And it is a fabulous holiday. Out there, parades are getting ready to be rained on, and children are looking forward to tonight s shenanigans, when they will dress up as mirrors and knock on doors, declaring: sweets or I ll smash myself . I love Friday the 13th. So many cherished memories. So many splinters of reflective glass.

So, Happy Bad Luck Day. Here s a list of the 9 unluckiest characters in videogames. Spoilers for pretty much every game mentioned. So, watch out.

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For a time it looked as though strategy games had sunk into a kind of deathly malaise, unsure which territory to claim next and which ones it should leave well and truly alone. Fast forward to 2020, though, and strategy games have never looked healthier, which is why we’ve compiled this best strategy games list of all time. Whether you want to conquer the depths of space, wage historical warfare or hulk around in big mechanical robots, there’s a strategy game for you below.

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Winter brings out a part of me that immediately seeks a mountain of blankets in which to burrow. Even in my seasonally confused state of Texas, the weather has tended towards the chilly and left me with little excuse not to have a kettle boiling interminably as I layer on socks and pull the biggest comforter from the top of the closet. But this presents a problem likely familiar to other cozy connoisseurs: how does one game while properly bundled?

I will admit it does limit possibilities considerably. That’s why I’ve curated a small selection of games perfectly playable while your other hand keeps coffee or tea always within sipping range.

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You’ll ocassionally find someone on the internet sounding off about how the strategy genre is dead. If you see such a person in the future, send them this list of the best strategy games ever made.

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Welcome back, Commanders. I’ve returned to an expanded and finalised XCOM 2 this week. Since the launch of 2017’s War Of The Chosen expansion and last year’s Tactical Legacy Pack, things have been quiet on the XCOM front. The game is finally stabilised, giving modders a nice static test-bed to add new weapons, aliens and features to the squad tactics sandbox. Here’s a deep dive on the boldly named “A Better Everything” – a modular overhaul mod package – plus a few fun extras to freshen up your next scuffle with Advent.

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I reckon that when I was growing up I spent longer reading the manuals for games than I did playing them. The thicker the better (as the someone said to the etc.), and if it were up to me every game would come with a chunky instruction booklet. The standard these days is the in-game tutorial, and many of them feel like afterthoughts. Either they re too bare bones to properly teach you how to play, leaving you to scroll through Wikis, or they re so boring that you rush through them and then forget everything you re told.

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