Age of Wonders: Planetfall is a dazzling, slick, diverse 4X with snappy and exciting turn-based combat and a story I was always eager to discover more of.
Steel Division 2 does almost everything Normandy 44 did as well or better, but just about everything new it tries gets bogged down in the mud.
Warhammer: Chaosbane can stand proudly alongside some of the best games that have used the foreboding, Gothic Old World as a setting.
Total War: Three Kingdoms uses excellent pacing and strong character mechanics to create a consistently exciting and challenging historical strategy campaign.
High skill cap melee combat is equally rewarding and daunting, though the archery and support roles could use some work.
Imperator: Rome packs more interesting strategic systems and detail into its vast historical sandbox simulation than its interface can fully handle, but they produce some excellent political scheming and warfare.
Tropico 6 stands out as an in-depth city-builder with a strong personality, but its economic systems are unwieldy.
Stellaris: Console Edition brings Paradox's grand 4X strategy to consoles remarkably effectively, but it's a few lightyears behind in important updates.
At the Gates tries some ambitious new ideas that, in time, may leave a mark on the 4X genre. But today, it's far too broken to recommend.
Below is a gorgeous, atmospheric dungeon crawler that is difficult to take in at the pace it deserves because of oppressive survival mechanics.