Old World

Incredible depth in an underutilized setting makes this strategy game stand out from the crowd. Old World is a turn-based strategy game that combines the lineage and relationship elements of grand strategy games like Crusader Kings with the goal-oriented structure of Civilization. Each game has you control the leader of an ancient civilization and manage the affairs of the kingdom over time, completing personal goals and expanding your territory. As time progresses, you'll manage relationships with members of your court, pass the torch of leadership to the next generation, research technologies, expand and upgrade your territory, and interact with the leaders of other kingdoms. In order to do this, you'll gather and manage many different resources, which you can spend on upgrades, actions, and creating units and buildings. Victory's achieved once you've either conquered the opposing nations or fulfilled enough personal leadership goals, which are chosen periodically throughout the game.

Compared to Civilization, Old World provides a more intimate experience. Since you don't take your initial settlement all the way to the present day, and instead keep to a smaller timeline, you'll get familiar with your vassals and more in tune with the technology and advancements of the ancient world and the people that lived in it. The implementation of the Orders system is another solid addition. Each turn, you have a supply of order points that control how many actions you can take. You can choose to make some units take a majority of the orders of the turn, or have them all take one step each, but you'll need to be smart in choosing how to manipulate your forces. The entire game has a lot of choices to make, and managing them all can be overwhelming even for players familiar with the genre. You're always managing physical resources like lumber and money, intellectual resources like research and military commands, and personal relationship resources like favor and wisdom. There's an in-depth tutorial that walks you through all of the mechanics, but expect to take a long time to grasp the many mechanics at play. If you are willing to put in that time, Old World is an excellent strategy game with a lot of depth to explore.