General The Best Tactical Turn-Based Game of All Time?

[Al]

Turn-based tactical strategy has given us some of the most intense, rewarding, and downright brutal games out there. Whether it’s planning the perfect ambush, pulling off a clutch shot with a 50/50 chance, or watching everything fall apart because you miscalculated enemy movement - these games hit differently.

So if you had to pick one as the best, what would it be?

• XCOM: Enemy Unknown took the old-school formula, streamlined it (without dumbing it down), and gave us some of the most nerve-wracking battles in modern gaming.
• Jagged Alliance 2 had squad-based tactics that still hold up, but what really made it shine was the personality—every merc had a story, and every fight felt personal.
• BattleTech gave us turn-based MechWarrior, with layers of combat depth that made positioning, armour management, and heat levels as important as raw firepower.
• Gears Tactics took a fast-paced shooter and somehow made it work as a proper tactics game, blending cover mechanics and brutal executions into a surprisingly deep experience.

Maybe your favourite is something else entirely - Fire Emblem, Silent Storm, Shadow Tactics, or something way more obscure. What’s your top pick, and what made it stand out? Was it the mechanics, the storytelling, the challenge, or just that one moment where everything clicked?

 

[Immortal]

I have not played a lot of tactical turn based games, I don't even recognize most of the makes on the above list. But I have played XCOM 2 and I believe this game perfected squad-based strategy. It offers wide customization and intense risk-reward mechanics.