Critical Moves - Strategy Gaming

Critical Moves 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

  1. Questions From The Critical Moves Community (EP.80)

    MAY 8

    Questions From The Critical Moves Community (EP.80)

    Episode 80 is a community-led episode. Al is joined by Adam, Jack and Tim to work through fifteen listener questions submitted via the Critical Moves Discord, covering biggest gaming disappointments, steep learning curves worth the investment, the perennial argument about what a 4X actually is, how strategy games generate emotional investment beyond cutscenes, the best Total War entry point for a newcomer, the game sitting untouched in everyone's backlog, a Frankenstein exercise in building the perfect strategy game from spare parts, whether BAR can ever achieve mainstream appeal, randomness versus determinism in strategy design, the best soundtracks in the genre, what stops people engaging with competitive multiplayer, and all-time favourite factions. Joe was supposed to be here but was under the weather, which was a shame because someone had a very important question about his hair. More from Critical Moves Podcast: Web: https://criticalmovespodcast.com Forum: https://criticalmovesforum.com Newsletter: https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com Spotify: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify Apple: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple Amazon: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon Discord: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves

    1h 8m
  2. Bad Guys, Evil Factions, and Moral Grey Areas in Strategy Games (Ep.78)

    APR 24

    Bad Guys, Evil Factions, and Moral Grey Areas in Strategy Games (Ep.78)

    Al is joined by Adam and Joe to dig into the role of villains and evil factions in strategy games. The conversation covers standout bad guy characters including Arthas from Warcraft 3, Kerrigan from StarCraft, and Kane from Command & Conquer, before broadening into whether strategy games are uniquely suited to letting players be evil. The discussion moves through Nuclear Gandhi, Paradox's approach to punishing warmongering, Stellaris' crisis mechanics, and the ethics of playing as historical atrocity-committing factions in games like Hearts of Iron 4. The episode closes on a pointed discussion about Gostomel Heroes, a recently released RTS that depicts Russian forces in the Ukraine conflict as heroes, and where the line sits between historical distance and active glorification of war crimes. More from Critical Moves Podcast: Web: https://criticalmovespodcast.com Forum: https://criticalmovesforum.com Newsletter: https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com Spotify: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify Apple: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple Amazon: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon Discord: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves Critical Moves examines strategy games through weekly Friday episodes and Monday news updates. Six hosts across multiple continents analyze recent releases, forgotten classics, and industry developments without the typical podcast theatrics. We cover real-time strategy, 4X civilization builders, turn-based tactics, and hybrid games that blur genre boundaries.

    45 min
4.9
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

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

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