The Best Strategy Games for Nintendo Switch (a work in progress!)

Hey all. As well as being a developer of strategy games I’m also a huge player of them! I recently got hold of a Switch to play some games on for research and the like, so I have obviously been checking out Strategy games to play. Here’s my list so far of what is worth your money, on Switch… (A to Z)

Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics – Our take on a mythos themed Turn-based Strategy game set in a WW2 combat setting – so of course I’m going to add it here! Was really pleased with how the combat system turned out – we added a facing system and the enemy ‘Shroud’ that cloaked the missions in darkness you needed to counter. Plus a Momentum system inspired by the Modiphius 2d20 RPG system. So if you like tactics, TBS, guns and monsters – do grab it! (We’ve done podcasts about it too, which you can get here.)

Darkest Dungeon – Another 2D turn-based strategy and again it uses the 2D nature of the game-space really well. It has this neat system where by the order your characters relative to the enemy and each other has major tactical implications, for example your big fighters prefer to be at the front hitting and taking damage, whereas a magic user may prefer to be at the back. Layered on to this is an amazing ‘sanity’ system (as the game is about the mental attrition of the horror and darkness the characters face). The controls here are much better than the PS Vita version, though I’d say not quite as good as PC. However it’s a great game, provided you are prepared for the grind of characters and missions. Update – you can get the game on Switch as a bundle including all the DLC – which has the excellent Color Out of Space themed DLC. Having played this now on Steam, Switch and Vita – Switch is my fav version due to it’s added portability!

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle – Cute but strategically satisfying. Best thing to check out about this game is the creative director of XCOM talking about how the game expands the turn-based strategy space; “In Kingdom Battle, the stress comes from knowing there is only a narrow band of choices that will lead to victory. Every choice you make could set you down the wrong path, and in later missions, the band of choices narrows even further. Yet the stress of combat is also offset by powerful new innovations to the tactics genre. Movement is surprisingly fun and kinetic, with allies leaping off of each other, sliding through nearby enemies or traveling through pipes to completely different areas of the battlefield.”

Steamworld Heist – So I first came across this gem of a game on PS Vita. It’s a super-smart take on a turn-based strategy. First twist is that it is done 2D rather than 3D, but in a way that less is more, focusing the combat on the 2 planes really works well, making it close quarters and rapid. Second it has this great mechanic of ricochet for some types of attack, that makes the 2D space into a more dynamic combat zone. Layered in to that it uses a more traditional action points system, a cover system and different weapon and attack types. Then there is an RPG layer of character development and equipment selection that also adds skills and the like. Great fun! (Fun fact; this game was developed in part with a grant from the EU Media fund.)

War Groove – At time of writing, this has just launched. I’m enjoying it so far – very of an Advanced Wars vibe, which is no bad thing, as love those games! It’s got a slick UI, nice unit design, good strategy so far. So am enjoying – will update!

I’ll be updating this list as I go along, and feel free to suggest new ones for me to check out!