Strategy games are notoriously inaccessible when compared to other video game genres, usually due to their steep learning curves and the sheer number of demanding systems. This was especially true in the early days of the strategy game genre, when games were less inclined to ease newcomers in.

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Although there are plenty of more accessible strategy games, such as the more recent Northgard, there are also a variety of particularly hardcore strategy games, both new and old. While many of these games fall into the grand strategy and 4X genres, some examples — such as Commandos and XCOM 2 — provide unique challenges in more accessible packages.

8 Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines

A Combination Of Stealth, Tactics, And Great Level Design

This old-school real-time tactics game from 1998 takes place in WW2 and tasks players with controlling a squad of elite soldiers across twenty missions. Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines is arguably one of the more challenging games in the Commandos series and is notorious for its puzzle-like gameplay.

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In Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, players are tasked with puzzling out the best route through each mission, attempting to complete objectives. The stealth and puzzle elements allow Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines to be a much more thoughtful, strategic, and hardcore experience than it would if it had allowed players to gun down enemies with ease. With that said, some situations do call for the player to "go loud."

7 XCOM 2

An Unforgiving Gameplay Loop That Punishes Mistakes

The XCOM games are notorious for their difficulty. XCOM: Terror From The Deep in particular is known for its brutal and unforgiving gameplay. However, the modern, streamlined XCOM games in the form of The Enemy Within and its sequel, XCOM 2, are arguably the better games.

XCOM 2, like its predecessors, tasks players with battling against an alien invasion. In the game, players manage a military organization, expanding their base of operations and researching new technologies before embarking on various missions. These missions involve careful exploration and tactical turn-based combat against the alien threat, in which every death is permanent. This unforgiving gameplay loop is what makes XCOM 2 such a hardcore experience, as players will often find even a handful of mistakes can send a campaign spiraling out of control.

6 BATTLETECH

A Dense Strategy Game With Plenty Of Systems

This mech-themed game tasks players with managing a mercenary company of mechs, each controlled by a unique pilot. BATTLETECH plays similarly to the tabletop game, and although it's been streamlined and modernized, it maintains the complexity and depth of its source material.

BATTLETECH features deep customization systems for each mech, allowing players to outfit their squad in any way they see fit. Each mech also needs to be maintained, and its weapons repaired. Complexity and difficulty comes from BATTLETECH's tactical combat and the simulated elements of its mechs. However, players will also have to carefully manage their company and ensure they pick and choose the right contracts for their team.

5 Stellaris

A Grand Strategy Game Packed With Mechanics

Grand strategy games are notorious for their complexity and depth, but Stellaris is arguably one of the best. Although Stellaris may not be as overtly hardcore as games such as Hearts Of Iron 4, its variety of systems and challenging, strategic gameplay make it a game players are able to sink their teeth into.

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Stellaris tasks players with building their own interstellar empire, exploring the galaxy, and managing borders between a variety of factions. Players will have to carefully research, manage their economy, and engage in interstellar warfare. This combination of gameplay elements consistently offers players difficult decisions to make, and creates an experience that's difficult to master.

4 Terra Invicta

A Complex, Slow-Burning Strategy Game With A Crammed UI

This science fiction grand-strategy game puts players in control of one of several factions as they deal with an incoming alien threat. Terra Invicta features a massive focus on geopolitics, exploration, expansion, and tactical space combat.

However, Terra Invicta is far from accessible, and best suited to grand-strategy veterans that can more easily push past the game's slow-burning nature and crammed user-interface. Furthermore, the game's difficulty curve is steep, forcing players to develop a strategy fast or risk falling behind.

3 StarCraft 2

An RTS With A Sky-High Skill Ceiling

Although this real-time strategy game is perfectly accessible and easy to learn, especially as a single-player experience, StarCraft 2 is deceptively difficult. This is a result of its complex systems and the need for players to master both macro and micromanagement skills.

In order to compete in the game's multiplayer, players will need to move fast. Learning what to build and when to build it is massively important, and timing everything just right takes hours of practice. Micromanaging units in combat is a challenge in of itself, and that's only one aspect of StarCraft 2 that players will have to master if they want to compete in its ranked game-mode.

2 Hearts Of Iron 4

An Inaccessible Hardcore Experience With Complex Systems

Crusader Kings 3, Europa Universalis 4, and the plethora of similar grand strategy games on the market are all notoriously hardcore strategy games. These games are generally inaccessible, take hours to learn, and feature complex systems that make it hard for beginners to even begin to develop a strategy. It would be easy to fill an entire list with these games, but Hearts Of Iron 4 is arguably one of the most inaccessible.

In Hearts Of Iron 4, players take control of any nation that they choose and engage in diplomacy and conflict during a simulation of WW2. Players that don't enjoy politics and high-level strategy will likely struggle to get their teeth into Hearts Of Iron 4, but these systems are frequently rewarding. Once players have mastered the base game, they can also delve into the extensive mod-support through the Steam workshop. Overall, players looking for a hardcore strategic experience should look no further than this WW2 grand strategy game.

1 Dominions 5

A Deep 4X Strategy Game With A Steep Learning Curve

This tremendously deep 4X grand-strategy game puts players in the shoes of a being that aspires to godhood. In the game, players choose a unique nation to play as and decide what kind of God they want to be. These decisions affect the player's unique strengths and weaknesses for that playthrough, and these decisions alone can have a massive impact on how the game plays.

Dominions 5 does very little to hold the player's hand, and its steep learning curve is only made steeper by its various win conditions and variety of nations. Learning the various systems at play in Dominions 5 can take hours alone, and any player that wishes to master it could easily spend hundreds of hours in their pursuit.

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