Iron Harvest should immediately catch your eye. At first glance, you might mistake it for any other historical skirmish RTS. Groups of infantry take cover, tossing grenades and laying down suppressing fire to rout their foes. However, things start to change when the big guns show up. It isn't tanks rolling over the horizon, but giant mechs lumbering across the land.

This is the "World of 1920+," a post-WWI alternate history that sees the world's remaining national superpowers creating massive diesel mechs in a steampunk arms race.

These mechs are a sight to behold. They aren't slick and graceful alien beasts. They are big, loud, and clunky. Many of them look like they're made from repurposed farm equipment, and they spit just as much black smoke into the air as they do ordinance onto the battlefield.

These mechs are the heart and soul of Iron Harvest; they help turn an otherwise solid but unremarkable game into much more of a spectacle. If you enjoy RTS games like Company of Heroes but want to go a little more fantastical with your approach, Iron Harvest is a perfect fit.

Iron Harvest Review: Diesel Destruction

Iron Harvest is more focused (right now, at least) on its single-player aspect. There are some multiplayer options and some indications those might get beefed up in the future, but the cinematic campaign is where you'll get the most bang for your buck at launch.

Each of the three major nations — Polania, Rusviet, and Saxony — have their own story to tell, with different heroes and environments to blast your way through. There are several different types of missions, with plenty of evolving stories and optional objectives.

Gameplay boils down to pretty expected fare, though. There are several control points scattered across the map, and the more you control, the quicker you generate resources. Base building is not overly complicated, and the three nations all follow nearly identical tech trees and early unit requirements. Iron Harvest is mostly concerned with tactics and combat, as opposed to winning through supreme economy management.

When it comes to infantry, you're encouraged to use cover and a variety of tactics as you work your way up the tech tree towards your bigger guns. Basic infantry is strong at setting up bottlenecks and laying down impressive amounts of low-level firepower. You can eventually build into stronger infantry units, like grenadiers and engineers, who use explosives, repair units, lay down traps, and specialize in a variety of other techniques.

You've also got a few hero units at your command. The first campaign as Polania sees you controlling a teenage sniper with a pet bear. Catching infantry out in the open with her is a fairly easy win.

Eventually, the mechs are going to come out and play. They start relatively small: sort of 1920s versions of exosuits. Even the most basic mechs are mighty, but Iron Harvest is a game that rewards you for planning your tactics.

A clever group of grenadiers can lay waste to superior firepower if you position them correctly and plan your techniques correctly. The economic swing of low-level units destroying much more expensive ones (and then stealing the resources from their charred out husks) is satisfying and a great way to turn the tide.

The most powerful mechs tend to throw the balance off a bit, but that's kind of to be expected. A massive, AT-AT-esque hulk wandering across the European countryside is going to make quick work of a bunch of dudes with single-shot rifles, no matter how you slice it. You've just got to make sure you're ready with your supermechs by the time the other side's come online.

Symphony of Destruction

It helps that everything in Iron Harvest looks and sounds so good. Character models can get a bit dodgy when you zoom in too close, but their icons stand out when you are in your big picture view, and it isn't hard to figure out the relative strength of forces once you've played for a few hours.

The size and scale of things are nice: infantry units look like proper little bugs when the biggest mechs start rolling off the production line. And the mechs themselves look great. They're properly big and beefy, with wobbly legs and all sorts of nice touches that make them feel of the time, despite coming from such a strange steampunk world.

The graphics are solid, but the sound design is what helps the battles of Iron Harvest come to life. When a massive engagement starts, the constant chattering of guns, booming explosions, and shouts of soldiers as they move from position to position all help bring urgency to things.

Soon, that urgency comes to a head when the clanking mechs start stomping around, literally crushing buildings as they slowly make their way to the fight. Soon, their cannons are all you can hear, and a battlefield full of artillery craters is usually all that's left when the shooting starts.

Well made RTS games do a great job of making you feel satisfied after a particularly harrowing win. Even with superior firepower, victory is never assured in Iron Harvest. You still need to be tactical in your approach and keep an eye out for opportunities. After all, even victory can be costly, and the difference between keeping one of your most potent mechs just barely alive and losing it to the scrap heap can be significant in the outcome of a given scenario.

Big Shoes to Fill

Not everything is perfect in Iron Harvest. The lore and personalities of the different factions are distinct, but there isn't much difference in the playstyle of faction. Maintaining balance when having factions that play differently from one another is a significant challenge. Still, it would be nice if it were more than just, "Well, Polania has a mech that's a bit different..."

Cover is fiddly, and it isn't very intuitive what will work and how well it will work. Part of this comes from experience. You'll start to identify things on sight a little better as you put the time in. Iron Harvest can be punishing if the tactics you think you're employing don't work.

Sending a group of infantry to take cover by a ridge, only to have them get torn apart by machine guns because they can't or won't take cover can set you back immensely, and can often call for a quick restart.

Finally, a few things that will probably be tweaked over time but still stand out as issues on launch come in the form of balance and polish.

For the most part, things are balanced during small scale skirmishes, but the way missions can change on the fly can sometimes call for a total wipe. Perhaps you built your force to handle a specific type of enemy, but suddenly, something you've never seen before swoops out and decimates you. Sometimes, the big gun just big guns you.

In short, it can be frustrating to restart due to some ridiculous onslaught of enemies after you've been tactical and creative in tackling the problem in front of you for so long.

Some polish issues could use some work, too: some of the voice acting and lines come across as cliched and stilted, but it isn't a massive issue.

The Bottom Line — Iron Harvest Review

Pros:

• Draws you in with unique world and mech design
• Excellent sound quality
• Tactics matter; overwhelming odds can be taken down by thinking ahead
• Satisfying

Cons:

• Some balance issues
• Three factions don't have distinct playstyles
• Certain mechanics don't seem to work consistently
• Not many multiplayer options

If you're looking for a strong, single-player RTS with a unique world to explore, Iron Harvest is a perfect option. The world is well-realized, and the mechs offer a sense of style that sometimes get lost in historical strategy games. A train car on legs firing huge artillery shells is a little more memorable than a different-colored tank.

Some issues could stand to be ironed out, but nothing that is a significant detriment. The cover system and focus on a tactical approach make ever decision seem significant, and winning a battle in Iron Harvest is extremely rewarding.

If you crave spectacle in your strategy games, do yourself a favor and lead Polania to victory!

[Note: Deep Silver provided the copy of Iron Harvest used for this review.]

To say nothing else of Iron Harvest, it is a world that instantly makes you pay attention. Based on the art of Jakub Rosalski (which is also where the world of the board game Scythe came from), Iron Harvest takes a rural, post-WWI Europe and drops gigantic mechs right in the middle of it. Looking at artwork and screenshots, you can't help but get sucked in by curiosity.

Luckily, there's a lot more to this RTS than just a pretty face. Iron Harvest has a pretty impressive real-time strategy skeleton underneath its veneer, with plenty of opportunities for players to adapt to and outwit their opponents.

Iron Harvest also provides hard enough counters that matches never feel totally lost; there's always an opportunity to build up an army that can fight back against a complacent opponent.

We got our hands on a preview build of Iron Harvest, and we like what we've seen so far.

Mechanical Monstrosities

Iron Harvest is essentially a skirmish-style RTS set in the "World of 1920+." It's an alternate reality based in Europe after World War I, with factions loosely based on real-world countries.

The central powers in Iron Harvest are the nations Rusviet, Saxony, and Polania. Rusviet is an amalgamation of Soviet powers. Saxony is a combination of western European countries. And Polania is the somewhat scrappy underdog, sandwiched between the two massive empires.

All of this sounds like pretty standard RTS stuff, but what helps set Iron Harvest apart from the rest are its mechs. This is a world where Nikola Tesla has worked his magic, and huge, mechanical war machines roam the countryside.

Unlike the slick mechs you'll see in some anime, however, these mechs are big, clunky beasts. They look like combinations of repurposed farm equipment and walking tanks. The first mech you encounter in the game is best described as a barrel with legs.

Watching these wobbly, clunky weapons of war steamroll across the battlefield, wiping out entire infantry battalions, is extremely satisfying.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Even though the mechs are impressive, you won't wield massive armies of them. You have a lot of other tactical options to take into account, and sometimes, a massive swarm of infantry groups is more successful than a handful of lumbering brutes.

Generally, your smaller troops have stronger tactical options, and their ability to maneuver and adapt to more situations allows them to be effective in the hands of a savvy commander.

Infantry units can serve different purposes, and each faction's troops have a few varying details that help them stand out. For example, Polania's basic infantry carries bolt-action rifles, while Rusviet's infantry carries shotguns. In certain situations, you'll find yourself wishing you had the troops your faction doesn't have, and a huge aspect of finding success in Iron Harvest is putting yourself in situations where your troops have the advantage.

On top of that, troops can hide inside buildings, take cover against walls or in bushes, seek higher ground, and even lay out landmines, barbed wire, and other obstacles. If you kill an enemy unit, they may drop weapons that an existing unit can acquire and use, changing the makeup of your army on the fly.

Even a military composed of just a few engineers can put some serious hurt on opposing mechs if you strategize correctly by laying some traps, setting up an ambush, and avoiding detection in the open field. Brute force might overcome you, but a savvy strategy can trump superior firepower in Iron Harvest.

Economics 101

The economy and base building aspect of Iron Harvest is relatively simple, but it gets the job done. There are two resources to manage and a handful of buildings that let you churn out units and upgrades.

Having a strong economy is key to overcoming some missions, but Iron Harvest seems more focused on tactics and warfare than out-resourcing your opponent.

There are resource stockpiles scattered throughout the various maps, and there are also buildings you can "control" that give you a set amount of resources over time.

Controlling more buildings will give you more iron or oil per second, for example, and these buildings can change hands easily if not properly defended. At the same time, spreading yourself too thin over a map is just asking to be shredded by an opposing army.

A Winning Personality

One of the trickiest aspects to get right in a strategy game is giving each faction its own identity but still managing to keep them balanced. This is one of the areas where, as of now, Iron Harvest stumbles.

There are some small differences in faction infantry units, and each faction has distinct mechs and heroes, but ultimately, they feel like reskins of one another. The difference between "shotgun infantry" and "rifle infantry" doesn't make for much distinction. It's a stark contrast to something like StarCraft, where each faction is distinct.

On one hand, this means you'll be able to swap between factions without too much of a learning curve. On the other, it damages some of Iron Harvest's depth in the long run.

The hero units do offer a bit of personality, though, even if they don't change up your strategies too much. Polania features a sharpshooting woman named Anna who has a pet bear named Wojtek; they make for a great combo of long-range damage and close-range tankiness. Saxony has a massive, AT-AT-esque mech called Brunhilde piloted by a salty commander named Gunter von Duisburg.

Nuts and Bolts

Iron Harvest's production values are solid, even if certain aspects of it feel a bit fast and loose. Troops, especially groups of infantry, don't always behave like you think they will. Multiple times, I ordered my collected infantry to take cover behind a wall, only to watch them hop over it and take cover on the other side. That's all well and good, but the enemies are on that side. Cover doesn't work that way.

It's easy to identify certain aspects at a glance, such as what weapons are hitting the battlefield, once you know the icons that represent them. Maps are surprisingly detailed, and unit graphics look pretty sharp even at medium distances. Get too close and you can pick apart the details, but that's why you don't zoom in that far in real-time strategy games.

The voice work is not phenomenal. The Polania and Rusviet factions sound a bit like if you asked a group of stage actors to imitate Soviet accents. And playing through the opening Polania campaign from Anna's point of view is a bit irritating as well, as pretty much every character simply cannot believe your hero character is not a man. Yes, Anna is a girl. She can shoot. Isn't that CRAZY?!?!

Time to Play

There's an open beta of Iron Harvest, free to download on Steam, that contains a few of the early Polania missions. It's definitely worth trying out to get feel for the game's systems if you're a fan of RTS fair.

Our press copy had a bit more to it: a few of the Saxony missions from later in the campaign and the ability to organize skirmishes with both of those factions and as the Rusviets.

The campaign seems like a pretty solid exercise, but a lot of the value of RTS games comes from how well the multiplayer works. Whether Iron Harvest is able to find that balance and personality in its factions will probably be the deciding factor in if it is worth a buy. Keep an eye on it, try out the beta, and check back here for a full review when it releases in September.

Phantom Brigade

Developer: Brace Yourself Games
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2020

A hybrid of turn-based and real-time strategy, Phantom Brigade sees you leading a team of mechs to war in a desperate, last-ditch attempt to retake your home. Big, stompy robots running through neighborhoods and firing lasers at one another. Need we say more?

We can: destructible environments, customizable mechs, and a series of tough decisions that will help you tell a unique story every time you play. Phantom Brigade is shaping up to be a tricky, tactical puzzle with some serious details to keep you crunching numbers even after you've shut the game down.

It's not Mechwarrior 5 or Battletech, but something altogether interesting in its own right. 

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2020 is shaping up to be a great year for strategy gamers, with several different genres and settings to pick from. This was by no means a comprehensive list of titles, either.

If you're looking for the most anticipated horror games, FPS games, survival games, MMORPGs, or Nintendo games in 2020, be sure to check out the list of related articles below: 

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• Horror games 2020
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• Survival games 2020
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• FPS games 2020
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• MMORPGs 2020
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• Switch games 2020
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• RPGs 2020
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What 2020 strategy releases are you most looking forward to? Sound off in the comments below. 

Evil Genius 2: World Domination

Developer: Rebellion
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2020

The original Evil Genius was a game that had an amazing premise but stumbled a bit in execution. It released way back in 2004, and developer Rebellion is hoping to knock it out of the park with the sequel 15 years later. 

Evil Genius 2: World Domination sees you roleplaying as your own psuedo-James Bond villain, while building a secret lair, hiring goons, killing spies, and taking over the world. El Presidente would be proud. 

Evil Genius 2 has a bit of Dungeon Keeper vibe to it. Your main priority is building your evil lair gather enough resources to take over the world. It's a game that looks to offer a variety of silly objectives (one asks you to "Bake Alaska") and features a satirical romp through the world of super-villainy.

Grab your sharks with lasers attached to their heads: it's time to rule to world. 

Empire of Sin

Developer: Romero Games
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Date: Spring 2020

"What if XCOM, but with mobsters?" is the general elevator pitch for Empire of Sin. This strategy game sees you taking over a crime family during the Prohibition-era, controlling your illegal empire with a variety of underlings, and entering turn-based battles to whack your enemies and expand your influence.

Alcohol is used as currency, and you control a variety of illicit businesses like casinos, speakeasies, and brothels. Empire of Sin also looks to offer plenty of replayability, with random character generation and a map that relocates important landmarks every time you play.

If you're sick of being the do-gooder and saving the world, then Empire of Sin might be your ticket to the top.

Humankind

Developer: Amplitude Studios
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2020

Humankind, not to be confused with Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, is a bold move. It a strategy game looking to topple the king of the "Historical 4X" mountain: the Civilization series. However, if any team can take on Sid Meier's giant franchise, it's Amplitude Studios.

Amplitude created the Endless series: Dungeon of the Endless, Endless Space, and Endless Legend. Of those three, Endless Legend generally got the most accolades and is in the same genre as Humankind, which has a ton of big ideas and looks to be the next "one more turn" strategy title.

Humankind's big draw is that rather than playing through history as an existing civilization, you get to create your own culture by drawing in elements of several different historical empires. If it fires on as many cylinders as Endless Legend does, it has a good shot to become one of the big dogs of the 4X world.

The Settlers

Developer: Ubisoft Blue Byte
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2020

Technically, The Settlers should have an "8" at the end of its title since it's the eighth game in the long-running series. However, The Settlers is the first entry the franchise in almost a decade and is serving as more a "brand reboot" than a true sequel. At least according to Ubisoft, who has also developed the Anno series, including Anno 2070 and Anno 1800. 

The Settlers is a city-building game that sees you build up your township through time, adding upgrades and trying to juggle your resources as you go. It's kind of (sort of) like a period Cities Skylines with combat.  

The Settlers is said to feature a few real-time strategy elements in some battles, but it is mostly a low-key affair about building your settlement and optimizing it.

It's a game more about managing your population and making things as efficient as possible, and it's certain to appeal to the lizard-brain project manager in many a strategy gamer.

Astra Exodus

Developer: Atomic Kaiser
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2020 (possibly the end of 2019, but probably not)

Astra Exodus is another strategy title that was supposed to come out in 2019 but seems very unlikely. Instead, it's looking more and more like 2020 for this one, too.

Don't let the low-fi graphics of Astra Exodus fool you. The game looks to involve an impressive and deep level of strategy, a ton of ways to play, and more than enough meat to keep you busy for dozens and dozens of hours.

Astra Exodus has a narrative campaign. It has a deep sandbox mode. It has hero units, massive space battles, and tactical ground battles. It builds unique galaxies and has a randomized, massive tech tree each time you play. It even has mod support and a framework that gives you the ability to design your own spaceships in-game.

Warcraft 3: Reforged

Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2020 (Possibly the very tail end of 2019)

Remakes are a tough one to deal with on a list like this, but Blizzard properties are always big enough to get a nod. Warcraft 3: Reforged, an HD remaster of Warcraft 3, was supposed to see a full release in 2019, but that seems more and more unlikely as the end of the year approaches. Instead, it looks like we can expect it in early 2020.

While Reforged is a remaster, there are plenty of elements to be excited about. The game will see a balance overhaul, and those who still own Warcraft 3 will see the same changes.

You will be able to play either version in competitive matches, so the rerelease should bring an influx of new players to the fold. The single-player mode will feature some changes to the plot as well, and Blizzard has promised improved mod support.

Basically, if you missed Warcraft 3's original run (or you just miss playing it), Warcraft 3: Reforged will be a good excuse to head back to Azeroth.

Wasteland 3

Developer: inXile Entertainment
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Date: May 19, 2020

If you have grown tired of the post-apocalyptic shooter trend and prefer a more strategic post-calamity world, Wasteland 3 might be just what you're looking for. InXile's sequel to Wasteland 2 moves the action from the deserts of the American southwest to the frigid plains and mountains of Colorado.

Luckily, though, it still promises plenty of tactical warfare.

Wasteland 3 will have you put together a squad of rangers, building their stats and skills as you construct a base and make important, plot-altering decisions. Just surviving is difficult enough, but you will also have to figure out who to trust and how to balance your squad's abilities.

Tough as nails tactical combat and both singleplayer and multiplayer modes promise a lot of bang for your buck.

Crusader Kings 3

Developer: Paradox Development Studio
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2020

One of the granddaddies of grand strategy, Crusader Kings is set to see a full-fledged sequel in 2020 with the release of Crusader Kings 3. 

Crusader Kings 2 released back in 2012, and developer Paradox has kept expanding that game through a massive DLC campaign. It will be good to go back to square one with the massive strategy franchise with the newest entry.

Crusader Kings 3, like earlier games in the series, is a dynasty simulator set in Europe during the Middle Ages. You take on a variety of historical figures, then go about enhancing your dynasty by any means necessary.

Ally yourself through marriage with powerful monarchs. Betray your family members to get ahead. CK is about as close to Game of Thrones politicking as you can get. We don't have an exact release date yet, but CK3 is supposed to storm the gates in 2020.

Iron Harvest

Developer: KING Art
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Date: September 1, 2020

Set in an alternate 1920s Europe, Iron Harvest is a real-time strategy game about the threat confronting Europe after World War I. In addition to controlling the era-accurate troops you'd expect, Iron Harvest has a huge number of dieselpunk mechs for you to build and blow up. 

If you're a boardgamer, the art of Iron Harvest might look similar to that of Scythe. Indeed, both Scythe and Iron Harvest are based on the art of Jakob Rozalski. Though, the gameplay found in here is obviously very different from its tabletop cousin.

Iron Harvest promises a full-fledged single-player campaign alongside casual and competitive multiplayer gaming. KING Art, the developers behind the game, have also promised regular updates and free DLC after release.

When you like to outthink, outflank, and outclass your opponents, you're looking for a strategy game to scratch that itch. There are a lot of different subgenres under the strategy umbrella, but 2020 is shaping up to be a year full of strong, upcoming strategy games to look forward to.

Whether it's real-time, turn-based, or any other type of strategy game, games like Iron Harvest, Wasteland 3, and Empire of Sin have you covered. Heck, there's even a remaster (supposedly) coming in Warcraft 3: Reforged.

Here is a small sample of the strategy games you should be looking forward to at the start of the new decade.