Isometric graphics were the gaming industry’s first forays into three-dimensional designs. Before computer graphics could handle a fully rendered 3D world, some games implemented their 2D graphics at just the right angle and viewpoint to create the illusion of 3D.

Heavily inspired by the gridlike patterns of board games and tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, it should come as no surprise that most isometric games fall into the strategy genre. The two go hand in hand, as far back as the earliest days of computer games. So here are some of the best isometric strategy games that either started or help uphold this time-honored tradition.

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7 Chessmaster 2000

A Cornerstone Of Chess History

• Platform(s): Amiga, Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Macintosh, IBM PC compatibles
• Released: 1986
• Publisher(s): The Software Toolworks
• Genre(s): Chess

Chess is one of history’s oldest and most celebrated games, famous for having countless ingenious strategies with a relatively simple setup. It’s also perhaps the easiest game to create using isometric graphics. Just picture a chessboard on a slight tilt, and voila.

Chessmaster 2000 was released in 1986 as one of the earliest games for the home computer. It's a simple chess simulator by today’s standards, but it paved the way for the incredible lineup of board game simulators yet to come. It was remarkable at the time for recreating world-famous chess matches, to give players an added challenge.

6 Sid Meier’s Civilization II

The Isometric Cornerstone of Strategy Games

Civilization is one of the oldest and most popular strategy series in gaming, and Civilization II stands out as one of the best installments that fans still play to this day. Sometimes lauded as one of the best sequels ever made, Civ II cemented the series as a classic that was here to stay.

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Players create a human settlement and take it from the tribal age to the modern day. Build structures, manage resources, and play the role of either a gentle diplomat or a ruthless conqueror. Civilization II lets players live out their historical fiction dreams with plenty of scenarios, leadership systems, and real historical figures.

5 XCOM 2

The Future Of Earth Is On Its Last Stand

The original XCOM featured a paramilitary organization trying to fend off an alien invasion. The sequel shows just how well that went over. To put it plainly: it didn’t. Aliens have ravaged human civilization, and it’s up to the player to lead these militants through missions to turn the tide at last.

XCOM 2 shows how isometric graphics still have their place in the world of modern gaming. The perspective makes it easy to visualize where allies and enemies alike are on the board relative to each other. Check if units have sufficient cover before moving them around, lest they fall to a headshot. Military strategy is paramount here, as when a unit is lost, they’re gone for good.

4 Anno 1602: Creation of a New World

Expanding Without Conquering

• Released: February 1, 2000
• Platform(s): Microsoft Windows
• Publisher(s): GT Interactive
• Genre(s): Real-time strategy, city-building game

In many ways, Anno 1602 is like a classic game of Civilization. Players build and grow a 17th century European settlement into a bustling kingdom, expanding into as many nearby island territories as possible. The bigger the population gets, the more difficult it becomes to house and feed them all. Players need to discover the secret to sustainable economic expansion in order to win.

How Anno 1602 differs from Civ games is that this human civilization grows in isolation. There are no other nations or territories to compete with for resources. There are no diplomatic relations or wars. It’s just a single nation, staying in its own lane, focusing on its own people. This makes Anno 1602 perfect for gamers who like the idea of Civilization, but don’t want to get into the complications of diplomacy.

3 Syndicate

Becoming An 80s Movie Villain

This game takes an interesting spin on the classic real-time strategy set-up. Most games from this era are about building human civilizations, simulating the progression of real-world history. Syndicate, however, uses the same core gameplay mechanics to tell the tale of a futuristic mega-corporation slowly taking over.

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Players take the role of the classic science fiction villain from movies like The Matrix and Blade Runner. Their goal is to slowly take a country over using their cybernetic secret agents (like their very own Agent Smiths or Terminators). Syndicate became an underrated classic of its time for its engaging premise and dystopian future setting.

2 Two Point Hospital

A Hospital Game That’s Hard To Get Sick Of

Based on Bullfrog’s 1997 game Theme Hospital, this isometric strategy game tackles the world of hospital administration with humor and charm. Players need to build up their hospitals with all the right facilities and staff to treat a variety of comedic ailments. For example, patients diagnosed with Gray Anatomy go to the Chromatherapy ward, while those with Clown Fever need to work with a trained psychiatrist to work through their funny business.

While players can move the camera around somewhat freely in this 2018 game, the isometric graphics this series is known for are right in the name (referring to the two-point perspective). This angle gives players a perfect view of all the chaos unraveling in their hospital.

1 Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

All Hail The Isometric King

Similar to Civilization, Age of Empires is another classic isometric strategy series where the second installment is one of its best. Unlike Civilization II, however, Age of Empires II narrows down the historical timeline to just one millennium, starting from the Early Middle Ages and ending around the Renaissance.

Players build up their settlements step by step — whether it’s a humble European peasant village or an East Asian municipality — by crafting buildings, collecting resources, and putting their military to work. Their civilization’s success depends on complex player strategy. That, plus the game’s charming graphics that encompass various architectural styles from across the world and throughout history, makes Age of Empires a timeless classic.

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