Best Side-Scroller Strategy Games

When one thinks of side-scroller games, one might think of action-packed games such as Shovel Knight, Streets of Rage, or even Cuphead - titles that encourage players to overcome challenges viewed from the left side of the screen. As such, it can be surprising to even think that side-scroller games could be combined with another genre like strategy games. This is especially true when traditional strategy games often come in the form of isometric real-time strategy, or the even more intense grand strategy titles.

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However, some of the best side-scroller strategy games have proven more than capable of combining the two genres to create some interesting titles. As a result, some of gaming’s best side-scroller strategy games tend to have straightforward faction-versus-faction mechanics, where players roam the map with companions, or an exploration game with a base-building mechanic.

10 Phoenix Hope

Steam Rating: 78%

While still in Early Access, Phoenix Hope switches things up in the side-scrolling strategy scene with the added element of demonic invasions. Set in a dark fantasy land, Phoenix Hope tasks players with maintaining a village long enough to usher in the rebirth of human civilization despite the constant threat of demonic attacks at night. Players can technically build structures across the entire game map. Much of the day will have players gather and use resources to build structures, set up defenses, and train units. They also have a limited number of weapons and armor that can be provided for people, adding a layer of complexity to their combat performance.

Unfortunately, the village’s idyllic atmosphere changes at night when demonic portals appear and demons attack. Demons become a prominent presence during the night, courtesy of their neon pink and purple coloration that starkly contrasts the earthly tones of the rest of the game's environments. Portals can spawn anywhere on the map except inside “barriers” close to the center, which makes it an ideal place for players to set up defenses such as walls. This caveat becomes a tougher challenge in the midgame, as using up space inside the barriers will force players to use the space outside them, running the risk of being overrun by demons at night if they aren’t protected properly.

9 LakeSide

Steam Rating: 68%

A side-scroller often needs players to get from one side of the level to the next in order to appreciate the graphics and more active gameplay, which makes LakeSide a surprising deviation for its city-builder subgenre. The game’s twist on the traditional grid-based city-building game demands a whole new perspective on space and resource management. Set beside the mountain and the titular lakeside, gameplay in LakeSide begins with players only managing two “layers” of land. Instead of building on a grid, players build on vertical lines that they ensure don’t intersect with other structures within the same layer.

Fulfilling villager requests can reward players with new buildings or upgrades to existing structures. For instance, a one-tile house can now scale upwards or sideways. The strategic component arises when limited space applies to having limited resources as well. Players now need to balance fulfilling villager requests on top of the rewards they provide, potentially having to sacrifice upgrades in exchange for getting more of a certain resource. Solving these problems can result in obvious visual changes to the village, resulting in unique villages that all have a homely fantasy quality to them.

8 Oxygen Not Included

Metascore: 86%

While at its core a survival game, Oxygen Not Included has a deep strategic component in its underlying management mechanics. The game is set in a procedurally-generated world, where the only common thing between playthroughs are pockets of breathable air scattered throughout its regions. Players have to create a sustainable space colony using characters called Duplicants, of which many tend to be rather comically dumb. Similar to other survival sims, Oxygen Not Included needs players to create resource-gathering structures, power generators, food processors, and the like. Players also have to equip Duplicants with equipment and weapons to fight the many threats that will try to kill them throughout the campaign.

However, the strategy component of the title lies in the fact that not all parts of the world have a breathable atmosphere. This is where the game’s title comes in, as players also have to take into account special equipment that supplies oxygen at a specific range. Not only that, players also have to manage the carbon dioxide that is released by plants and even Duplicants, ensuring the proper balance of atmospheric gases. This management component of ensuring oxygen is properly supplied to locations while still enabling exploration and fulfillment of objectives adds an extra layer of challenge to this side-scrolling strategy simulation game.

7 Fluffy Horde

Steam Rating: 75%

The adage “breeding like rabbits” takes a more dangerous turn in Fluffy Horde, a side-scrolling tower defense title where players have to protect their village’s windmill against a literal horde of rabbits. Played like a typical tower defense title with a wave counter, bunnies will relentlessly attack the player’s base. In turn, players need to constantly create units such as archers and knights to slay the bunnies in a myriad of methods. The objective of levels usually revolves around killing all the rabbits and not letting them fill up their meter, as this signals an infestation players can no longer handle.

Players can drag banners attached to single units in order to bring them to an area. Certain units have special relationships with flags, such as archers attacking within the range of their flags. Aside from funny dialogue, other ridiculous unit concepts exist, such as tougher carrot costume-wearing soldiers that lure bunnies to their direction. Players have to be on their toes to ensure they not only slay rabbits, but also that they never destroy their windmill during the level.

6 Until We Die

Steam Rating: 44%

When mutants start ravaging the planet at night, Until We Die will have players defend the planet’s last line of defense deep in the metro. The game itself tasks players to survive for 28 days until backup arrives, during which time players need to maximize the area around Electrozavodskaya Station to outlast their foes. The art style of the game gives Metal Slug vibes, and the vibrancy of the animations amid its grim atmosphere gives players a more action-packed experience.

As with other survival-themed games, players not only need to acquire more townsfolk but also actively explore the nearby area to scavenge for supplies and resources. The constant threat of enemies at night also means players have to spend the day fortifying their camp’s defenses. Units constantly follow players if they’re not issued any commands, ensuring they have backup when they do have to venture deeper into enemy territory. The survival aspect of the game also means players who leave camp are always at risk of not being there when enemies attack, forcing them to ensure the area is relatively well-protected before they leave to explore.

5 Craft The World

Metascore: 81%

Despite its age, Craft the World boasts a tight-knit community and continuous updates that result in dynamic gameplay across new themes and motifs. The game’s long-lasting nature may be tied to its sandbox elements, as Craft the World assigns players to lead a colony of dwarves across various worlds by finding portals hidden deep within levels. Ever the skillful builders and craftsmen, players can assign dwarves to mine and craft almost everything in the game. This allows players to create entire bases with defenses, workshops, and resource-gathering rooms interspersed with dungeons where players have to eliminate enemies.

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The game also has a limited RPG-esque mechanic where dwarves can be customized with their own gear as well as have improved stats to accommodate certain roles. On top of ensuring the nutrition of the dwarves, players have to constantly create protective measures against specific threats, such as totems against rats, cages for monsters, and even traps. This deep strategic component attached to the survival and exploration aspects of Craft the World can make each playthrough radically different from the last.

4 This War Of Mine

Metascore: 83%

Considered both parts survival sim and strategy game, This War of Mine is a gripping take on what happens in times of war from the perspectives of the people caught in the midst of them. Like a traditional survival game, players need to scavenge for supplies to slowly create new tools and upgrade their settlement. At night, players are encouraged to go to other locations to scavenge for supplies, often at the expense of other survivors outside their party. This cycle continues until a ceasefire happens at a randomized moment in the game, signaling the ending.

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Where the strategy component of This War of Mine gameplay shines is its mood system. Almost all things characters do and witness can affect their mood, and making them too sad or depressed may affect their actions (or cause them to outright take their own lives). This element adds to the overall stakes of the game, as players also have to make the tough decision of robbing or even killing others for the survival of their characters - even if it means making them suffer the consequences.

3 Kingdom Two Crowns

Metascore: 85%

While technically a follow-up to Kingdom: New Lands, the story of Kingdom Two Crowns remains largely the same. Players take the role of a Monarch tasked to protect their Crown, defend their Villagers, and permanently shut down portals that summon the monstrous Greed. The main gameplay loop of Kingdom Two Crowns involves collecting coins around the map and using them to train villagers to become builders or other units. Like other side-scrolling strategy titles, players are in charge of creating and upgrading structures to ensure the stability of the village, as well as fortifications such as walls and watchtowers for when the Greed attack at night.

Active exploration and customization is a key component that makes Kingdom Two Crowns fresh in every playthrough. Villagers can be transformed across unit types depending on the equipment they own, and players need to actively look for coins and gems to upgrade their villages. As players close portals and repair ships to go to other islands, they need to create and defend separate villagers there. A key challenge in overall gameplay is to ensure all villages are protected and cared for, as staying too long in one village will slowly lower the defenses of other villages and render them vulnerable to Greed attacks.

2 Sons Of Valhalla

Steam Rating: 67%

Thorald Olavson has lost his home and his beloved to a wicked Jarl who burned down his village, and Sons of Valhalla will see him get his revenge with the help of players. This dark fantasy Viking game will have players raise a warband and gather troops as they create a stronghold while besieging enemies and fighting bosses. Its dynamic environments and Norse-inspired visuals already add a unique spin to this fantasy side-scroller, but its real-time strategic component makes leading a band of warriors into battle that much more satisfying.

On top of Thorald being able to attack on his own, he can issue commands in real time that can have units charge, hold their ground, or even set up defenses. He can issue commands to specific units, of which different types can be trained across structures Thorald builds in camp. As enemies also attempt to destroy Thorald’s base, players are in charge of creating not just structures to recruit allies and gather resources, but also protective measures such as watchtowers.

1 Open The Gates

Steam Rating: 76%

Players of Open the Gates are tasked by a landless Emperor to “reclaim” his territories to the right of every map. Doing this requires players to build a village and fortify their castle against sieges, as well as recruiting and maintaining a sizable army to launch attacks. Unlike other side-scrolling strategy titles, Open the Gates comes close to replicating a genuine RTS experience, especially when it comes to enemies on the right side actively building structures and fortifying their own defenses.

Other side-scrollers might have players control a main character and have units follow them, but Open the Gates has players directly commanding teams of troops. Seeing archers and knights meet up in front of the gates while villagers are busy working remains a sight to behold, especially when the same thing can be seen on the enemy's side. At certain points in time, the enemy also amasses troops to strike the player’s base, requiring players to stay on top of their defenses.

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