Critical Moves - Strategy Gaming
by Critical Moves Podcast
Latest episode
Does Balance Kill Fun in Strategy Games? (Ep. 105)
Does Balance Kill Fun in Strategy Games? (Ep. 105)
About this podcast
Critical Moves is a strategy games podcast that takes RTS, 4X, and tactics seriously. Most gaming podcasts don’t even bother with strategy games. We do. Each week we cover real-time strategy, turn-based tactics, 4X empire builders and indie experiments, plus shining a new light on old classics.
These aren't quick reviews or recycled talking points. It’s sharp criticism and honest discussion about strategy game design. If a game is shallow or broken, we’ll say so. If it does something clever, we’ll explain why it works. We talk to developers and key industry figures, getting into the mechanics and design choices that shape the games we love.
We're an RTS podcast, a 4X podcast, a place for smarter conversations about tactics and strategy gaming. Critical Moves is made for players who think about systems, mechanics, and design.
New episodes every Friday.
https://criticalmovespodcast.com
Episodes
The newest 20 of 106 episodes
- Does Balance Kill Fun in Strategy Games? (Ep. 105) · 59 min · Episode 105Does balance kill fun in strategy games? Al, Drexy and new co-host Rob, the former founder of eXplorminate, try to settle it. It starts with William Harms, who wrote the story…
- Steam SlopFest: Has Next Fest Lost the Plot? (Ep.104) · 60 min · Episode 104For our two year anniversary and 104th episode, Nuno, Adam, Drexy and Al look at Steam NextFest and ask whether it has become Steam SlopFest. With over seven thousand demos…
- The Democratisation of Strategy Game Development (Ep.103) · 59 min · Episode 103Anyone can now build and release a strategy game, but is that good for the genre? Al is joined by Jack, Adam and Drexy to debate whether free engines, asset packs and…
- Distant Worlds 2 and Shadows Rising with Elliot Gibbs (Ep.102) · 1 h 5 min · Episode 102Drexy is joined by Dastactic to talk to Elliot Gibbs of Code Force, the designer and programmer of Distant Worlds. They cover how the series began as a side project, the thinking…
- Imperium: Reviving Ascendancy (Ep.101) · 1 h 7 min · Episode 101Al and Drexy talk to Dan, solo developer of Imperium, a spiritual successor to the 1995 cult classic Ascendancy. They cover the game's modular ship design, hybrid…
- The Great Big AI Game Dev Debate Ft. BATTLEMODE (Ep.100) · 1 h 28 min · Episode 100Critical Moves hits episode 100. To mark the milestone, Al is joined by regular co-hosts Drexy and Jack for a big debate on generative AI in game development, plus a special…
- Gamescom & BlizzCon Roundup, Humankind 2, Rainbow Six Tactics, Warcraft 3 Reforged & More (Ep.99) · 1 h 7 min · Episode 99Jack hosts this week with Drexy and Joe as they run through a stack of strategy adjacent announcements from Gamescom and BlizzCon. Topics include Lego Skylines, Paradox's new…
- The Last General Dev on Drones, Delays and Doing It All Alone (Ep.98) · 46 min · Episode 98Alejandro Nunez is building The Last General entirely alone: a massive scale RTS where you command thousands of troops with high level strategic orders, then jump into any tank…
- Can RTS Be Saved? (Ep.97) · 54 min · Episode 97RTS isn't the genre it once was. Al is joined by Jack and Nuno to work through why real-time strategy fell off the map - the shift from PC to console, the rise of FPS, mobile and…
- What Even is a Drexy? | The Death of 4X (Ep.96) · 1 h 3 min · Episode 96New face on the pod. Drexy joins us for the first proper sit-down — where he came from, how he got into strategy games, and why he reckons 4X is quietly dying on its feet. We get…
- Virtual Economies in Strategy Games (Ep.95) · 1 h 0 min · Episode 95Jack and Adam dig into how strategy games model their economies — from Victoria 3's fully simulated supply and demand to Stellaris treating resources as a means to an end. Along…
- Strategy Gaming on a Budget: Free and Cheap Ways to Play (Ep.94) · 52 min · Episode 94Al is joined by Adam and Jack to work out how to build a strategy library on a budget, or for nothing at all. This one came straight from the Critical Moves Discord: community…
- Strategy Simulations and War Games: Where to Start (Ep.93) · 1 h 13 min · Episode 93Jack, Adam and Nuno get into strategy simulations and war games: what separates a war game from an RTS or a turn-based strategy title, why so many people love the idea of them…
- Strategy Board Games: Eclipse, Dune and the Tension Video Games Can't Match (Ep.92) · 50 min · Episode 92Tim and Adam step away from the screen this week to talk about strategy on the tabletop. It turns out board gaming and strategy gaming sit right next to each other, and the two…
- Sanctuary Shattered Sun: Kickstarter Live! T5 Titans, Shatter & Freeze (Ep.91) · 1 h 25 min · Episode 91Jack and Drexy are joined by nine2 and FoneE from Enhearten Media, the team behind Sanctuary: Shattered Sun, on the day their Kickstarter and free demo finally go live. This is a…
- The Strategy Games That Defined the 1990s (Ep.90) · 56 min · Episode 90Marking episode 90 with the only decade fitting for the number, Al is joined by Joe, Adam and Drexy to work through the strategy games of the 1990s and the genres they created…
- The RAM Apocalypse: Why Gaming Got So Expensive (And What To Do About It) (Ep.89) · 49 min · Episode 89Al, Drexy, and Joe tackle a question hitting every strategy gamer's wallet: is modern gaming too expensive? From the RAM price surge and the Steam Machine's launch price to Civ…
- A Pile of Shame: Critical Moves Hosts Force Each Other's Backlog Games (Ep.88) · 51 min · Episode 88Drexy hosts this week, joined by Adam and an early-rising Joe (5am and counting). The trio raid each other's Steam libraries for a "Pile of Shame" challenge, picking games none…
- Steam Summer Sale Must Buys (Ep.87) · 51 min · Episode 87It's Steam Summer Sale time, and the Critical Moves crew has recommendations. Al, Jack, and Drexy each bring one game they'd recommend to listeners and one they're taking the…
- Upcoming Strategy Games We're Watching in 2026 (Ep.86) · 55 min · Episode 86Adam, Jack, and Drexy run through the strategy and tactics releases worth watching in 2026 — from Star Wars Zero Company to Stronghold 4, a pirate city builder from the Tropico…
