Summary
Tactical RPGs have their roots in the war gaming world, where players can take as much time as they like to think of how they want to proceed. While that aspect is still a part of the genre, newer entries have tried to put extra pressure on the player, requiring quick thinking if they want to survive.
Sometimes, that means adapting to new circumstances, or maybe it means not thinking through things perfectly but making the best judgment fast. Quick thinking comes in many forms, and the tactical RPG is the best place to experience it.
For a brief period of time, Subset Games dominated the indie world withFTL: Faster than Light.Many players wondered what their follow-up would be, but few could have guessed it might be something likeInto the Breach.This cerebral, simple, yet deceptively complex strategy game isone of the best tactical RPGs with roguelike elements ever made.
While players do have as much time as they like to think on their turn, quick thinking comes in when trying to narrow down the massive amount of compounding possibilities a player has. It’s impossible to think through every permutation of abilities, characters, movements, ranges, and terrains. A player needs to narrow down those possibilities as fast as possible to focus on making the right move.
TheXCOMgames are the granddaddy of all modern video game strategy games, pioneering key mechanics that would define the genre, and always trying to reinvent the genre in new directions. The original 2010s reboot was received well, andXCOM 2only improved what came before. In a tense fight against aliens,intricate squad buildscan crumble in moments due to the game’s infamous permadeath mechanic.
Quick thinking comes in the form of timer missions, where players only have a certain number of turns to figure out how they’re going to achieve their objective and get out in time. There’s always some random chance in anXCOMgame, meaning players need to figure out how to quickly adapt if they want to succeed.
Out of the many great games on this list, none have captured the hardcore tactical RPG fan quite likeFrozen Synapse.This hardcore tactics game required players to compete against each other or AI to execute high-risk maneuvers.
The difficulty comes from the player having to plan their movement in advance, then watch it play out at the same time as the enemy. That means players need to analyze the state of play as fast as possible to come up with a suitable plan for the next turn, all while their opponent is doing the exact same thing.
Total War: Warhammer 3launched theTotal Warfranchise into a new echelon of popularity, and justifiably so. It’s possibly the best version of theTotal Warformula that has ever been put to pixels, with massive battles, deep thinking, awide variety of thematically distinct factions, and compelling RPG elements.
Quick thinking comes in the form of the real-time battle sections of the game. Players need to command units to best fight the opposing side, often requiring rapid reflexes or reacting to surprise attacks as fast as possible to minimize their damage.
Darkest Dungeontook the indie darling genre of the roguelike and decided to wonder what it might be like as an adventurer forced into horrifying dungeons filled with monsters. Red Hook’s subsequent game beautifully simulates that descent into madness, and the despair that madness propagates.
When dungeon crawling, actions and mistakes are permanent. Surrendering means possibly losing one of the party members forever, destroyingmeticulously planned team compositions. That means when mistakes are made, the player needs to think fast about how to solve them, without letting negative attributes or conditions compound into an unsalvageable situation.
The tactical RPG has always been great at simulating wartime, andCompany of Heroes 3, despite a somewhat rough launch, is no exception to that rule. The game challenges players with the responsibility of shepherding a team of soldiers through the Italian front in a series of compelling campaign or competitive settings.
As the game is real-time, the player will need to always keep an eye out for emerging threats, and respond as fast as possible to avoid getting overwhelmed. Quick thinking is essential if the player is to succeed.
Aliengames have a pretty rough history. It’s hard to deny that while there have been some great adaptations, there are sordid entries too. The gaming world was cautious aboutAliens: Dark Descent, but upon its release in 2023, it turned out to be a worthy successor to theAlienname.
Like other real-time tactical RPGs,Aliens: Dark Descenttasks the player with shepherding a crew of soldiers (in this case colonial marines) through dark and creepy settings, all while fighting offthe game’s roster of difficult enemies. It’s a surprisingly tense experience with horror imagery aplenty, forcing the player to make quick decisions should the xenomorphs gain the upper hand.
FTL: Faster Than Lightis considered one of the best indie games ever made, and for good reason. The player is simply tasked with commanding a rag-tag crew aboard a spaceship away from an oncoming wave of rebel soldiers, all while trying to survive the trip.
However, the game is brutally difficult, and problems with the ship can cascade fast with permanent consequences. All it takes is one enemy crew to teleport onto the player’s ship, and the whole run is over. The game requires constant vigilance, tough decisions with limited resources, and a hawk-like readiness for anything to go wrong. If the player doesn’t react fast, the run’s over.
