Are you wondering what to play next? There are so many good games out there, but sometimes you just want a specific kind of game to feed your gaming hunger! How about a good strategy game to keep you entertained.
This is our pick of the best strategy games released on the Nintendo Switch. All these games have been reviewed on LadiesGamers and aren’t in any particular order.
Airborne Kingdom ( Switch, Steam, Xbox & Playstation)
Airborne Kingdom is a city builder with a difference. The difference is that you grow your unique town among the clouds and fly it across a wide-open landscape.
Upon starting the game, a lengthy opening cutscene plays out. A tale from long ago about a kingdom in the skies. The Airborne Kingdom travelled far and wide through the skies sharing their knowledge, culture and tradition. But, alas, many of the people returned to the land over time and have forsaken the skies. So the wonder of being masters of the sky soon became artefacts of a bygone age.
Until now, that is. Re-discovering those artefacts and the mysteries of the ancient civilisations and gaining the allegiance of the great cities on the ground is key to achieving your ultimate goal. The game was developed by The Wandering Band and published by Freedom Games. You can find our Airborne Kingdom review here.
Cities Skylines (Switch, Steam, PS4, & Xbox One)
Cities Skylines is a very popular city-building strategy game on PC that has been around for a few years with various DLC drops added to the main game. Cities: Skylines is a modern take on the classic city simulation. The Nintendo Switch version comes with a newly designed UI especially designed for the Switch. It also comes with two DLC’s: After Dark and Snowfall, which adds night-time leisure activities and wintry conditions to the base game.
Constructing your city from the ground up is easy to learn, but hard to master. Playing as the mayor of your city you’ll be faced with balancing essential requirements such as education, water, electricity, police, fire fighting, healthcare and much more along with your city’s real economy system. You can read my thoughts on Cities Skyline in the review.
Railway Empire ( Switch, Steam, PS4, & Xbox One)
Railway Empire begins in the United States, 1830: ‘The New World’ is in its ascendancy. The industry is booming, and the race is on to establish the most dominant and powerful rail empire in all of North America. It’s time to outthink and outmanoeuvre your competitors as you lead your company into the 20th century!
In Railway Empire, you create an elaborate and wide-ranging rail network, purchase over 40 different trains modelled in extraordinary detail, and buy or build railway stations. You can build maintenance buildings, factories and tourist attractions to keep your travel network ahead of the competition. You’ll also need to hire and manage your workforce if you want to ensure an efficient train service. You’ll develop over 300 technologies ranging from mechanical improvements to the trains themselves to workplace infrastructures and advanced amenities as you progress through five eras of technological innovations.
However, you can’t just build and research your way to the top! The competition never sleeps, and to keep your business on track you’ll have to survive against up to three rival tycoons. To get to the top you may have to resort to more cutthroat tactics as you attack and sabotage your opponents through raids and industrial espionage. This is another one I reviewed and you can read the review here.
Tropico 6 Nintendo Switch Edition (PS4, Xbox One & Steam)
Tropico 6 is the sixth game in the long-running Tropico series of simulation, strategy games. It is the first in the series to be released on the Nintendo Switch. You can find our review for Tropico 6 here.
In times of political turmoil and social unrest, the people are calling for visionary leaders, who will steer the fate of their country with foresight and ingenuity. You take on the role of El Presidente either as a feared dictator or peace-loving statesman on the island state of Tropico. You must shape the fate of your nation through four distinctive eras. Face new challenges on the international stage and always keep the needs of your people in mind.
You’ll manage extensive archipelagos, build bridges to connect your islands. Use new means of transportation and infrastructure. Send your Tropico on raids to steal the wonders of the world. Such as the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. Customize your palace at will and give election speeches from your balcony, to win the favour of your subjects.
Bad North Jotunn Edition (Switch, Steam, PS4, PS4, Xbox One & iOS)
Bad North is a charming real-time tactics rogue-lite. Defend your idyllic island kingdom against a horde of Viking invaders, as you lead the desperate exodus of your people. Your home is under attack. The king is dead at the hands of Viking invaders. Hope is a distant glimmer in the fog, fading fast with every passing moment.
Bad North tasks you with leading your troops and fight off the invading Vikings. It is wonderfully simple to pick up and play. But also cleverly incorporates a lot of depth to keep things interesting. James had a look at Bad North and you can find his thoughts on the game in his review.
Curious Expedition ( Switch, Steam, PS4, & Xbox One)
The goal of Curious Expedition is to survive six expeditions and emerge with more Fame points than your rivals. Take on the role of famous historical personalities. Venture forth on expeditions to unexplored regions on a quest for fame, science and, of course, fortune! Take part in the glory and wonder, but also the horror and peril that is the constant companion of the explorer.
Race to halfway around the world and beyond in competition for fame or infamy with your colleagues and rivals at the Explorers Club. Raise your reputation and win the ultimate recognition through donations to the museum, or line your pockets with your looted riches. Elena took a look at Curious Expedition, you’ll find her thoughts on the game here. Elena also wrote our Curious Expedition 10 Tips for New Players guide.
Curious Expedition 2 ( Switch, Steam, PS4, Xbox One)
Sail once again to fame and fortune! Just know that infamy and misfortune are always around the corner. Like the first Curious Expedition, this sequel is a tightrope walk between risk and reward. That’s what makes it deliciously addictive.
Old fans of the first game may not love everything about the sequel. Several key elements have changed, for better or worse. But overall, I would call Curious Expedition 2 a delightful improvement. Check out our Curious Expedition 2 review here.
Kingdom Rush Origins ( Switch, Steam, iOS & Android)
Kingdom Rush Origins is the third instalment of the award-winning Kingdom Rush Tower Defence saga.
Take a trip back to the beginning, before Vez’nan ever thought to threaten the kingdom with the gem of power. In Kingdom Rush Origins you command your elven army and defend mystical lands from sea serpents, evil sorcerers, and wave after wave of gnoll tribesmen. all with the help of towers, heroes, and spells to fend off every last baddie.
There is a ton of content to delve into. Beyond the sizeable campaign which has four separate difficulty levels, ranging from casual to impossible. There’s a host of achievements to unlock as well. Plenty to keep die-hard TD fans busy and happy. You can find my review of Kingdom Rush Origins here.
The Colonists (Switch, Steam, PS4 & Xbox One)
The Colonists is a settlement building game inspired by classic titles like The Settlers and the Anno series on PC. If you have played either of those games, you will probably feel right at home with The Colonists.
In The Colonists, you play as a group of self-replicating robots which were originally designed to help gather resources for humans back on Earth. Instead of serving their human masters, the robots decided to rebel and set out on their own path, away from those pesky humans.
The bots are designed to simulate human colonies, so they need food and energy and various other resources, much like humans. Your job is to help them get their fledgeling colonies up and running. You can read our review of The Colonists here.
A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism (Switch & Steam)
Artdink has been developing the A-Train Train simulation franchise since the 1980s, and if you’re a sim fan, you might have played A-Train 3D: City Simulator on Nintendo 3DS in 2015. While immensely popular in Japan, the series has rarely risen above cult status in the West.
A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism has launched on Nintendo Switch, introducing, as the name would suggest, tourism to its urban planning gameplay, and there is a goal of transforming towns into bustling tourism capitals. Of course, A-Train isn’t just your average city-building sim, it is based around mass transit, particularly trains and the railway and so much more besides. You can read our review of A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism here.
Civilization VI (Switch, Steam, PS4, Xbox One & iOS)
Civilization VI + DLC Packs, Rise and Fall, Gathering Storm & New Frontier Pack.
We couldn’t have a list of the best strategy games on the Nintendo Switch without including Civilization VI. Yvonne originally reviewed Civilization VI when it was released. Since then the developers have released a series of DLC packs over the last few years. Making an already deep and engrossing strategy game even bigger than it was.
Originally created by legendary game designer Sid Meier, Civilization is a turn-based strategy game in which you attempt to build an empire to stand the test of time. Explore a new land, research technology, conquer your enemies. Go head-to-head with history’s most renowned leaders as you attempt to build the greatest civilization the world has ever known.
You will find all out guides to Civilization VI here, and don’t forget to check back often as the guides are updated often.
Are you a fan of Strategy games on the Nintendo Switch? If so feel free to leave us a comment below.