Strategy Summer! 4 Strategy Games To Beat Back The Summer Heat

Your Summer Strategy Is Here, and So Are The Best Strategy Games!

As the summer sun shines brightly, with endless beach days and outdoor activities waiting at any given moment, it’s not always easy to find a moment of tranquility. However, you can unwind by sipping on a refreshing Coke and escaping into a serene virtual world designed for relaxation and mindfulness. To help you make the most of your leisure time, I’ve handpicked four games that I believe are worth trying out, providing hours of stress-free entertainment. Welcome to our first installment of Strategy Summer!

ISLANDERS: New Shores

Spending the summer is an ideal opportunity to step back from demanding, pressure-filled strategy games. ISLANDERS: New Shores presents a pleasant shift in pace, ideal for those extended summer afternoons that merge into cozy evenings. Freshly launched, ISLANDERS: New Shores is a rewarding, minimalistic strategy game involving the construction of cities on vibrantly generated islands, piece by piece. There’s no need to grapple with intricate resource management or fearful adversaries; instead, ISLANDERS aims to provide a mindful experience focusing on optimizing your score using straightforward, puzzle-like mechanics. Nothing beats mastering the combinations between buildings and achieving a high-scoring combo in one swift move. Moreover, the game is suitable for brief gaming sessions, as each of its islands can typically be completed within 10 to 15 minutes.

Townscaper

This toy called Townscape empowers players to effortlessly construct picturesque, ocean-surrounded towns with just a few clicks. Unlike conventional games, Townscaper is more about play than competition or achievement. You can build to your heart’s content without any goals, scores, or time constraints. Whether you desire a sprawling city, a quaint hamlet, or even a floating town, the choice is yours! The visuals in this game are stunning, and if you, like me, reside in an old coastal town, you’ll appreciate the intricate details Townscaper offers.

Dave The Diver

This captivating and innovative game titled Dave the Diver combines elements from fishing games, RPGs, roguelites, and tycoon management into a seamless blend. During the day, you dive into the ever-changing abyss known as the Blue Hole, an underwater chasm filled with diverse marine life and hidden Lovecraftian mysteries to discover and fish. In the evening, you transform your catches into mouth-watering dishes at your sushi restaurant, working closely with your master chef to build this humble eatery into a culinary empire. The game’s management sim aspect may not be as complex as others in its category, but it offers an unparalleled summer gaming experience due to its appealing narrative and characters, addictive fishing-management gameplay loop, and the stunning underwater exploration of the Blue Hole.

Planet Coaster 2

In my opinion, this game is not just an exceptional summer strategy title, but the superior summer game overall. Since the first installment mastered digital rollercoaster construction, the second version introduced the concept of designing your own waterpark. After purchasing it during the Steam Summer Sale 2025, I must say that this management game is a thrilling blast. The detailed park simulation, the ability to construct both rollercoasters and waterparks, and the remarkable freedom in crafting every aspect of your park make Planet Coaster 2 my preferred strategy game for the summer of 2025. Whether you prefer free play or single player scenarios, there’s something for everyone here, and an active community eager to share their creations adds to the best management experience of the year.

Your Strategy Summer Awaits!

During summer, daily concerns often dissipate, making way for warm, leisurely months. It’s understandable that one might desire a break, moving away from intense real-time strategy (RTS) games and nerve-wracking wargames, opting instead for more laid-back gaming experiences. This is the first of several articles I plan to write for this summer season, discussing various games I believe are suitable for such occasions.

2025-07-19 18:42