Remember when we used to play those classic gladiator games until our eyes bled? Well, it is finally time to graduate from the bloody sands of the arena and lead an actual army. Brandor is under a massive threat from Emperor Antares, and Swords and Sandals Crusader Redux drops you right into the commander’s seat to handle the chaos.

RESURRECTING A MASSIVE RETRO CLASSIC

Sixteen years. That is exactly how long we had to wait for this fan favorite strategy game to get a proper glow up. The developers completely rebuilt this thing from the ground up, bringing back the exact same thrilling tactical combat we all grew up with, just way louder, brighter, and significantly smoother. You get the pure nostalgia trip of the original war game, but it is heavily packed with brand new objectives, mini adventures, and a much sharper engine.

ZERO BORING TUTORIALS, JUST PURE STRATEGY

Modern strategy games love to bog you down with massive rulebooks and brutal learning curves that take hours to figure out. This game completely skips that garbage. The mechanics are lightning fast and incredibly addictive. It is absolutely perfect if you just want to jump straight in, start conquering territory, and crush your enemies without sitting through an hour of boring explanations.

COMMANDING BEASTS IN A MASSIVE 49 MISSION WAR

The main campaign is an absolute beast, split into nine heavy chapters spanning 49 distinct missions. You get to play through the wildly different storylines of eight totally unique Crusaders. The combat itself is pure classic 2D turn based chaos. One minute you are firing off heavy arrow volleys and slinging potent magic, and the next you are literally dropping a mythical Titan Spheracles or a Grail Knight right into the middle of the enemy lines to clean house.

UNLOCKING THE FULL WAR CHEST

You aren’t just stuck fighting standard field battles. You get to joust in massive tournaments, defend your castle during epic sieges, and even go cliff diving. The initial download basically gives you a taste of the action by letting you play the intro mission for free.

If you actually want to lead legends like King Lionel, Sir Belgrave, or HeChaos, you have to upgrade. Grabbing the MAXIMUS upgrade unlocks the entire massive campaign and completely nukes all the annoying in game ads. But if you are a total glutton for punishment, the ULTRATUS mode is the ultimate flex. It hands you a brutal Survival Mode where you fight endless, increasingly difficult waves, unlocks instant Quick Battles, and lets you completely customize hardcore rules like random creature spawns and unforgiving permadeath.