10 Best RTS Games on PlayStation 5

Real-time strategy games provide an immersive experience where players strategize and make quick decisions to outmaneuver their opponents. PlayStation Plus subscribers are treated to a variety of RTS titles, each offering its unique blend of excitement and challenge. Whether you're a veteran of the genre or new to RTS games, there's something for everyone to enjoy in the RTS games available on PlayStation Plus. With that in mind, let's jump right into the 10 best RTS games on PlayStation Plus.

10. Surviving Mars

Surviving Mars challenges players to colonize the Red Planet and survive the harsh environments with limited resources. With its deep simulation and strategic gameplay, Surviving Mars offers a compelling experience for fans of city-building and management games. You must carefully manage water, oxygen, and food resources to survive. Additionally, you must maintain a livable environment in a hostile world. Ultimately, it's all about quick decision-making and strategy.

9. Port Royale 3: Pirates & Merchants

Port Royale 3: Pirates & Merchants is a captivating trading and naval strategy game set in the Caribbean during the 17th century. In this game, you choose whether to lead the life of a merchant or a daring pirate. As merchants, players focus on building a trading empire by establishing trade routes, managing production, and maximizing profits through economic decisions.

Alternatively, the pirate path emphasizes adventure and combat. Here, players engage in naval battles, capture ships, and build settlements to amass wealth. The game offers an immersive, open-world environment like no other. It stands out for blending strategic economic management and thrilling naval warfare. Port Royale 3 is a unique and enjoyable RTS experience for fans of trading simulators and naval combat.

8. Cities: Skylines

Cities: Skylines is a city-building game that tasks players to design and manage a thriving metropolis from scratch. Starting with a blank map, they zone residential, commercial, and industrial areas. They also use various tools to create road layouts, manage public services, and address citizens' needs. 

The game’s realistic simulation demands careful planning to balance traffic management, pollution control, and Budget allocation. Moreover, the game features a rich modding community, environmental management, and the challenge of natural disasters. Cities: Skylines offers a deeply immersive and strategic urban planning experience.

7. XCOM 2

XCOM 2 is a gripping turn-based strategy game in which players fight against an alien occupation on Earth. As the commander of XCOM, players manage resources, research alien technologies, and recruit and train soldiers to combat the incoming threats.

The game features procedurally generated maps, diverse mission objectives, and a dynamic story. XCOM 2 also offers endless replayability. The unique thing about the game is its ability to blend strategic base management and tactical combat. 

6. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is an exceptional real-time tactics game set in Japan during the Edo period. In the game, players have to control a team of five unique characters. Each character comes with specialized skills to complete various missions involving stealth and combat. 

The game emphasizes strategic planning and precise execution. Players must carefully coordinate their characters' actions to outsmart enemies and achieve objectives. Blades of the Shogun also enhances replayability through its richly detailed environment and level designs that offer diverse ways to approach each mission. Essentially, the game’s engaging storyline, challenging gameplay, and beautiful art style make it a must-play for fans of tactical stealth games.

5. Tropico 6

Tropico 6 is a highly acclaimed game on PlayStation Plus, offering a compelling city-building and political simulation experience. In this game, you step into the shoes of El Presidente, the ruler of a small Caribbean island nation. As the leader, you must oversee the island’s development through different historical eras, from colonial times to the modern age. 

The game allows players to build cities, develop infrastructure, and ensure the well-being of their citizens. Similarly, you must balance the demands of various political factions and foreign powers. One exciting feature is that you are not only managing one island; Tropico 6 allows you to govern multiple islands simultaneously. It is a genuinely engaging and entertaining experience for fans of simulation and strategy games.

4. Desperados III

Desperados III is an exciting real-time tactics game set in the Wild West. The game has challenging missions and a bunch of characters, each with unique abilities. As a strategy game, planning and coordination are essential to tackling the game’s objectives. Desperados III delivers an engaging storyline, dynamic characters, and challenging gameplay. Arguably, it offers players one of the best tactical experiences in the genre.

3. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III 

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III is a dynamic real-time strategy game that plunges players into the grimdark universe of Warhammer 40K. The game lets you command mighty armies from three factions: the Space Marines, Eldar, and Orks. The game blends base-building, resource management, and intense battlefield combat. Therefore, you must deploy your forces to dominate your enemies strategically.

2. Zombie Tycoon II: Brainhov’s Revenge 

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Zombie Tycoon II: Brainhov offers a unique twist on the RTS genre by allowing players to command two opposing zombie armies. Therefore, players must manage resources and capture buildings. Furthermore, the game combines strategic base management with fast-paced tactical combat. The coolest thing in the game is that you can use various zombie units with special abilities to outmaneuver and defeat your opponents. 

1. Stellaris 

Stellaris is a highly acclaimed strategy game where players explore and manage a galaxy filled with diverse alien civilizations. As the leader of the space empire, players can customize their species' traits, government, and values. Notably, all these aspects influence their interactions and strategies throughout the game. 

Stellaris stands out with its deep and complex mechanics. It allows players to research advanced technologies, forge alliances, and encounter unique galactic events that shape the narrative. In the long run, Stellaris offers an immersive and endlessly replayable experience for fans of strategy and sci-fi genres.

So, what’s your take on our picks for the ten best RTS games on PlayStation Plus? What are some of your favourite? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.