Summary
Strategy games walk a fine line between a godhood fantasy of commanding entire realmsand blinding difficultythat forces players to adapt. What often makes or breaks this game is the world they’re set in, and the tools at players' disposal to manipulate this world or the forces within it. Sometimes, striking a balance between genuine challenge and tactical gameplay with the feeling of commanding and coordinating large forces comes down to the sense of scale in a strategy game.
Often combining this scale withsome incredible combat, there are a handful of strategy games that truly grant their world scope and scale, making the player feel like they are a part of something larger without sacrificing the stakes that come with high-risk gameplay.
Currently one of the most promisingearly-access RTS titles available,Warnois a well-realized war simulation of a world where the Cold War turned Hot. Control NATO or Warsaw Pact-aligned nations in an all-out war for superiority. The scale of this world is a global nuclear war, a terrifying prospect made that much more tangible and present by the minutiae of unit management and loadout customization.
Armies are detailed down to platoon level, with both custom and historical divisions adding to the level of nuance available in creating an individualized battle group. The sense of scale is only amplified as players watch entire maps become shrouded in fire from explosives and debris from tank warfare. This is a strategy game that builds scale through the minute details.
Cossacks 3imagines 17th and 18th Century warfare on an incredible scale, with massive armies feeling diverse and sprawling in a way that immerses the player in the world. The emphasis on historical context and the specific time period being focused on mean that players trying to come into this title froma fantasy backgroundmight be somewhat intimidated, but for those willing to try the all-out battles thatCossacks 3hosts, there is an incredible game to be found.
Battles take place on both land and sea, and the sheer variation in how battle scenarios can go only adds to the game’s scale. Beyond this, the variation in units that can comprise the incredibly large armies in this game makes the world feel that much bigger.
TheTotal Warseries is one that predicates itself on large-scale, all-out clashes of armies. Warhammer has a similar principle, with battles on a huge scale representing thesheer variety of factionsthat fight for dominance. It makes sense that the union of these two series would birth not only one of the greatest strategy titles to date but one that hosts battles on a grand scale.
Total War: Warhammer 3sees massive battles with armies hundreds of units strong clashing, and each faction’s variance and unique mechanics only add further to the scale on display. It’s a colossal, expansive game that showcases the kind of scope and scale one can expect from both theTotal Warand Warhammer series.
Ashes of the Singularityrealizes its scale through the sheer number of units that can be crowding the screen at one time. Thousands of units clash in the all-out conflict between humanity and the substrate, an army of vengeful robots. This is not the game for micromanagement.Ashes of the Singularityhas swarms of units waging war across truly massive battlefields. Not coincidentally, it is also a cautious buy for players not using impressive specs for their PC.
Armed withthe right beginner tips, players will be able to experience the sheer scale of this title in their own way. The forces of humanity have sturdy, tank-focused, and AOE-based units, while the fearsome substrate is relatively fragile but able to overwhelm their enemies with sheer numbers. It’s an interesting power-play between the two factions, set across a truly massive scope.
Stellarisdefines possibly the largest scale a game can reach, especially if a player has a PC strong enough to run thousand-star galaxies or more. Engaging in warfare, politics, and trade across star systems and entire branches of the galaxy allows players to realize their own space opera on an interstellar scale.
No two empires will ever play quite the same, withgame-altering originsand civics that determine the mantra of players' galactic empire. Beyond this, randomized events and constantly evolving political landscapes that shift across the galaxy make sure thatStellarishas a level of scale that cannot be matched.
