Best Real-Time-With-Pause Strategy Games (2024)

Strategy games often task players with managing multiple things at once; from real-time strategy games like StarCraft 2 that have players managing their armies and economy simultaneously to grand strategy games like Stellaris that have players managing entire empires.

As a result, real-time-with-pause is a welcome addition for some players, as it allows them to think over their decisions while still enjoying the fast pace of real-time gameplay. While real-time-with-pause is a somewhat polarizing mechanic in games, some strategy titles have managed to execute it well.

8 Jagged Alliance - Back In Action

A Real-Time Left-Turn For The Jagged Alliance Franchise

Jagged Alliance - Back In Action tasks players with managing a rag-tag team of mercenaries. In the game, players must carefully manage their company and finances, hiring new mercs and purchasing new equipment as they progress.

Unlike other Jagged Alliance games (which were strictly turn-based), Jagged Alliance - Back In Action features real-time-with-pause (or "plan and go") combat. This allows players to experience the action in real-time, while still being able to make strategic decisions. Being able to pause also allows players to think about each decision carefully, rather than being rushed.

7 Dungeon Of The Endless

Real-Time Strategy, Tower-Defense, And Dungeon Crawling

Dungeon Of The Endless is a unique indie rogue-like with real-time-with-pause combat. Dungeon Of The Endless is squad-based, meaning players control multiple characters at once. This can get chaotic relatively fast, especially in high-stakes situations, so the ability to pause is a welcome one.

The goal of Dungeon Of The Endless is for players to transport a large crystal to the exit. Players repeat this floor after floor as they make their way through the dungeon, gathering and managing resources along the way. The game also features tower defense elements, tasking players with strategically placing turrets to cover their retreat.

6 From Glory To Goo

A Combination Of Base Defense And Real-Time Strategy

Following a similar gameplay loop to games such as They Are Billions, From Glory To Goo is a combination of base defense and real-time strategy. This single-player sci-fi strategy game tasks players with ensuring the survival of their colony as they expand and become more powerful.

From Glory To Goo has players defending against hordes of the titular goo, which can be dangerous if players are unprepared. In addition to being able to build and control an army, players also have access to a unique captain character who can level up throughout the game. With procedural generation and a variety of captains to choose from, From Glory To Goo is a promising real-time-with-pause strategy game.

5 Tower Of Time

A Massively Strategic RPG

Although Tower Of Time is predominantly an RPG, its gameplay is incredibly strategic and packed with tactical decisions. Most important, though, is the ability to slow down or even stop the game, to pause and think over the next decision.

Tower Of Time is an extremely combat-focused RPG, which gives the real-time-with-pause combat plenty of room to shine. Furthermore, the game features an "RPG-Lite" mode that reduces the amount of story content players have to wade through between combat encounters.

4 Company Of Heroes 3

Real-Time Strategy With A Tactical Pause Mode

Company Of Heroes 3 follows in the footsteps of its predecessors for the most part, providing a visceral strategy game that takes place during WW2. Despite being a real-time strategy game at heart, Company Of Heroes 3 features an entirely optional tactical pause mode that dramatically shifts the gameplay.

When players take advantage of the tactical pause, they're able to queue up orders for all of their units. Those units then act out their new orders in real-time once the player un-pauses the game, and it can often be satisfying to watch a well-made plan come together.

3 Door Kickers 2: Task Force North

Real-Time SWAT Strategy

Door Kickers is a unique combination of strategy, tactics, and puzzles. The game features a real-time-with-pause combat system that allows players to meticulously plan out the actions of each and every one of their squad members.

Door Kickers 2 features several challenging missions in which players must puzzle out the best route through the environment. The early access game manages to be a visceral and fast-paced experience thanks to its real-time-with-pause system, playing like a real-time strategy title in which the player has massively granular control over their units.

2 Kenshi

A Tactical Squad-Based Sandbox

Kenshi is an expansive sandbox that takes place in a mostly barren wasteland packed with interesting locations, characters, and unique environments. Kenshi is a relatively inaccessible game, but the freedom and player agency that it offers makes it worth learning.

Kenshi features a brutal combat system that can be difficult to get to grips with. Although a lot of combat in Kenshi comes down to who has the greater numbers or the better equipment/stats, combat can often be strategic. Combat in Kenshi plays out in real-time, but players can pause at any moment to better position their squad members.

1 FTL: Faster Than Light

A Frantic, Fast-Paced Rogue-Like

FTL: Faster Than Light is a notorious indie strategy game with a rogue-like structure, known for its frantic and chaotic real-time-with-pause space combat. This combat is at the core of FTL's gameplay loop and makes up for much of what makes the game fun.

This visceral combat tasks players with managing power systems and ammunition, targeting specific areas of the enemy ship, and even managing individual crew members amid the chaos. FTL also features a plethora of random encounters and micro-decisions that players need to make in between combats, which helps to give players an occasional reprieve.