The Assassins Creed games are masters at incorporating real-life history into their games while still keeping them fun to play. They take plenty of liberties and add in some more fantastical elements, but that's what makes it fun.
However, they are far from the only games with a heavy historical bent. Plenty of others go out of their way to explore various aspects of history, from wartime clashes to the mundane daily lives of peasants.
10 The Age Of Empires Series Is A Classic
Age of Empires is a classic RTS city builder wartime series that follows along with various civilizations. The player is tasked with building up entire empires throughout the ages of a civilization's lifespan, taking part in historical scuffles and getting a tiny look as to the sorts of things required to make a civilization last. They also tend to have story modes that follow specific leaders and have plenty to read about for real-life facts.
There's also a spinoff, Age of Mythology, which follows along through various mythologies of ancient civilizations, taking on a more fantastical bent while still keeping up with various real-world myths.
9 Ancestors Legacy Is A Fast-Paced RTS
Ancestors Legacy is a squad-based, tactical RTS taking place in medieval Europe. It follows four separate nations and their conflicts, from Vikings, to Anglo-Saxons, to Germans, to Slavs. It has the player building temporary settlements, managing resources, and building entire squads to send to war.
Each of the scenarios are inspired by real-life historical events and focuses heavily on the tactical side of things. They require the use of terrains in a way most other games like it don't, bringing another layer to the game.
8 The Anno Series Combines Both History & City Building Mechanics
Anno is another series of historically-based city builders, with the exception of its futuristic installment. Each of the games is set around a specific era rather than spreading through the ages, and as long as resources continue to be appropriately managed, the game can go Ad Infinitum with only the player's imagination as the limit.
They also have the bonus of being well-balanced, unlike most other RTS games. Easier games are good for a more relaxing experience, where harder games are better for experts and the more competitive playerbase.
7 Banished Follows Exiled Travelers Into A New Land
Banished is a city builder, colony simulator that follows along with a group of exiled travelers. It takes a unique point of view as far as resource management goes where the population counts as well.
Another unique part about the game is the lack of skill trees and money. Instead, it's all about resource management and trading. It takes a heavy-handed look at how early civilizations might have come about and some of the decisions required in setting up a successful town.
6 Crusader Kings III Is A Grand Historical Strategy
Ignoring the developer's love for overpriced DLC, Crusader Kings III builds upon the flaws of its predecessors and really brings the game to life. The player follows a noble house from around a massive map and must guide their empire throughout the ages. Something that's really unique about this compared to many other games like it is that the leaders also die off and have to be replaced. There's also a heavy focus on personality, which shapes how followers perceive their leader.
Depending on which civilization the player is following, they can also encounter a whole swath of the same problems that would have happened in the real world, from peasant revolts to knight or Viking raids.
5 Europa Universalis IV Covers Four Centuries Of History
Europa Universalis IV covers massive ground in the early modern world's history, providing a complex simulation of war, diplomacy, and trade. There are also thousands of historical, real-world events for the player to handle over a topographical map. It also includes seasonal effects and takes those into account, something most other games forget about.
There are even real-life historical leaders appearing as characters to either help or hinder the player throughout the game with real events becoming relevant. Unlike its predecessors, this one also has a new Monarch Power system where the player's choices are influenced by the sort of leader the player has at the top of the ladder.
4 Medieval Dynasty Adds In A Survival Element
Medieval Dynasty was just recently released from its Early Access and is truly a massive undertaking. It follows along with a Medieval nobody in a massive open world, starting out low and eventually building their way higher and triggering events with the King.
It has a hugely interactive environment with realistic wildlife interactions, resources to gather, quests, trade, economy, and even NPC social interactions. On top of having a day/night cycle, this also has a seasonal cycle to add another layer of realism to the mix.
3 Ryse: Son Of Rome Follows A Roman Soldier's Quest
Ryse: Son of Rome follows along with the story of a young Roman soldier Marius Titus. He witnesses the murder of his family and then follows the Roman army to Britannia in order to enact his revenge.
It's an action-adventure full of Assassins Creed-style flair with plenty of hard battles and the occasional sneakiness. It's bloody and dark in parts, with a protagonist who is relentless. The bonus is that, even though the game is relatively short, it's highly engaging and doesn't necessarily want to hold the player's hand throughout it, with challenging fights being easy enough to complete and also hard enough to really make the player work for it.
2 Sid Meier's Civilization Allows The Player To Be Historical Rulers Across Time
Civilization is a turn-based strategy series that follows along with historical leaders as they build their civilization from the beginning to the future. They tend to be a bit less linear than some other historical-based games, as leaders who never interacted with one another in the real world might end up offering up trade routes or fighting one another in-game.
It focuses heavily on the research potential of the people within the civilization and the sorts of things they are able to create. The technological advancements of a civilization can bring each one up at different speeds, much like what really happened. It's an interesting take to consider from a historical bend.
1 The Total War Series Has A Number Of Historical Entries
The Total War series has a number of installments focusing on various historical events, from Rome and Troy all the way to Britannia and beyond. They're also well-known for their Warhammer installments that take in a lot of the same concepts but in the more fantastical setting Warhammer provides.
Total War always focuses on a squad-based system with the intent to control and conquer historical areas and taking into account the sorts of means they would have been using at the time. Lay siege to walled cities, pillage historical landmarks, and build massive empires through the use of war.