The 24 Best Games Like Command and Conquer

The release of Command and Conquer’s Remastered Edition has brought back a lot of veterans to this genre-defining title while simultaneously introducing a whole new generation of players to it. However, a game this good will naturally leave you wanting more base building and real-time strategy content than it can offer.

Not a lot of games manage to provide the level of simultaneous enjoyment and brain-teasing encounters that this one has. Fortunately, this list of some of the best games like command and conquer should give you enough options to choose from to scratch the RTS itch that it has left you with.

The first Command and Conquer game was originally released in 1995 and later remastered in 2020. A ton of other titles in the series have been released over the between these two games and have often been popular among RTS game fans.

RTS games to play if you like command and conquer

If you’re looking for another RTS game to move on to after experiencing the wonder of Command and Conquer, here are some of the best titles out there right now.

The Age of Empires II definitive edition

The Age of Empires II definitive edition

You could pick up almost any game in the Age of Empires series and find it to be a suitable replacement for games like command and conquer. However, the remastered version of the 1999 game Age of empires II is not only seen as one of the best entries in this series but also one of the best RTS games to exist.

Each match in Age of Empire requires building a base that can train various units for your army. Depending on the strategies and empires you decide to go with, You can spend varying amounts of time farming resources and building a defensive stronghold, before taking over your foes’ kingdoms.

You can either choose to play the story campaign mode that lets you go through various battle sequences involving different empires, or play with or against your friends in a fun multiplayer mode.

Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty

Starcraft 2 Wings of Liberty

Even when released at the height of real-time strategy games, Starcraft 2 managed to make its name as one of the best games of its kind with its ability to simultaneously be friendly to beginners while having a surprising level of depth.

Upon completing hours of amazing single-player content, you can step into the world of starcraft’s multiplayer battles where you will be able to use all the training you have gained through the story campaign.

In a genre crowded with games whose settings try to either recreate reality or an altered version of it, the Sci-fi themes of Starcraft 2 feel fresh, even as a game that is over a decade old.

Rise of Nations

Rise of Nations

Rise of Nations is a strategy game that will not only feel like a treat to fans of the Command and conquer series but the Civilization series alike as it draws some of the best elements from both of them to give players a remarkable RTS experience.

Instead of sending players down the traditional route of a deep and engrossing storyline, Rise of Nations’ single-player campaign lets you play ‘Conquer the world’ which places you on the map with a small amount of land to yourself. The mode then requires you to slowly beat other empires and take over the world, one victory at a time.

The replayability of the game is what keeps players hooked to it. You are offered a choice of 18 different nations, each with its unique attributes. Using combinations of different strategies and nations can keep you occupied for hours together.

Iron Harvest

Iron Harvest

Taking place in an alternate universe with ambitiously designed machines deeply integrated into the events of history, Iron Harvest adds just the right amount of absurdity to bring a fresh take on the RTS genre.

Each match in Iron Harvest focuses on combat and increasing your lead through the takeover of resources and new areas on the map.

Unlike a lot of other RTS games, Iron Harvest makes base building a secondary focus by making the experience relatively automated. You will instead need to devote your attention to other areas of the game that relate to combat.

World in Conflict

The 24 Best Games Like Command and Conquer 1

Not many real-time strategy games come with the number of fun gameplay moments in both; the single-player campaign and the multiplayer mode that World in Conflict does.

With remarkable storytelling and a great voice acting cast, this game manages to give players an intriguing story that uses the age-old alternate reality trope surprisingly well. That, combined with RTS gameplay that manages to emulate the feeling of first-person shooters makes World in Conflict worth a shot.

The rapidly-paced multiplayer experience of the game not only manages to rival its story mode but even surpasses it in the eyes of many. Unlike games that encourage you to prepare your defenses, World is conflict requires you to quickly create your units and send them off.

War for the overworld

War for the overworld

‘War for the overworld’ is a real-time strategy game like Command and conquer played as a dungeon management game where you play the villain in charge of it.

The game focuses on building dungeons with strategic depth and using your underlings to take down the enemies that try to invade the space you built. Various rooms, spells, and units are available to experiment with, giving you a huge variety of options to mess around with.

You can choose from 6 game modes to play in, including the main campaign, a skirmish mode, and a fun online PvP mode.

Supreme Commander II

Supreme Commander II

As an RTS game, Supreme commander II is often praised for its ability to be welcoming to new players while still maintaining a level of depth that rewards experienced players with an edge.

The size of the maps available in Supreme commander II combined with their choice of units gives players a ton of opportunity for strategic variation. Experimental units add an extra layer of chaos to the games, while still managing to keep them balanced.

Even as a game that involves quick thinking, Supreme commander II can be a relaxed game that keeps you entertained with rapid mouse clicks.

Company of Heroes

Company of Heroes

Even as a game released in 2006, Company of heroes holds up against a lot of real-time strategy games released today due to its focus on satisfying gameplay features. Along with its DLCs, the game includes multiple single-player and multiplayer campaigns, each that will test your strategic capabilities.

If you like Company of Heroes but are still discouraged by the outdated graphics of the game, Company of Heroes 2 released in 2013 might be the game for you. This prequel changes a few things about the game but comes with much better graphics than the first.

Halo Wars

Halo Wars

Taking place in Halo’s game world, Halo Wars is an RTS game that manages to stay true to the genre’s elements of strategy while setting its pace to try and match the rapidly evolving games that Halo players are used to.

As expected from a game in the series, Halo Wars brings the RTS scene to a beautiful Sci-Fi environment that will make veteran players of the FPS games feel right at home.

The game’s fast-paced gameplay may not leave room for the depth of base building that a few other RTS games offer. However, it instead lets you experience a fresh take on the genre with battles that require you to quickly launch attacks at your enemy.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

Shadow Tactics Blades of the Shogun

Unlike most games on this list that only require you to build the strongest army and ambush your foes, Blade of Shogun focuses on your ability to stealthily take out your opponents. Each character’s unique skill set requires you to analyze every opportunity to decide who would work best in these unique scenarios.

Empire Earth series

Empire Earth is easily one of the more complicated games on this list. The Smart AI and large Variety of units may not always be incredibly welcoming to newer payers. However, it does provide the necessary difficulty for players that like the challenge.

Star Wars Galactic Battleground

Star Wars Galactic Battleground

With a variety of accurately themed units and buildings, this 2001 RTS game is a treat for Star Wars fans. Like most base builders, you will need to manage your resource and build armies that can fight for your side to take your enemies down.

Total Annihilation

Total Annihilation is one of the oldest RTS games on this list, perfect for anybody who loves retro games. It offers players a wide variety of over 150 units in addition to ones from expansions packs to experiment your strategies with.

LOTR: Battle for middle earth

How much you like this Lord of the Rings game will heavily depend on your love for the source material. The game’s prime focus is to emulate the movies while giving players a certain degree of freedom to feel like they’re a part of it. You will find epic moments from the movies in the game, mostly voiced by the original cast.

Europa Universalis IV

Europa Universalis IV

Not many games with a historical element manage to provide the empire-building experience that Europa Universalis IV does. The game puts a respectable effort into making itself not only realistic in terms of history, but also with the consequences of your actions as you try to manage your nation.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

Deserts of Kharak manages to not only fill in the shoes of its predecessors but build on what it is known for. This new version of Homeworld puts a heavy focus on giving players a massive amount of strategic control with the provision of all the information they need to make their decisions.

General Strategy games like Command and Conquer

The following games are not generally considered to be real-time strategy games, but have a lot in common with Command and Conquer. If you are moving on after spending hours playing it, these titles will make you feel right at home.

The Warhammer 40,000 series

Originally introduced as a tabletop game played with little miniatures, the Warhammer 40,000 is now a popular video game series. These games will require you to make strategic decisions as you can take on your foes, each with their own flavor.

With turn-based strategy titles released for over two decades, the Warhammer series has a bunch of games like command and conquer that can fill the void that it may have left in your heart.

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus is a good place to start the series. It is one of the better games available, and its recent release makes it similar to games you might have already played.

Diplomacy is not an option

Diplomacy is not an option

If you enjoy the base-building aspects of RTS games like Command and conquer and Age of Empires but are not a fan of everything that comes after it, this might be the game for you.

‘Diplomacy is not an option’ is a tower defense strategy game that requires you to build a strong defensive base that can ward off enemy units to keep your kingdom safe. The rules binding the world of the game like the scarcity of resources and the presence of human troubles like diseases present additional layers of challenge to the game, only making it more fun.

The visual design and soundtrack of ‘Diplomacy is not an option’, in addition to its strategic elements make the game a fun, light-hearted experience that can keep you hooked for longer than you would expect.

They are Billions

They are Billions takes base building to a reality where the zombie apocalypse is upon the world, which puts you in charge of building a well-defended area that can fight off the zombies and keep what remains of humanity safe.

The story campaign of the ‘They are Billions’ provides you with several hours of enjoyable content while simultaneously preparing you for other modes of the game that will test your strategic thinking.

The game manages to strike the right balance between high stakes and calm thinking by adding elements like a spreading infection that can take over your town while still giving you the required pauses to rationalize your way out of a tricky situation.

Warpips

Warpips

With a huge emphasis on strategy and long-term plans, Warpips is a tower defense-styled game with a cartoonish feel of modern warfare.

The objective of your Warpips games is to take over the entire map by defeating your foes in the areas they own. Each area has specific enemy troops that can be viewed with a click so you can focus on finding the perfect counters to them among your roster of units. Taking over each region also rewards you with new troops that you could use in future encounters.

While the game can easily cause you to think about your strategies for a while before you hit play, they will rarely ever cause you to be to feel frustrated about a loss. The quick 15-20 minute length of games leaves a lot of room for experimentation without putting much pressure on a quick reset.

Going Medieval

If you’re a fan of medieval settings and city builders, this might be a great title for you to explore. Going Medieval will allow you to build a fortress for yourself with an extensive amount of room for customizations before requiring it to defend you and your troops.

In addition to the elements of tower defense that Going Medieval brings to the table, it also includes an additional dimension of resource management to ensure that the units fighting for you are taken care of.

While the game page on steam includes a roadmap for future content, going medieval is still in its early access phase.

Total War: Warhammer III

Total War: Warhammer III

The Total War series has always been known for its remarkable turn-based strategy gameplay. The latest addition to the series ‘Total War: Warhammer III’ has brought a whole new set of improvements to the core features the series relied on, making it one of the based games to move on to from games like Command and Conquer.

Act of War: Direct action

With its main focus on a single-player campaign, this 2005 title puts you on the side of ‘TALON’- a task force put together to deal with enemies that try to spread chaos.

The command and conquer series left an impact on the genre that was difficult to recreate. Fortunately, these RTS and general strategy games like Command and conquer brought their own style to the genre in a way that let players move on to them from it.

Don’t forget to check out our lists of 15 Games like Teamfight Tactics and 20+ Games like Warframe!

Do you agree with this list? Do you know of any other great RTS games? Let us know in the comment section below.

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