3. UFO: Enemy Unknown. 20 Best Classic PC Strategy Games

The phenomenon of UFO is that even today the title is more engaging than most modern hits.

The top three of our list are games that represent the greatest gamedev achievements in their genre. These are titles that are difficult to compare, as each offers a completely different model of gameplay. The first one is a masterpiece of tactical video games.

UFO: Enemy Unknown employs turn-based mechanics, and the entire game is divided into two main segments. The first one is somewhat reminiscent of classic tycoon games and focuses on the management of an organization called X-COM, established to combat alien threat.

The goal of the player is to manage the financial and human resources of their organization so that it will not fall into ruin and be able to complete subsequent objectives, i.e. win tactical battles in which we command soldiers we have previously recruited.

Whether we can successfully complete these missions depends equally on how we guide our tactical operations and how our organization develops. Bad investments or lack of scientific development can bite us back just as quickly as an ill-conceived decision on the battlefield. Add to this significant RPG elements, as each of our soldiers gains experience and develops unique skills. So they are not randomly generated alien killing machines, but characters we get attached to and whose deaths on the battlefield really hurt.

The solutions proposed by the first part of UFO defined the genre of tactical turn-based games for years to come. Even today, the revived series gathers acclaim, as evidenced by the presence of its newest installment in our list of the best strategy games of recent years.