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With Call of Duty, Battlefield, and more returning to the 1940s, we have to ask: what are the best WW2 games on PC? The most devastating conflict in our recent history of fighting over land and ideologies has been distilled into heroic charges, tense dogfights, epic digital wars, and savage battles many times over, and here you’ll find the best videogame adaptations of them all.

Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WW2 is the most accessible World War 2 flight simulator game on the list, available to everyone with either a Wii, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, or PC. The fast-paced, action-flying game tests your piloting skills with a cinematic presentation that has you partake in real battles like the Liberation of Paris and D-Day. Among the very best fighter simulations - equalled, perhaps, but not surpassed for quality of graphics, flight dynamics, and over-all realism. However, not for the beginner: the 'easy' flight mode in this game is more difficult than the 'difficult' mode of less-demanding flight simulations.

Whether you’re looking for the grittiness of a beach landing, the strategy of battle planning, the thrill of an aerial dogfight, or intense camaraderie experienced by a band of brothers, there’s a World War II game that has something to offer you. And thanks to the new wave of interest in the period, some of these games sport astonishing graphics and modern, punchy gunplay.

So from massive, free-to-play vehicular battlefields to complex war games, you’re bound to find something below to keep you duking it out for countless hours in our round-up of the finest WWII games.

Oct 19, 2001  Best PC Flight Games. This is a standout game - and one that any fan of World War II air combat will want to play. You can pilot one of three variants of the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

The best WW2 games are:

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War Thunder

The Most Beautiful Tank Battle in Games on PC! Abrams M1A2 and T-72 in Battlefield 3 - Duration: 19:44. Best War Games Channel 2,361,011 views. 'WarBirds provides one of the most entertaining and challenging air-combat environments on the Net.' -PC Gamer 'WarBirds III was my first foray into the world of massively-multiplayer online gaming and the sense of amazement that I felt seeing more than 100 players engaged in an online war cannot be understated. Download and play the Top World War Plane Games for PC, Windows. Relive key moments of World War 1 and 2 through the eyes of a fighter pilot with these arcade plane combat games. But only if you (1) enjoy 1993 flat-shaded polygon graphics; (2) relish spending 1 to 2 hours planning a multi-plane coordinated mission, using the best Mission Planner ever, and 20 minutes flying the mission; (3) don't have a super rig PC to fly all those scrumptious flight sim games listed above by MM. Frankie 'TornadoMan' Kam.

World War 2 was a combined arms effort, with land, sea, and air forces offering equally invaluable efforts, and War Thunder truly captures that. It originally threw a spotlight on the war’s colossal aerial battles, but soon went on to include land battles through the medium of noisy tank warfare, and naval efforts via its sea-based expansion.

Boasting a dizzying number of historically accurate aircraft, tanks, and boats from pretty much every nation involved in the war, this exceptional free-to-play WW2 game offers a great multiplayer experience that neatly sits in the middle ground between complex simulation and arcade fighter. Like a sim, War Thunder has incredible attention to detail that makes it compelling to play. Each machine feels genuinely different and all offer their own challenges. And even when you’re not in the heat of battle there are tactics to consider as you stock your hangars with various new vehicles and upgrade them to suit your approach.

More like this: War Thunder is also one of the best plane games

Developer Gaijin Entertainment has expanded each of its combat types out, so you can read our War Thunder naval combat guide or our beginner’s guide to War Thunder tank battles if you need some help learning the basics.

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World of Tanks

Wargaming’s flagship free-to-play WW2 game is obsessed with tanks, hence the name World of Tanks. It’s full of incredibly detailed artillery platforms and caterpillar tracks for you to drool over before rolling into battle. Hundreds of these glorious machines can be researched, unlocked, and purchased as you gain experience and resources from every tense match.

World of Tanks is a game you can dip your toes into, play for a bit, and have fun. On the surface, it’s simple and arcade-like, but underneath the chassis is the loud, angry engine of something more serious. How vulnerable is the machine gun port of the Tiger II? Where are the soft spots on the indomitable IS-3? What is the effective armour thickness of the T-32’s upper glacis? Armour penetration, angles, weak spots – this is the stuff you need to know.

To taste victory time after time, to work your way up the tank tiers and eventually get your name on leaderboards, you need to make a significant time investment. It would feel a bit like work if this wasn’t a game about blowing up tanks, which never stops being fun. And with constant updates, new maps, modes, features, and an audience of hundreds of millions of players, you’re always learning. It might not be the most realistic game at times, but it’s easily one of the best tank games on PC.

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World of Warships

The third of Wargaming’s WW2 games, World of Warships sees the tried and tested formula of World of Tanks transposed to the sea. It’s not just World of Tanks with ships, though, as the switch to naval combat has informed a lot of big changes. These sea battles are slower, more thoughtful, and ultimately more tactical than their land-based counterparts.

Out in the open sea, there’s a sense of dread and vulnerability that you just don’t get in Wargaming’s other titles. Not this severe, anyway. There’s no hiding or running away in World of Warships – just plans, some of which will fall apart, and others that could, with some help from your team, lead to a glorious victory.

Air support adds an extra interesting wrinkle. You can hurl the fighters and bombers positioned on your decks at your foes, and suddenly the game starts to feel like an RTS. But one where you’re also frantically trying to line up your killer cannons and praying to Poseidon that this time, this time, it’ll be a direct hit. That is what makes it one of the best WW2 games on PC. On top of all this, Wargaming also do a terrific job of updating the game, with expansions adding new ships like a Pan-Asian line of destroyers to the game, not to mention the odd World of Warships seasonal event.

Steel Division 2

If you’re not into hardcore wargames and are looking for a more hands-on WW2 strategy game then Steel Division 2 ticks a lot boxes. Taking place on the eastern front of WW2, Steel Division 2 focuses heavily on the source material, translating every aspect of the horrid struggle between Axis and Russian forces into its gameplay. Soviet conscripts are in abundance, but are poorly equipped and will yield under too much pressure. The SS troops on the other hand offer a great deal more efficiency, but lack energy and enthusiasm after months spent fighting in the harsh Russian winter.

Much like the first game, Steel Division: Normandy ‘44, the sequel is peerless when it comes to representing the scale of warfare, offering up large maps with strict, unnatural borders so as to give you a cross-section of a large-scale combat operation. You have tanks, troops, and aircraft under your control, but your focus at all times is on the battlefield rather than where you’re drawing these forces from.

The new Army General mode is a neat touch, which does an excellent job mixing RTS story campaigns with the long-form strategic decisions you’d normally find in one of the best war or grand strategy titans. These four mini-campaigns take you through the Belorussian Strategic Offensive Operation that saw Soviet forces finally breakthrough the Axis stranglehold, with most of the action taking place on a strategic map.

Call of Duty: WWII

If you are looking for breadth and realistic details, then COD: WW2 might rub you up the wrong way with its Eurocentric campaign and PPSh-41-toting German soldiers. However, what it does better than all but the best WW2 games is connect the player to the squad they fight alongside, all the way from the beaches of Normandy to the capture of Ludendorff Bridge. It does this by tying health, ammo, and grenade refills to squad members, forcing you to seek out your medic if you are low on health, even if a tank separates you. It is an elegant and organic way of simulating the bonds that form between brothers in arms.

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COD: WW2 also stands out as one of the best WW2 games because of it relatively recent release date. After the glut of World War 2 games that hit PC in the mid-2000s we endured a decade-long drought where all the leaps and bounds made in videogame graphics helped bring other conflicts and settings to life while WW2 games were left behind. In our COD: WW2 review we were impressed by the audiovisual fidelity, which lends the campaign an almost filmic level of sheen, whether that is the sumptuous ring that fills your ears every time you reload an M1 Garand, or the unsparing particle effects that give every texture and environment their due depth. Sure, you will have seen and fought these WW2 battles in games before, but they have never looked this convincing.

Call of Duty 2

Call of Duty 2 was a jolt of electricity applied to the WW2 formula when it launched in 2005. Familiar scenes like the D-Day landings were recreated in greater detail, with more drama and a nail-biting sense of vulnerability. And, at the time, it was the best the war had ever looked.

Read more: Here are all the COD campaigns, ranked best to worst

With four campaigns across three theatres, the global scope of the war was on display. Like the original Call of Duty, it followed British, American and Russian troops, but also presented the north African campaign for the first time, as the Brits fought across the desert, melting and dying and hiding from tanks.

Despite being over a decade old, COD2 has stood the test of time thanks to the fact that it was one of the first games to add features like regenerating health, so you could focus on the battle and not worry about scurrying around looking for health kits. And with improved ally AI, it really felt like you were leading proper soldiers – all of them named – rather than mindless models with guns attached to them. Not just one of the best WW2 games, Call of Duty 2 is one of the best FPS games on PC.

Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault

As our Company of Heroes 2 review points out – despite capturing the horror of winter warfare the RTS sequel didn’t quite hit the same high notes as its venerable predecessor. But with the standalone expansion of Ardennes Assault, Relic reinvigorated the single-player portion of the series, giving it one of its most interesting campaigns and regaining the WW2 RTS games crown.

It is all about the dynamic map. The Ardennes region is one big, constantly shifting warzone, with the Germans attempting to lock down as much territory as possible. Controlling the US forces of Baker, Able and Dog Company – all with unique mechanics and strengths – players must force the Germans out, bit by bit, in a desperate, bleak campaign. It is not just about winning battles; a victory doesn’t matter if it has cost you all your veteran units and left the rest of your force tattered and weak. A Pyrrhic victory spells doom for your campaign.

Random objectives and events can crop up in battles and on the campaign map itself, so no campaign is alike. You might be tasked with assassinating an officer during a mission, or ambushing a convoy on the campaign map, and failure or victory will have a tangible impact on the rest of the war. It is a persistent, savage war, where failure is always nipping at the heels of the increasingly desperate US forces. With details like that, no wonder it is one of the best WW2 games on PC.

Commandos 2: Men of Courage

They don’t make them like this anymore, and that is a tragedy. Commandos 2 is 17 years old, but remains utterly unsurpassed. It is a puzzle game, essentially. You control a group of operatives behind enemy lines, across ten elaborate, complex, devilishly hard missions.

Each mission is a huge, sprawling thing with a beautifully detailed, liberating map and tricky objectives that require a lot of planning, scouting, smarts and a spot of trial and error. Objectives run the gamut from stealing documents and rescuing spies to blowing up ships and stealing vehicles. Getting in the way of that are countless patrols, guards, minefields and even harsh weather. Luckily, the Commandos have more than a few tricks up their sleeves.

You have a spy who can steal clothes and disguise himself as the enemy, a secret agent who can distract and drug Nazis, and a battle-hardened Green Beret who likes to get a bit of blood on his hands. You even have a dog, Whisky, and he is both delightful and good at drawing the attention of enemies. Each mission gives you a specific group to use, and then it is up to you how you want to go about completing the main, secondary, and bonus objectives. It is this kind of freedom that makes Commandos 2 not just one of the best WW2 games on PC, but one of the best PC games of all time, period.

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad

As much as games like Brothers in Arms and World of Tanks aim for historical accuracy in their weapons, machinery, and locations, they still offer a Hollywood-tinted depiction of the action. Red Orchestra 2 removes the filters and offers an unflinchingly difficult simulator shooter. Heroes of Stalingrad recreates battles from the Eastern Front in a Battlefield-like combined arms settings with soldier classes and vehicles. Throwing pray-and-spray, gung-ho attitudes to the wind, Red Orchestra demands strict teamwork, caution, and a considered tactical approach to objectives.

It is the hardships of being an individual cog in the machine that makes Red Orchestra compelling. Machine-gunners are vital for covering fire, allowing other players to advance down the field. But holding down the trigger too long causes the barrel to melt and buckle, requiring it to be replaced in a lengthy maintenance animation. Tanks are murder machines when fully crewed, but attempt to commandeer one by yourself and you will find yourself a sitting target as you attempt to aim your cannon. As well as the stresses of being part of a team, as an individual you’ll have to constantly count your rounds as a complete lack of HUD removes any indication as to what is left in your magazine.

Each round of Red Orchestra 2 is hard work, but like ARMA and other bullet-physic heavy shooting simulations, there’s a distinct, unrivalled sense of victory with every point scored. Few WW2 games make you work this hard for a single kill. If you’re more interested in the Pacific conflict then there’s even a spiritual successor from Tripwire Interactive called Rising Storm that’s just as brutally realistic.

Silent Hunter III

The Second World War is frequently depicted as a violently bloodthirsty, explosive, and ear-drum bursting conflict. But not every element of all-out war is noisy or fast paced. For the quiet, considered, cold-blooded killers out there, there is nothing quite like Silent Hunter’s unique brand of stealth. Throw out your undercover OSS agents, and submerge yourself in underwater naval warfare.

Related: Check out our rundown of the best stealth games

Silent Hunter III, despite being over a decade old, remains one of the best WW2 games, and allows you to command a U-Boat full of German seamen under the surface of the Atlantic ocean. Freeform missions simply inform you of targets and naval traffic, allowing you to conduct the operation in whatever conniving manner you so wish. You will need to be map savvy; Silent Hunter is one of those gloriously uncompromising submarine games, and without solid navigation skills you’ll be firing torpedoes into the open ocean instead of the side of a Allied merchant ship. Patience is the key ingredient though, as you lurk in wait as your plan slowly comes together.

Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway

The Brothers in Arms games offer some of the best stories in the WW2 niche, filled with personal tales of struggle and camaraderie. Hell’s Highway, the third in the BiA series, brings the troubles of the 101st Airborne’s Matt Baker to a close with a harrowing story that emphasises the relentless loss of life every soldier was forced to endure, evoking the likes of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers.

Backing up the story is a fantastic FPS game. It borrows the third-person cover system of the Rainbow Six: Vegas games, making the squad tactics a much smoother, effective element. War is hell in Brothers in Arms, and the methodical employment of flanking maneuvers and suppressing fire is the only way you’ll be able to survive it. Thanks to the tight-knit relationships Hell’s Highway weaves over its campaign, by the end you will really feel as if you helped pull your comrades through the dirt.

And damn is it grim. Grisly, too. Body parts are blown off, men are turned into bloody bags of meat – it is nasty stuff. It does not feel like Hell’s Highway revels in the gore, though. It feels more like an attempt to present war as a horrible, traumatising scenario that you should be glad you are experiencing on a PC rather than in reality.

Battlefield 1942

With Battlefield 1942, it felt like the FPS genre was evolving. Until DICE released the first in what would be an enduring series, multiplayer games were mostly concerned with the glory of the individual. They were about fast reflexes and kill counts. Battlefield 1942, however, is all about cooperation.

You can see where a lot of the series’ systems began, like the roles or classes, the addition of vehicles like tanks and planes and the importance of controlling the map. There was an even greater focus on combined arms warfare, though. You could be bombarding coastlines with your capital ship while your chum flies around in a bomber, trying to take out manned installations protecting the coast. The scale and diversity was crazy. And the maps let you duke it out in all of WW2’s theatres, so you could fight as the British in El Alamein or the Imperial Japanese Navy in Iwo Jima.

A few years ago, EA made it free, but it has since been removed from Origin due to Gamespy going out of business, leaving the game without servers. However! There are still places you can download it from, along with community servers, so there’s still life in the game yet – you can also get Battlefield 1942 in HD with the right mods. But should that life run out, DICE are bringing the 40s back with their next game: Battlefield V.

Order of Battle: U.S. Pacific

Order of Battle: Pacific takes the now well-worn Panzer General-style of wargames and manages to do more with than any other of the classic game’s successors have in a long time. It is an intricate-yet-approachable wargame, with logical rules and a distinct eye for detail.

Each move becomes a series of puzzles. Objectives need to be reached quickly, with no dawdling. Yet extending your grasp for side-missions can also provide bonuses further down the line. Each decision expands into new opportunities and further questions.

It is also a game that finally succeeds at naval transportation and combat, which is pretty rare among the best strategy games, and a vital feature considering the Pacific setting means much of your time will be set at sea. Order of Battle’s approach to naval is exceptionally strong, and makes sailing from port to port as interesting as battles themselves.

Hidden & Dangerous 2

Hidden & Dangerous 2 may be an ageing veteran that needs a stick to stay mobile these days, but its tales of silent heroics, undercover operations, and daring strikes have been unmatched in the 15 years since its release.

Rainbow Six for 1944, Hidden & Dangerous 2 is a tactical squad shooter with all the trimmings we’re clamoring for in the modern era: permadeath, persistent characters, detailed operation loadout screens, and fully open maps with mission goals to be completed any which way you fancy. Leading a squad of four stiff-upper-lipped SAS officers, there is a fascinating variety of missions that take you to every theatre of the war, from a snowy top secret research base to the dense jungles of Burma.

Related: Here are the best old games for more classics like this

The level of freedom is comparable to Hitman: Blood Money (there is even the option to strip enemies and steal their clothing), and the lack of enforced silence means when things go belly-up you can crack open the heavy machineguns and simply murder your way out. The controls and systems are all fairly clunky and the AI of your squadmates is never up to scratch, but the thrill of Hidden & Dangerous’ campaign is absolutely worth pushing through the niggles for.

World of Warplanes

World of Warplanes lets you live out your fantasy of being a World War 2 fighter pilot, absolutely for free. Wargaming’s WW2 game thrusts you into the cockpit of over five aircraft types that can include thousands of customisable configurations. Your eternal fight for dominance of the skies sees you facing action-packed 12v12 dogfights that require careful communication and effective teamwork for you to claim victory.

This free PC game is set in the Golden Age of military aviation, and it has the environments to match. You can choose to fight for one of seven nations, but the canvas through which you’ll be targeting the baddies is inspired by land masses all over the world. It means that, if you’re anything like us and get shot out the sky on the regular, you’ll at least be able to enjoy the view on the way down.

Free Ww2 Fighter Games

IL-2 Sturmovik 1946

Though IL-2 Sturmovik is almost old enough to leave school and get a job, it remains one of the best simulation games of all time, particularly those with a military bent.

1946, then, is something very special, because it contains IL-2 Sturmovik, its sequel, and a whole bunch of expansions, which means you get an almost bewildering number of campaigns and richly detailed planes, and by the time you are done with it all, you will be effortlessly pulling off Yo-Yos like a master ace and speeding across the skies in Yaks and MiGs like a natural.

While 1946 collects all the pre-2007 IL-2 Sturmovik games and expansions, it also adds nine extra campaigns and lots of lovely jets in an alternate history version of the war that sees Germany and Russia duking it out in the skies in high speed jet battles. The missions are scripted, though you will find dynamic battles in the older games that come with 1946, and you’ll find yourself on tense bombing runs, foiling deadly raids and getting into plenty of thrilling dogfights.

More War Thunder:

And there we have it: the very best WW2 games you can find on PC. In need of even more? Head to our partner site Wargamer for a look at the best WWI games. But, until next time, tinkety tonk and down with the Nazis, old fruit.

Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links.

The Rundown

• Best for Unit-Based Tactics:Company of Heroes 2 at Amazon, “Focuses on unit-based tactics in battles in the Eastern Front theater.”
• Best for Squad Management:Men of War: Assault Squad 2 at Amazon, “The intricate detailing of the game makes for a real-time strategy experience.”
• Best for Scale:Order of War at Amazon, “You can command a force of multiple unit types containing up to 1,000 soldiers, tanks, artillery, aircraft, and more.”
• Best for Complexity:Hearts of Iron IV at Amazon, “You will be in charge of millions of people, hundreds of factories, and dozens of battles around the world.”
• Best for Turn Based Tactics:Combat Mission Anthology at Amazon, “Gives you a more focused feel of the decision-making process of combat orders.”
• Best for Deceptive Tactics:RUSE at Amazon, “You will get the chance to pull off creative misdirections that vary up the gameplay.”
• Best for Alternative History:War Front: Turning Point at Amazon, “Offers an alternative history where Hitler dies early and the world powers get their hands on experimental technologies.”
• Best for Tanks:Codename: Panzers, Phase Two at Amazon, “Its main focus and fun is its extensive tank warfare.”

Our Top Picks

Best for Unit-Based Tactics: Company of Heroes 2

Company of Heroes 2 is a tactical-heavy World War II real-time strategy PC game that focuses on unit-based tactics in battles in the Eastern Front theater. Despite the small group of armies you’ll be commanding, the game lets you focus deeper on controlled management that’s methodical and gives a personalized experience of gameplay.

Every controllable unit type in Company of Heroes 2 has an associated construction cost and recruitment time with a range of varied fighting abilities; you’ll want to assess the battlefield, the weather conditions, and your foes carefully before making a move.

You’ll aim to move your soldiers to rush capture points and increase the flow or resources while gathering near bonfires to beat frostbite or bunkering in a building for cover, all in the hopes that no one flushes you out with a flamethrower or grenade.

The game builds on its legendary predecessor with a line-of-sight feature, a system that better emulates troop visibility in real combat so you’ll need to take into consideration the vision of your units in order to anticipate incoming forces as well as accounting for the sight of your enemies.

Best for Squad Management: Men of War: Assault Squad 2

The skirmish Men of War: Assault Squad 2 for PC focuses on a more squad-based management style gameplay with tactical maneuvering as opposed to full-blown, large-scale warfare. The intricate detailing of the game makes for a real-time strategy experience where nothing is off the table and variables come in the form of everything from unit inventory systems to dynamic tank armor.

There is no base building in Men of War: Assault Squad 2, instead, you’ll be in charge of managing around 250 different vehicles and 200 unique soldier types, each with their own equipment packages, strengths, and weaknesses. You’ll control squads (eight-man teams, single snipers, or armored escorts) that either protect or attack various objectives while diving in trenches, running through buildings, and securing pillboxes.

Aside from its versatility, the presentation of Men of War: Assault Squad 2 is found in its earful of sound effects and visuals, capturing the chaos of constant gunfire, crumbling buildings, the clanging of steel, and the screams of your soldiers.

Best for Scale: Order of War

Order of War covers the final year of World War II, giving you the option to push back the Axis of Evil in France or play as the German army to try to defeat the Soviets in the East. The strategy game operates on a large scale, showcasing an overhead view of your war zone, but allowing cinematic angles, so you can get up close and personal to see every moment of the action.

The massive playing field of Order of War is a treat to the eyes, having you operate a dynamic camera overlooking vast and detailed terrains of fields and pastures from a bird’s eye view as you conduct massive armies to do your bidding. You can command a force of multiple unit types containing up to 1,000 soldiers, tanks, artillery, aircraft, and more while executing strategic attacks based on actual operations during the time.

A striking orchestra builds up the ambiance of impending destruction as you bait an enemy tank squadron for a frontal attack while preparing your ambush with a strategic flanking offense in order to capture command points and push your army to victory.

Best for Complexity: Hearts of Iron IV

If you are up for a challenge, Hearts of Iron IV offers a complex World War II real-time strategy game that can take many hours to master but make you feel like a genius general. You will be in charge of millions of people, hundreds of factories, and dozens of battles around the world (all on a micro level) that may require you to study up on the game’s Wikipedia articles to get a grasp on the game.

Hearts of Iron IV is developed with huge comprehensive scenarios based on an ingeniously detailed strategic simulation that covers every aspect of World War II. The in-game world map is made up of 11,000 provinces, sea regions, and air zones, each with their own climates, terrain, day-night cycle, and supply lines that all have noticeable effects on decision making, movement, and combat.

You’ll focus mainly on logistics and control over resources as you balance your army needs in special areas, dabble in politics, manage factories, and steer the world in any direction (there are also alternative histories, including a Germany that never goes to war, America invading Canada, or even a communist takeover in Japan).

Best for Turn Based Tactics: Combat Mission Anthology

Combat Mission Anthology is a collection of the Combat Mission series, real-time strategy games that offer a mix to the genre using a turn-based system. Despite its slower and more thorough gameplay, the series gives you a more focused feel of the decision-making process of combat orders with comfortable silences in between.

The gameplay of the Combat Mission games are separated into a planning and execution phases where you first give orders to your platoons and reinforced battalions and then witness the conflicts that come as a result of the orders given. All while this is happening, you must account for the morale and leadership given to soldiers, taking in their statuses to see if they’re OK, routed, fatigued, and more while keeping an eye out for soldiers who cower in fear and become permanently affected by the choices you make.

Best for Deceptive Tactics: RUSE

The cleverly titled RUSE has you making multiple decisions covering many strategies, including developing ruses: Deceptive tactics to unleash on your enemies. You will get the chance to pull off creative misdirections that vary up the gameplay, including setting up decoy tanks (much like the Allies did in WW2), speed up units, spy on enemies to gain intel, and cause as much deception as possible while calling out the enemy’s bluffs.

RUSE is set during World War II in the European theater with selectable nations, including the U.S., UK, Germany, USSR, Italy, and France, and each has their own specific units, strengths, and tendencies. Players can jump into the main campaign mode that offers 23 different missions or dive straight into custom skirmish modes to battle against enemy AI.

RUSE shines with its creativity in combat, allowing for multiple combinations of tricky attacks that work in unison (like staging a fake invasion while dropping paratroopers behind enemy lines).

Best for Alternative History: War Front: Turning Point

War Front: Turning Point is a large-scale strategy game that offers an alternative history where Hitler dies early and the world powers get their hands on experimental technologies. You will get to use everything from historical real world M4 Sherman tanks to more futuristic weapons such as exoskeleton mechs, jetpack infantry, freeze rays, and shield generators.

War Front: Turning Point resembles the traditional user interface layout of real-time strategy games like Command & Conquer and follows the familiar formula of collecting resources, constructing various building types, researching new prototypes, and swarming your foes with the appropriate unit type.

The game’s main campaign mode has both primary and secondary objectives that are intertwined with other missions, giving endless amounts of strategic choices that you can make to get the job done. You’ll even be able to jump into a skirmish mode that is unit-based and allows you to engage up to nine different AI in various game types while altering properties, including the time of day, weather, army limit, starting points, resources, and more.

Best for Tanks: Codename: Panzers, Phase Two

Though Codename: Panzers, Phase Two has three different unit types, including infantry and artillery, its main focus and fun is its extensive tank warfare. The WW2 RTS game has a real-time feel to it with multiple solutions to each of its missions that send you off into unfamiliar territory, including the dusty dunes of the Sahara.

The detail in Codename: Panzers, Phase Two covers aspects of not only the commands you give but the management that comes with every action. Codename: Panzers, Phase Two will have you strategically moving and positioning your units in order to execute surprise attacks and flanks while also tasking you with upkeeps such as armor repairs and ammunition resupplies.

The more seasoned surviving units become, the more chances you’ll have to upgrade them, turning your rookies into elite tank crews and placing them into more powerful tanks, making them more dependable and lethal.

What to Look for in a World War II Strategy PC Game

Ww2 Aircraft Games For Pc

Rating - War games can be violent or disturbing, so be sure to check the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rating before buying one. The ratings have three elements: Rating categories (“E” for everyone; “E10+” for ages 10 and up; “T” for teens; “M” for mature 17+; and “A” for adults only), Content Descriptors (Comic mischief, mild language, etc.) and Interactive Elements (In-Game Purchases, Users Interact, Shares Location, Unrestricted Internet, etc.).

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Graphics - Graphics and sound effects will dictate how the game looks and sounds. Since World War II games are rooted in history, you’ll want a game with the most realistic graphics possible. This includes not only detail in your surroundings, but of characters, weapons, and machinery as well.

Level of difficulty - Gamers who are new to strategy games might want to begin with an easy game to dip their toes into the genre. It doesn’t take long to master war tactics and operations, but some games have more strategic gameplay than others. Luckily, most games feature a selection of difficulty levels, so you can level up slowly or quickly as you wish.