The best games like Command and Conquer might be classic masterpieces, newer titles, or less popular pieces you may want to try.
Selecting Games Like Command & Conquer
We’re looking at RTS games with modern military elements and easy mechanics. Also, some C&C titles include sci-fi elements as well. Other ingredients are:
Best Games Like Command and Conquer
Starcraft Mass Recall And Starcraft Remastered
Starcraft Remastered includes the base 1998 RTS game, plus the following Brood War expansion. The narrative value, music, mechanics, and multiplayer made Starcraft one of the biggest RTS of all time. However, there is an even better and much less glitchy community made Starcraft Mass Recall MOD in Starcraft II engine that does so much more justice to the original than Blizzard. There’re three playable factions. These are the Terrans (humans), Zergs (an insectoid-like alien race), and Protoss (a super-advanced but decaying alien race). In particular, the Terrans appear inspired by Command & Conquer games. The Zerg became the enemy of all life, so the Protoss and the Terran must make an unlikely alliance to survive. Each race has its own campaign. The 1998 expansion, Brood War, expands the story with three additional story arcs. Overall, you’ll find Starcraft’s cinematic storytelling akin to C&C.
Starcraft II
The outstanding sequel stands as one of the best RTS games of all time. It continues the Starcraft storyline while expanding the lore and introducing new mechanics. The entire game has three campaigns (Terran, Zerg, and Protoss). Each campaign follows a particular commander and introduces new mechanics, units, and balance changes. Moreover, there’re RPG systems to improve each faction during your single-player mode. More importantly, the campaign follows a non-linear order. Available missions vary in difficulty and level design. Each one unlocks upgrades, units, and stories for your faction. The base game is free, and it includes the award-winning Terran campaign. It also contains full multiplayer features and some co-op features. The co-op is about special missions where you can use a commander that levels up and has special abilities. Starcraft II campaigns are fun and offer an incredible story. However, the game mechanics and the AI are hard. Don’t be afraid to turn down the difficulty options.
Age of Empires III
Age of Empires III is not the most popular game of the AoE series (that’s AoE II), but it may be the one you’re looking for. The setting is the European Industrial Age, so the game opens up a gunpowder RTS game that includes European, Meso-American, North-American, and Asian factions. The game sets itself apart from its competition by the sheer speed of its gameplay loop. Gathering resources, aging up, and creating an army is fast. For example, military buildings create 5 units at a time. There’re also some light RPG mechanics allowing you to improve factions as you gain XP. Moreover, you unlock “cards,” which you can use during your matches for powerful bonuses. The AoEIII multiplayer is still alive, albeit the single-player campaign is not quite popular. It focuses on an alternate storyline about the European conquest of America. There’s a new definitive
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
1992’s Dune II, based on the homonymous book, inspired the original Command & Conquer game. Both live as the RTS ancestors. Then, AoE II is the cool grandaddy. Microsoft’s 1999’s masterpiece focused on historical campaigns across medieval times. There’re dozens of civilizations to play with (European, Asian, and Meso-American). These offer minor but key differences regarding special units, special techs, and bonuses. We recommend the Definitive Edition, the hugely successful 2019 remaster. It includes all of the older expansions plus two buyable DLCs. That means dozens of campaigns, dozens of civilizations, and great developer support for all of its game modes. Also, the game’s multiplayer scene is still very much alive. It’s not a huge community, but it’s loyal, hardcore, and highly devoted. You can play ranked or unranked matches against other players, team matches, or play the campaigns in co-op mode. Overall, AoEII is easy to learn and understand but hard to master. That makes it appealing for all ages looking for fun, challenging, and classic RTS experiences.
World in Conflict: Complete Edition
World in Conflict is a strategy game where you play the Soviet Union. It’s a military-themed experience focusing on vehicles and infantry platoons. Moreover, the campaign happens in real-life locations, towns, and cities. Akin to Command & Conquer: Red Alert series, the story follows the Soviet Union’s military conquest in 1989. Moreover, one of its key features is similar to C&C: Generals. You can call special reinforcements as airstrikes, carpet bombing, or paratroopers. For innovations, you manage repairs in key locations (like bridges). This extra variety of the core mechanics create a distinct game. There’s also a multiplayer mode. It supports up to 16 players in large team battles. However, the game’s multiplayer scene is gone, so you’d pick this one up for the single-player only.
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War – Master Collection
The Warhammer franchise includes a ton of games across various genres. Dawn of War I & II combines complex military strategy with the rich sci-fi lore Warhammer offers. We’re going for the original title plus its expansions and DLCs. Warhammer’s setting is a fantasy land where various races are in conflict. You’ll play a story-driven campaign as the space marine commander of the Blood Ravens Faction. There’re four available races: Space Marines, Orks, Chaos, and Eldar. These races open epic battles plus distinct abilities, tech trees, units, and weapons. The game made a big name in the RTS scene for its innovations. Some of these included cover, squad-based combat, and a complex morale system. Another key change is resource gathering. You need to hold key locations around the map and fortify these areas to gather its available resources. There’s a Dawn of War trilogy. Although we highly recommend the first, the sequel is worth your money. Dawn of War II increases the game’s brutality while adding a non-linear campaign design, plus the feature to play the whole campaign in co-op mode.
Rise of Nations: Extended Edition
Rise of Nations offers the strategic depth and yet easy-to-grasp systems. Alongside its modern military setup, it has the elements of an all-time classic RTS. Then, Extended Edition enhances the game with textures, visuals, effects, and sounds. Moreover, it includes the expansion campaign. RoN uses a territory system that limits the player’s building area. Over time, you can grow it as you conquer more territory, build defensive structures, and research technologies. Similarly, there’s a great focus on capturing cities and also on holding cities. For example, if you lose a city, you suffer economic and technological consequences. There’re many unique features in Rise of Nations, all of which make it stand in the genre. These include automatic workers, six different resources, many civilizations, and a vast single-player campaign.
Halo Wars: Definitive Edition
Halo Wars is the first RTS game of the Halo franchise. It’s available for consoles, a rarity as controllers and mechanics may become less satisfying. That said, the Definitive Edition is the modern update the title deserves. However, the title offers an entertaining experience. You control squads, vehicles, and ships in a war against The Covenant within the Halo universe. The gameplay loop is simpler than most RTS, overall quite similar to a C&C title. Likewise, the game offers a base-building experience, resource management, and tech trees. Gathering resources requires controlling key locations across the map, so you lose if the enemy destroys your bases. That means Halo Wars encourages defensive play styles rather than strategic attacks. So, base management mechanics are easy and defensive. Yet, the combat gameplay is satisfying and okay for consoles. The sequel, Halo Wars 2 is not available on Steam. If you want to play the 2017 game, you can find it on Microsoft Store. It does represent an upgrade in terms of mechanics, gameplay, and graphics.
Act of War: Direct Action
Act of War is a geopolitical thriller with gameplay mechanics similar to C&C: Generals and C&C: Red Alert 2. These are some of the best titles of the long-running franchise. Either way, Act of War follows powerful agencies plotting against worldwide governments. That happens across 14 single-player missions full of twists and suspense. The gameplay is an old-school RTS experience. That means simple resource gathering plus vehicle-centered military combat. The game also includes some innovative features, though, like using snipers to take down special units. Rounding up the similarities, Act of War includes a rippling storyline that comes with full cinematic cuts. Bestselling author Dale Brown wrote the game.
Total War: Warhammer II
The Total War franchise is not exactly a C&C offspring. But because we talked about the genre’s ancestors and grandfathers, we have to talk about the modern alternatives. If you’re unfamiliar with the saga, Total War works on two fronts. There’s a turn-based system where you develop your civilization and move your armies across the map. The second system is the combat itself. You face the AI in large battles involving hundreds of units (you create unit squads instead of individual units). TW: Warhammer II is the best title of the franchise, or so the fans believe. It has a breath-taking campaign, a gorgeous expansion, various factions, and rich lore. If you have never played a Total War game, I highly recommend this entry. Sadly, it’s not a modern military RTS, but Command & Conquer fans would appreciate how far the genre has come.
