Don’t let my Steam hours fool you—I played several campaigns outside of Steam years ago. I’m only back now because the game’s replayability is that strong.

Wesnoth offers a unique take on tactical combat: you start with a core army, fight for control of villages to generate a slow but steady income, and use that to call in reinforcements. It’s a clever blend of turn-based tactics and area control that genuinely works. The challenge comes from stretching limited resources across large maps while keeping pressure on the enemy.

Once you get into it, you’ll find yourself obsessing over unit positioning, kill efficiency, and XP gain. Skirmish mode in particular is golden—pick a faction, build a well-rounded army (I can’t stress this enough), and try to hold the map while trading blows efficiently.

If you enjoy the X-COM-style tension of wanting every unit to survive, of optimizing XP, and carefully planning every move, this game is absolutely for you. And it encourages that level of detail—there’s a built-in rewind feature, so you can trial and error your way to the perfect formation or outcome. Few things are more satisfying than watching the reckless AI charge into your carefully laid trap and get absolutely obliterated - all thanks to your tactical genius that you of course you had all along.

The campaigns are built around this level of optimization. They expect you to perform well—sometimes nearly flawlessly. You carry over veteran units between missions, which turns every choice into a long-term investment. You’ll build an elite strike squad supported by expendable recruits whose main job is to take hits and secure kills for your core team. But you can’t stall either—campaigns have time limits, so even the fodder needs to pull their weight.

Ideally, you end each mission with your veterans barely standing and your entire army hanging on by a thread—but you know every move was worth it. You’ll look up and realize a week went by while you perfected your tactics, and somehow you’re fine with it. Wesnoth didn’t just make you feel smart—it demanded it and reward you richly for it.

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Good Game