Summary
The termstrategy gameencompasses several subgenres. Including real-time, turn-based, and grand strategy games. Often leveraging fantasy or historical settings to deliver a rewarding gaming experience, these games have become the backbone of competitive esports gaming.
But not all strategy games are fast and frantic. Some deliver a gaming experience that is backed up by deep lore and a history that spans several games in a single franchise. Mythology and legends are often leveraged to add depth to strategy games, especially during thecampaign mode. There are some strategy games that have heaps of lore attached to them, spanning multiple games.
Endless Space 2is a turn-based4x strategy gamethat is set in the Endless Space universe. Following the general tropes of the genre, the player chooses an empire to control and then attempts to overcome all other empires to achieve a win condition.
Where Endless Space 2differs from many space-based strategy games, is in the way the Endless Universe was once populated by ancient beings, that have long since disappeared. This sets the scene for the lore of the game. It also paves the way for certain gameplay elements, such as the Dungeon of the Endless and the Endless Legend.
Sins Of A Solar Empireis a grand strategy game, withreal-time combat. Players need to wield military might, political acumen, and smart resource management to build an empire. The goal is to reach win condition over the other empires.
The lore ofSins Of A Solar Empireis based on the differences between the 3 playable factions, the TEC, Advent, and Vasari. The TEC has an industrial background and story, the Advent are mystical warriors with a hidden agenda, and the Vasari are a previously dominant faction that is now in decline. These 3 factions have ships and specializations that are based on this lore.
Star Wars: Empire at Waris a real-time strategy game with a bit of a twist. Gameplay takes place both in space and on the ground. Furthermore, the galactic map sits on top of the whole gameplay experience, adding a strategy layer as well.
When it comes to lore, there are few mines that can be so richly excavated for game lore as theStar Warsfranchise.Star Wars: Empire at Warleans heavily on this existing lore, to deliver a gaming experience that includes controlling hero units from the franchise. The campaign mode has its own lore, and the story unfolds as the player progresses.
Homeworldwas the original title of theHomeworldfranchise. A real-time strategy game set against the backdrop of space. It was later remastered to update the graphics and tweak the gameplay and is renowned as one of the best space RTS ever made.
The game is driven by the lore that defines it. The player takes control of a mothership, that needs to be guided through a campaign to get the Kushan exiles back to their home planet. The narrative and cutscenes are excellent, laying out the lore and original backstory in a way that was cutting edge in its day.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of Waris the first of the 3 games and 5 DLC in theDawn Of Warfranchise. It is areal-time strategy gamebut with a unique twist. Gameplay often revolves around the use of special hero units, with produced units acting like cannon fodder.
Based on theWarhammer 40ktabletop gaming universe, few RTS games have so much pre-established lore to lean on when putting a campaign together. This really shows when playingWarhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War, with each faction and hero unit sticking to the40klore.
The third real-time strategy game in theCommand & Conquerseries,Command & Conquer: Tiberium Warsbuilds on the events of the older games but delivers them using a more modern graphics engine and more refined gameplay.
Both factions, the GDI and NOD have plenty of established history and lore by the time of the events ofCommand & Conquer: Tiberium Wars. Kane, the enigmatic leader of NOD is still alive at this stage, and his actions set forth even more game lore that, unfortunately, never unfolded fully. Overall, the game did a good job of bringing together the history of the conflict between GDI and NOD up to this point.
StarCraftis considered one of the all-time best RTS games. A game that helped to set the stage for modern esports gaming, and competitive play. A little dated now, but well worth playing for the nostalgia alone.
What setStarCraftapart, was the fact that each of the 3playable factions, the Terrans, Zerg, and Protoss is completely unique. With their own specialist units, and more importantly, specific tactics. Each of these factions is backed up by its own lore, and this is slowly uncovered as the campaign mode unfolds, in one of the most compelling plots to be found in an RTS game.
