Strategy games can make you feel like a genius in a way that other genres struggle to match - provided you plan carefully enough or make the right off-the-cuff decision at a key moment.
It’s a really satisfying genre to play and has the added benefit of often offering a slower pace for those who aren’t looking to play anything too frenetic.
We’ve gathered our favourite strategy games onXbox Series X and Sright here for you, but you’ll also find other genres to browse in the table below.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns (dupe 2)
Crusader Kings 3
Gears Tactics
The DioField Chronicle
Slay the Spire
Heroic fun
This great card-based strategy game is a world of fun.
A superb strategy game, Midnight Suns' battles revolve around decks of cards that you have for each hero you use, with abilities that synergise together marvellously. It’s a really simple but deep battle system.
This is merged carefully with an expansive story, and you get loads of downtime between missions to get to know some famous and more obscure heroes as you like.
Wide scope
A strategy game with huge scope for interesting twists.
If you want a more realistic setting for your strategic pretensions, then this medieval game could be perfect - it takes place over decades, not mere moments, and lets you try to create a truly lasting dynasty.
Its systems mean you’re guaranteed some unpredictable outcomes and surprises, and it’s all about making connections with the characters you create and their progeny - while they’re alive, at least!
Brutal action
A great twist on what you expect from Gears of War, this lets you take things a lot slower.
A successful spin-off from Gears of War, this tactical game was so popular on PC that it got a great port to consoles, where it looks excellent and plays really smoothly thanks to clever controls.
It gives you a whole new perspective on the battle waged for humanity’s future in the series, featuring the same gory executions from a very different angle.
Real-time fun
A real-time strategy game that still controls really nicely on console.
A real-time strategy game on consoles is a rarer beast thanks to the challenge of moving around a battefield with a controller, but The DioField Chronicle manages it as well as anything we’ve played.
It keeps the battles relatively small but has tactical sophistication to offer up, and it’s paired with an impressively subdued and mature story of war and alliances.
Card-based
A superb deckbuilding roguelike that takes ages to master but is always fun.
This card game is a roguelike one, meaning you build a deck from scratch each time as you attempt to map your way to an eventual victory - one that will take you a while to manage as you learn the ropes.
Once you’re familiar with how it works, the matchups absolutely sing and you start to realise how many strategic combinations are open to you, making it a truly special game.
