Top 10 Hardest Strategy Video Games

WatchMojo

You better have a stretegic mind if you want to beat these games. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be looking at the most difficult strategy simulators ever made.

Transcript

00:00 [SFX]

00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be looking at the most difficult strategy simulators

00:07 ever made.

00:08 [SFX]

00:13 Number 10 - Starcraft 2 Wings of Liberty

00:16 No one said inciting an intergalactic revolution would be easy, and Starcraft 2 commits to

00:20 that idea and then some.

00:22 The game's non-linear story structure allows you to choose which missions to pursue, which

00:26 units to unlock, and which upgrades to prioritize.

00:29 But all that player freedom is a necessary evil to balance out some downright nail-biting

00:33 stretches on the battlefield.

00:35 The intense real-time combat means that no matter how much you buff your squad, you're

00:39 never getting a victory scream without some serious casualties.

00:42 But the brilliance of Starcraft 2 is that there's always an optimal way through - you

00:46 just have to find it first.

00:47 [SFX]

00:48 Number 9 - Company of Heroes

00:53 Instead of employing dragons, aliens, or wizards, Company of Heroes takes place in the throngs

01:02 of World War II.

01:04 And like any real battlefield, once the action starts, it never lets up.

01:07 Whether you're in the trenches or storming a stronghold, these lengthy battles will push

01:11 the limits of even the most well-thought-out strategies.

01:14 The game's satisfying focus on positioning keeps you re-evaluating and adjusting up until

01:18 the final unit falls.

01:20 Especially once tanks and other heavy artillery join the fray.

01:24 Trust us, you're going to have to make use of each and every ability if you want to deal

01:27 with the enemy reinforcements.

01:28 And they always have reinforcements.

01:29 [SFX]

01:30 Number 8 - Frozen Synapse

01:46 This isn't your average turn-based game.

01:48 While you do get to meticulously rearrange your troops each round, the catch is that

01:52 your enemy moves at the exact same time.

01:54 You'll never know whether you're running into the opposing team until it's already too late.

01:58 From there, each unit's base stats and positioning determine the fight's outcome.

02:02 The mechanic is unique, it's easy to understand, and most notably, it's not for the faint of

02:06 heart.

02:07 The shared turn order adds an inherent tension to even the tiniest movement on the battlefield.

02:11 Throw in a near-random map generator and Frozen Synapse will have you questioning everything

02:15 in the best way possible.

02:19 [SFX]

02:21 Number 7 - Civilization VI

02:29 The best kind of strategy games force you to think several turns ahead.

02:32 But this one takes it a step further by making you think several battles ahead, too.

02:37 The core of Civilization VI relies on how you structure your society.

02:40 But every advancement in one area means a concession in another.

02:44 As a result, it's not uncommon to enter a fight and find that you're simply outclassed

02:47 based on your choices you made hours prior.

02:49 That's not to say tactics on the battlefield don't matter, though.

02:52 On the contrary, Civilization VI's gameplay is as solid and challenging as ever.

02:57 But it's that high difficulty curve that makes becoming a world power oh so sweet.

03:03 [SFX]

03:08 Number 6 - Age of Empires II - The Age of Kings

03:17 In this game, there's 13 playable civilizations and 5 separate story modes, each with their

03:21 own unique objectives and units.

03:23 But despite that, there's one thing they all have in common - the hair-pulling out

03:26 of this world difficulty.

03:27 The gameplay isn't unfair by any means, there's just a lot of it.

03:31 There's resource management, infrastructure, development, unit recruitment, and the game

03:35 expects you to keep track of it all.

03:37 With that much on your mind, surviving a single fight can be a grueling affair.

03:41 Let alone actually advancing through the various ages, it's hard enough to finish even one

03:45 campaign.

03:46 Trying to complete every single route is basically a fool's errand.

03:54 Number 5 - Crusader Kings II - The Age of Kings

04:02 Instead of straight conquering, the main objective of this strategy simulator is to garner enough

04:06 prestige to outrank other famous dynasties.

04:09 Naturally, that means buffing up your own by any means necessary.

04:12 Sometimes by forging unlikely alliances, sometimes choosing a political marriage with good in-game

04:17 traits, and sometimes by pillaging the nearest civilization for all their worth.

04:21 Whichever one you choose, Crusader Kings II forces you to constantly think about the war

04:25 and not just the battle.

04:27 While the actual skirmishes are nothing to shrug off, the real issue is finessing your

04:31 way to the top without becoming public enemy number one.

04:34 And that's much easier said than done.

04:41 Number 4 - XCOM 2 - The Only Way To Beat These Alien Overlords

04:49 Is To Kill Them Before They Kill You If you end your turn with even one of them

04:53 still alive, they're bound to take some of your troops down with them.

04:55 In a game as ruthless as XCOM 2, losing even one asset can send you through a long, agonizing

05:01 spiral of defeat.

05:02 As if that's not bad enough, most campaign missions add extra requirements or strict

05:06 turn limits too.

05:07 XCOM 2 does have four different difficulty settings, but with a combat system like this,

05:12 they can only do so much.

05:13 Let's just say that you'll be reloading saves even on the easiest mode.

05:22 Number 3 - Frostpunk In a world subjected to a never-ending winter,

05:30 fear and discontent are as big an enemy as opposing factions.

05:33 If Frostpunk is any indication, they're also much harder to quell.

05:36 There are no right answers to the game's deep political questions, and no matter which

05:40 you choose, you're bound to make someone angry.

05:42 Since viable workers are few and far in between, that kind of outrage can spell the end of

05:46 an entire run.

05:47 That's without even mentioning the random blizzards.

05:50 All in all, Frostpunk can be described as a delicate balancing act of hope and practicality.

05:55 Unless you master its many intricate systems, a cold, hard death is more of a matter of

05:59 when and not if.

06:06 Number 2 - Europa Universalis IV

06:08 There's a thousand ways to go about winning here, and a thousand more to lose it all.

06:18 To propel your nation to the top, you have to balance war, technology, religion, politics,

06:23 and beyond.

06:24 Everything from the efficacy of your army to the morale of your people rely on how well

06:28 you can shift between conquest and diplomacy.

06:31 Even then, one bad move is all it takes for your nation to crumble.

06:34 If you need even more tactical gameplay, developers Paradox Entertainment poured everything they

06:39 learned here into Hearts of Iron IV.

06:41 As its name implies, you'll really need a steel will to make it through those battles

06:45 alive.

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07:07 Number 1 - Stellaris

07:16 In Stellaris, you don't just have a nation to run.

07:18 You have a whole corner of the galaxy, and that's just a start.

07:22 As you explore and take over neighboring planets, the weight of developing part of the cosmos

07:26 becomes a Herculean task.

07:28 Not just because of the frequent space battles or pulse-pounding trades (although those aren't

07:33 a breeze either).

07:34 No, Stellaris is a handful simply because there's a borderline egregious amount of

07:38 factors to consider with any single choice.

07:41 This is a whole universe, after all.

07:42 It can take hours to fully grasp the basic gameplay loop, and even then, Stellaris doesn't

07:47 get any easier.

07:48 You just start to understand why you lost.

07:55 Which strategy game have you sunk the most hours into?

07:58 Let us know in the comments below!

08:11 [Music]

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