5 Best Strategy Games With Campaigns That Go Through Multiple Generations (2024)

The immersive world of strategy gaming has given players the chance to live through long spans of time. From historical epics to future-set space romps, there’s a whole host of games with narratives and experiences that chart multiple centuries and eras.

The result is an epic sense of ownership for players as they grow and cultivate their worlds and societies through the years. Along the way, wars, rulers, trades, and industrial developments may come and go, ensuring an always intriguing, always evolving gaming experience. Of the many multi-generational strategy epics out there, a select few manage to stand out above the rest for their sprawling world-building and all-corners-covered approach to cerebral gameplay.

5 Old World Allows Players To Live Through A Ruling Dynasty

Metascore: 80

• Initial release date: 5 May 2020
• Platforms: Microsoft Windows, macOS, GeForce Now, Mac operating systems
• Developer: Mohawk Games

This well-regarded 4X journey throws players into a rich dynasty simulation. To start with, gamers take control of a world leader in ancient times, moving through the many personal and professional requirements of the job.

Running through every aspect of an emperor’s life, the game sees players eventually have their character marry and raise a family. When the time comes, the original player character dies, and gamers get to run through the next generation of their empire and so on. The game’s narrative branches are full of unpredictable twists and turns, with a large helping of both political and familial intrigue to sift through.

4 Europa Universalis 4 Takes Players On An Epic Journey Starting In The Middle Ages

Metascore: 87

This wide-reaching epic revolves around actual historical events, with the game unfolding around them. Players take control of a nation, beginning their gaming experience in a Middle Ages setting.

From there, gamers get to move through several centuries of historical interest and development, making it all the way to the 19th century. In order to develop their nation successfully, players must get a grip on its finances, military strength, political systems, and more. From there, the potential to build an empire grows, with options of both military force and becoming a trading superpower presenting themselves. Despite the emphasis on history, the game is not bound to now reality played out, with players getting plenty of chances to rewrite key historical moments and wars depending on how they play the game.

3 RimWorld Offers A Supremely Detailed Look At Space Colonization

Metascore: 87

Taking players far into the future, RimWorld provides the opportunity to develop new colonies in deep space. Humans are now scattered across the stars, with new colonies developing at a variety of different rates from planet to planet.

Players are assigned a randomly developed world to begin their journey on. With a heavy emphasis on construction, gamers get to build and grow their colony and presence in the universe over time, eventually leading to spaceship development and war. The randomized events lend a sense of unpredictability to the gaming experience, as players can take their time developing their world, often with large amounts of time passing in-game. Overall, it’s a compelling, often unpredictable, strategy and management epic.

2 Civilization 6 Provided A New Peak For The Long-Running Series

Metascore: 88

This ambitious, turn-based hit sees players begin their civilization-building objectives early on in human history. From there, they get to develop it over thousands of years, covering a variety of time periods, and many generations, in the process.

In order to succeed as a powerful presence on the world stage, players have several options to roll with. These include dominating through technological progress and using excessive military might in order to conquer other lands. With so many periods of history covered, Civilization VI is a long-haul gaming experience that allows players to satisfyingly grow their settlements from the ground up and witness an impressive number of generations come and go in the process.

1 Crusader Kings 3 Is A Character-Driven Masterclass In Strategy Gaming

Metascore: 91

This grand-strategy epic takes players on an immersive ride through the Middle Ages. The game sees gamers develop a dynasty over several centuries, covering multiple generations of their original player character’s lineage in the process.

Crusader Kings III’s commitment to character detail set it apart from many of its grand strategy peers at the time of its release. With fully fleshed-out 3D character designs, the game allows players to customize many aspects of their characters. Interestingly, it also taps into the lifestyle of the player character, with visible changes taking place depending on the character’s overall health and well-being. With a variety of societal systems, wars, and political intrigue to discover, Crusader Kings III is an addictive, incredibly detailed masterclass in strategy gaming.