The tactics genre is undergoing an undeniable renaissance right now, and has been for a little while. However, I’m someone who, until recently, never gave it a fair shot; I played a lot of Worms as a kid, not to mention the incredible Hogs of War, but those were as close as I got to the genre. Despite hearing great things about the XCOM series, the first time I properly got stuck into a tactics game was with Marvel’s Midnight Suns in 2022.
Part of the reason I mentally wrote them off for ages was because I spent most of my teenage years playing fast-paced, reflexive genres: first-person shooters, sports, and action RPGs. I didn’t think I’d vibe with the slower nature of setting up units turn-by-turn, planning each move, then watching a plan play out. I was so wrong, and right now, I’m relishing the fact there are so many phenomenal tactics games available, not to mention a terrific slate of upcoming ones.
The modern era of tactics games has had so many excellent entries over the past few years: Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, Blood Bowl 3, Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden, Gears Tactics, Jagged Alliance 3, Wargroove, Mewgenics, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, the list goes on. But I’d be remiss not to highlight Star Wars Zero Company especially. If you’re a Star Wars fan, playing it is a no-brainer.
Zero Company doesn’t rewrite the rules when it comes to tactics games, but it does come close to perfecting them, and the sublime Star Wars framing allows it to excel in the space. You are Hawks, an ex-soldier who has gone on to lead an independent mercenary group, and you’re in a hell of a lot of debt to the Hutts. Luckily, Republic Intelligence swoops in to offer you a way of paying off the debt — as long as you work for them.
Much like Andor, this is a grittier Star Wars story that follows a storyline separate from all the Skywalker shenanigans happening on a grander scale. Every character has their own personality and charm, not to mention special abilities, and you can recruit new soldiers to join your crew, all of whom are fully voice acted. Various systems allow for upgrades and buffs, but if one of your crew dies… they’re gone permanently. And once you’re through the first couple of levels that serve as a tutorial, you’ll find it hard to step away.
If you are new to the genre, however, and you want something even more approachable to ease you in, look no further than Worms Galactic Tactics, coming in 2027. This is the series’ first step into the true tactics genre, but it retains its classic Worms appeal of being easy to pick up, hard to master. It shares a similarity with Star Wars: Galactic Racer (two, if you count the fact they both have “galactic” in their names) in that it blends its main genre — tactics and racing — with being a roguelite.
In Worms Galactic Tactics, you’re competing in the Galactic Gauntlet: a tournament in which you must progress through rounds of increasing difficulty, defeating various enemy worm squads in different environments. The environment is destructible, loads of classic Worms weapons and gadgets are back, and it retains that iconic humor the series is known for. It’s Worms, but 3D and with added tactical depth. After going hands-on at Gamescom earlier this year, I cannot wait: it felt great to play, and the roguelite elements add seemingly endless replayability.
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That wasn’t the only tactics game that impressed me at Gamescom, however: I also saw Ubisoft’s forthcoming Rainbow Six Tactics, albeit only in a hands-off demo. The polar opposite of Worms Galactic Tactics in terms of setting, this is a military-themed tactics game, where Rainbow Six Siege fans will recognise plenty of operators.
Rainbow Six Tactics stands out thanks to its “breach planning phase.” Most encounters begin with your squad breaching and entering an area full of enemies, and you can plan multiple steps ahead, somewhat like playing a game of chess. You can command your operators to perform any number of steps, then watch in real time as they execute them. If you’re especially skilled, you can clear entire rooms of enemies in the blink of an eye, before they’ve had a chance to react.
There are, of course, plenty more tactics games available today that are worth your time, and that are coming up in the not-so-distant future, especially from indie developers. But if you’re yet to find yourself drawn to the genre’s charms, Star Wars Zero Company, Worms Galactic Tactics, or Rainbow Six Tactics should be your first port of call.