Thinking five moves ahead: our favorite strategy games of 2022

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Sometimes video games are at their best when they’re about more than just intense, immediate action. Sometimes we love it when games really make us think. Strategy games come in many forms, but they all make us plan our moves carefully and reward superior tactics rather than just button-mashing. Here are our five favorite strategy games of 2022.

Number 5: Xeno Command

The intense real-time strategy of Xeno Command brought me right back to the good old days of StarCraft. It takes the best parts of Blizzard’s classic sci-fi strategy masterpiece and boils them down into an even simpler form that works beautifully. And best of all, it’s now available on mobile and works wonderfully in that form. -@Kef

Number 4: Marvel’s Midnight Suns

I’m not sure how Midnight Suns is fourth on this list? I think someone stuffed the ballot box here because if it wasn’t for Stray, this would be my game of the year. I don’t typically go for strategy or card-based games, but Midnight Suns had me coming back for more and more. Its snappy pace tricked me into thinking that maybe I was really playing something more fast-moving and not a turn-based game from the creators of XCOM. If it can fool me, it deserves major props. ‘Nuff said. -@JB

Number 3: Isle of Arrows

When I think of Isle of Arrows, one word comes to mind: elegant. This is more than just another tower defense game. No, it’s the most stripped-down, aesthetically pleasing, and secretly challenging tower defense game I’ve ever played. I can’t wait to see how Isle of Arrows continues to grow through updates in the years to come. -@Kef

Number 2: Triangle Strategy

As embarrassing as it is to admit, I’ve never touched a Final Fantasy game. Triangle Strategy was the first time I ever played anything published by Square Enix. Thankfully, it served as a magical introduction to the legendary Japanese RPG publisher. I ended up sinking hours and hours into Triangle Strategy as I sought to unravel the mysteries within this beautifully designed narrative-driven RPG about medieval politics and war. -@Jay Hunter

Number 1: Marvel Snap

I haven’t been hit this hard by a card game since Hearthstone first launched in beta. No surprise, since Marvel Snap was created by some of the minds behind Hearthstone, but it brings an even more beloved franchise to the digital card game format with Marvel superheroes. What’s especially brilliant about Marvel Snap, though, is how it breaks with card game conventions, focusing on super-fast games, a steady drip of new cards, and never-before-seen levels of replayability thanks to randomly selected locations that change up every game. I’m already well above Collection Level 1000, and that’s on the low end of what some of my friends are rocking. I better get back to the grind now. -@Kef