Are you a fan of the Total War series, craving more epic strategic conquests and tactical battles? You’re in luck! While Creative Assembly’s flagship franchise stands tall in the strategy gaming world, there are many excellent alternatives that capture that same thrilling blend of high-level strategy and intense combat. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the best games like Total War, helping you find your next strategic obsession.
What Makes Total War Special?
Before diving into the alternatives, let’s quickly recap what makes Total War so beloved:
- A grand campaign map where you manage your empire, build armies, and plot conquest
- Real-time tactical battles featuring hundreds or thousands of units
- Deep historical settings with diverse factions and units (plus fantasy elements in the Warhammer titles)
- A satisfying mix of high-level strategy and hands-on tactical control
Now, let’s look at some fantastic games that scratch that Total War itch in their own unique ways.
Top Games Like Total War
1. Civilization Series
Key Features:
- Turn-based 4X strategy spanning human history
- Develop your civilization from ancient times to the space age
- Compete for various victory conditions beyond just military domination
- Deep systems for science, culture, religion, and diplomacy
How It’s Like Total War: Civilization captures the epic scope of guiding a nation through history. While it lacks real-time battles, the strategic layer is incredibly deep, with each turn presenting tough choices about expansion, development, and conflict.
What Makes It Unique: Civ offers more peaceful paths to victory and a much broader timespan than Total War. The “one more turn” addictiveness is legendary among strategy gamers.
2. Europa Universalis IV
Key Features:
- Grand strategy set in the early modern period (1444-1821)
- Incredibly detailed simulation of trade, colonization, and diplomacy
- Choose from hundreds of historical nations to play
- Robust modding community creates endless scenarios
How It’s Like Total War: EUIV delivers on the empire management aspects of Total War in spades. You’ll constantly be juggling military, economic, and diplomatic concerns across a vast map.
What Makes It Unique: The level of historical detail and the complex interplay of systems make EUIV a much deeper simulation than Total War’s campaign map. It’s a game for true history buffs.
3. Crusader Kings III
Key Features:
- Medieval grand strategy with a strong roleplaying element
- Play as a dynasty rather than a nation, with intrigue and personal relationships key to success
- Incredibly open-ended gameplay with endless storytelling possibilities
- Spans 867-1453 AD across Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia
How It’s Like Total War: Crusader Kings III captures the political maneuvering and epic scope of Total War’s campaigns. You’ll wage wars, forge alliances, and build your realm.
What Makes It Unique: The character-driven nature of CKIII creates amazingly emergent stories. Your ruler’s personality traits and relationships drive the action as much as pure strategy.
4. Unity of Command II
Key Features:
- Turn-based tactical wargame set in World War II
- Emphasis on supply lines and operational-level strategy
- Challenging AI and tight scenario design
- Covers multiple theaters of WWII
How It’s Like Total War: Unity of Command II zooms in on the tactical battles that are half of Total War’s appeal. You’ll be outmaneuvering opponents and exploiting weaknesses, just on a smaller scale.
What Makes It Unique: UoCII is a more “serious” wargame, with a strong emphasis on historical accuracy and supply logistics. It’s perfect for those who want to dive deep into tactical challenges.
5. StarCraft II
Key Features:
- Real-time strategy set in a sci-fi universe
- Three distinct playable races with unique units and strategies
- Renowned for its competitive multiplayer scene
- Robust campaign mode with RPG elements
How It’s Like Total War: StarCraft II delivers lightning-fast tactical battles that will feel familiar to Total War fans. Positioning, unit counters, and fast decision-making are key.
What Makes It Unique: The sci-fi setting and asymmetric factions create a very different feel from Total War’s historical battles. The competitive scene is also far more developed.
6. Hearts of Iron IV
Key Features:
- Grand strategy focused entirely on World War II
- Incredibly detailed simulation of production, research, and military operations
- Play as any nation that existed during 1936-1948
- Robust modding scene creates alternate history scenarios
How It’s Like Total War: Hearts of Iron IV combines high-level strategy with the ability to control individual divisions, much like Total War. The scale of conflict is truly global.
What Makes It Unique: HOI4 drills down into the nitty-gritty details of managing a war economy and military production chains. It’s the ultimate WWII simulator for strategy fans.
Other Notable Mentions
- Age of Wonders Series: 4X strategy games with a fantasy setting and tactical combat.
- Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord: A medieval action RPG with strategic elements and large-scale battles.
- Battle Brothers: A gritty tactical RPG where you manage a mercenary company.
- Steel Division 2: Real-time tactics game set in World War II with a strategic campaign layer.
- Galactic Civilizations III: A space-based 4X game with deep empire management.
Expanding Your Gaming Horizons
While these games offer strategic experiences similar to Total War, you might also enjoy branching out into other genres that share some elements with the series:
- For intense first-person shooter action with a sci-fi twist, check out our guide to games like Halo.
- If you enjoy the melee combat aspects of Total War battles, you might like games similar to For Honor, which offer more personal, skill-based fighting.
- For epic storytelling and action-adventure gameplay, explore our recommendations for games like God of War.
These games may not be direct Total War alternatives, but they can provide a refreshing change of pace while still satisfying your craving for epic conflicts and strategic thinking.
How to Choose the Right Total War Alternative
When deciding which of these games to try, consider:
- Historical period: Do you prefer ancient, medieval, early modern, or WWII settings?
- Real-time vs. Turn-based: How important are real-time battles to your enjoyment?
- Scale: Do you want to focus on tactical battles or prefer grand strategy?
- Multiplayer: Are you looking for competitive online play or mainly single-player experiences?
Conclusion
While no game perfectly replicates the Total War formula, these alternatives offer their own thrilling takes on the blend of high-level strategy and tactical warfare. Whether you want to guide a civilization from ancient times to the space age, engage in medieval intrigue, or command armies in World War II, there’s a game here to satisfy your strategic cravings.
Each of these titles brings something unique to the table, expanding on elements that Total War fans love. So don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone – you might just discover your new favorite strategy game!
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there good options for people new to strategy games? Civilization is often considered a great entry point to deeper strategy games. Its turn-based nature and scalable difficulty make it accessible to newcomers.
Do these games have co-op or multiplayer features? Most of the games listed offer multiplayer in some form. Civilization, Crusader Kings III, Europa Universalis IV, StarCraft II, and Hearts of Iron IV all have robust multiplayer communities.
How difficult are these games to learn for new players? The learning curves vary. StarCraft II and Europa Universalis IV are on the more complex end, while games like Civilization have plenty of tutorials and difficulty settings for newcomers.
Are there console versions available? A few games like Civilization VI and Crusader Kings III have console ports, but most grand strategy titles focus on PC. StarCraft II is available on Mac as well.
Do I need a powerful PC to run these games? It depends on the game. Titles like Hearts of Iron IV and StarCraft II benefit from a more powerful system, especially for large-scale battles or late-game scenarios. However, many can run on modest hardware, especially the turn-based options.
