Simulating battles on a large scale is exciting. Sandbox battle games give players a chance tothrow armies at each other to see who will win, and to engineer a devastating army composition that can stand against any force. Whether it’s in the intricate world ofWarhammer, featuring classic fantasy races, or dialed up to eleven with over-the-top action and ragdoll physics, players can test their strategic skills in these incredible sandbox battle games.
8Easy Red 2
Immersive World War 2 Simulator
For fans of the olderBattlefieldgames,Easy Red 2is an immersive grand-scale sandbox that will plunge players into combat alongside a slew ofperiod-accurate weapons, thundering tanks, and deadly aircraft. With captivating attention to detail,Easy Redaims to create a sense of realism in its massive fields of battle while giving players the freedom to approach warfare with freedom.
Aerial combat and destructive buildings collide to make an ever-changing landscape that leaves fans with a perfect stage to set any kind of fight upon. Sub-objectives also help to point units of soldiers towards small victories - taking out an anti-tank weapon, or capturing an airbase to cut off enemy support.
7Extremely Realistic Siege Warfare Simulator
Strategic Cartoon Violence
If the realism and immersive nature ofEasy Red 2are too intense, fans of battle simulators should tryExtremely Realistic Siege Warfare Simulator. Here, soldiers are faceless and colorful and can be given basic commands on where to go and what to attack.
The campaign will challenge players to use different techniques to be able to conquer the missions, but the main draw here is the ability to take control of an individual soldier to help in the attack — and the multiplayer mode. Online players can give their armies commands and try to make use of cavalry, siege towers, trebuchets, and so much more. Definitely worth a try.
Historical Adventuring With Expansive Mod Support
Mount & Blade: Warband
In a land torn asunder by incessant warfare, it is time to assemble your own band of hardened warriors and enter the fray. Lead your men into battle, expand your realm, and claim the ultimate prize: the throne of Calradia!Mount & Blade: Warband is a stand alone expansion pack for the game that brought medieval battlefields to life with its realistic mounted combat and detailed fighting system.Graphical overhaul: Support added for HDR, FSAA, depth of field, soft particles, tone mapping, and many other effectsNew models with greater detail and high-quality texturesMultiplayer battles with up to 64 players. Multiplayer modes include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Conquest, Battle, and SiegeA campaign allowing you to become the ruler of a faction and convince lords to become your vassalsThe ability to upgrade your companions to vassals by granting them landsThe ability to marry a lady of the realm for romance or cold political gain. attempt to win a lady’s heart through poetry or braveryImproved mechanics for soldier morale: Soldiers will break and run away if their morale gets too lowPick any projectile off the battlefield for use as additional munitionsNew motion-captured combat animationsNumerous improvements to the combat system: Your shield will still stop arrows even if you are not actively defendingThe ability to play multiplayer matches on random maps as well as hand-designed onesMultiplayer equipment system: Earn money by fighting opponents or accomplishing goalsThe ability to use most throwing weapons in close combat: Switch to using a javelin as a short spear when the enemy gets closeSpend gold on more powerful equipment, using a carefully balanced system that will make combat more exciting without giving too much of an advantage to the leading team
For players who want to have a little more freedom in their approach to a sandbox world,Mount & Blade: Warbandlets players take control of a faction and begin their quest in a kingdom ruled by nobles, raided by bandits, and roamed by gangs of merchants who roll from city to city. Players can make themselves powerful allies of the nobles to clutch at power, or start raiding their overlords to bring them down.
The political possibilities are impressive too; with a powerful enough army, fans can take prisoners, marry into wealth and privilege, or simply burn rivals to the ground to become the king of Calradia. The scope of freedom makes this a perfect sandbox to fight for.
One of the most recognizable real-time strategy game titles,Total War’sWarhammerseries pits fantasy races from across the classicGames Workshopsetting against each other.Total War: Warhammer 3lets players take control of awhole host of factions, and for fans that own the past installments in the series, the Immortal Empires campaign includes every single lord that was in the previous games, meaning that the possibilities are huge.
The Skaven rat men, the undead forces of the Vampire Counts, the pox-ridden plague bearers of Nurgle, and the gunpowder-wielding Dwarfs are all there for players to experiment with in real-time strategy combat that puts all others to shame.
4Rising Front
World War One Sandbox
Another simulated sandbox that seeks to emulate real warfare,Rising Frontuses faceless troops to symbolize the masses that fought in theFirst World War. With period-accurate weaponry and AI that uses any cover formed by explosive artillery as defense,Rising Frontis an immersive and deeply strategic game that puts players into the fray from a first-person perspective.
Troops can be commanded, like in a real-time strategy game, but when they die,ragdoll physics is activatedand often interferes with the fighting of men behind them. Huge artillery pieces can be commanded, and the thousands of moving pieces all contribute to a battlefield filled with chaos that truly feels like a toolbox for experimentation and excitement.
3Shieldwall
Silly Roman Strategy Sandbox
For those players looking for something lighter,Shieldwallnever takes itself too seriously. Putting fans into the shoes of the commander of a unit of Roman soldiers, players will be expected to use ancient tactics to defend their points while capturing those of the enemy.
The game is fast-paced and super light, letting players upgrade their banners and their soldiers' abilities on the fly, and the fighters will always surround the player, meaning that the game can turn intohack-and-slash mayhem at any point. Players can aim spears that their whole unit will throw for ranged damage and order their soldiers to hold, guard, or charge to fully encapsulate the Roman strategies of war.
2Total Tank Simulator
Vehicular Mayhem
Another colorful cartoon sandbox that is packed full of unit types,Total Tank Simulatorsees players fighting in a campaign that reimagines World War 2, putting players in control of one country of their choice throughout the conflict. They will be able to recruit various vehicles, weapons, and soldiers to engage with the enemy on every front.
Fans can also jump into control of any of the units, flying planes or driving tanks into the front lines. Special units, specific to each country,allow the game to drift into unserious territory, as Russian players can recruit bears wielding miniguns and the USSR can field an army of explosive kamikaze dogs.
The game that spawned a hundred look-alikes,Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, orTABSas it has come to be known, features online multiplayer, a series of progressively more difficult campaigns, and a free play sandbox, each of which lets players build up an army inside a certain point range to face against an enemy lineup. The units start with what fans of the genre would expect — shielded soldiers and javelin throwers — but quickly spiral out of control, letting players fieldmammoths, vampires, and gunslinging cowboys.
Fans can always possess the units to assume control and use incredible and hilarious powers for themselves, which will often be needed on harder missions. The freedom, creativity, and sheer scope ofTABSmake it a must-play.
