Summary
- Video games have showcased warring factions authentically, offering exciting experiences for players firsthand.
- Some games integrate war as a background, while others make it a central gameplay feature; each offering a unique approach.
- Games like Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Fire Emblem, and Triangle Strategy exemplify engaging storytelling and strategic gameplay in the war genre.
Game of Thrones redefined TV when it premiered in the late 2000s and carried through the mid-2010s. It was exciting to see so many factions, nations, and kingdoms battling each other realistically with any main character up for the slaughter. Before Game of Thrones, video games had plenty of setups like these and they were often more exciting because players got to experience them firsthand.
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Some games used warring plot lines as backdrops while others incorporated the idea into the gameplay more. There are plenty of recent examples too, so let’s get through the best and rank how well they handle everything from the stories to the gameplay.
7
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Resurrecting The Dead To Find An Endless War
- Released
-
July 29, 2022
- Publisher(s)
-
Nintendo
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the one game in the series about a big conflict. The setting shows that two nations are battling it out: Keves and Agnus. It’s a seemingly never-ending war and it’s slowly revealed that is the case on an almost literal level. When people die on the battlefield, they are later resurrected through cloning.
Eventually, factions within those nations, led by Noah and Mio, slowly unravel the truth and try to fight back against the secret organization controlling both sides: Ouroboros. There are scenes of war but there are never any big battles, making Xenoblade Chronicles 3 a good example but not an active one.
6
Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War
A Musou Breaks Out In Europe
- Released: August 30, 2007
- Developer: Omega Force
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Most fans of Musou games will be familiar with Dynasty Warriors or Samurai Warriors as Koei Tecmo and Omega Force helped produce quite a few of them. Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War is a more forgotten spinoff that was about the titular Hundred Years’ War between England and France. While there is a lot of hack-and-slash action, the gameplay is a bit more nuanced as generals can control squads of men and patrol the battlefield.
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Of the many Musou games out there, this one can help players feel the most like they are in the middle of a war as it’s not just a one-man show via thousands of troops. Bladestorm: Nightmare, to note, is a better version of this as it’s both a remaster and a sequel.
5
Final Fantasy 16
Betrayal From Within
- Released
-
June 22, 2023
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
Final Fantasy 16 is the most Game of Thrones coded in the entire series. There are a bunch of warring nations all vying for power and the game begins with The Grand Duchy of Rosaria, The Crystalline Dominion, The Holy Empire of Sanbreque, The Dhalmekian Republic, The Kingdom of Waloed, and The Iron Kingdom all behaving honorably.
Then The Grand Duchy of Rosaria is attacked which was an inside job thus catapulting the plot into full motion with Clive, the hero, seeking revenge against all who oppose him. Also, Clive loses his brother, Joshua, in the fight and the rest of the game is a big redemption arc as he uses his power of Ifrit to take revenge and liberate other nations from corruption.
4
Suikoden
Building An Army From Scratch
- Released
-
December 15, 1995
The first two Suikoden games are great examples of the PS1. From the beginning, Suikoden allows players to build a rebellion within the Liberation Army. They start from scratch without many allies and their base is almost barren. Throughout the game, players can recruit over a hundred characters to take into battle or to station at the base as shopkeepers or innkeepers.
Most of the game is a classic turn-based RPG but there are sections where players will go into big battles against thousands of Imperial Army troops. Making the wrong moves in these fights can even lead to characters succumbing to permadeath, so the stakes can get high.
3
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
From School Brawls To Continental Wars
- Released
-
July 26, 2019
- Publisher(s)
-
Nintendo
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
Every Fire Emblem game is about two or more warring kingdoms in some fashion. Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a great entry though because it gives players a diverse set of choices. The game begins in a military academy wherein the hero, Byleth, can side with Claude of the Golden Deer and Leicester Alliance, Dimitri of the Blue Lions and the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and Edelgard of the Black Eagles who serves the Adrestian Empire.
Whoever players side with in school will determine the rest of the game as a war will break out between all three nations after a time skip. Some battlefields even have players fight both sides simultaneously which is unique for the series as are the branching storylines.
2
Triangle Strategy
A War Over Salt
- Released
-
March 4, 2022
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Strong
Triangle Strategy is another tactical RPG and it all starts with the neutral House Wolffort who helps broker a deal between nations to mine for salt. This pact is eventually withdrawn and war breaks out between the Kingdom of Glenbrook, the Grand Duchy of Aesfrost, and the Holy State of Hyzante. Players assume the role of the new head of House Wolffort, Serenoa, who can choose who to side with and where to go during pivotal scenes.
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There are different endings and scenarios depending on how players do and there is indeed a true ending that highlights a big mastermind behind everything, which is better integrated than Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The tactical gameplay is engaging as are the characters players can recruit for their skirmishes along the way.
1
Unicorn Overlord
Bow Down Before Vanillaware’s Freedom Fighter
- Released
-
March 8, 2024
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
Unicorn Overlord incorporates war into the gameplay and story nicely. It begins with a kingdom falling under the rule of Queen Ilenia and her son, Alain, escapes to live another day. The game skips ahead ten years when the Zenoirian Empire has more or less taken over the world including the nations of Drakenhold, Elheim, Bastorias, and Albion. Alain will find allies to help resurrect the greatness of his fallen kingdom and help liberate the rest of the world as well.
Unicorn Overlord is a combination of tactical RPGs and RTS games as players can set up squads and then they will engage in battles automatically once they transition into a conflict on the battlefield. It’s one of the most ambitious Vanillaware games ever which shows the horrors of war along with giving a positive message of uniting through diversity.
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