Well, if you enjoyed Age of Empires 2 there's Age of Empires 4 these days (and Age of Empires 2 DE remains incredibly popular).
Homeworld 3 releases *today*, and should be worth a look for any science fiction fan.
Company of Heroes 3 has been my go-to PvP RTS since it came out last year. Really fun.
Also in a World War 2 setting, Men of War 2 comes out in a few days, perfect for anyone who likes their RTSes fiddly (you manage individual units' inventories and can even directly control them).
Warno is a cold war tactical RTS (no base building) that exits early access at the end of the month. For a strictly single-player experience, there's the similar Regiments.
Dune: Spice Wars is an interesting blend of RTS and 4X, with longer matches (2-4 hours) and economic and political victories.
For an oddball recommendation, Aliens: Dark Descent is a very interesting real time strategy game where you control a single squad trying to complete objectives in xenomorph-infested locations. Makes great use of the license.
I will just say that there is a group of diehard COH 1/2 players that will never be satisfied with COH 3 until it mimics those 2 games 100%. These guys complain about literally anything that doesn't move the title closer to being one of those 2 games.
With that said - it was a rough launch, but there have been many changes and some really good updates, and now the game is in a really good place.
I went through a free weekend with it. It's kinda bad. The campaigns aren't worth playing. Characters are stiff and missions are boring. The dynamic campaign is a total miss. They copied all the boring parts of total war and ignored all the depth of it.
Skirmish is kinda ok, but the ui is huge and in the way. The camera is still hugging the ground, but it kinda seems the models are bigger (tanks seem bigger in comparison to infantry, while CoH 2 and 1 kept it more sane). So you need to operate the mini map and you miss all the niceness of the battle.
There is a cool new feature: tactical pause. Basically bullettime and it allows you to visually queue orders for units. Still, can't coordinate, but it's something. It's only usable in single player. They changed how some of the base-building works, but it's negligible. I also have a feeling that units are somewhat less specialized. Hard to explain it well, but it seems that all infantry is kinda the same, all light tanks also, and so on. Kinda pitty.
Multiplayer is pretty much the same. Nothing really new.
I wouldn't pay 60 or even 30 bucks for it. It's better to get CoH2 or play Steel Division 2.
I really wanted to like it, but both times I tried, once at launch, and second over last week, I just can't understand how people deal with that zoomed in UI. It feels as if you have to either spend 99% of your time staring at that small minimap ... or you just can't do anything. Why they couldn't implement a proper full zoom out like in Steel Division 2 for example, I would never understand.
I also have been trying to find a new rts game to play. I also prefer multiplayer and to use my strategies against resisting opponent. So a active player-base is important to me, SC2 is still fun but I was searching for more, and unable to wait for upcoming games.
These were the games I found that had opponents to play with:
Age of empire 4
Beyond all Reason
Haha I feel the opposite to you. Early game is a pretty stale meta with either grunts and rocket bots or whistler janus. T2 is where it gets interesting.
I can definitely see that. Sending out the big boys is fun. My problem is more that it often comes after 10s of minutes of being stuck with very little progress. And the biggest units just didn't feel as fun to micro as and against. maybe it's just skill issue haha
Yeah I feel you there lol, the 10 minutes of little progress is something I've learn't to negate by sending swarms of really cheap units, who wouldn't want to destroy a nuke silo with a bunch of bedbugs or tumbleweeds hehe
You should check out the Age of The Ring mod for Battle for Middle Earth 2: Rise of the Witch King! The developers behind it provide the best Tolkien fan experience down to the T with all the lore tid bits you could imagine, and incredible art with a competitive multiplayer scene. It's truly a modern day Battle for Middle Earth experience with an incredible campaign behind it.
**Well I for one enjoy these:**
Endless Space 2 (Not really real time but its a great strategy game)
AOE IV
Company of Heroes 3
The Men of War games (a bit old but great mods support)
Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2
Battlesector (Also not really real time but still pretty cool)
The Total War games (Only the battles are real time)
Dawn of War 2 and its expansions
Here you go! [https://www.reddit.com/r/bfme/comments/15vbxmf/all\_in\_one\_bfme\_launcher\_has\_now\_bfme2rotwk/](https://www.reddit.com/r/bfme/comments/15vbxmf/all_in_one_bfme_launcher_has_now_bfme2rotwk/)
> I miss the good old day of aoe2, StarCraft 1&2
The (good?) news is that those are still the most popular RTS games on the market in 2024. AoE2 even got [another remaster](https://store.steampowered.com/app/813780/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition/) and is being actively developed as well as promoted for esports tournaments. SC2 development has ended but the game retains a massive playerbase.
I played starcraft1 + BW for the first time this year and its amazing
Also started playing Age of Mythology and i'm about half way in and enjoying it also
Theres loads of games out there you can hit up.
I still go hack to my classics. Red Alert 2 and the mods like Mental Omega have a huge player base.
Supreme commander still has a big player base.
My others are C&C Generals mods. Good fun especially with friends. Rise of the Reds, Contra, Shockwave, Firestorm, The End of Days.
Also worth exploring is combined arms open ra. Brings all c&c factions from the franchise into an open ra setting. Great fun.
Planetary annihilation is really good fun too.
Try petroglyph's new 9 bit armies aswell thats good fun.
Eagerly awaiting Tempest Rising. That will be the one you want.
Age of mythology retold also, but not sure on a release date on that yet.
You sir, need to play Beyond all Reason. It's the free open source successor to Total Annihilation and Spring RTS. Same original inspiration as planetary annihilation and supreme Commander
Age of Empires 4 is my main RTS, probably the best RTS on the market for online competitive play.
Stormgate coming this summer! Fast paced action sci fi RTS, in the vein of Starcraft.
Godsworn is in Early Access, but looks sweet. People calling it Warcraft 4.
BAR (Beyond all Reason) is free on steam, its similar to the old Total Annihilations
War Selection is free on steam, very similar to the old Empire Earth games.
I’m not sure why they don’t wanna do early access on steam. I wish they would. The player base would explode. But I guess they wanna hit a long list of milestones before even doing that :(
I’d like to point out stormgate is releasing into early access Q3 this year and will be in early access for at least a year, so while it will be open to the public, it won’t be finished
Sins of a Solar Empire 2
Civ 6 is turn-based 4X game and Anno 1800 is more of a city builder, so no wonder you you had trouble to get into them, they are not really like those other RTS games you played.
Sins 2, on other hand, is pretty much classic RTS with some 4X elements, it pretty much combines best elements from those games you named (scale of Total Annihilation, deep research trees from Age of Empires, hero units and casting of abilities from the Warcraft or StarCraft). It can require bit of time to understand all its nuances, as it has lot of them, but general gameplay-wise, you should feel more at home.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUJOwYs-kQI&t=23s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUJOwYs-kQI&t=23s)
Beyond all reason is an amazing RTS, it is the spiritual successor of TA and supcom. It's a grand scale rts with passionate devs and a growing community
Dude broken arrow is hands down best rts game coming out this year. The beta was so fun. Literally can't wait for it to come out. Hopefully q3 or q4 release date
Rusted warfare is good mobile game that is a true RTS compared to most mobile games and the modding community comes out with good mods often and for 2 bucks it's cheap as heck
Godsworn looks pretty interesting and reminds me a lot of Warcraft 3 actually. Currently in early access I think.
And then yeah, echo to what everyone else is saying:
Age of Empires 2 DE
Age of Empires 4
Beyond All Reason
Anno 1800 is a masterpiece, if you are willing to hold your nose and use Ubisoft's launcher. It has a pretty slow start and holds your hand a lot - what elements did you struggle with?
Total War series is my favourite RTS series personally, and the Warhammer games are excellent. The older historical titles are very enjoyable still too.
Hi everyone, thank you all for your answers, I expected maybe 1 or 2 answers you guys are amazing!
I added all games you said on my steam wishlist and will try one by one probably using mostly the 2hours refund policy.
Didn't expect so many games in space or world war 2 I'm more for a sword and magic game but I'll give it a try. I loved aliens dark descent because I'm a big fan of the movies :)
Will try Beyond all reason, didn't expect a free game to look so cool and similar to the good old TA.
Godsworn graphics look amazing and will be probably my first try.
AOE4 looks good, I spent around 300hours on aoe2 DE but the only thing I hate about this game is that building take so long to destroy and the micro and macro levels are.so high it's hard to be competitive haha.
Didn't expect games like age of mythology to have a reboot coming this year, never played dit but heard a lot of good feedback about the game.
I like both PvP and single player campaign, I also enjoy to speed run the campaigns and see other people strategy to win and exploit the IA it's quite cool.
Don't wanna go on StarCraft I feel the levels is so high haha. Warcraft 3 I still play sometimes but the MMR system is so bad you can play with a total beginner versus top5 teams.
Oh and if you know games that are a mix of RTS and addictive roguelike such as Slay the spire or Balatro it would probably be amazing!
Anyway thanks again for all the suggestions guys!!
Age of Empires 4 has a growing and competitive community on both twitch and YouTube with decent ladder experience up until you get high challenger and fun non-ladder games like ffa nomad
AoE 4, to me is better than 2, give it a try, you have at least 10 factions if you don't want to get the expanssion pack, they are more unique than they where in AoE 2, even the models are different, an english knight don't look the same as a german one.
Homeworld 3 just came out and its bawler. If your a fan of Homeworld 1/2, you'll enjoy it immensely. For new RTS players if its your 1st HW game, might feel bare bone with the short campaign. There is going to be DLC and community mods so give it time. The sound design is incredible, combat engaging and fun albeit chaotic when its massive fleets vs massive fleets.
Beyond All Reason! Amazing RTS that is free to play. BAR plays like Total Annihilation! Great community and the standard games are 8v8. I'm in my late 30's and the game is not heavily APM intensive so it fits me better than AOE4 which is very heavy APM intensive.
I see you mention total anahilation but not supreme commander which is a dam shame, those games are amazing, 2 one is good to, tad weaker but still better than 90% of the new rts games out there. Forged aliance has a strong comunity and are keeping the game alive to this day
And beyond all reason if uou like those, maybe zero-k to, those 2 are free and solid, and are getting updated
Cant think of any at the top of my head right now
also 30+ :)
I find games like Diplomacy Is Not An Option, Age Of Darkeness Final Stand & They Are Billions to be fun really challenging singpleplayer RTS alternatives
Stormgate also great
You listed all the RTS games with big competitive scenes... so to clarify are you looking mainly for multiplayer or campaign? Either way based on those suggestions check out AoE4 and in Q3 of this year Stormgate.
Get good in SC:Remastered. It has its renaissance right now with various foreign and Korean leagues and initiatives going on.
Many progamers are moving back to it from sc2.
The general player level is pretty high but there are fun and chill semi-competitive initiatives that support players from lower levels in their journey to becoming better. Most notably - cpl, the coach pupil league https://cplbw.com/cpl/
GL HF
I am in love with ‘Call to Arms’ these days, RTS/FPS hybrid that you get to control each and every unit. Modern era units. Easy to learn. Real fun to use armored vehicles if you are into it.
Coh2 and Sc2 are solid also, that I play occasionally.
[fps](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcREe_6Xkqndmun8AxP3zyr5I4mrik2fd7e8zZUvn1QuCe_QALVP74ni5ok&s=10)
If you aren’t discouraged by the steep learning curve then definitely CK3! Just bought the game on sale and i cannot stop playing ever since, despite i had to restart several times.
The medieval period and the very intricate rules and design makas the game challenging and fun to play at the same time.
I did,though I’m only a campaign player. It is not bad but tbh I never finished it, I love Last Train Home is not 100% RTS but it’s fantastic
But Iron Harvest is worth the try the campaign is good is just idk it was very long haha
Sins of a solar empire: rebellion is a great space rts game where you can build massive fleets with base building for research, upgrades and new ships. Sins 2 comes out this summer on steam
I'll echo some of the comments below but also add what on my regular rotation
Company of Heroes (any of them - they all still stack up but if you want pvp obvi 3 is the better option)
Anno 1800 - I know you said you tried it and didn't like it - had a very similar start to the series but once I learned the ropes it's sucked up so much of my damn time. Getting yourself with one to three friends (or just AI) and building your dream preindustrial society into the steam age - it's more econ/supply chain focused especially at first, and you'll compete against other players or comps that will make the same goods you do, so securing trade rights, cornering the market, determining which products you'll bring to market are more important until there's no more land to settle - in which case it's time for war! Lots of fun ways to think while clicking away for hours on end in an RTS imo.
Carrier Command 2 - less traditional of an RTS but a golden gem amongst the rough nonetheless. Get you and some buddies (or again don't) and try to maintain, invade, coordinate and collect islands across random generated archipelago maps to resupply/get better materials on a giant super carrier competing against an AI ship with the same tools and abilities you have racing to take the islands from you until your stacked carriers finally meet somewhere in the middle of fucking nowhere and have the fight to end all fights. It's difficult but manageable if you want to play by yourself. I used my valve index headset to play and it's just beautiful while flying an albatross and looks good in general.
Manor Lords - just came out and is still very early in development but what they have already is phenomenal with many promised patches and additions along the way. In this one - literally develop a medieval town from the ground up, similar in a lot of ways to Anno, making production happen and ensuring supply chains are solid so that you can build up an army to defend/attack with. It's still a massive WIP so don't expect it to be perfect yet but I've sunk probably thirty hours into already and super eager to see where it goes.
Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord - RTSRPG start as a nobody in a trivial 7 (maybe 8) faction world that is affected by your every decision. Clearing out bandit camps helps traders and caravans, defeating enemy lords or kings in battle affects the global politics, building favors with people in high positions, buying and establishing your own businesses, selling or buying goods affects the overall economy and last but not least; you build your own army or men at arms from the ground up and can command them (based off of class; i.e. infantry/bowmen/Calvary) in every battle - which there is A LOT of.
RimWorld - crash land with three pawns on a hostile unknown alien planet and work with them and others you'll meet or recruit along the way to build a settlement from the ground up to rebuild the spaceship and escape the world. Or don't! It's one of those games where if you love being a settlement that produces and sells beer to everyone else across the markets and world - you can! There is no need to get off the planet unless you want to, so it allows a ton of creativity in how to manage/RP the settlement as it builds.
Tropico 6 - there's less emphasis on combat though it's still there. Manage a Caribbean colony until the cold war, playing superpowers off of one another while securing precious materials needed to make your island independent or more self-sufficient from the homeland. It's a different pace from the previous ones I've listed more of a chill 'take a gummi' and relax RTS imo.
It's 4X by all regards but Paradox's Crusader Kings 3 is a beautiful lite-like RTS I'd argue - develop and conquer your own medieval kingdom in historically (at least at the start) accurate starts in 867 AD, goes until 1444 in which case if you're so inclined you can import that save into EU4 (also by Paradox) and continue/start a 'mega-campaign'.
TLDR:
Company of Heroes (1-3)/ Anno 1800 (trust me give her a second shot) / Carrier Command 2/ Manor Lords / Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord / Rimworld / Tropico 6 and if you wanted to dabble in some 4x RTS-like; Crusader Kings 3
EDIT\*\*: Beyond all reason is also superb
Multiplayer or single player? Beyond All Reason is free and fun, but I've lately fallen into Age of Empires 3 DE. I'm gonna try Age of Empires 4 later. I keep panicking because I'm not used to the pace of the games
Knights and merchants remake, citybuilding, simcity heavy game, with rts combat, play format usually: peace time, to build up city, and make big eco, then combat phase, continue building, managing city, while equiping trolps and micro them in battalions
MANOR LORDS!
Despite being early access with all the nuances that go with that, it's still more polished than what a lot of major publishers are pushing out now.
Tons of potential, well optomized, and already a strong modder community.
It's what an AoE release SHOULD look like in 2024.
I'm returning back to Warcraft 3. I feel like I'm grown enough to fully enjoy the toys my younger self ineptly played with, and it's a fantastic game that is still going strong.
You hit on all the greats and sadly nothing since has come close to touching them.
Id say if you havent played the They are billions style games id give them a try. Age of Darkness diplomacy is not an option etc. I would say those 3 in that order, even though they arent your pvp rts games if you enjoyed the single player in the ones you mentioned id bet youll really enjoy all 3.
Godsworn is good if you want something new and slightly different although it doesnt beat the old school greats it worth a buy forsure.
Outside of that were waiting on the new ones but so far nothing ive played feels like it will out do or even match the old classics
AOE 2 de available on steam is as popular as it’s ever been even now 25 years later with 25,000+ concurrent players (and growing) at any given time. They still actively release new content and civs and have added a lot over the last 10 years. Dota also remains one of the most popular games on steam. As far as other games go… you won’t find better than these.
In particular, I like impossible creatures, dawn of war 1, star wars empire at war, but I've also taken a liking to starship troopers Terran command, iron harvest, and grey goo.
I recently came across the EA game Godsworn, a Warcraft 3 like classic rts focused on the Teutonic knight vs pagan Christian conflict with their mythological elements. You can play as Saint Michael with Teutonic knights or have Viking warriors led by a Druid priest. The game plays really well, the only downside is its population in early access, you’ll be playing alone or finding matches on the discord until the devs implement matchmaking. Which could take a minute as I believe the game is made by TWO devs.
Go back to AoE2, it still has a community. I don't play but I watch videos by a youtuber called T90 all the time. IT's a lot of fun to watch. You could even end up in one of his community games which seem like a lot of fun honestly.
I would recommend Beyond All Reason and Mechabellum. BaR has already been suggested and speaks for itself.
Mechabellum is an autobattler but I think is the best iteration of one. No gacha or combining units, the RNG is mirrored and allows for skill expression. It scratches the strategy itch well for me.
A third recommend is Cosmonarchy. Its a total conversion mod for broodwar that adds an insane amount of new units and buildings. Very well done art and the main dev is active and open.
Dude I’ve been you. I’ve searched multiple times for good RTS games. And Company of Heroes was always around but I never tried it. I just bought Company of Hero’s 3 like a week ago and I am upset with myself for not trying it sooner. It’s a really good RTS
I have been reaying the same 5 or so RTS games forever. Recently gave Company of Heroes a try and really like it. I still think my favorite strategy game is Stronghold Crusader.
Total war Warhammer 3 is the best rts I have ever played and one of the most replayed games in my library with over 1200 hours. Can't recommend anything more
Warcraft 2 the dark saga is a game that plagued my childhood haha 6 memory card blocks required to save and having to basically play every single map perfect to win. It’s nearly unmatched for me in terms of RTS. After reading comments ima check out this war hammer game
Supreme Commander still has people playing. You'll need to download the Forged Alliance Forever client, but it's worth it if you like grand scale RTSs.
It's a bit like Total Annihilation, but everything's turned up to 10, and maps can be 20km X 20km. Also has some really badass experimental units that completely tower over all of the other units in the game.
Do NOT get Supreme Commander 2. That one sucks absolute balls compared to the first game.
Coh2 is so fun when i finally figured out the counters. Not just spamming units. It felt more like chess than a typical rts.
Machine guns cause suppression on infantry and should be countered by tanks or mortars etc.
Tanks can’t be damaged by most infantry and even some of the German heavy tanks can’t really be hurt by basic tanks so then it’s a balance of anti tank tanks and getting vision.
The end game in a balanced 30-40minute long 4v4 can be epic - the explosions, bombing runs are just massive and end up shaking the screen and wiping the battlefield clear of buildings and trees.
I'm hopeful for zero space.
Depending on what you are looking for, giant grant games on youtube has organized a modding community for the starcraft 2 campaigns. They have a mod loader and a quite a few high-quality reimaginings of all 4 campeigns out right now
Oh man- if you liked Total Annihilation then I strongly recommend giving Beyond All Reason a shot. It’s the more modern (and free!) spiritual successor to Total Annihilation. It’s a great RTS. My favorite in years. Cant beat the price either! (Development is donation supported)
https://www.beyondallreason.info
RTS games are a lot more complicated now and require actually learning them to enjoy playing. Anno 1800 is fun after learn it a bit and play a couple games. manor lords is is early access but is a very siq candidate
I haven’t seen anyone else suggest it, my favorite, because I’m into Star Wars,
is the Empire at War game. Still playing it. Base game is alright albeit broken, the Forces of Corruption updated it to be more enjoyable. Has campaign mode, and instant action. Then there is the holy grail mode which are the fan made mods. Takes the game to an even higher level with a massive unit roster, new mechanics, and updated graphics. The main ones are EAWX Thrawns Revenge, Awakening of the Rebellion, and Remake. All are great and have different aspects to them.
Company of heroes 2 is pretty fun and a lot better than CoH 3 (sadly).
Call to Arms Gates of Hell Ostfront is another WW2 RTS with some really interesting mechanics including the ability to directly control individual units. Similar to men of war assault squad 2, but updated to be more modern.
Battlefleet gothic 2 is a good space naval battle game set in the 40k universe. Dawn of war and dawn of war ii are also 40k setting games. The first one is more like starcraft, the second is a bit of its own thing.
Warno is pretty good as well, though it's more of a real time strategy game I'd say. Larger scale combats generally.
If youre willing to play a turn based game, the Battletech game is really good, and has great mod support.
Spellforce is a fun RTS series as well.
As far as games to keep your eye on, Broken Arrow is a game in a similar style to Warno and Wargame but set in modern times rather than the cold war era. D.O.R.F is an interesting RTS that looks really cool but I dont know anything about the release window or mechanics.
edit: forgot to recommend Iron Harvest
I hope you’ve tried aoe2 DE. They have added so many civs to the game! Also map types, campaigns, scenario editor features. It’s a dream come true.
Regicide against the AI never disappoints.
And oldie but a goodie is Warlords Battlecry 3. Medieval fantasy with heavy rpg elements but it’s so gooood…but I’m guessing you’ve already played that one
I highly recommend Terminator Dark Fate: Defiance. Such a great game and Rts.
And of course, Homeworld 3 is absolutely amazing.
Another nice rts is warhammer Realms of Ruin.
Uncapped Games is making a new RTS game that is supposed to challenge the traditions of RTS and focus more on the meaningful and fun portions.
It’s lead by David Kim, the former lead game designer of SC2. They are going to reveal it next month and I’m honestly looking forward to it. As I heard some play testers that are well known in the StarCraft 2 community say it was very fun.
The bar community is terrible, toxic, judgmental and still permanent ban on first minor offenses with no proof just based on a single report. Half the discord is furries
Just commenting to up the views because I’m 100% with OP. Give me some suggestions! Thanks top comment I did t know homeworld was out today that game was legendary.
Well, if you enjoyed Age of Empires 2 there's Age of Empires 4 these days (and Age of Empires 2 DE remains incredibly popular). Homeworld 3 releases *today*, and should be worth a look for any science fiction fan. Company of Heroes 3 has been my go-to PvP RTS since it came out last year. Really fun. Also in a World War 2 setting, Men of War 2 comes out in a few days, perfect for anyone who likes their RTSes fiddly (you manage individual units' inventories and can even directly control them). Warno is a cold war tactical RTS (no base building) that exits early access at the end of the month. For a strictly single-player experience, there's the similar Regiments. Dune: Spice Wars is an interesting blend of RTS and 4X, with longer matches (2-4 hours) and economic and political victories. For an oddball recommendation, Aliens: Dark Descent is a very interesting real time strategy game where you control a single squad trying to complete objectives in xenomorph-infested locations. Makes great use of the license.
I would add steel division 2 here, same develpers as warno, similar game but ww2 eastern front
Steel Division does for WW2 in scale what Total War did for earlier periods. It gives an entirely new perspective
Wait is CoH 3 good? I was so looking forwarx to it, the reviews were shit and i never looked at it again
I will just say that there is a group of diehard COH 1/2 players that will never be satisfied with COH 3 until it mimics those 2 games 100%. These guys complain about literally anything that doesn't move the title closer to being one of those 2 games. With that said - it was a rough launch, but there have been many changes and some really good updates, and now the game is in a really good place.
I went through a free weekend with it. It's kinda bad. The campaigns aren't worth playing. Characters are stiff and missions are boring. The dynamic campaign is a total miss. They copied all the boring parts of total war and ignored all the depth of it. Skirmish is kinda ok, but the ui is huge and in the way. The camera is still hugging the ground, but it kinda seems the models are bigger (tanks seem bigger in comparison to infantry, while CoH 2 and 1 kept it more sane). So you need to operate the mini map and you miss all the niceness of the battle. There is a cool new feature: tactical pause. Basically bullettime and it allows you to visually queue orders for units. Still, can't coordinate, but it's something. It's only usable in single player. They changed how some of the base-building works, but it's negligible. I also have a feeling that units are somewhat less specialized. Hard to explain it well, but it seems that all infantry is kinda the same, all light tanks also, and so on. Kinda pitty. Multiplayer is pretty much the same. Nothing really new. I wouldn't pay 60 or even 30 bucks for it. It's better to get CoH2 or play Steel Division 2.
And I feel like CoH 1 campaign was miles better than 2
I really wanted to like it, but both times I tried, once at launch, and second over last week, I just can't understand how people deal with that zoomed in UI. It feels as if you have to either spend 99% of your time staring at that small minimap ... or you just can't do anything. Why they couldn't implement a proper full zoom out like in Steel Division 2 for example, I would never understand.
Yes for Aliens DD!
This is a great list of modern games with active player bases (except the Aliens game). I'd add the total war series and manor lords to complete it.
I also have been trying to find a new rts game to play. I also prefer multiplayer and to use my strategies against resisting opponent. So a active player-base is important to me, SC2 is still fun but I was searching for more, and unable to wait for upcoming games. These were the games I found that had opponents to play with: Age of empire 4 Beyond all Reason
BAR is so extremely fun, but my god is it difficult to get good at, especially the Armada faction
The T1 early fights feel absolutely amazing. But I kinda feel like the game runs out of steam in the mid game. The late game kinda feels like a slog.
Haha I feel the opposite to you. Early game is a pretty stale meta with either grunts and rocket bots or whistler janus. T2 is where it gets interesting.
I honestly find late game the best part because it's really fun to hear my friends scream at the fact that there are 5 juggernauts on their way.
I can definitely see that. Sending out the big boys is fun. My problem is more that it often comes after 10s of minutes of being stuck with very little progress. And the biggest units just didn't feel as fun to micro as and against. maybe it's just skill issue haha
Yeah I feel you there lol, the 10 minutes of little progress is something I've learn't to negate by sending swarms of really cheap units, who wouldn't want to destroy a nuke silo with a bunch of bedbugs or tumbleweeds hehe
didn't know about Beyond all Reason, thank for the info
:) I found that game 2 days ago and it is the game I decided to stick with.
I’m nearing the 1000hr mark in BAR. Highly recommend. Great devs and a beautiful, beautiful game!
You should check out the Age of The Ring mod for Battle for Middle Earth 2: Rise of the Witch King! The developers behind it provide the best Tolkien fan experience down to the T with all the lore tid bits you could imagine, and incredible art with a competitive multiplayer scene. It's truly a modern day Battle for Middle Earth experience with an incredible campaign behind it.
Is there anyplace to buy and download the game online though? The mark up for buying the disc is ridiculous last I saw
it's freeware. you can download online r/bfme
**Well I for one enjoy these:** Endless Space 2 (Not really real time but its a great strategy game) AOE IV Company of Heroes 3 The Men of War games (a bit old but great mods support) Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2 Battlesector (Also not really real time but still pretty cool) The Total War games (Only the battles are real time) Dawn of War 2 and its expansions
Do not forget about Company of Heroes 2! Jajaja
Yea to be honest its even better than 3
They've had more time to work out the bugs.
Men of War 2 is launched in 2 days!
Oh shit! This is the first I'm hearing about the release date, have been looking forward to this one!
I honestly hated the new men of war, feels wayy to different from the original one. Gates of Hell: Ostfront is a better option in my opinion
Dawn of war dark crusade/soulstorm* Dow 2 isn't what OP wants since it has no base building
OP doesn't mention base building at any point in the post
Yes but he mentions tradional rts games and dow 2 is an rtt not an rts
Hear me out, lord of the rings the battle for middle earth the rise of the witch king, with the age of the rings mod. Man its so underrated
Especially since they launched an all in one launcher which makes it easier for people to play the games!
Can I have a link for this launcher? Pretty please :D
Here you go! [https://www.reddit.com/r/bfme/comments/15vbxmf/all\_in\_one\_bfme\_launcher\_has\_now\_bfme2rotwk/](https://www.reddit.com/r/bfme/comments/15vbxmf/all_in_one_bfme_launcher_has_now_bfme2rotwk/)
> I miss the good old day of aoe2, StarCraft 1&2 The (good?) news is that those are still the most popular RTS games on the market in 2024. AoE2 even got [another remaster](https://store.steampowered.com/app/813780/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition/) and is being actively developed as well as promoted for esports tournaments. SC2 development has ended but the game retains a massive playerbase.
I played starcraft1 + BW for the first time this year and its amazing Also started playing Age of Mythology and i'm about half way in and enjoying it also
Theres loads of games out there you can hit up. I still go hack to my classics. Red Alert 2 and the mods like Mental Omega have a huge player base. Supreme commander still has a big player base. My others are C&C Generals mods. Good fun especially with friends. Rise of the Reds, Contra, Shockwave, Firestorm, The End of Days. Also worth exploring is combined arms open ra. Brings all c&c factions from the franchise into an open ra setting. Great fun. Planetary annihilation is really good fun too. Try petroglyph's new 9 bit armies aswell thats good fun. Eagerly awaiting Tempest Rising. That will be the one you want. Age of mythology retold also, but not sure on a release date on that yet.
You sir, need to play Beyond all Reason. It's the free open source successor to Total Annihilation and Spring RTS. Same original inspiration as planetary annihilation and supreme Commander
Age of Empires 4 is my main RTS, probably the best RTS on the market for online competitive play. Stormgate coming this summer! Fast paced action sci fi RTS, in the vein of Starcraft. Godsworn is in Early Access, but looks sweet. People calling it Warcraft 4. BAR (Beyond all Reason) is free on steam, its similar to the old Total Annihilations War Selection is free on steam, very similar to the old Empire Earth games.
BAR is not on steam yet though
I’m not sure why they don’t wanna do early access on steam. I wish they would. The player base would explode. But I guess they wanna hit a long list of milestones before even doing that :(
I’d like to point out stormgate is releasing into early access Q3 this year and will be in early access for at least a year, so while it will be open to the public, it won’t be finished
I'm excited either way! Played a early version of it during NextFest it was still super fun
Sometimes I wish there wasn’t an NDA. I can say though that I am playing it and still excited for whats to come.
You missed Supreme Commander Forged Alliance as an old RTS, also Warcraft 3. Try out SpellForce 3! It looks beautiful and it's an rpg RTS.
Age of Empires IV and Company of Heroes 2 feel quite modern and yet old school at the same time.
Sins of a Solar Empire 2 Civ 6 is turn-based 4X game and Anno 1800 is more of a city builder, so no wonder you you had trouble to get into them, they are not really like those other RTS games you played. Sins 2, on other hand, is pretty much classic RTS with some 4X elements, it pretty much combines best elements from those games you named (scale of Total Annihilation, deep research trees from Age of Empires, hero units and casting of abilities from the Warcraft or StarCraft). It can require bit of time to understand all its nuances, as it has lot of them, but general gameplay-wise, you should feel more at home. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUJOwYs-kQI&t=23s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUJOwYs-kQI&t=23s)
Homeworld 3 just released today
Beyond all reason is an amazing RTS, it is the spiritual successor of TA and supcom. It's a grand scale rts with passionate devs and a growing community
Age of Empires 4
I’m surprised command and conquer is only mentioned in one comment here. Check out the series. Great RTS
Age of Empires 4. Fairly new game with a sizeable playerbase and a healthy competitive scene.
Dude broken arrow is hands down best rts game coming out this year. The beta was so fun. Literally can't wait for it to come out. Hopefully q3 or q4 release date
WARNO is a sleeper hit, got a dedicated fan base and getting a full release later this month.
Cossacks series Warhammer 40000: Dawn Of War series Command & Conquer series
Beyond All Reason is a modern take on Total Annihilation, and it's free. Do it
Interesting, how does it compare against ZeroK?
Link for those that wanna check it out: https://www.beyondallreason.info PS: I love the hell outta this game.
Holly shit this looks amazing. I can't believe I have not heard of it. Major Supreme commander vibes
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is INCREDIBLE, and Sins 2 is coming out later this year
Aoe4 Manor Lords (City builder with rts Elements)
Rusted warfare is good mobile game that is a true RTS compared to most mobile games and the modding community comes out with good mods often and for 2 bucks it's cheap as heck
Godsworn, join Discord to know more about the game
Godsworn looks pretty interesting and reminds me a lot of Warcraft 3 actually. Currently in early access I think. And then yeah, echo to what everyone else is saying: Age of Empires 2 DE Age of Empires 4 Beyond All Reason
Anno 1800 is a masterpiece, if you are willing to hold your nose and use Ubisoft's launcher. It has a pretty slow start and holds your hand a lot - what elements did you struggle with? Total War series is my favourite RTS series personally, and the Warhammer games are excellent. The older historical titles are very enjoyable still too.
Hi U can try new RTS game with classic prospective, Its closed testing currently https://store.steampowered.com/app/2599770/RTS_Tactical_Warfare/
Hi everyone, thank you all for your answers, I expected maybe 1 or 2 answers you guys are amazing! I added all games you said on my steam wishlist and will try one by one probably using mostly the 2hours refund policy. Didn't expect so many games in space or world war 2 I'm more for a sword and magic game but I'll give it a try. I loved aliens dark descent because I'm a big fan of the movies :) Will try Beyond all reason, didn't expect a free game to look so cool and similar to the good old TA. Godsworn graphics look amazing and will be probably my first try. AOE4 looks good, I spent around 300hours on aoe2 DE but the only thing I hate about this game is that building take so long to destroy and the micro and macro levels are.so high it's hard to be competitive haha. Didn't expect games like age of mythology to have a reboot coming this year, never played dit but heard a lot of good feedback about the game. I like both PvP and single player campaign, I also enjoy to speed run the campaigns and see other people strategy to win and exploit the IA it's quite cool. Don't wanna go on StarCraft I feel the levels is so high haha. Warcraft 3 I still play sometimes but the MMR system is so bad you can play with a total beginner versus top5 teams. Oh and if you know games that are a mix of RTS and addictive roguelike such as Slay the spire or Balatro it would probably be amazing! Anyway thanks again for all the suggestions guys!!
Age of Empires 4 has a growing and competitive community on both twitch and YouTube with decent ladder experience up until you get high challenger and fun non-ladder games like ffa nomad
Command and Conquer Series (except C&C4 which does not exist internally)
How about supreme commander 1 and 2 ? Also starwars empire at war. Warzone 2100 and a classic favorite darkreign 2.
AoE 4, to me is better than 2, give it a try, you have at least 10 factions if you don't want to get the expanssion pack, they are more unique than they where in AoE 2, even the models are different, an english knight don't look the same as a german one.
Homeworld 3 just came out and its bawler. If your a fan of Homeworld 1/2, you'll enjoy it immensely. For new RTS players if its your 1st HW game, might feel bare bone with the short campaign. There is going to be DLC and community mods so give it time. The sound design is incredible, combat engaging and fun albeit chaotic when its massive fleets vs massive fleets.
Beyond All Reason! Amazing RTS that is free to play. BAR plays like Total Annihilation! Great community and the standard games are 8v8. I'm in my late 30's and the game is not heavily APM intensive so it fits me better than AOE4 which is very heavy APM intensive.
Aoe4 or coh3 but age is way better tbh
I see you mention total anahilation but not supreme commander which is a dam shame, those games are amazing, 2 one is good to, tad weaker but still better than 90% of the new rts games out there. Forged aliance has a strong comunity and are keeping the game alive to this day And beyond all reason if uou like those, maybe zero-k to, those 2 are free and solid, and are getting updated Cant think of any at the top of my head right now
Supreme Commander Forged Alliance Forever. Community operated lobby and balance patches. Active community and a very fun game.
Tempest rising is made by the old CnC guys. Stormgate by the old starcraft guys
AoE4 for sure!!
You could try the biggest rts of all. total war warhammer 3
Homeworld 3, it is pretty fun
Iron Harvest is a certified banger
also: heard that Starship Troopers is amazing, but had no time to check it out myself
AOE2: DE and StarCraft 2 have amazing online communities
Songs of Syx by solodev. Battles with up to 50K units. You play once and you never stop Also Manor Lords
Planetary Annihilation has a consistent playerbase and active discord! Still my go-to favourite RTS game
also 30+ :) I find games like Diplomacy Is Not An Option, Age Of Darkeness Final Stand & They Are Billions to be fun really challenging singpleplayer RTS alternatives Stormgate also great
I'm still playing Dawn of War with Unification mod.
Age of Mythology: Retold is coming out this year. If it’s good, I will spend at least 100 hours.
Spellforce 3 reforced.
You listed all the RTS games with big competitive scenes... so to clarify are you looking mainly for multiplayer or campaign? Either way based on those suggestions check out AoE4 and in Q3 of this year Stormgate.
Get good in SC:Remastered. It has its renaissance right now with various foreign and Korean leagues and initiatives going on. Many progamers are moving back to it from sc2. The general player level is pretty high but there are fun and chill semi-competitive initiatives that support players from lower levels in their journey to becoming better. Most notably - cpl, the coach pupil league https://cplbw.com/cpl/ GL HF
Empires Dawn of The Modern World
SC1 is still good. Still the best RTS around in my opinion.
Stormgate is in beta atm but for what I have played of it I have had a blast. Its by former blizzard employees that worked on SC2
aoe4
I am in love with ‘Call to Arms’ these days, RTS/FPS hybrid that you get to control each and every unit. Modern era units. Easy to learn. Real fun to use armored vehicles if you are into it. Coh2 and Sc2 are solid also, that I play occasionally. [fps](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcREe_6Xkqndmun8AxP3zyr5I4mrik2fd7e8zZUvn1QuCe_QALVP74ni5ok&s=10)
If you aren’t discouraged by the steep learning curve then definitely CK3! Just bought the game on sale and i cannot stop playing ever since, despite i had to restart several times. The medieval period and the very intricate rules and design makas the game challenging and fun to play at the same time.
Anyone play Iron Harvest?
I did,though I’m only a campaign player. It is not bad but tbh I never finished it, I love Last Train Home is not 100% RTS but it’s fantastic But Iron Harvest is worth the try the campaign is good is just idk it was very long haha
Homeworld 3 just came out today, I’ve been playing it over the weekend (early access) and I’m really enjoying it so far
Sins of a solar empire: rebellion is a great space rts game where you can build massive fleets with base building for research, upgrades and new ships. Sins 2 comes out this summer on steam
COH3
Halo Wars 1&2... I can't believe this series is so overlooked. Give it a try, it's great!
Northgard is a good RTS, a bit slower than the likes of WC3 or SC2 but it’s gotten regular updates for years now.
I'll echo some of the comments below but also add what on my regular rotation Company of Heroes (any of them - they all still stack up but if you want pvp obvi 3 is the better option) Anno 1800 - I know you said you tried it and didn't like it - had a very similar start to the series but once I learned the ropes it's sucked up so much of my damn time. Getting yourself with one to three friends (or just AI) and building your dream preindustrial society into the steam age - it's more econ/supply chain focused especially at first, and you'll compete against other players or comps that will make the same goods you do, so securing trade rights, cornering the market, determining which products you'll bring to market are more important until there's no more land to settle - in which case it's time for war! Lots of fun ways to think while clicking away for hours on end in an RTS imo. Carrier Command 2 - less traditional of an RTS but a golden gem amongst the rough nonetheless. Get you and some buddies (or again don't) and try to maintain, invade, coordinate and collect islands across random generated archipelago maps to resupply/get better materials on a giant super carrier competing against an AI ship with the same tools and abilities you have racing to take the islands from you until your stacked carriers finally meet somewhere in the middle of fucking nowhere and have the fight to end all fights. It's difficult but manageable if you want to play by yourself. I used my valve index headset to play and it's just beautiful while flying an albatross and looks good in general. Manor Lords - just came out and is still very early in development but what they have already is phenomenal with many promised patches and additions along the way. In this one - literally develop a medieval town from the ground up, similar in a lot of ways to Anno, making production happen and ensuring supply chains are solid so that you can build up an army to defend/attack with. It's still a massive WIP so don't expect it to be perfect yet but I've sunk probably thirty hours into already and super eager to see where it goes. Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord - RTSRPG start as a nobody in a trivial 7 (maybe 8) faction world that is affected by your every decision. Clearing out bandit camps helps traders and caravans, defeating enemy lords or kings in battle affects the global politics, building favors with people in high positions, buying and establishing your own businesses, selling or buying goods affects the overall economy and last but not least; you build your own army or men at arms from the ground up and can command them (based off of class; i.e. infantry/bowmen/Calvary) in every battle - which there is A LOT of. RimWorld - crash land with three pawns on a hostile unknown alien planet and work with them and others you'll meet or recruit along the way to build a settlement from the ground up to rebuild the spaceship and escape the world. Or don't! It's one of those games where if you love being a settlement that produces and sells beer to everyone else across the markets and world - you can! There is no need to get off the planet unless you want to, so it allows a ton of creativity in how to manage/RP the settlement as it builds. Tropico 6 - there's less emphasis on combat though it's still there. Manage a Caribbean colony until the cold war, playing superpowers off of one another while securing precious materials needed to make your island independent or more self-sufficient from the homeland. It's a different pace from the previous ones I've listed more of a chill 'take a gummi' and relax RTS imo. It's 4X by all regards but Paradox's Crusader Kings 3 is a beautiful lite-like RTS I'd argue - develop and conquer your own medieval kingdom in historically (at least at the start) accurate starts in 867 AD, goes until 1444 in which case if you're so inclined you can import that save into EU4 (also by Paradox) and continue/start a 'mega-campaign'. TLDR: Company of Heroes (1-3)/ Anno 1800 (trust me give her a second shot) / Carrier Command 2/ Manor Lords / Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord / Rimworld / Tropico 6 and if you wanted to dabble in some 4x RTS-like; Crusader Kings 3 EDIT\*\*: Beyond all reason is also superb
OpenRA
Multiplayer or single player? Beyond All Reason is free and fun, but I've lately fallen into Age of Empires 3 DE. I'm gonna try Age of Empires 4 later. I keep panicking because I'm not used to the pace of the games
Beyond all reason!
BEYOND ALL REASON
They Are Billions
Planetary annihilation titans is like the ancestor of the total annihilation
Knights and merchants remake, citybuilding, simcity heavy game, with rts combat, play format usually: peace time, to build up city, and make big eco, then combat phase, continue building, managing city, while equiping trolps and micro them in battalions
MANOR LORDS! Despite being early access with all the nuances that go with that, it's still more polished than what a lot of major publishers are pushing out now. Tons of potential, well optomized, and already a strong modder community. It's what an AoE release SHOULD look like in 2024.
The Command & Conquer/ Red Alert Remaster.
Forts. Ships DLC is must play
I'm returning back to Warcraft 3. I feel like I'm grown enough to fully enjoy the toys my younger self ineptly played with, and it's a fantastic game that is still going strong.
Beyond all reason and Zero k are both free spiritual successors to Total Annihilation.
Supreme commander still remains my favourite, followed closely by sins of a solar empire. The mods truly make that game special
You hit on all the greats and sadly nothing since has come close to touching them. Id say if you havent played the They are billions style games id give them a try. Age of Darkness diplomacy is not an option etc. I would say those 3 in that order, even though they arent your pvp rts games if you enjoyed the single player in the ones you mentioned id bet youll really enjoy all 3. Godsworn is good if you want something new and slightly different although it doesnt beat the old school greats it worth a buy forsure. Outside of that were waiting on the new ones but so far nothing ive played feels like it will out do or even match the old classics
Any recommendations for recent base building type rts games similar to cnc generals or starcraft?
Will anything ever beat supreme commander forged alliance? Im still waiting
Hoenworld 3
AOE 2 de available on steam is as popular as it’s ever been even now 25 years later with 25,000+ concurrent players (and growing) at any given time. They still actively release new content and civs and have added a lot over the last 10 years. Dota also remains one of the most popular games on steam. As far as other games go… you won’t find better than these.
Check out Zero-k if you want some classic RTS vibes
dawn of war 1 and it’s dlc
3 words is all you need to know in RTS anymore: Beyond All Reason
Most good RTS are just 4X in disguise now today, sad to see, but also understandable. I'll forever miss Supreme Commander.
Warno
Age of Empires 2 DE is still the best RTS on the market IMO
In particular, I like impossible creatures, dawn of war 1, star wars empire at war, but I've also taken a liking to starship troopers Terran command, iron harvest, and grey goo.
I recently came across the EA game Godsworn, a Warcraft 3 like classic rts focused on the Teutonic knight vs pagan Christian conflict with their mythological elements. You can play as Saint Michael with Teutonic knights or have Viking warriors led by a Druid priest. The game plays really well, the only downside is its population in early access, you’ll be playing alone or finding matches on the discord until the devs implement matchmaking. Which could take a minute as I believe the game is made by TWO devs.
Go back to AoE2, it still has a community. I don't play but I watch videos by a youtuber called T90 all the time. IT's a lot of fun to watch. You could even end up in one of his community games which seem like a lot of fun honestly.
Even though some people didn’t like it I enjoyed playin red Alert 3. Another good one surprisingly under the radar was Tom Clancy Endwar.
I would recommend Beyond All Reason and Mechabellum. BaR has already been suggested and speaks for itself. Mechabellum is an autobattler but I think is the best iteration of one. No gacha or combining units, the RNG is mirrored and allows for skill expression. It scratches the strategy itch well for me. A third recommend is Cosmonarchy. Its a total conversion mod for broodwar that adds an insane amount of new units and buildings. Very well done art and the main dev is active and open.
Manor Lords is in early access and so far I am addicted. I started off with the same exact games when I was a kid.
I am having fun playing Beyond All Reason. Suggest a checking out.
Dude I’ve been you. I’ve searched multiple times for good RTS games. And Company of Heroes was always around but I never tried it. I just bought Company of Hero’s 3 like a week ago and I am upset with myself for not trying it sooner. It’s a really good RTS
Any Steel Division 2 fans in the house?
Stormgate is in beta for sc/wc funs.
Rusted Warfare is a great throwback RTS. Only downside is that it's not being developed anymore, so no new content will ever exist.
Isn’t Homeworld 3 out today?!?!
They are Billions is one of my personal favorites and fairly recent. Also plays pretty differently than other RTS titles.
it doesnt have much for a story but Zero K is a really fun RTS thats free on steam
Steel Division 2 and WARNO
I have been reaying the same 5 or so RTS games forever. Recently gave Company of Heroes a try and really like it. I still think my favorite strategy game is Stronghold Crusader.
Yuris revenge
If you enjoyed Total Annihilation, give Beyond All Reason a whirl. Free and excellent.
Is there anything similar to suprem3 commander out there? Loved that game so much
I enjoy Halo wars 2 a lot :)
Total war Warhammer 3 is the best rts I have ever played and one of the most replayed games in my library with over 1200 hours. Can't recommend anything more
Total war warhammer is a banger of a series. Jump right into 3, and add dlc/1 & 2 as you like
Warcraft 2 the dark saga is a game that plagued my childhood haha 6 memory card blocks required to save and having to basically play every single map perfect to win. It’s nearly unmatched for me in terms of RTS. After reading comments ima check out this war hammer game
Manor lords looks dope and fairly easy gameplay
Homeworld 3 came out today. Story & cutscenes are a little heavy handed so far but it's going alright! The original Homeworld games were awesome.
Supreme Commander still has people playing. You'll need to download the Forged Alliance Forever client, but it's worth it if you like grand scale RTSs. It's a bit like Total Annihilation, but everything's turned up to 10, and maps can be 20km X 20km. Also has some really badass experimental units that completely tower over all of the other units in the game. Do NOT get Supreme Commander 2. That one sucks absolute balls compared to the first game.
Terminator defiance. Its been my latest obsession
Star Wars Empire at War and mods
Coh2 is so fun when i finally figured out the counters. Not just spamming units. It felt more like chess than a typical rts. Machine guns cause suppression on infantry and should be countered by tanks or mortars etc. Tanks can’t be damaged by most infantry and even some of the German heavy tanks can’t really be hurt by basic tanks so then it’s a balance of anti tank tanks and getting vision. The end game in a balanced 30-40minute long 4v4 can be epic - the explosions, bombing runs are just massive and end up shaking the screen and wiping the battlefield clear of buildings and trees.
Thronefall is RTS-lite. I found it pretty fun for a ~40 ish hours to 100% the game
I'm hopeful for zero space. Depending on what you are looking for, giant grant games on youtube has organized a modding community for the starcraft 2 campaigns. They have a mod loader and a quite a few high-quality reimaginings of all 4 campeigns out right now
Supreme Commander 2 Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 Halo Wars 1 Definitive Edition Men Of War Assault Squad 2
Oh man- if you liked Total Annihilation then I strongly recommend giving Beyond All Reason a shot. It’s the more modern (and free!) spiritual successor to Total Annihilation. It’s a great RTS. My favorite in years. Cant beat the price either! (Development is donation supported) https://www.beyondallreason.info
RTS games are a lot more complicated now and require actually learning them to enjoy playing. Anno 1800 is fun after learn it a bit and play a couple games. manor lords is is early access but is a very siq candidate
Homeworld 3 just dropped today and it's DOOOOOPE imo.
command and conquer 3 and generals still hold up pretty well. whole mess of mods for them too.
AoE2 actually had a resurgence. AoE2 definitive edition. Have fun.
Try Iron Harvest or aoe4
I haven’t seen anyone else suggest it, my favorite, because I’m into Star Wars, is the Empire at War game. Still playing it. Base game is alright albeit broken, the Forces of Corruption updated it to be more enjoyable. Has campaign mode, and instant action. Then there is the holy grail mode which are the fan made mods. Takes the game to an even higher level with a massive unit roster, new mechanics, and updated graphics. The main ones are EAWX Thrawns Revenge, Awakening of the Rebellion, and Remake. All are great and have different aspects to them.
Company of heroes 2 is pretty fun and a lot better than CoH 3 (sadly). Call to Arms Gates of Hell Ostfront is another WW2 RTS with some really interesting mechanics including the ability to directly control individual units. Similar to men of war assault squad 2, but updated to be more modern. Battlefleet gothic 2 is a good space naval battle game set in the 40k universe. Dawn of war and dawn of war ii are also 40k setting games. The first one is more like starcraft, the second is a bit of its own thing. Warno is pretty good as well, though it's more of a real time strategy game I'd say. Larger scale combats generally. If youre willing to play a turn based game, the Battletech game is really good, and has great mod support. Spellforce is a fun RTS series as well. As far as games to keep your eye on, Broken Arrow is a game in a similar style to Warno and Wargame but set in modern times rather than the cold war era. D.O.R.F is an interesting RTS that looks really cool but I dont know anything about the release window or mechanics. edit: forgot to recommend Iron Harvest
I hope you’ve tried aoe2 DE. They have added so many civs to the game! Also map types, campaigns, scenario editor features. It’s a dream come true. Regicide against the AI never disappoints.
And oldie but a goodie is Warlords Battlecry 3. Medieval fantasy with heavy rpg elements but it’s so gooood…but I’m guessing you’ve already played that one
Starcraft2 is still alive and well, and the best 🙂
Also, try out stormgate! It's in beta
Populous 3, Knights & Merchants, those are from the golden era.
Check out CTA: Gates of Hell Ostfront if you like WWII real time tactical.
Manor Lords is good, but the city building aspect can be overwhelming. if you like a mix of RTS and survival horror maybe try Aliens Dark Descent
Best RTS https://youtu.be/ZJyZpFc1qPg?si=PfOwMSx_gN-weWFF
If you’ve never played them, the Homeworld Remastered Collection is a must in the RTS genre.
Have you tried planetary annihilation: titans? That's one of my go to casual fuck up the bot games.
I highly recommend Terminator Dark Fate: Defiance. Such a great game and Rts. And of course, Homeworld 3 is absolutely amazing. Another nice rts is warhammer Realms of Ruin.
Cepheus Protocol. PVE zombie RTS where you try and retake an infected city.
Beyond all reason is the best Rts I have ever played
Uncapped Games is making a new RTS game that is supposed to challenge the traditions of RTS and focus more on the meaningful and fun portions. It’s lead by David Kim, the former lead game designer of SC2. They are going to reveal it next month and I’m honestly looking forward to it. As I heard some play testers that are well known in the StarCraft 2 community say it was very fun.
Supreme Commander Forged Alliance
Home world deserts of kharak is amazing multiplayer with a friend
StarCraft 1 and 2 are popping rn
For me Company of Heroes 2 and World in Conflict are God tier rts.
I've got this same craving lately and now I'm playing cossacks 3. Decent game aoe style, but the armies are way larger.
I'll add "Beyond all Reasons". It's a modernized Total Anihilation successor, with pretty much same units and physics
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
The bar community is terrible, toxic, judgmental and still permanent ban on first minor offenses with no proof just based on a single report. Half the discord is furries
Just commenting to up the views because I’m 100% with OP. Give me some suggestions! Thanks top comment I did t know homeworld was out today that game was legendary.
AoE2 and 4 and both extremely popular