Summary
- Star Wars Zero Company, a turn-based strategy game set during the Clone Wars, offers unique gameplay in the Star Wars universe.
- Games like Final Fantasy Tactics and XCOM offer similar strategic experiences to fill the void until Star Wars Zero Company releases.
- Star Wars: Empire At War and other strategy games set in familiar universes provide enjoyable tactical challenges for gamers.
Respawn Entertainment and Bit Reactor have announced the upcoming game Star Wars Zero Company at Star Wars Celebration. Scheduled for release in 2026, this turn-based tactics game will take place during the Clone Wars. Players will command a squad of customizable, diverse characters who are engaged in a shadow war, offering a fresh experience compared to most other Star Wars games.
Best Star Wars Games Ever, Ranked
On top of many successful movies, the Star Wars franchise has also seen a whole host of incredible games that have brought its universe to life.
While fans wait to play Star Wars Zero Company, there are other games available that provide similar strategic experiences to fill the void. Some feature nearly identical gameplay in the same genre, while others present different types of strategy games that blend engaging gameplay, challenge, and fantastical worlds.
9 Final Fantasy Tactics
Fight To Save The Kingdom Of Ivalice
Final Fantasy Tactics
- Released
- June 20, 1997
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Mild Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Tactical, RPG
While it wasn’t the first game to do it, with games like Fire Emblem and the original XCOM being made prior, Final Fantasy Tactics helped make turn-based tactics games popular. It still featured the mix of high fantasy and sci-fi elements and iconic character classes that the Final Fantasy games are known for, but with new strategy-focused gameplay.
Characters move in a grid-like pattern, and the player chooses the right time to strike. That is not always an easy choice to make in Final Fantasy Tactics, as gameplay grows more complex with every battle. The 32-bit visuals maintain the pixel artwork seen in the franchise's JRPG games, but 2.5D graphics allow for different perspectives that can make or break an entire battle.
8 Star Wars: Empire At War
There Hasn’t Been A Star Wars Strategy Game In Over Twenty Years
Star Wars: Empire at War
- Released
- February 16, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Real-Time Strategy
Despite war being a central part of the universe, and even in the title, Star Wars hasn’t had very many strategy games set in a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars: Empire at War is not only one of the few exceptions to that, but is also considered a classic, providing a real-time strategy adventure in the same vein as WarCraft and Company of Heroes.
Star Wars: Empire at War may not be a reinvention of the wheel, but between spawning armies, building bases, and accomplishing missions, it executes nearly every RTS trope masterfully. It even expands on the lore with its own non-canonical take on how the Rebels acquired X-Wings during the Galactic Civil War and introduced the Zann Consortium as a playable faction.
7 Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Being A Teacher Can Be Exciting And Relaxing
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- Released
- July 26, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, RPG
The gameplay of the Fire Emblem games has undergone many variations, but it always returns to being a tactical RPG set in a fantasy world, complete with knights, archers, mages, monks, and more. In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the units that can be trained and sent out onto the battlefield are students of Garreg Mach Monastery.
Players spend as much time being a teacher at the Monastery as they do being a leader on missions, which is unlike most video games where players would normally play as students. This allows for more diversity in the gameplay while also providing a sense of solace for players who are stressed after a tense battle.
6 Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Unlike Any Other Marvel Video Game
Marvel's Midnight Suns
- Released
- December 2, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Language, Mild Blood, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Tactical, RPG
Firaxis Games, the creators of XCOM, took on the Marvel universe in their own way with Marvel’s Midnight Suns, which blended turn-based tactics, RPG elements, and deck-building. The result is a niche but well-made experience that created a Marvel superhero game unlike any other, featuring characters from the Avengers, X-Men, and Midnight Suns working together to stop the demon mother known as Lilith.
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While it contains bits and pieces of XCOM, Marvel’s Midnight Suns is its own thing, with so many gameplay aspects that it is difficult to label as one particular genre. The tactics are employed through cards, and relationship building with all the heroes between missions adds to the RPG aspect. There is even side content that allows for exploration of the hub world.
5 Mario + Rabbids: Sparks Of Hope
An Unlikely Crossover Became A Tactical Nintendo Franchise
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
- Released
- October 20, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Cartoon Violence
- Genre(s)
- Strategy
Some turn-based tactics games are unforgiving when it comes to difficulty, so it can be hard for newcomers to get a feel for the genre, but thankfully, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is available. It still features the grid-based movement and coverage for enemies and heroes alike that tactics games are known for, but adjusted to allow younger players to enjoy them.
As a sequel, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks Of Hope takes what the first game established and expands on it with new characters, abilities, weapons, and fantastical Mario locations based around Super Mario Galaxy. It’s also more challenging than the first Mario + Rabbids game, providing something closer to a classic turn-based tactics game while featuring the cartoon-like visuals that have enchanted gamers for decades.
4 XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Humans Vs Aliens Battles That Defined Turn-Based Tactics
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
- Released
- October 9, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based Strategy, Action, Tactical, Strategy
Inspired by films like Aliens and Independence Day, XCOM games like XCOM: Enemy Unknown have defined the turn-based tactics genre. This reboot of the series centers on a military organization dedicated to protecting Earth from extraterrestrial invaders, with every soldier recruited and managed by the Commander, who is controlled by the player.
They must plan and monitor their squads carefully because XCOM: Enemy Unknown is merciless, especially in Ironman mode. When a soldier is killed, that loss is permanent, and facing the enemy requires patience and timing, utilizing the right positions and angles to enhance the chances of landing hits.
3 Baldur’s Gate 3
The Best Dungeons & Dragons Campaign In Video Game Form
Baldur's Gate 3
- Released
- August 3, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Many games have attempted to provide players with a way to live out their dream Dungeons & Dragons campaign, but Baldur’s Gate 3 has emerged as the definitive example of that endeavor. From rolling dice to perform actions to engaging in real-time, turn-based combat in a world populated by elves, dragons, tieflings, and Eldritch monsters from another planet, almost anything players would expect to find in a D&D campaign can be found in the branching narrative of Baldur's Gate 3.
In Baldur’s Gate 3, every decision matters, especially regarding dialogue, and small actions can have significant consequences down the road. Even hitting the wrong switch inside a building can lead to an entire storyline being locked away, and that kind of story branching, combined with unforgettable characters, has transformed Baldur’s Gate 3 into an award-winning and iconic modern RPG.
2 Gears Tactics
An XCOM Clone That Hits All The Right Notes
Gears Tactics
- Released
- April 28, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based Strategy
Gears Tactics can best be described as XCOM with Gears of War characters and visuals, but that’s not to its detriment. The apocalyptic Gears of War universe fits that same format, with just as many variants on the COGs as there are for the enemy Locusts, allowing for a diverse array of classes on the turn-based battlefield.
In the expansive Gears universe, Gears Tactics takes place twelve years before the events of the first Gears of War game but after Gears of War: Judgment. It follows Gabe Diaz on his mission to assassinate a Locust scientist named Ukkon. The player levels up a squad of characters and sends them on missions, with plenty of challenges to contend with, all while providing the cinematic style that the franchise is known for.
1 XCOM 2
Firaxis Games Went All Out With The Sequel
XCOM 2
- Released
- February 5, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Blood, Use of Tobacco, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, RPG
Beyond offering more than double the amount of content as the first game, a dedicated fanbase full of modders continues to make XCOM 2 an exceptional and ideal sequel in nearly every way. Battles against the alien invaders are more cinematic, alien technology is used for new upgrades, and there are so many new enemies to fight, especially with all the DLC content included.
The modding community on PC has enabled the creation and customization of soldiers to be more in-depth than ever before, allowing for the replication of characters from all forms of media. Even without mods, XCOM 2 remains a strong sequel that portrays a world where human and alien civilizations have merged after the invaders infiltrated and conquered the world through false promises of peace and prosperity.
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based Strategy, Tactical, Sci-Fi