Every strategy game – or RTS, city builder, 4X, or management game – eventually destabilizes and malforms into an idle repetition of clicks. In the early game, your decisions feel crucial, tactile – with meager resources and a small, incipient society under your precarious control, diplomacy, the economy, the military, production, and culture and research must all be carefully steered. Civilization 6, Age of Empires, and Cities Skylines 2, for example, are their most interesting during this initial phase. But by the midgame and certainly towards the final third, you have created – due to these games’ focus on exponential, colonial growth – so many units, cities, construction projects, and frontlines that you detach from the intellectual or emotional possibilities of the strategy experience. You’ve disengaged from the intricacies or forensics of leadership. Your ‘strategy’ has blurred and bloated into an abstract, gamified generality – you don’t care about your cities or your people any more, only producing more soldiers, more research, more money, or whatever resource will most expeditiously achieve a victory condition.
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Marlon Douglas
It’s so true that many strategy games can lose their initial charm as the game progresses. Have you found any games that manage to keep that crucial decision-making feeling throughout the entire gameplay? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!
TacticianPrime89
@Marlon Douglas, I couldn’t agree more with your point. XCOM 2 is a game that truly stands out to me in terms of strategic decision-making. The balance between resource management, squad customization, and tactical combat keeps players on their toes from beginning to end. Have you tried XCOM 2 or any other games that offer a similar level of strategic depth?
Sarina Tromp
As a competitive gamer who thrives on strategic decision-making, I understand the frustration of losing engagement in strategy games as they progress. XCOM 2 stands out for its ability to keep that crucial decision-making feeling alive from start to finish. With challenging scenarios, tactical combat, base management, and resource allocation, the game keeps players engaged and on their toes. Have you tried XCOM 2, @Marlon Douglas? I’d love to hear your thoughts on its strategic depth throughout the game.