Ultimately, Othercide is a unique entry into the genre that is definitely worth your time. It’s pacing issues and ramping difficulty might be the stuff of nightmares for some, but when it comes together, the clever timeline mechanics and risk-based troop management can be the stuff of sweet tactical dreams.

In the end, Rise of the Republic is yet another great addition to Total War’s best entry. It’s pacing is a bit harsh, but it adds new mechanics and experiences while retaining the base game’s excellent battle balance, shying away from Warhammer’s unfortunate MOBA-like rush but bringing it’s good campaign map ideas into the fold. The way it circles back to the start of Rome II’s base campaign drives home the dedication and love put into the game as a whole and makes this expansion a must buy for anyone interested in the early days of the Roman Republic.

Flashpoint doesn’t offer anything transformative, the way XCOM 2’s War of the Chosen expansion did. Dedicated BattleTech players will want to give this a look, but with as many options as we have now for interesting strategy experiences, everyone else can consider this addition as highly optional.

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus is a great game that I will always recommend to anyone. It’s a novel spin on the whole tactical RPG genre, and it’s a breath of fresh air as far as 40K games are concerned. Now, if only the studio got to remake Chaos Gate…

We find it hard to recommend Mutant Year Zero as the frustrating combat, occasional bugs, slow movement, and awkward camera make us quit to desktop more often than not. But at the same time, the story and the world keeps dragging us back for more. And though it has aged us considerably, if you’re a fan of the source material, then it’s worth it to stick it through just to experience the story. Especially if you’re like the rest of us and can’t get a group together anyway.

In the end, Green Planet and Project Laika are interesting DLCs. Taken together, they add several gameplay and cosmetic features, and the former significantly alter playstyles if you decide to go for the terraforming. While Project Laika is cute and fits the game’s overall “feel good” vibe, I do feel Surviving Mars is consistently stripping away its identity with each of its main DLCs. Regardless, if you enjoy or the game or want to try turning a barren planet into a giant planet-wide forest, give Green Planet a shot.

Some technical stumbling blocks muddy what is otherwise another decent entry in a a beloved franchise.

It's not an especially pretty game - this is kind of 'indie' project that old-timer wargame studios tend to put out. You'll have to get past the aged graphics and masses of UI menus and tiny buttons, but for those that try, a rewarding world of wonder awaits you.

Ultimately, Distant Stars is an interesting expansion that expands the game’s content without pushing any boundaries. It doesn’t increase the game’s scope but given how bare the current mid-game is and the sheer number of new anomalies added in the DLC, it is hard to pass this up.

In the end, Revelations is a fairly modest DLC. It’s no small thing to add in an entire new race and units to go by, but you also wouldn’t be completely wrong in thinking it was a fairly light expansion. Still, it’s purpose is to flesh out existing game content in ways that are meaningful and worthwhile, and in that sense it succeeds pretty well without over-complicating the scope. A quick shout out must also go towards the free patch that came with the game, which included a lot of quality of life features including ways to make navigating around large empires much easier. All in all, a pretty decent first DLC outing, and one that should be seriously considered for anyone who’s been enjoying Planetfall up till now.

It’s been a while since we felt we could say this, but if you buy Emperor on day one you (probably) won’t be disappointed. Obviously if you don’t usually play HRE YMMV but for those that do enjoy mucking around in central Europe, it’s been given a breath of new life and well worth your money.

It’s a solid but not exceptional middle-of-the-road game with some UI hang-ups but a wide variety of factions and a solid amount of the old 40K charm.

Bridge Constructor Portal is a fantastic puzzle game, and a thoroughly Portal title.

Evolutionary rather than revolutionary, Ancestors: Legacy takes the best of the genre, adds a dash of Dark Age and at the end of it comes out as one of the strongest entries to the RTS stable this year.

If you can get passed some clunky performance, this is an excellent turn-based tactics game to add to the Switch's growing roster.

I can’t recommend Fae Tactics enough to those of you out there waiting for Square to take another longform stab at FFT. It may lack the abundance of micro managing you're used to, but the more straight on approach really puts the combat front and center, and I never missed upgrading menial unit equipment or cross classing or the like. Whether the trend catches or not, I can’t say, but don’t miss the truly fresh take on the classic formula.

To me this is an incongruent vision of the series where you have snake squadmates and meaningless banter instead of worldbuilding and replayability. It’s fine as a one-off, slightly fun but buggy (hopefully non-canon) entry, but if this signifies the future of the franchise, I am worried.

This is a fun, fresh take on classic JRPG tropes and modern roguelike design, but its in danger of running out of steam too quickly.

As it stands, Frozen Synapse 2 is truly an interesting experiment -- an attempt to expand the scope while keeping the original's focus and the directive that a successful mission always ends the same way: with everyone but you dead. It is a capable game that should appeal more to hardcore wargamers than more casual strategy enthusiasts, however, as I suspect its unintuitive menu will put off a lot of strategic-minded people with no patience for obtuseness.

There is something special about magic. The idea that one could easily lift a whole building with their powers and fling it across an incoming army is the kind of power fantasy games are apparently born to fulfil, yet one that rarely -- if ever -- happens. That is especially true of strategy games about magic, where their mystical, boundless capabilities more often than not are reduced to gimmicks and meaningless buffs but luckily, Driftland bucks that trend; not in a flashy way, but by making magic an everyday part of the gameplay. If you are looking for a polished, novel strategy game involving magic, look no further.

Imperator: Rome has its moments, and some excellent foundations. But while there’s always the promise of what’s to come, right here and now there’s plenty to be found wanting.

For all its comparatively minor flaws and one major issue that will most likely get patched by the time it releases, Broken Lines is a great strategy game that takes the usual tactical thinking and bends it just enough to feel fresh. Without the safety net of unmoving opponents or the ability to react on the fly, you have to consider what the AI might do more carefully and really utilise your powers and squad composition to get through a fight unscathed. So even with the occasional gruelling travel section, Broken Lines is still a pretty enjoyable ride. Kind of like that one war movie you love but no-one else gets.

Surviving Mars is treading old ground, despite the new soil. For better or worse, it offers a comfortable colony management experience that trades innovation for familiarity.

Empires lacks the breadth Imperator has striven for and is a few years behind what Total War is doing these days, but it's a smartly made game and gives a deeper military experience for those who prefer those aspects. It's definitely one to consider and an excellent new contender in the grand strategy space.

A unique, focused 4X game that proves to be historically authentic and surprisingly deep in terms of mechanics and gameplay. An excellent debut.

A worthy proof of concept; great ideas and experiments tempered by conservative implementation. As long as your expectations are managed with care, you’ll still find plenty of enjoyment here.

For me, there's really no question on whether to buy this or not. Doing a complete overhaul of the population mechanics, adding in trade as an important system, allowing you access to being megacorporations or mega-cults, throwing in a little slave trade while you're at it? For $20 US, it's a solid purchase.

Despite the negative aspects described, there is something genuinely fun about playing Yes, Your Grace. It’s perfect for some casual, beer and pretzels gaming. But you are playing for the narrative not the gameplay mechanics. You will get at least two playthroughs out of the game, which amounts to approximately 10 to 20 hours of gameplay (the playtime on various Steam reviews seems to confirm this). If this was in a Humble Bundle or on sale, I would think you would be happy with your purchase. At full price, I would probably feel as though I could have spent my money on something better. With that said, the game feels like a labour of love, not some lazy cash grab. Just don’t expect particularly deep gameplay.