Games like Driftland: The Magic Revival

The Squirrel's verdictWave-defense pressure is Diplomacy is Not an Option's defining feature: thousands of on-screen enemies attack in escalating waves while you manage a building economy, the inverse of Driftland's relaxed island-linking pace. At a median of 36.9 hours and a Very Positive rating, it offers more content, but reviewers warn that difficulty spikes sharply mid-campaign, requiring precise defensive play rather than casual experimentation.

Not for you if you prefer a slow, relaxed base-building pace rather than constant enemy waves and escalating difficulty that reviewers call punishing.

The Squirrel's verdictFrom Glory To Goo is a wave-survival colony-builder with hero units, a tech tree, science systems, and stratagem-style orbital support that reviewers say keeps adding depth over long sessions. Median playtime is 42.9 hours, and its Overwhelmingly Positive rating reflects consistent updates over its release period. It suits players who want escalating strategic decisions against advancing enemy hordes rather than island-linking or relaxed base expansion.

Not for you if you want a magic setting and island-management mechanics rather than wave-defense survival against advancing enemy forces.

The Squirrel's verdictAnnihilate The Spance is built around a tug-of-war formula: construct a base, set production ratios, and let units auto-battle toward the enemy line without micromanagement. Reviewers describe it as a spiritual successor to Obliterate Everything and compare it to Castle Fight custom maps. At 29.9 median hours and a Very Positive rating, it suits players who prefer base-planning over unit control, though some reviewers flag the $29.99 price as high for its current state.

Not for you if you want a campaign or narrative layer, since the game strips strategy down to base-building and auto-combat with no story content.

The Squirrel's verdictMedieval Kingdom Wars suits players who want deep conquest mechanics across a persistent overworld map with real battles, 14 factions, and more than 50 lords. Reviewers compare its base-building-plus-conquest structure to Civilization and Total War combined. Median playtime sits around 16 hours. Co-op is supported, and the $4.49 price reflects a sometimes unfinished feel that reviewers note in AI behavior and balance.

Not for you if you expect a polished experience, since reviewers report poor AI, bugs, and underexplained systems.

The Squirrel's verdictHex-based wargame conquest layered with hero-led dungeon crawling for gold, magic shards, and items is what Kingdom, Dungeon, and Hero offers players wanting more mechanical integration than floating-island RTS. Conquest, empire development, and RPG adventuring feed into each other as one system. Reviewers with 4X experience praise the depth; others find the elements clunky and the $29.99 price high for the current state. Median playtime is 21.2 hours.

Not for you if you want RTS base-building and island-shifting mechanics, since KDH is a hex wargame with dungeon-crawling, not a city or base builder.

The Squirrel's verdictDarfall is for players who want a hero-unit layered onto an RTS base-building loop and are willing to work around significant rough edges. Reviewers describe shallow tech progression, a thin campaign, and army control clunkier than older RTS titles — poor pathfinding, broken formations, and missing QoL features. No co-op is offered; median playtime is 19.8 hours at $24.99. One reviewer notes the developers appear to have stopped updating the game.

Not for you if you need responsive unit pathing and reliable army commands, since reviewers consistently flag Darfall's control as worse than genre peers.

The Squirrel's verdictPlayers who want turn-based province management with card-driven tactical battles and can tolerate an EA game still working through core issues are the target for Rising Lords. It sits closer to a simplified city-builder than a deep strategy title: reviewers describe one dominant winning strategy, AI governors that damage assigned regions, and mechanics that remain shallow despite years of development. Co-op is supported; median playtime is 19.6 hours at $19.99.

Not for you if you want meaningful strategic variety, since reviewers report the same optimal path every game.

The Squirrel's verdictBoth mix town/base management with indirect strategic control rather than direct unit combat. Gold Gold Adventure Gold drops the island-building for a Majesty-style setup: you build a settlement and issue quests to autonomous heroes instead of moving armies. Reviews describe unclear objectives, balance problems, and a tutorial that leaves systems unexplained.

Not for you if you want clear win conditions and explicit tutorials rather than figuring out unstated mechanics through trial and error.