Strategy games have been around since gamings inception. From the early 90’s when Command and Conquer to Starcraft and Warcraft gave us the power to formulate our own battle plans and take down our enemies, it left us with a sense of accomplishment and victory not too many genres can give us. It gave us the power to control unheard of warmachines and battalions of soldiers at our beck and call.

Alien strategy games, which transport us to faraway planets or the depths of space to take control of enormous armies and even entire galaxies, are a form of strategy game that has been gaining popularity and almost surpassing all others.. With this, we are ranking the top 10 alien strategy games from fun to most fun.

10. Age of Wonders: Planetfall - 2019 (PC/ PS4/ Xbox One)

  Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Gameplay Faction Spotlight: Amazon

Playing as one of 6 playable factions, Age of Wonders: Wonderfall takes us to the aftermath of the destruction of an intergalactic human government called Star Union. Since its collapse, different races have risen up to try and seize control of the chaos and in turn figure out what caused the collapse of Star Union in the first place.

Developed by Triumph Studios and published by Triumph Interactive. It has been nominated for PC Game of the Year at the 2019 Golden Joystick Awards, Best Strategy Game at The Game Awards 2019, and for Game Strategy at the NAVGTR Awards

Choose this game if you like:

• Turn-based battles with various powers for each faction
• A gorgeous-looking RTS with engaging gameplay and a fascinating storyline
• Alien dinosaurs with laser cannons on its head

9. Gears Tactics - 2020 (PC/ Xbox One/ Xbox Series X/S)

 Gears Tactics - Official Gameplay Trailer | The Game Awards 2019

Set as the prequel to the original Gears of War and taking on a turn based strategy model of gameplay. Gears Tactics takes place 12 years before Marcus Fenix and his team took on the locusts. When the extraterrestrial menace first affects the planet Sera, the government and society are in a state of panic.

A gang of survivors decides to take up arms in order to fight the terrifying locust swarm. There was initially going to be a Gears of War game produced by Epic Games, the developers for Fortnite, titled Gears of War: Tactics but that game has been canceled.

Choose this game if you like

• A Gears of War title but in a turn based strategy model.
• A great prequel to the mainline Gears of War series
• An expansive story with dozens of side missions.

8. Phoenix Point - 2019 (PC/ MAC/ Xbox One/ PS4/ Google Stadia)

 Phoenix Point Official Launch Trailer

Set in 2047 on Earth during an alien invasion, players are taken to a command base called Phoenix Point where they have to contend with aliens that mutate and change according to what the player uses against them. All the while during the chaos, humans who have survived from the invasion are left to scavenge for resources as they stand against the players.

How the player resolves these challenges will lead to different endings of the game. Released in 2019 by Snapshot games, Phoenix Point is intended to be the spiritual successor of the famed XCOM game series as the head of Snapshot Games is being led by Julian Gollop, the creator of  XCOM.

Choose this game if you like:

• A mutating enemy that adapts to your strategy and tactics and gives you a different challenge every time you play.
• Options to befriend or conquer different human factions to either strengthen your forces or thin out the opposition. Choosing whichever factions will lead to different conclusions to how the game will end.
• A procedurally generated world where you have to carefully plan out your strategy to gather resources or conquer and invade other areas for control.

7. Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator - 2021 (PC/ Xbox One/ Xbox Series X/S / Nintendo Switch)

 Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator - LAUNCH TRAILER

Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator is exactly what the title is, a business simulation game where you trade alien organs instead of money. Taking place in an in-game “trading day” that only lasts for a minute or two, players trade alien organs against rival organ traders with added game elements like scammers, clients who demand organs with specific properties, and random events. 

Players earn XP by gaining reputation from the clients who buy from your organ trade and with more reputation you earn, the better the gameplay is. The game is optimized for the Kinect but not necessarily for better gameplay.

The Kinect feature was added “just for the hell of it” as stated by the creator of the game, Xalavier Nelson Jr. There is also a $50 dollar reward for anyone who can finish the game using the Kinect feature alone, a reward that has yet to be claimed.

Choose this game if you like

• A business sim game that puts a different spin to the things you trade i.e. alien organs
• A beautiful 8-bit style interface that harkens back to classic games of the 80’s to 90’s
• Crossovers with different titles on the Switch like Bugsnax, Inscryption, and Among Us. You can even trade a literal bone in the game that looks a little bit sus.

6. Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus - 2018 (Nintendo Switch/ Xbox One/ PS4/ PC)

 Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus | Release Trailer

A new chapter in the Warhammer 40k saga that puts you in control of the Adeptus Mechanicus, an army under the Imperium. You’re tasked to raid the tombs of the Necrons in search of ancient and dangerous knowledge that will shape your succeeding missions and have far reaching consequences that go far beyond the catacombs.

Mechanicus takes on a turn-based style of gameplay that lets you manage resources, discover different kinds of ancient technology, and control the moves of your highly advanced and dangerous Tech Priests. 

Most of the units in the game are inspired by real life objects like the pteraxii which is inspired by one of Leonardo Da Vinci’s creations and “The Skull of Elder Nikola'' which is a reference to real life inventor and scientist Nikola Tesla who, in the Warhammer 40k universe, was dug up and enhanced into a weapon.

The game holds 3 different endings to the campaign that depend on the players decisions throughout the playthrough.

Choose this game if you like:

• Fully customizable units like the Tech Priest to suit whatever kind of play style you prefer
• Explorable tombs in the Necron homework that can be scanned in-game beforehand to gain a tactical advantage during battles
• An immersive story created by Ben Counter, a writer from Black Library known for his numerous related works on the Warhammer 40k series

5. Galactic Civilizations III - 2015 (PC)

 Galactic Civilizations III - Gameplay Trailer

Set in 2242 where the Terran First Fleet has returned from a pocket dimension. It returns to an Earth that has been protected yet isolated under a precursor shield. The terrans now set on a mission to liberate Earth and combat the Thalan and the Drengin presence in the Sol system to bring down the shields and liberate the planet and Arcea, a peaceful alien race.

Taking on the model of a 4X turn-based strategy game, it was developed and published by Stardock games and released back in 2015. It is the first game in the series to feature a multiplayer  and hex-based game tiles mechanic. It has garnered positive reviews for its gameplay and story with an average rating of 81/100 on Metacritic.

Choose this game if you like:

• An expansive and sprawling game area that requires at least 20 to 30 hours of gameplay to finish
• Customizable units and unique gameplay that creates a different playstyle with every player
• An immersive story with numerous DLC since release accompanied with surprising visuals that still holds strong 7 years after its release.

4. Halo Wars: Definitive Edition - 2016 (PC/ Xbox One)

 Halo Wars: Definitive Edition Trailer

Released originally back in 2009 as the standard edition and re-released in 2016 as Halo Wars: Definitive Edition for PC and Xbox One. The game takes players on board the Spirit of Fire warship to combat the Covenant aliens from taking control of a fleet of ancient alien warships.

Set in the universe of the Halo series, the game replicates the universe where the Master Chief resides perfectly with gorgeous pre-rendered cinematics, intuitive controls, and accompanying story that is a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved.

A departure from the first person shooter genre where Halo has made its name and taking a RTS spin onto the series. Halo Wars: Definitive Edition has made a huge impact on the RTS genre garnering the title as the best selling console RTS game to date.

Choose this game if you like:

• Intuitive controls that works perfectly for a console based strategy game that is easy to use for new players to the RTS genre.
• A solid multiplayer that expands the replayability of Halo Wars after the main plot has been finished.
• A perfect reimagining of the Halo universe seen from a birds eye view.

3. Red Solstice 2: Survivors - 2021 (PC)

 Red Solstice 2: Survivors Announcement Trailer [PEGI]

Developed by Ironward and published by 505 Games, Red Solstice 2 is a direct sequel to 2015’s Red Solstice where it takes players to year 117 After Earth  where corporations are rushing to secure the last vestiges of humanity. You take control of your own squad to battle mutants that now plague the planet and to find a cure to a virus that threatens to kill the last remaining humans alive.

Playable in single player or in multiplayer with up to 7 other players, the fights happen inside tight claustrophobic corridors blended with strategic planning. The game gives you a sense of confinement against unimaginable mutants and otherworldly enemies that compares to nothing else.

Choose this if you like:

• A familiar control scheme for RTS players but also bringing in a new experience in the gameplay and story that gives the players more freedom, more control, and more actions to plan, improvise and execute.
• A combination of survival strategy and tactical missions with a campaign that expands over time.
• A gameplay that resembles first person shooters like Left 4 Dead but combined with the combat in the famed XCOM series.

2. Starship Troopers: Terran Command - 2022 (PC)

 Starship Troopers: Terran Command Gameplay Trailer

A real time strategy game based on the Starship Troopers franchise. The game lets you take control of mobile infantry troops in planetary campaigns against the arachnids, the insect-like aliens that are the main antagonists of the series.

Unlike most RTS games that focus on resource gathering and base building, the game makes you focus on the tactical management of resources provided. 

A game mechanic for Terran Command features true line-of-sight and line-of-fire mechanics which makes the players take the topography and the elevation of the battlefield into account when forming strategy and tactics. Terran Command is a great addition to the Starship Troopers lore and features lots of bug killing.

Choose this game if you like:

• An immersive story campaign taking place after the Battle of Klendathu which was featured in the live action movie and gives fans of the series a lot of the Starship Troopers aesthetic.
• Dozens of different unit types that range from the basic roughneck to power armor suits and Marauders, a giant robotic mech suit designed to devastate the arachnids.
• Capture and hold mechanics that lets players defend radio stations to repel arachnid attacks and for the deployment of technology buildings to unlock new weapons.

1. XCOM 2 - 2016 (PC/ OS X/ Linux/ PS4/ Xbox One/ Switch/ iOS/ Android)

 Official XCOM 2 E3 2015 Gameplay

A game that is synonymous with the RTS genre itself, XCOM 2 is the sequel to the 2012 reboot of the series, XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The games takes place 20 years after Enemy Unknown where humanity has failed to stop the alien invasion and has now become a resistance force against the occupying aliens.

Gameplay for XCOM 2 still follows the turn based combat in which it is known for but also mixes in strategy elements in which the player manages the Avenger, an alien ship used now as a mobile base for XCOM, which is the military organization tasked to fight off the alien invasion.

Since the release of the game in 2016, it has been praised for its engaging gameplay with added elements such as timed objectives to keep the player at an offensive, a concealment system, and procedurally generated maps which adds a new level of depth to the series. 

Choose this game if you like:

• An aesthetic that draws inspiration from renowned sci-fi movies like Elysium and Oblivion.
• A management system that has been praised critically described as  “making every decision made by the player an important one”
• A one of a kind customization system that allows players to be attached to the soldiers, making each soldier's death impactful and memorable.

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