Critical Moves - Strategy Gaming

Critical Moves - Strategy Gaming

por Critical Moves Podcast

Heroes of Might and Magic: OE or Endless Legend 2. Which Is Better? (Ep.52)

Jack and Adam compare two modern revivals of strategy design: Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era and Endless Legend 2. We cover how HOMM OE modernises the classic loop, the daily and weekly map rhythm, city growth, unit upgrade forks, and where it stumbles with a cluttered spell UI and questions about handcrafted maps. We dig into Endless Legend 2’s Civ-style shell with heroes anchoring armies, event chains that create real attachment, and the tides mechanic that reshapes the map, plus the tutorial build crashing on our end and why it still kept us playing. The thread through both is a character-led 4X style that looks like Civ but plays closer to HOMM and Age of Wonders, with smaller tactical scopes and more authored micro-stories. https://criticalmovespodcast.com

Steam NextFest Special (Ep.51)

Adam, Jack, and Tim dig into the October 2025 Steam Next Fest lineup. They highlight the most promising strategy titles, the ones to skip, and talk about how Steam’s visibility system shapes the fortunes of indie developers. The discussion covers what works, what doesn’t, and why the algorithm can make or break smaller strategy games. https://criticalmovespodcast.com

RTS Is Quietly Having a Comeback (Ep.50)

Nuno, Al, and Jack talk about how modern real-time strategy has changed — and improved. Dawn of War: Definitive Edition shows the strength of classic design, while new projects like Tempest Rising and Broken Arrow push toward a leaner, more deliberate form of RTS. The conversation covers what recent games are getting right, where design has shifted, and why the future looks more promising than it has in years. https://criticalmovespodcast.com

The Future of Total War (Ep.49)

Al, Tim and Joe come together to discuss the future of the Total War franchise ahead of Creative Assembly's December announcement on what to anticipate next from the studio. With a look at what games the hosts expect to see and which ones they would love to see, the conversation covers settings such as Star Wars, Warhammer 40K and Lord of the Rings, along side what Medieval III might look like, or if Total War: Empire 2 will see the series return to the era of colonialism, sailing ships and cavalry charges into line infantry. https://criticalmovespodcast.com

Asymmetry: The Secret Ingredient in Strategy Games (Ep.48)

Asymmetry is one of the defining features of strategy games, but it’s also the source of endless arguments. Giving players different factions, units, or victory conditions creates tension and variety, but it also creates balancing headaches. Designers fight with trade-offs: too much asymmetry and one side can dominate, too little and the game turns bland. In historical wargames, asymmetry is unavoidable - real conflicts aren’t fair fights - and that raises the harder question of how much accuracy should be sacrificed for the sake of playability. This episode looks at faction design, uneven objectives, and the constant push and pull between theme, balance, and player experience. https://criticalmovespodcast.com

Double Vision: The True State of 4X (Ep.47)

In this episode we brought in Ricky and Drexy from eXplorminate to correct the mistakes we made in episode 41 on the state of 4X. The discussion pulls apart what separates 4X from grand strategy, where games like Stellaris, Total War and Victoria 3 sit, and why the labels aren’t always useful. We cover direct control versus large-scale influence, why Total War is neither 4X nor grand strategy, the failure of Humankind’s civ-swapping mechanic, and how Ara History Untold burned out with poor pacing and clumsy systems. We get into DLC bloat, feature creep, and how these games drive away new players while locking in the hardcore. There’s also a look at the economic side of strategy games and why most 4X titles still avoid it. The state of 4X isn’t good. Innovation attempts usually collapse under bad execution, old titles feel dated, and sequels keep recycling the same template. Grand strategy keeps its audience, but only by demanding an enormous investment of time and patience. https://criticalmovespodcast.com https://explorminate.org

Beyond All Reason – Behind the Scenes of BAR (Ep.46)

Beyond All Reason (BAR) is a free open-source real-time strategy game based on Total Annihilation. In this episode we interview community manager PtaQ and our very own Timothy. Learn about RTS game development, community-driven gaming projects, epic-scale strategy battles with thousands of units, upcoming campaign mode, new faction releases, and Steam launch plans. This strategy gaming podcast episode covers BAR's 60,000+ Discord community management, volunteer-based game development, the "Ragnam Method" for redesigning legacy RTS mechanics, art and music coordination, and what makes this free-to-play strategy game unique in 2024. Perfect for RTS fans, strategy game enthusiasts, indie game developers, and anyone interested in community-driven game projects. https://criticalmovespodcast.com

When Developers Quit, Players Keep Games Alive (Ep.45)

Community supported games are the reason classics like Age of Empires 2, Company of Heroes, and Heroes of Might and Magic 3 are still played decades after release. In this episode of the Critical Moves Podcast, we look at abandoned strategy games, how modding scenes keep them alive, and why some titles survive long after developers stop updating them. We cover Dawn of War and its Definitive Edition, the ongoing debate of Civilization 6 vs Civilization 7, and the communities behind Command & Conquer and StarCraft 2. We also talk about forgotten strategy gems like Bungie’s Myth and how total conversion mods can grow into full games, such as Beyond All Reason. From mods that improve graphics and add factions, to community servers that replace official ones, this discussion explores what makes certain strategy games timeless. If you’re interested in RTS history, fan-driven projects, or the debate around when a game is truly abandoned, this episode is for you. https://criticalmovespodcast.com https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord

Does Dawn of War 4 Have What It Takes? (Ep.44)

Dawn of War 4 exists! We talk about what we know and what we expect. The franchise has one good game, one mediocre sequel, and one disaster. Dawn of War 3 killed the series for eight years. Now KING Art Games and Deep Silver are taking another shot at Warhammer 40K real-time strategy. We cover the confirmed details, the studio behind it, and the current state of RTS games. Dawn of War 4 needs to solve problems that Dawn of War 3 created while breaking new ground for a 2026 audience. This isn't speculation. We stick to what's confirmed and what the evidence suggests about development and design direction. The 40K license prints money but that doesn't guarantee good games. https://criticalmovespodcast.com

Chris McElligott-Park on AI War, Community, and Running an Indie Studio (Ep.43)

What does long-term survival look like for an indie strategy studio? In Part 2 of our interview, Chris McElligott-Park talks about: – Sustaining Arcen Games through shifting trends – Crowdfunding and community involvement – Designing sequels without repeating yourself – The challenges of predicting success in a saturated market This is Part 2 of a two-part interview.

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