I know you want RTS and I just feel like we're on the cusp of a comeback for the genre! And this is just the start, Tactics, 4X and more in the upcoming games playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLYVqUDxY6COh7bkuJoBb1koNRX7mAX2yp.html Don't miss all the strategy!
The rts comeback is going to require teaching people how to actually play rts game, and remind people that apm is largely irrelevant unless those actions actually matter. You can win in sc2 masters league with 60 apm, just make actions that matter.
My 1st RTS PC game was Dune way back in the Jurassic age of computer gaming. Good times. Maybe one day someone will do a good remake of the Empire of the Fading Suns pc game. Thx for all your lists
Thanks for the mention and your support throughout the years, Zakh! Never goes unnoticed! It will take some time, but in the future, we might have some interesting news. Keep an eye out on us every once in a while. :)
wait is battlerealms company still lives ? wow...what a happy notice, battle realms is one of the genius RTS i always thought and hoped if it will get a rework/remake or a continuation of some sort just not let it die. That and Alienshooter, surprisingly enough there isnt a single isometric shooter like it, it was amazing.
@@PNarbz123 that would actually be awesome, really missed it back then, was my favorite faction, especially the flaming breath of the horses^^ (but it's also kinda lame considered the "create as many "wizards" as possible and win every match, and that it wasn't really worth to combine them into warlocks, as those were somehow weaker than the two "wizards" :-/
Beyond all Reason is probably the best title on this list, most fun, most options in game, lots of things to do, already able to play and for free. Knowing how long it takes for many RTS to come out, the letdowns, the imbalance or bad AI, it's tough to find good titles that weren't made 15 years ago+.
Yo thank you for Showcasing and supporting our game again! It means a lot to us, although the game development has taken way more than we wanted, the support we get from content creators does help us quite a lot ❤ Making an RTS isn't easy, especially if you are indie.
No matter what multiplayers issues Age of Mythology had, the story was so awesome, not many rts games can rise to that lvl. RTS isnt all about going 1v1 or 2v2 in multiplayers, some of them are worth playing because of the campaign stories they had. Thumbs up for Age of Mythology, hope will launch soon !
There was a campaign? I honestly either have forgotten it or never played it. It’s loved the multiplayer even against AI. My buddies and I would have lan parties or I played tournaments for cash with a clan. Loved that game. It was super fun!
@@mikejackson5658 I didn't play the campaign the first time I had AOM but played it on the remake and it was actually pretty good. It's a long campaign and you jump to the other races.
Sad that there are so many titles about RTS being dead. RTS was hurt due to pandering to the E-sports players rather than the general public. Think once we start getting games like Stormgate we'll get some interest back in the genre.
Beyond All Reason is playable right now and it's easily one of the best RTS you can play, and one of the best RTS ever made. Not joking when people say it's been tuned by fans for fans throughout years. It's nice to see people mentioning it. People should know more about it, because it is an incredible work overall, it's fun and impressively designed, and looks great too
Can EA just let go of the Command & Conquer universe so we can have that back? I still think the early days of C&C were far superior to the likes of Starcraft. Also Empire of the Ants looks insanely cool.
The worst thing about corporations is they prioritise owning things more than anything else. Even if they never have any intention to do anything with it, they will always want to own it. Like Namco trademarking loading screen minigames then never making any loading screen minigames. Or Warner Brothers and the Nemesis system, then making a total of 2 games with the Nemesis system. It's just about ownership.
Tempest Rising for all of us that misses c&c, Ea wont be able to make an better one than Tempest Rising. They used 4 years now ! And keeps working on it. Ea will just use between 1-2 years and release it before it's done
@@GamerZakh That Namco loading screen patent literally deprived us of loading screen minigames for the entire time they could have existed. From now on, games load off of SSDs load so fast that there's no time to do anything during loading anymore. Such a shame, I remember some fun stuff done with it back in the PS2 days...
Reality is if the original devs of CnC will do a knockoff of that CnC universe (whether tiberium, red alert, or even generals) provided it captured the identity of those, they can revive the genre without using the CnC franchise. Just like how Mobile Legends became considered as unique from League of Legends intellectually although by essence it is pretty much a clone. EA can't sue em since its not CnC and the fans get what they want circumventing the corporate issue.
i like how these are almost all, Total Annihilation 2, StarCraft 3, Warcraft4, and Command & Conquer Continued. Devs who grew up in the 90s loving these games and wanted a faithful sequel are making them themselves. I respect and appreciate that -- but also, lets think of something new, right? A lot of Robots vs Meat out there.
honestly what i want from a RTS is a limitless map. like minecraft, with unknown empires over the borders of your fog of war. which as you grow your kingdom you expand into and confront them. where the map would be double what you see which every area you see unlocking another 2 further out. which will either be apart o prior empires or not. so you could play one game for hundreds of hours.
The 8-bit armies series was a ton of fun and the tagline is pretty accurate. It's a very simple game and can often look like it's just big armies smashing against each other but playing at the higher tier of players is a whole different experience.
I think it depends on what kind of RTS you want. I feel the number of traditional RTS games with base building are pretty limited. Even more so if you want a modern day setting.
The idea for Battle Realms is great. There are many games out there which simply don't work on modern systems and even if you do make them work just need polish, more campaign, more units, more work, modern control schemes- you name it. Krush Kill and Destroy comes to mind (available on steam, but has some serious issues).
RTS has always been my favorite genre. I haven’t found anything really good for many many years. Until last year, where I discovered a indie gem called Line War 💎. I just can’t stop playing it. It takes away the APM aspect, that I always been stressed out about. Instead it’s slow, and focuses on strategy. Really really fun, but unfortunately struggling a bit with the player base. But I’m here to hoping it will still take off at one point 🤞 I just hit 1.300 hours. My most played steam game, hehe. So far MP only, but SP is on the way. I only play MP anyways tho. Really many interesting RTS on your list! Thanks for sharing. 👍
If you are oldskool and got raised with the whole TA environment, well that back in the day set the bar so high that even today its hard to find anything equally good or better. Thanks for the tip about line war, will check it out
@@Strange-Viking TA, RA and Generals were the games I spent my time on 👍 Hope you enjoy Line War as much as me. A bit steep learning curve due to unconventional controls. The low player base means mostly good players are playing, but the community is welcoming and eager to help new players 😊
"micro without APM" just makes me think of Zeratul in co-op. Sick stalker micro by a-moving the army, it's incredible. I can totally see this becoming a thing for RTS'
I didn't care much for it. A date is a date. An expected release date is just a tease - an empty promise at best. 'We'll see'. Might as well skip setting a date, or just see it as a picture.
Forged Alliance Forever is still here with the best RTS to date! I can only wish a modern alternative would show up, imagine taking advantage of multiple cores and having 2-5k units per player?
I'm pretty sure every Supreme Commander fan will want to skin me alive for saying this, but I liked Supreme Commander 2 better. The campaign was actually good, the campaign in the original was not. The pacing was off, missions took too long and their design wasn't all that interesting. (what I played of them anyway, I couldn't finish them)
Barkhan really is the Dune we are waiting(Not Spice Wars), even the Refinery vehicle platform is the same as the one from Dune II. Thank you for this video, I am so happy you are keeping the fight to keep us informed on all the new RTS games
@@thesamuraialeen It's not really worth it unless for nostalgia, it plays more like C&C than the original which is nice, but it's still just Dune 2. Barkhan like you said look like a true successor and a lot of fun. I always loved Emperor battle for dune myself, but both Dune 2 and Dune 2000 was also a of fun. I don't like modern RTS's that try to streamline too much for accessibility, RTS is simple enough to begin with, at least as long as I get my attack move function :P
@@Zyzyx442 Yea, let's just hope they do a great job with the campaign, I kinda wish for a proper story driven RTS like Empire Earth, Warcraft 3 and the most recent Iron Harvest
I think Spice Wars is more like the novels and the latest film, but it's definitely its own thing and doesn't scratch the itch that Dune 2000 did. Such a great game, a lot of nostalgia for me.
I grew up on Starcraft and C&C. Then later Dawn of War. I long for a good RTS again, and I know it's not just the nostalgia talking, because the I've spent the last couple of months replaying Starcraft + Brood War and Warcraft 3 + Frozen Throne. (Remastered for the former, orginal for the latter, I'll never understand how they managed to fuck up Reforged so badly when the Starcraft remaster is excellent) They still hold up. And yeah, you're spot on with the importance of a good campaign. There's many examples of games that were "designed for esports" that just died immediately. Even SC2 is on it's last breath in esports, but Brood War, a *quarter century* old game designed before esports were even a thing, is still going strong.
in terms of RTS, after pioneers of Dune 2000 and C&C, Total Annihilation by Cavedog was for many years best RTS ever made, only followed by Supreme Commander 1 by Gas Games (ex Cavedog). Now has a spiritual successor in form of Zero-K, available on Steam FOR FREE.
Literally only just started the video (two and a half minutes in) but you've already nailed the biggest problem (and barrier) with "modern" RTS. The lack of a good singleplayer campaign. So many companies focus on the multiplayer in their RTS games, perhaps because of the longevity it offers, but in every single hyper-successful RTS there has ever been, a good story and strong single player campaign has _always_ been present and is what has drawn people in. The path to RTS success isn't multiplayer, that's just how you keep it alive, but it's single-player - that's how you give birth. There is no point keeping something alive if you can't bring it into existence to begin with. RTS' that fail always have one thing in common - a weak single player campaign.
Just came across you video, I'm the cinematic developer for Zero Space, thanks so much for covering our project, we're very excited to showcase the cinematic parts of the game soon!
Well... as a Dane myself... I couldn't help to have to replay the first part of the Dinolords section, just to be sure I heard that right... now that is something
My picks of the most interesting games: ZeroSpace 0:29 Industrial Annihilation 2:43 Global Conflagration 8:51 Red Chaos - The Strict Order 10:14 Dying Breed 11:47 DORF RTS 13:45 Tempest Rising 32:04 Homeworld 3 34:03 (duh. no brainer)
Tempest Rising is my most looked forward to game but i am keeping an eye on a few others. Global Conflagration Barkhan Sanctuary And i will always play a new Stronghold game. Has for AoM I just hope Arkantos does not take a back seat in the story has is the fashion these days.
I consider myself to be a bit of a RTS aficionado, but there were quite a few interesting titles in this list I'd never heard of before. Dinolords and Dust Front are two of those and are now on my Steam wishlist, thanks Zakh!
I think you'd have to admit that RTS really came into it's own when WarCraft: Orcs and Humans was made. You COULD make the argument that it was WarCraft 2, but I'd say it was 1.
I don't know who you hang out with but Starcraft is the most popular RTS in existence. Starcraft 1 is still one of the most popular esports today and Starcraft 2 is more popular than any other RTS.
RTS campaigns are the best. SC2: Wings of Liberty is still THE BEST RTS campaign there is. I wish there was more of THAT out there. I'd play the shit out of it.
The problem is just recently there was a report that a single WoW mount made more money than the whole of Wings of Liberty. It's so hard to justify the funding these days.
Dayamn, I love how you take such a fair approach to Homeworld 3 and Stronghold Unreal. I'm happy to be kept in the loop for both games (along with pretty much all the games listed here! I'm actually at a loss as to start listing which ones I'm pumped about). It'll be curious to see how the Stronghold team strikes a balance between SH1's streamlinedness and SH2's complexity (I'm kinda a fan of the latter, though with some more moderation or manageability). Also it's a good thing you didn't forget to mention Manor Lords, I would have definitely asked about that one >:D
I'm always torn how to list games that did sponsor me, especially if it was recently. I don't want to leave it out because that's as biased as being too positive, so I'm trying to just state the facts and be transparent.
@@GamerZakh I reckon you did it perfectly. Simply declaring they approached and giving a solid honest fact-based shout-out, is definitely doing them justice, and it's also giving the rest of us a decent clear idea of what is indeed known so far from both projects.
"We just need a good one!" Omg, yes! If there's one thing I'm getting sick of, as a gamer, it's developers constantly trying to reinvent the wheel. Like... I just want a good game. It's ok if it's just like games that came before. Holy cow.
Dorf Fortress is one I'm looking forward to. It was a surprise to know it's running on the OpenRA engine. If you're a big fan of C&C, its definitely one to keep an eye on.
I like the look of Dinolords building mode. Global Conflagration looks like an updated Generals Zero Hour, but 2 more years could produce something very good, or just average. StormGate looks like it's trying to do too much imo, could be very polished and nice, the problem is there is so much competition that if something isn't unique even if it's great it might not stand out enough to have big success. Homeworld 3 looks nice, but it's been so long that unless they have a variety of new ships, visuals, etc.and another faction, it probably won't be that successful.
Global conflagration looks like command and conquer particularity tiberium wars 3. That one did have 'God powers' sort of speak and is the only rts I've seen have it and a cool twist that I've not seen since
Executive Assault 2 is a pretty damn good and solid RTS as well, with a nice lil blend of FPS into the mix. The most amazing thing is, with how solid it is and all its unique and surprisingly in depth systems (having to shut down power to a station to open up a locked security door in order to get into the room with the terminal to capture it, for example) is that its all being made by 1 single developer. 'tis good stuff - and I definitely recommend checking it out!
Really hoping for Age of Mythology: Retold to get some few minutes of gameplay released during early 2024. It would be nice to see how it will play out so we can at least tell if it will be comparable to the original in some sense and not completely different in terms of atmosphere and charm, as it is a title people really keep an eye on so i can imagine they want to deliver the best, especially judging from how much work went into Definitive edition of AoE2. In general it feels good to look forward to an actual RTS in modern generation, not to mention one of my favorites.
much to come hpefully something goood, some interesting games in da list i didnt know before..btw. just saw a epic 25 v 25 in BAR they had +9k units on the map + buildings. at one point they scaled the gamespeed for somehow smooth gameplay so we will see how thexy handle it with 10000 units in a map ...
The devs recently said that they plan to have an Early Access period for Stormgate, following the closed beta in December. So it's unlikely that the game will 'officially' release in 2024, but it'll be in Early Access that year.
Last Train From Home is a RTS/Management game set in WW1 that released a few weeks ago. So far it's been MASSIVELY slept on, with barely any content on it, but personally i've loved it, it should get recognised...
Hmmmm After being SORELY disappointed with AoE4 this week… I might meet to boot up EAW again. Nothing like an awesome RTS with soundtrack by John Williams.
I want someone to make a RTS where everything is really modular and customizable. Like you can upgrade your infantry with better armor, weapons, but also promote them and be able to equip them with completely different weapon systems, including experimental. Same with vehicles and aerial units. Base buildings can be outfitted and changed at anytime from being warehouses, to production, to triage centers, to temporary command centers etc. also upgrading trucks from LRMS to mobile command centers etc.
I find it weird how we talk about the tiktok generation exactly how our parents talked about us millennials. Like I remember these exact things being said about me.
@@GamerZakhthat’s because every previous generation looks down on the next, also calling it the TikTok generation is weird considering that TikTok has not been around that long and just like veins will get replaced one day.
The reality is that its a niche genre, and it requires a bit more thinking thatn FPS games which require mostly just twitch reactions and trigger pulls. If you're really top tier, you learn the map and communicate with other players to hold certain points. Also, RTS games quickly become APM competitions in higher tier gameplay, which just turn people off of multiplayer. Not to mention 'meta' and 'cheesing' strategies that make people annoyed because they just want to have fun. Kind of like how super smash bros competitive online gaming is vastly different from just playing to have fun
For clarification: Beyond All Reason is a souped up version of the SPRING Engine that was used to make a souped up version of Total Annihilation. Spring basically copied TA 1:1 but on a better engine and therefore better graphics. So, it's not just a spiritual successor, it basically IS Total Annihilation, but of course not an official one. The original company has gone the way of the dodo decades ago and the rights have been bought buy someone that really doesn't plan to do anything with it. It's a community project through and through and they don't own the rights which is why you'll see a lot of units and concepts that seem to be taken straight out of TA but have a different name. In some cases the names are references to the old units. And for those that ask why BAR is the game to go right now: It's one of the very few true RTS games where you can use grand STRATEGIES instead of just small scale tactics. Like TA and the GOAT of RTS, Supreme Commander (Forged Alliance Forever), it features true physics, infinite zoom, fluid economy mechanics, huge maps, battles of hundreds of units, true aerial dogfights, reclaimable wrecks and the game-shaping feature that you start with a single powerful unit that can fight but also build stuff and that makes you lose the game when it dies (giving the game an actual goal beyond "kill everything"). It's for gourmands and not for the masses, if you preferred Starcraft over Total Annihilation back in the day then you might think BAR is "meh". But, as a niche game, it benefits from the diehard fans that work even harder on it because a game like this is so rare. That's why this project survived more than 2 decades (counting Spring).
So I'd like to add a game for this list. it's not a new one, BUT it is one that is now being updated by a group of fans/players with permission from the original owner of the game: Battle Forge, now called Skylords Reborn. The current group of players, in charge of this now truly free to play RTS, are working towards making new cards, adding new things such as new campaign maps in the form of "custom community" maps with a dedicated group for making more. The yare constantly working towards making the game easier to get into from the way it used to be. such as allowing players to be able to accumulate the ingame currencies is a much easier and faster way compared to the original release. whereas before you could get 2 of the premium currency, you can now gain up to about 400 a day. plus anything you're able to sell to make more on the AH. card prices, in general, are much cheaper than what they used to be, though there are some high value cards that are still more expensive. for game play, they've added new enemies for the random player vs environment game play, and are working towards making more. New factions are also something in current development, with reworks for cards to make as many things just as viable as other more "meta" cards. the player base itself has been one of the best ones i've seen in a long time where more experienced players, even GMs, are more than willing to help new players beat some of the mulitplayer maps with no rewards need. they also have community contest where players can donate high value cards as rewards, plus other tradable things within the game. these contest allow both new and old players to push the limits and try new strategies with limitations to accomplish goals that need to be met for validated runs. and you're able to enter as many runs are you'd like, though there will usually be rules for that such as "only your fastest time will be taken" or "only your most recent run will be taken." though there are some contest where groups can get together to work towards those goals, and with those you are allowed to enter with multiple teams. just each team is only allowed one replay to be used as their entry. there are so many things being done with the game right now, and monthly updates fixing any minor/major bugs. as i said, the new Skylords Reborn project is completely free to play, and the only money that will be accepted are in the form of donations that help keep the servers running, as per the deal with EA letting them do what they want with the game so long as no actual profit is made. the Skylords Reborn team is always looking for more people to join their team to help manage and create more content for the game. I hope that players who remember Battle Forge, and new players even, see this comment and come join us once again.
IMO RTS just need to bite the bullet and embrace the general audience, if that means "dumbing down" or making rts that do not focus on the competitive aspects, then so be it. Most average players don't need another SC2, they need something that's more "casual/fun/silly" like C&C and RA.
i love how in beyond all reason there is anti nuke weapons it makes it so nukes are still a serious threat but not a eat shit i win button like in starcraft
I've been playing RTS games since I was 5 from warcraft 3, starcraft, dawn of war dark crusade, age of mythology I could be a great strategist with my thousands of hours of playing these games.
I was just thinking how much I missed Battle Realms when I started watching this and got so excited when I got to the BR portion! I played BR way more than AoE, Starcraft or Warcraft. Loved all the extremely unique mechanics from stamina to peasants becoming warriors to each unit being important and able to multitask. And the combat was a delight to watch with each character having their own unique ranged and MULTIPLE melee animations. It really felt like watching some crazy old school kung fu movie! REALLY hope more people get to experience rare gem! Also, this video introduced me to a lot of new RTS games but I would also add Silica to this list. It's setting is a bit like Starship Troopers, it has realistic vehicle movement like C&C Generals (my favorite aspect although it needs work), and you can control individual units in third or first person depending on the unit.
Glad you found some new ones! And don't worry I got Silica in my FPS list. Although you can play the commander role, the units are controlled by other people so most people who play that game will be playing a shooter. It's like Savage The Battle For Newerth, where a smaller number of people will want to be the RTS commander role.
It will take sometime to relive the RTS boom again. Immortal Gates of Pyre and Zerospace will definitely be amongst the games that will make this possible
Great video! Thank you for introducing me to these games :) subbed. Ah btw, there is a RTS I found recently called Five Nations, check it out, very starcraft-like.
I know you want RTS and I just feel like we're on the cusp of a comeback for the genre! And this is just the start, Tactics, 4X and more in the upcoming games playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLYVqUDxY6COh7bkuJoBb1koNRX7mAX2yp.html Don't miss all the strategy!
The rts comeback is going to require teaching people how to actually play rts game, and remind people that apm is largely irrelevant unless those actions actually matter.
You can win in sc2 masters league with 60 apm, just make actions that matter.
You can play BAR now it is in testing phases
My 1st RTS PC game was Dune way back in the Jurassic age of computer gaming. Good times. Maybe one day someone will do a good remake of the Empire of the Fading Suns pc game.
Thx for all your lists
where is falling frontier? :p mega hype for that game boss! MEGAHYPE!
@@JohnZingTTV I listed it last year. It says it's gonna release 2023, so I'm going with that.
Thanks for the mention and your support throughout the years, Zakh! Never goes unnoticed!
It will take some time, but in the future, we might have some interesting news. Keep an eye out on us every once in a while. :)
Lotus campaign incoming ;)
My first rts ❤
wait is battlerealms company still lives ? wow...what a happy notice, battle realms is one of the genius RTS i always thought and hoped if it will get a rework/remake or a continuation of some sort just not let it die.
That and Alienshooter, surprisingly enough there isnt a single isometric shooter like it, it was amazing.
@@PNarbz123 that would actually be awesome, really missed it back then, was my favorite faction, especially the flaming breath of the horses^^ (but it's also kinda lame considered the "create as many "wizards" as possible and win every match, and that it wasn't really worth to combine them into warlocks, as those were somehow weaker than the two "wizards" :-/
@@BlackRedDead1943 true, but if I recall the master warlock has a ranged attack now, might be part of the enhanced edition by the team
Beyond all Reason is probably the best title on this list, most fun, most options in game, lots of things to do, already able to play and for free. Knowing how long it takes for many RTS to come out, the letdowns, the imbalance or bad AI, it's tough to find good titles that weren't made 15 years ago+.
Yo thank you for Showcasing and supporting our game again! It means a lot to us, although the game development has taken way more than we wanted, the support we get from content creators does help us quite a lot ❤ Making an RTS isn't easy, especially if you are indie.
Keep up the great work ❤
Yes it seems to be a good video with good research thank you @GamerZakh
Doing the lords work🙏🏼
But Indie rts are some of the best rts
No matter what multiplayers issues Age of Mythology had, the story was so awesome, not many rts games can rise to that lvl. RTS isnt all about going 1v1 or 2v2 in multiplayers, some of them are worth playing because of the campaign stories they had. Thumbs up for Age of Mythology, hope will launch soon !
I've always been about the campaign. Frankly 1 vs 1 is more stressful than fun.
Timeless game!
There was a campaign? I honestly either have forgotten it or never played it. It’s loved the multiplayer even against AI. My buddies and I would have lan parties or I played tournaments for cash with a clan. Loved that game. It was super fun!
@@mikejackson5658 I didn't play the campaign the first time I had AOM but played it on the remake and it was actually pretty good. It's a long campaign and you jump to the other races.
Did it have a good story? I kind of assumed it didn't - like most of the age of empires games didn't really have a story.
Thanks for the video covering D.O.R.F.! 🙏
We'll have some exciting new stuff to show off early next year, so keep an eye out for that.
Sad that there are so many titles about RTS being dead. RTS was hurt due to pandering to the E-sports players rather than the general public. Think once we start getting games like Stormgate we'll get some interest back in the genre.
Beyond All Reason is playable right now and it's easily one of the best RTS you can play, and one of the best RTS ever made. Not joking when people say it's been tuned by fans for fans throughout years. It's nice to see people mentioning it. People should know more about it, because it is an incredible work overall, it's fun and impressively designed, and looks great too
Looks like Total Annihilation. Downloaded.
@@svendragon8139 yeah, like 1 to 1 copy of TA.
@@svendragon8139 If i remember correctly, it's made by Swedish yankspankers. So yes very much a spiritual successor to TA
One of the best ever made...sit down and relax dude...
it's based on it yes @@svendragon8139
Can EA just let go of the Command & Conquer universe so we can have that back? I still think the early days of C&C were far superior to the likes of Starcraft.
Also Empire of the Ants looks insanely cool.
The worst thing about corporations is they prioritise owning things more than anything else. Even if they never have any intention to do anything with it, they will always want to own it. Like Namco trademarking loading screen minigames then never making any loading screen minigames. Or Warner Brothers and the Nemesis system, then making a total of 2 games with the Nemesis system. It's just about ownership.
Tempest Rising for all of us that misses c&c, Ea wont be able to make an better one than Tempest Rising. They used 4 years now ! And keeps working on it. Ea will just use between 1-2 years and release it before it's done
@@GamerZakh That Namco loading screen patent literally deprived us of loading screen minigames for the entire time they could have existed. From now on, games load off of SSDs load so fast that there's no time to do anything during loading anymore. Such a shame, I remember some fun stuff done with it back in the PS2 days...
Im playin c&C gemnerals with mods it also fun to play also sc2 .. theres also general evolutiin more graphics in c&c
Reality is if the original devs of CnC will do a knockoff of that CnC universe (whether tiberium, red alert, or even generals) provided it captured the identity of those, they can revive the genre without using the CnC franchise. Just like how Mobile Legends became considered as unique from League of Legends intellectually although by essence it is pretty much a clone. EA can't sue em since its not CnC and the fans get what they want circumventing the corporate issue.
Rts has never died. Northgard is flourishing among all the fade in and out games.
"Should I list Manor Lords in every single video?" Umm yes!
(Thanks for listing it again, I appreciate it very much)
Love it
i like how these are almost all, Total Annihilation 2, StarCraft 3, Warcraft4, and Command & Conquer Continued. Devs who grew up in the 90s loving these games and wanted a faithful sequel are making them themselves.
I respect and appreciate that -- but also, lets think of something new, right? A lot of Robots vs Meat out there.
honestly what i want from a RTS is a limitless map. like minecraft, with unknown empires over the borders of your fog of war. which as you grow your kingdom you expand into and confront them. where the map would be double what you see which every area you see unlocking another 2 further out. which will either be apart o prior empires or not. so you could play one game for hundreds of hours.
In that case we would need Cray supercomputers to process all of that.
The 8-bit armies series was a ton of fun and the tagline is pretty accurate. It's a very simple game and can often look like it's just big armies smashing against each other but playing at the higher tier of players is a whole different experience.
8-bit?! Bro, you need to touch grass immediately.
I think it depends on what kind of RTS you want. I feel the number of traditional RTS games with base building are pretty limited. Even more so if you want a modern day setting.
yep, theres many RTS out there, but finding a CnC General Zero hour equivalent is significantly harder than just a good RTS
Act of war is a good one
Spellforce 3 reforced!! I fricken love that game.
The idea for Battle Realms is great. There are many games out there which simply don't work on modern systems and even if you do make them work just need polish, more campaign, more units, more work, modern control schemes- you name it. Krush Kill and Destroy comes to mind (available on steam, but has some serious issues).
Yeah plus the original is still available on GOG if someone really wants the original experience, so it's just a good thing to have.
They should still make a second one with better graphics differnet units.
RTS has always been my favorite genre. I haven’t found anything really good for many many years. Until last year, where I discovered a indie gem called Line War 💎. I just can’t stop playing it. It takes away the APM aspect, that I always been stressed out about. Instead it’s slow, and focuses on strategy. Really really fun, but unfortunately struggling a bit with the player base. But I’m here to hoping it will still take off at one point 🤞 I just hit 1.300 hours. My most played steam game, hehe. So far MP only, but SP is on the way. I only play MP anyways tho.
Really many interesting RTS on your list! Thanks for sharing. 👍
If you are oldskool and got raised with the whole TA environment, well that back in the day set the bar so high that even today its hard to find anything equally good or better. Thanks for the tip about line war, will check it out
@@Strange-Viking TA, RA and Generals were the games I spent my time on 👍 Hope you enjoy Line War as much as me. A bit steep learning curve due to unconventional controls. The low player base means mostly good players are playing, but the community is welcoming and eager to help new players 😊
Line war is pretty awesome, but it is currently lacking single player (AI) campaign and skirmish modes. They are working on those.
thank you so much for putting us in your video
"micro without APM" just makes me think of Zeratul in co-op. Sick stalker micro by a-moving the army, it's incredible. I can totally see this becoming a thing for RTS'
"A release date is not a release date, it's a picture of a release date" - this is an epiphanically great sentence.
I didn't care much for it. A date is a date. An expected release date is just a tease - an empty promise at best. 'We'll see'. Might as well skip setting a date, or just see it as a picture.
Forged Alliance Forever is still here with the best RTS to date! I can only wish a modern alternative would show up, imagine taking advantage of multiple cores and having 2-5k units per player?
afaik Sanctuary: Shattered sun is being made by the people behind FaF, and it's probably gonna be just that, THE spiritual successor to Sup Com
isn't Beyond All Reason a pretty much better version?
I'm pretty sure every Supreme Commander fan will want to skin me alive for saying this, but I liked Supreme Commander 2 better. The campaign was actually good, the campaign in the original was not. The pacing was off, missions took too long and their design wasn't all that interesting. (what I played of them anyway, I couldn't finish them)
Barkhan really is the Dune we are waiting(Not Spice Wars), even the Refinery vehicle platform is the same as the one from Dune II. Thank you for this video, I am so happy you are keeping the fight to keep us informed on all the new RTS games
Have you played Dune 2 Golden Path (fan remake)? It used to have a big steam community back in 2014, was a lot of fun MP.
@@Zyzyx442 Sadly I have not, my only return to Dune 2 was when I found it as a browser game, thank you for the tip, will look it up
@@thesamuraialeen It's not really worth it unless for nostalgia, it plays more like C&C than the original which is nice, but it's still just Dune 2. Barkhan like you said look like a true successor and a lot of fun. I always loved Emperor battle for dune myself, but both Dune 2 and Dune 2000 was also a of fun. I don't like modern RTS's that try to streamline too much for accessibility, RTS is simple enough to begin with, at least as long as I get my attack move function :P
@@Zyzyx442 Yea, let's just hope they do a great job with the campaign, I kinda wish for a proper story driven RTS like Empire Earth, Warcraft 3 and the most recent Iron Harvest
I think Spice Wars is more like the novels and the latest film, but it's definitely its own thing and doesn't scratch the itch that Dune 2000 did. Such a great game, a lot of nostalgia for me.
Thanks again Zakh for the RTS support!! :D
I grew up on Starcraft and C&C. Then later Dawn of War. I long for a good RTS again, and I know it's not just the nostalgia talking, because the I've spent the last couple of months replaying Starcraft + Brood War and Warcraft 3 + Frozen Throne. (Remastered for the former, orginal for the latter, I'll never understand how they managed to fuck up Reforged so badly when the Starcraft remaster is excellent) They still hold up. And yeah, you're spot on with the importance of a good campaign. There's many examples of games that were "designed for esports" that just died immediately. Even SC2 is on it's last breath in esports, but Brood War, a *quarter century* old game designed before esports were even a thing, is still going strong.
in terms of RTS, after pioneers of Dune 2000 and C&C, Total Annihilation by Cavedog was for many years best RTS ever made, only followed by Supreme Commander 1 by Gas Games (ex Cavedog). Now has a spiritual successor in form of Zero-K, available on Steam FOR FREE.
Literally only just started the video (two and a half minutes in) but you've already nailed the biggest problem (and barrier) with "modern" RTS. The lack of a good singleplayer campaign. So many companies focus on the multiplayer in their RTS games, perhaps because of the longevity it offers, but in every single hyper-successful RTS there has ever been, a good story and strong single player campaign has _always_ been present and is what has drawn people in. The path to RTS success isn't multiplayer, that's just how you keep it alive, but it's single-player - that's how you give birth. There is no point keeping something alive if you can't bring it into existence to begin with.
RTS' that fail always have one thing in common - a weak single player campaign.
This is so amazing RTS’ Games are making a massive comeback! So cool that lots of indie developers are making these types games again.
Released in 2023 on Steam was Mechabellum. An old man's RTS but still has it's place. Very much so fun.
Dinolords looks like a new version of a game called "Stronghold". Very cool game that I'd love to see updated and polished.
Just came across you video, I'm the cinematic developer for Zero Space, thanks so much for covering our project, we're very excited to showcase the cinematic parts of the game soon!
Well... as a Dane myself... I couldn't help to have to replay the first part of the Dinolords section, just to be sure I heard that right... now that is something
Game looks new, but the idea feels very 90s haha
My picks of the most interesting games:
ZeroSpace 0:29
Industrial Annihilation 2:43
Global Conflagration 8:51
Red Chaos - The Strict Order 10:14
Dying Breed 11:47
DORF RTS 13:45
Tempest Rising 32:04
Homeworld 3 34:03 (duh. no brainer)
Tempest Rising is my most looked forward to game but i am keeping an eye on a few others.
Global Conflagration
Barkhan
Sanctuary
And i will always play a new Stronghold game. Has for AoM I just hope Arkantos does not take a back seat in the story has is the fashion these days.
I consider myself to be a bit of a RTS aficionado, but there were quite a few interesting titles in this list I'd never heard of before. Dinolords and Dust Front are two of those and are now on my Steam wishlist, thanks Zakh!
Thank you so much for the feature!!!
Thank you for featuring our game, Dinolords! We're working on making it more good than weird 😂👍 we're doing devlogs at www.youtube.com/@northplay
I think you'd have to admit that RTS really came into it's own when WarCraft: Orcs and Humans was made.
You COULD make the argument that it was WarCraft 2, but I'd say it was 1.
Well Dune 2, the first RTS as we know it, was already a big success.
Tempest Rising seems the most interesting so far and I am not even a C&C fan. xD
HE SAID STARCRAFT!!! Everyone I’ve mentioned it to have never heard of it but it’s arguably the best rts ever
I don't know who you hang out with but Starcraft is the most popular RTS in existence. Starcraft 1 is still one of the most popular esports today and Starcraft 2 is more popular than any other RTS.
We're getting spoiled with these overviews!
I'm glad you're enjoying them! I found a way to make these without burning out, so I can cover a lot more this year.
BAR beyond all reason is the best rts to ever come out and its not even close, been playing rts games for 25 years+
Don't forget about Manor Lords!
RTS campaigns are the best.
SC2: Wings of Liberty is still THE BEST RTS campaign there is. I wish there was more of THAT out there. I'd play the shit out of it.
The problem is just recently there was a report that a single WoW mount made more money than the whole of Wings of Liberty. It's so hard to justify the funding these days.
Dayamn, I love how you take such a fair approach to Homeworld 3 and Stronghold Unreal. I'm happy to be kept in the loop for both games (along with pretty much all the games listed here! I'm actually at a loss as to start listing which ones I'm pumped about). It'll be curious to see how the Stronghold team strikes a balance between SH1's streamlinedness and SH2's complexity (I'm kinda a fan of the latter, though with some more moderation or manageability). Also it's a good thing you didn't forget to mention Manor Lords, I would have definitely asked about that one >:D
I'm always torn how to list games that did sponsor me, especially if it was recently. I don't want to leave it out because that's as biased as being too positive, so I'm trying to just state the facts and be transparent.
@@GamerZakh I reckon you did it perfectly. Simply declaring they approached and giving a solid honest fact-based shout-out, is definitely doing them justice, and it's also giving the rest of us a decent clear idea of what is indeed known so far from both projects.
"We just need a good one!" Omg, yes! If there's one thing I'm getting sick of, as a gamer, it's developers constantly trying to reinvent the wheel. Like... I just want a good game. It's ok if it's just like games that came before. Holy cow.
Dorf Fortress is one I'm looking forward to. It was a surprise to know it's running on the OpenRA engine. If you're a big fan of C&C, its definitely one to keep an eye on.
Great list and nice insights! You’ve got my sub
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it
I like the look of Dinolords building mode. Global Conflagration looks like an updated Generals Zero Hour, but 2 more years could produce something very good, or just average. StormGate looks like it's trying to do too much imo, could be very polished and nice, the problem is there is so much competition that if something isn't unique even if it's great it might not stand out enough to have big success. Homeworld 3 looks nice, but it's been so long that unless they have a variety of new ships, visuals, etc.and another faction, it probably won't be that successful.
Some of these games really captures the essence of what made classic RTS games so great. I can't wait for the full release of Immortal Gates of Pyre.
wow, i'm sold on the spinoff C&C 11:48, Dune II 16:46 and Total Annihilation 29:00
OMG BAR loooks like a teenager dream haha, I had so much fun doing lan of TA :')
Dinolords looks like Paraworld. I mean, very similar gameplay, and they also have those brutes with dinos.
Cross your fingers for another star wars rts!
This we want
who would be the dev ?
Like Lucasfilm would actually make a smart move
@@archt0r11 EA sports
@@FFFFFFF-FFFFFFFUUUUCCCC probably like a remastered version of Star Wars: Empire at War
Global conflagration looks like command and conquer particularity tiberium wars 3. That one did have 'God powers' sort of speak and is the only rts I've seen have it and a cool twist that I've not seen since
Cnc 3 definitely was one of our top sources of inspiration.
Homeworld 3 hands down!
Executive Assault 2 is a pretty damn good and solid RTS as well, with a nice lil blend of FPS into the mix. The most amazing thing is, with how solid it is and all its unique and surprisingly in depth systems (having to shut down power to a station to open up a locked security door in order to get into the room with the terminal to capture it, for example) is that its all being made by 1 single developer.
'tis good stuff - and I definitely recommend checking it out!
Nice to see Beyond All Reason on the list
Really hoping for Age of Mythology: Retold to get some few minutes of gameplay released during early 2024. It would be nice to see how it will play out so we can at least tell if it will be comparable to the original in some sense and not completely different in terms of atmosphere and charm, as it is a title people really keep an eye on so i can imagine they want to deliver the best, especially judging from how much work went into Definitive edition of AoE2.
In general it feels good to look forward to an actual RTS in modern generation, not to mention one of my favorites.
much to come hpefully something goood, some interesting games in da list i didnt know before..btw. just saw a epic 25 v 25 in BAR they had +9k units on the map + buildings. at one point they scaled the gamespeed for somehow smooth gameplay so we will see how thexy handle it with 10000 units in a map ...
Thanks man, a few more titles for my steam wishlist! ZeroSpace and Godsworn look particularly intriguing !
Glad you found some new ones!
The best voxel RTS, and RTS in general, would be Red Alert 2. The vehicles are voxels.
great list!
6 wasn't wish-listed, thanks!
Thank you! Glad you found some new ones!
That Liquidation looks just like the old Dawn of war games.
The devs recently said that they plan to have an Early Access period for Stormgate, following the closed beta in December. So it's unlikely that the game will 'officially' release in 2024, but it'll be in Early Access that year.
Stormgate looks really good and the devs have alot RTS experience, but god I hate the artstyle and cartoonish characters they went for.
Wow... you said Herzog Zwei! I used to play the hell outta that game on Sega Genesis.
Wow many new games, RTS is my fav genre. Thanks man your videos are always the best
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it
@@GamerZakhThe effort and the research you made was just excellent
The more I see of The Fertile Crescent the more it wins me over, this might be the day!
Beyond All Reason is the one to look out for!
Empire of the Ants looks awesome, i love the concept.
Style-wise i think DustFront had a pretty distinct color palette and that's a big plus.
Last Train From Home is a RTS/Management game set in WW1 that released a few weeks ago.
So far it's been MASSIVELY slept on, with barely any content on it, but personally i've loved it, it should get recognised...
Petroglyph also made star wars empire at war. Greatest rts ever.
Hmmmm After being SORELY disappointed with AoE4 this week… I might meet to boot up EAW again. Nothing like an awesome RTS with soundtrack by John Williams.
@dallinorr6929 considering they just updated it recently too 64 bit yeah I would fixed many issues doing that..crashes, multi-player etc.
Nice list!
👍👍
I want someone to make a RTS where everything is really modular and customizable. Like you can upgrade your infantry with better armor, weapons, but also promote them and be able to equip them with completely different weapon systems, including experimental. Same with vehicles and aerial units. Base buildings can be outfitted and changed at anytime from being warehouses, to production, to triage centers, to temporary command centers etc. also upgrading trucks from LRMS to mobile command centers etc.
There is in the making a game thats similar to what u said is called broken arrow
@@ep--td9tz I’ll check it out thankyou
@@ErrorOptik Broken Arrow and games like that are listed in my Tactics list if you're looking for more of that.
Warzone 2100 and if you want animals impossible creatures
Warzone 2100
i love Godsworn's graphical style
My first PC games were RTS'. It's good to see genre coming back to life.
is it though ? I doubt tik tok generation can handle that.
@@believeroflight9888 The sooner you stop relying on what the tiktok generation have to say the better it is for everyone.
I find it weird how we talk about the tiktok generation exactly how our parents talked about us millennials. Like I remember these exact things being said about me.
@@GamerZakhthat’s because every previous generation looks down on the next, also calling it the TikTok generation is weird considering that TikTok has not been around that long and just like veins will get replaced one day.
7:23 "Shut up, and take my money !!!" (I did love AOM)
You've just added 5 RTSs on my wishlist
OMG, many of these look so good! I am especially interested in the singleplayer- and campaign-focused RTSes!
Where is Manor Lords?
>:|
Starcraft will be always the king. I played it for more than 7 years competitive. Impressive.
The reality is that its a niche genre, and it requires a bit more thinking thatn FPS games which require mostly just twitch reactions and trigger pulls. If you're really top tier, you learn the map and communicate with other players to hold certain points.
Also, RTS games quickly become APM competitions in higher tier gameplay, which just turn people off of multiplayer. Not to mention 'meta' and 'cheesing' strategies that make people annoyed because they just want to have fun. Kind of like how super smash bros competitive online gaming is vastly different from just playing to have fun
For clarification: Beyond All Reason is a souped up version of the SPRING Engine that was used to make a souped up version of Total Annihilation. Spring basically copied TA 1:1 but on a better engine and therefore better graphics. So, it's not just a spiritual successor, it basically IS Total Annihilation, but of course not an official one. The original company has gone the way of the dodo decades ago and the rights have been bought buy someone that really doesn't plan to do anything with it. It's a community project through and through and they don't own the rights which is why you'll see a lot of units and concepts that seem to be taken straight out of TA but have a different name. In some cases the names are references to the old units. And for those that ask why BAR is the game to go right now: It's one of the very few true RTS games where you can use grand STRATEGIES instead of just small scale tactics. Like TA and the GOAT of RTS, Supreme Commander (Forged Alliance Forever), it features true physics, infinite zoom, fluid economy mechanics, huge maps, battles of hundreds of units, true aerial dogfights, reclaimable wrecks and the game-shaping feature that you start with a single powerful unit that can fight but also build stuff and that makes you lose the game when it dies (giving the game an actual goal beyond "kill everything"). It's for gourmands and not for the masses, if you preferred Starcraft over Total Annihilation back in the day then you might think BAR is "meh". But, as a niche game, it benefits from the diehard fans that work even harder on it because a game like this is so rare. That's why this project survived more than 2 decades (counting Spring).
So I'd like to add a game for this list. it's not a new one, BUT it is one that is now being updated by a group of fans/players with permission from the original owner of the game: Battle Forge, now called Skylords Reborn. The current group of players, in charge of this now truly free to play RTS, are working towards making new cards, adding new things such as new campaign maps in the form of "custom community" maps with a dedicated group for making more. The yare constantly working towards making the game easier to get into from the way it used to be. such as allowing players to be able to accumulate the ingame currencies is a much easier and faster way compared to the original release. whereas before you could get 2 of the premium currency, you can now gain up to about 400 a day. plus anything you're able to sell to make more on the AH. card prices, in general, are much cheaper than what they used to be, though there are some high value cards that are still more expensive. for game play, they've added new enemies for the random player vs environment game play, and are working towards making more. New factions are also something in current development, with reworks for cards to make as many things just as viable as other more "meta" cards. the player base itself has been one of the best ones i've seen in a long time where more experienced players, even GMs, are more than willing to help new players beat some of the mulitplayer maps with no rewards need. they also have community contest where players can donate high value cards as rewards, plus other tradable things within the game. these contest allow both new and old players to push the limits and try new strategies with limitations to accomplish goals that need to be met for validated runs. and you're able to enter as many runs are you'd like, though there will usually be rules for that such as "only your fastest time will be taken" or "only your most recent run will be taken." though there are some contest where groups can get together to work towards those goals, and with those you are allowed to enter with multiple teams. just each team is only allowed one replay to be used as their entry. there are so many things being done with the game right now, and monthly updates fixing any minor/major bugs. as i said, the new Skylords Reborn project is completely free to play, and the only money that will be accepted are in the form of donations that help keep the servers running, as per the deal with EA letting them do what they want with the game so long as no actual profit is made. the Skylords Reborn team is always looking for more people to join their team to help manage and create more content for the game. I hope that players who remember Battle Forge, and new players even, see this comment and come join us once again.
tldr
I love those rts game videos.
*Best upcoming FirstPersonShooter Games 2024*
YT: "You forgot Manor Lords"
IMO RTS just need to bite the bullet and embrace the general audience, if that means "dumbing down" or making rts that do not focus on the competitive aspects, then so be it. Most average players don't need another SC2, they need something that's more "casual/fun/silly" like C&C and RA.
Ever since halo wars years ago I didn't think there was any rts game that would top that in quality. Some of these have great potential
its going to be an rts renaissance. Im really looking forward to rts games in 2024.
manor lords. SUPER hyped over that one
I remember the PERFECT balance that was in Dune 2, get a fleet? of Sonic Tanks as Atreides, and you won
i love how in beyond all reason there is anti nuke weapons it makes it so nukes are still a serious threat but not a eat shit i win button like in starcraft
Sanctuary: Shattered Sun kinda looks like a Supreme Commander game. Big shoes to fill, hope they are able to do it!
6:24 Holy boy! This makes me remember Paraworld, a strategy game with Dinosaur theme.
Zero Space looks really cool
Ahhh man thanks for this. I remember playing battle realms at my cousins house and periodically I think about it but could not remember the name
Glad I could help you find it!
I've been playing RTS games since I was 5 from warcraft 3, starcraft, dawn of war dark crusade, age of mythology I could be a great strategist with my thousands of hours of playing these games.
I was just thinking how much I missed Battle Realms when I started watching this and got so excited when I got to the BR portion! I played BR way more than AoE, Starcraft or Warcraft. Loved all the extremely unique mechanics from stamina to peasants becoming warriors to each unit being important and able to multitask. And the combat was a delight to watch with each character having their own unique ranged and MULTIPLE melee animations. It really felt like watching some crazy old school kung fu movie! REALLY hope more people get to experience rare gem!
Also, this video introduced me to a lot of new RTS games but I would also add Silica to this list. It's setting is a bit like Starship Troopers, it has realistic vehicle movement like C&C Generals (my favorite aspect although it needs work), and you can control individual units in third or first person depending on the unit.
Glad you found some new ones! And don't worry I got Silica in my FPS list. Although you can play the commander role, the units are controlled by other people so most people who play that game will be playing a shooter. It's like Savage The Battle For Newerth, where a smaller number of people will want to be the RTS commander role.
Oh. The 8-bit armies games with an extra bit
Dust Front looks amazing holy cow!
It will take sometime to relive the RTS boom again. Immortal Gates of Pyre and Zerospace will definitely be amongst the games that will make this possible
Yay! love your vids.
Thanks! I worked really hard on this one.
Great video! Thank you for introducing me to these games :) subbed. Ah btw, there is a RTS I found recently called Five Nations, check it out, very starcraft-like.