2024, what a year. It has seen the utter decimation of thousands of jobs, the failures of countless “Triple-A” games and a few “Quadruple-A” games, and a general downturn in the games industry. My favourite genres – strategy and simulation – haven’t had a great year, with few marquee titles. Even the stalwart of the simulation genre, Football Manager, was delayed in a move that made 2024 the break from the annual saga that started in 2003 (for the best, in my opinion) – and a number on my most anticipated list did not see a release, with one cancellation.
We can’t be talking about games that haven’t even come out yet; we need to be talking about Strategy and Simulation games that have been released, so let’s dive into Wccftech’s Best Strategy and Simulation Games of 2024. As always, games that aren’t released cannot be used on this list, so there are no early-access titles, nor can remasters.
Previously on Wccftech’s Best Games of 2024: Shooters, RPGs, Indies, Fighting, Horror, Action, DLC/Expansion, Adventure, Platformer, Multiplayer, Sports & Racing.
Homeworld 3 (8.5/10)
Genre: Strategy (Real-Time Strategy). Platform: PC.
It’s most certainly the biggest name on this list. Homeworld 3 is one I first got hands-on with back in 2022. It had a delay, but it finally got a release in 2024, which was successful. While there were a few issues at launch, Homeworld 3 was and is a great game that returns you to the world and gameplay of the classic titles.
Here’s what I said in the summary of my review of Homeworld 3:
Homeworld 3 marks a successful return to a long-revered series. Bringing back the successful space strategy series, but improving the combat by a large amount with a more tactical approach, Blackbird Interactive has successfully made their mark. With exceptional tactical combat, made all the more important by the fact that everything carries over, and one bad mistake could cripple you much further down the line. The additional War Games mode only enhances this, making for a very engaging title.
Frostpunk 2 (9/10)
Genre: Simulation. Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox.
Frostpunk 2 is a game I was very much looking forward to, being on my most anticipated list. When I got hands-on with it in previews, I was even more interested before I finally got to review it upon release. My summary back then was:
Frostpunk is an excellent looking, excellent sounding, and great playing organic growth and succession from the original. Spreading further along the wasteland, you have to balance more as you deal with politics, resources, factions, and ever more challenges, often including settling and building in new areas. Still a challenge, but more approachable, this is yet another city builder that will shine out amongst others.
I stick by this. Frostpunk 2 is an excellent game that firmly expanded on the original while keeping what made it great. The move from the single core to creating districts made perfect sense. Expanding the world map elements, creating outposts, and more added a whole new level to the game. This is one I recommend and one I would argue is the best game of the year on this list.
Genre: Simulation. Platform: PC
Satisfactory is a monster of a game. Launching first into Early Access back when I was still cuddled up in my safety blanket, nestled with a nice bottle of lukewarm milk, the thirty-year-old me never knew that it would take five and a half years to fully release, but even before release, it would sell 5.5 million copies.
Yet here we are, and it’s well deserved. In a genre that rarely reaches such wide reaches, Satisfactory turned building a factory – albeit one on an alien planet where you also have to survive – into something millions wanted to buy and play and an average daily player base that would make most “AAA” games envious.
There’s not much I can say about this game that you don’t already know because you play it or you’ve looked and decided you aren’t interested. The level of detail, as complex as it is, is made so easy to get into. The creativity is excellent. The gameplay is enjoyable and addictive. Satisfactory has it all, and its success reflects that.
Ara: History Untold (7.5/10)
Genre: Turn-based Strategy (4x). Platform: PC
Ashes of the Singularity developer Oxide Games has finally produced another game after their debut title. While their first game is mostly remembered for being an early DirectX 12/Asynchronous Compute benchmark, Ara: History Untold, which Xbox Game Studios published, is very much focused on the gameplay experience. It’s also turn-based, whereas Ashes was a real-time strategy game. Here’s what I had to say about Ara in the review:
I must admit, when not writing this review, my brain kept saying, “I like this, but”, and I’d decided that I was leaning towards around a score of six and a half, but putting everything on paper and playing more, I was wrong. Ara: History Untold is a genuinely good 4X strategy game, but it has its issues. If you like the genre, you will like this. If you want a 4X with even more added depth, this will tickle your pleasure zones. I fully intend to play it more.
Community Poll
Now that the shortlist has been announced, you can vote to determine the community’s winner for this category!
Strategy and Simulation Games in 2024, and Honourable Mentions
I think it’s been a slow year for Strategy and Simulation games. There have only been a few marquee titles in Homeworld 3 and Frostpunk 2, but nothing that could let 2024 compete with what is still arguably the best year for the genres in recent memory: 2016.
Of course, I’m only human, as we all are, so there are some good-looking strategy and simulation games that we haven’t played due to time or any other reason. Some such titles are Songs of Conquest, Planet Coaster 2, Ultimate General: American Revolution, and F1 Manager 2024, to name a few. Still, of the others we have played, here are some noteworthy titles:
While this has been a slow year, thanks to delays and cancellations, there are positives to look forward to. Games in early access will emerge from it, and new games will be released – likely stalwarts of genres such as Total War and, of course, Football Manager. Roll on the games of 2025!
