Let’s start with
BlackChain
This is a very nice old fashioned Starcraft-inspired RTS that will take you only a few hours to
finish.
Here you will be thrown to a year of 2088 where the Solar System is ruled by those who
can exploit it most efficiently.
So I guess by someone like SpaceX and Technoking Elon.
BlackChain includes a classic campaign across the Solar System with 12 unique story missions
with full voice acting, base building, land and air combat, skirmish mode versus AI, also
a LAN multiplayer with 2 human players, map Editor and custom games.
Sadly there is only one faction available... but hey, keep in mind that this game is made
by one man and it’s price for a game that is made in the year of 2021 is ridiculous.
It is equivalent to 14 kilograms of carrots if you buy them in my city of Vilnius.
So if you are not some weirdo who is considering traveling to Lithuania just to buy 14 kilograms
of carrots, better spend your money on BlackChain instead.
Ashes of Singularity
Here you will battle for control of the galaxy as the Post Human Coalition or their eternal
foes named the Substrate, that is a ridiculous name to be fair, ain't that a thing from which
plants grow?
In Ashes of Singularity you will dive into massive battles with thousands of units in
huge, really detailed maps and that is what distinguishes this game from the other RTSs.
Although keep in mind that this kind of game requires massive computing power.
Although not as massive as yo momma.
You can play the game online alone or with friends in ranked or unranked multiplayer
mode or play it by yourself against a powerful non-cheating AI in skirmish or campaign mode.
That is great - non-cheating AI is kinda rare, because it is hard to make so developers tend
to cut it out and replace it with a fake AI instead.
Just like you replace your cheating girlfriend with your hand.
Anyway, no matter what mode you play, strategy here is the key: deciding what technologies
to research, where to send your armies, what vodka to drink while playing, how to manage
your economy, and what units to construct are crucial to victory.
Planetary Annihilation: Titans
Here you can play the game alone and rule your puny planet or dive into a multiplayer
battles and sacrifice your self-esteem to much better players.
Game also has pretty good AI, which can surprise you with unorthodox decisions, like detonating
their own homeworld in hopes to kill your commander.
I don’t think that even Elite AI of Starcraft 2 would nuke his own base in hopes to kill
your... thirty seven battlecruisers.
Anyway, reviews on Steam are very positive, so I think you can give it a try without many
thoughts given.
But better put it into your wishlist and wait for a sale, because then it costs about 6
euros - still a bit more expensive than your sister, but this price is way more affordable
than 25 Euros it usually costs.
Command & Conquer Remastered Collection
These games were pinnacles of the RTS genre 25 years ago and now they are both fully remastered
in 4K.
That sounds amazing and definitely plays floppy disks of nostalgia in my brain.
Because, you know, “i’m old”.
In this release you will find all 3 expansion packs, rebuilt multiplayer, a modernized UI,
Map Editor and over 7 hours of legendary remastered music by Frank Klepacki.
You know this guy got a job in Westwood studios when he was only 17 years old.
And what you did when you were 17?
In example I was skipping school to read Lord of The Rings at home.
That’s why now I play games all day instead of going to work from nine to five.
Yeah, that doesn’t sound so bad to be fair.
Anyway, here you will find many cool things, like upscaled cinematic footage, enhanced
sidebar UI, leaderboards for 1 on 1 matches, replays, 250 multiplayer maps and even official
mod support.
Nightside
This is one of the most original looking RTS games.
Here you can participate in a war where lots of different blobs, shlorbs, glarbls and shlapes
fight with each other for the domination of the galaxy.
Control wise it resembles Starcraft’s model really closely so you will feel right at home
here.
Interesting thing is the decision to modify fog of war concept - instead of it your units
and buildings have light sources to see landscape and enemy units around them.
Game features 4 factions fighting over a resource called “the green ice”.
Yep.
The game itself doesn’t seem to be very deep and it’s quite slow, so it can be infuriating
for Starcraft fans, but if you want a similar game where you can chill and relax - this
is the game for you.
And it’s cheap.
Like 4 Euros cheap.
Homeworld Deserts of Kharak
A ground based RTS prequel to the classic Homeworld games.
It has nice graphics, great special effects and good gameplay in general.
But do not expect miracles.
Campaign is only 13 missions long, and it’s quite easy – you can beat it in a day.
Although I do recommend buying it on a sale, because it was released 5 years ago and it
still costs around 45 Euros.
That is ridiculous.
I can buy 155 kilos of carrots for that.
That is probably more carrots than I have eaten in my whole life.
However, good story, fantastic desert setting and beautiful music makes this game one of
the most interesting choices for you even if it differs from Starcraft quite heavily.
Just don’t buy this game if you’re interested in multiplayer.
Nobody plays it, it’s dead.
Just like your hopes and dreams.
Why did you say that?
8 Bit Invaders
If Starcraft spent the night with Minecraft - 9 months later 8-Bit Invaders would be born.
This is a fast-paced RTS - very colorful strategy-arcade game that is easy to learn for players of
all skill levels.
Collect resources, build up and defend your base, amass your army of tanks and starships
and ultimately crush humans with your metal tentacles or show aliens who’s the boss
here.
Welcome to earth.
I’m the boss here.
Here you will find 24 campaign missions, 10 co-op missions to play with your mother in
law, destructible environments and... you know who the composer is?
Frank Klepacki.
The same dude who created music for Command & Conquer 26 years ago.
And if you feel that this 8 bit setting is appealing to you, keep in mind that you can
also find two more games - 8 Bit Armies, that are made with the fans of Command and Conquer
in mind and 8 Bit Hordes that can be appealing to Warcraft fans.
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
It was really hard to decide which Command and Conquer game to insert into this list.
You know, it’s like if god descended from heaven and said to you “You can spend a
night with your favorite pornstar, but you can choose only one, so choose wisely”.
It’s literally the same here.
It’s really hard to squeeze them all in, the space is really limited.
That’s what she said.
Yeah... of course I have already cheated a bit and put in the original remastered games,
but hey it is classic with 4K face, you can’t beat that.
So, Tiberium Wars with 91% of positive reviews on Steam won this competition.
Here you will get 35 original Single Player Missions, great story and live action video
sequences that tie the game’s story together featuring diverse Hollywood cast, including
actors from Star Wars, Starship Troopers, Battlestar Galactica, LOST, and House MD.
Game also has a nice AI with Distinct Styles of Play such as ‘rushing’, ‘turtling’,
“noob crushing” and so on.
Grey Goo
As I always say - this is one of the worst names in RTS history.
Of course, something like Brown Poo would be a bit worse, but hey if you have to compare
your game’s name with Brown Poo for it to sound better, you have problems.
Of course Grey Goo’s name doesn’t just pop out like this, one of the factions in
the game is named Goo.
And that is a terrible decision as well.
Just name it Replicants or Swarm or invent your own name like “Screepers” or “Penisons”.
And now it's... oh, icky icky goo.
Though the game was obviously inspired by Starcraft, it is slower, and for fast paced
combat lovers it could be a bit painful to play.
Developers even say that the game bases itself around "macro decisions over micro management".
That’s not what you want to hear if you are a fan of Starcraft, but Grey Goo really
deserves some of your time if you manage to snatch it on a sale.
Immortal: Gates of Pyre
And last but not least - I want to speak about this new upcoming RTS game that may throw
a gauntlet to Starcraft 2 itself and become a real rival in the esports arena.
Developers have asked for 30K dollars on Kickstarter but instead they have collected 5 times more
from 2000 backers.
That shows the hunger RTS fans are feeling and not for potato salad or marinated herring
as always, but about nowadays RTS scene where all the games are dumbed down somehow, made
easy to play for people without any real time strategy skills in hopes to gather a bigger
player crowd.
You know, a good sci-fi RTS game is even more rare than catholic priests who don’t like
little boys.
Game will feature five factions and developers have said to me that all of the races will
be balanced and will work in harmony no matter which combination of the battle you will choose.
We’ll see about that.
Game will be free to play in general, but you know... all the cosmetics and stuff like
that will drain your money anyway.
IF the game is good that is.
Thank you for watching, have a nice day and I’ll see you next time.