Key insights
-
DEFCON
– inspired by the movie Wargames – simulates a nuclear war with simple but deep gameplay. -
World in conflict
provides a visually stunning, real-time simulation of the Cold War conflict. -
Command: Modern Operations
is a complex military simulator that covers Cold War scenarios.
Many strategy games that want to be somewhat realistic choose periods of history that are remembered for global conflicts, such as World War I and World War II. What is missing from these earlier settings, however, is something that hangs over humanity in modern times like the Sword of Damocles; Nuclear weapons. The Cold War spans a period from 1947 to 1991. During this time, various nations, most notably the United States and the Soviet Union, produced and stockpiled large quantities of nuclear weapons.
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However, towards the end of the Cold War, these stocks were somewhat reduced due to certain political agreements. The question remains, however, what would have happened if even a minor nuclear conflict had occurred during the Cold War? This is something that a number of excellent strategy games have tried to demonstrate. Some of these aim to realistically simulate a Cold War conflict; others simply use the political backdrop of the time as a setting for entertaining gameplay.
6 DEFCON
Let the nukes fly
DEFCON
- Released
- September 29, 2006
- developer
- Introversion software
In his time DEFCON was something of a cult game with a huge fan base. Simple in design and execution but with surprising depth, the game revolves around attacking enemy countries with nuclear weapons while trying not to let them destroy your own country with nuclear weapons. There can be no doubt about that DEFCON draws inspiration from classic films, war games.
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The player takes control of one of the superpowers and must decide how best to defend themselves against a nuclear attack while maximizing the damage their own nuclear weapons inflict on enemies. After the attack, the player must also find a strategy to deal with the consequences of the nuclear exchange.
5 World in conflict
Dealing with a Soviet invasion of the USA
World in conflict
Real-time strategy
action
Tactical
- Released
- September 18, 2007
Set in the latter part of the Cold War, World in conflict is a real-time simulation game that combines hectic combat with an excellent campaign. Visually the game is impressive and the narrative is captivating and realistic, driving the campaign forward at a frantic pace at times.
The player controls a range of realistic military units and must employ realistic battlefield tactics to have the best chance of success. At times the game feels like an interactive movie as the conflict escalates and the impending conflict becomes a real and present danger.
4 Command: Modern Operations
Incredibly detailed and complex
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows
- Published: November 14, 2019
- Developer: Warfare Sims, Command Development Team
- Genre: Simulation video game, strategy video game
Although Command: Modern Operations is at its core a real-time strategy game, it is much more than that. Among the RTS games, it is one of the most complex out there. The game aims to realistically simulate military conflicts, including scenarios taking place during the Cold War.
The player commands ground, air and naval units to achieve his strategic objectives. Realistic military information is received and the player must first understand what it means and then use this information to make tactical decisions. The game can simulate Cold War confrontations very accurately. Command: Modern Operations may not be for everyone. The learning curve is very steep. Still, it remains one of the most comprehensive military simulators covering the Cold War.
3 Power & Revolution 2021 Edition
Focuses on geopolitical gameplay
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Mac operating systems
- Published: August 4, 2021
- Developer: Eversim
- Genre: Geopolitical Simulator
Power & Revolution is a slightly different type of strategy game. While most strategy games focus on conflict and combat, Power & Revolution is a little more unique. At its core, it is a global political simulator. The game features a number of scenarios, including many that cover specific events during the Cold War.
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Players use political tools as well as espionage and trade to overcome challenges. In most cases, military action is a last resort, although some scenarios require a larger military effort. Overall, this is a slower paced, but still deep and addictive strategy game that covers the Cold War era and includes many other scenarios as well.
2 Nuclear war simulator
Simulating Cold War nuclear brinkmanship
- Platforms: PC
- Published: February 2023
- Developer: Bot Mirror
- Genre: Strategy, Simulation
Nuclear war simulator is a game that covers not only the Cold War, but also more modern nuclear conflict scenarios. But the scenarios set after the Cold War also refer to the geopolitical situation at the time.
The game is easy to play but difficult to master. The player is free to re-enact a simulated nuclear war in real time. They must plan how best to attack their enemies and also deal with the repercussions of a retaliatory strike. Overall, the game shows in an astonishing way how catastrophic even a limited nuclear exchange would be.
1 Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Classic RTS gameplay
Command and Conquer: Red Alert
- Platform(s)
- Microsoft Windows, PSP, PS1
- Released
- January 1, 1996
- developer
- Westwood Studios
No list of Cold War-era games would be complete without the classic real-time strategy game. Command & Conquer: Red Alert. The game pits the Soviet Union squarely against the Allies, in a single-player campaign that's simultaneously shocking and somewhat funny.
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There's nothing very complicated about it Command & Conquer: Red Alert. It's reminiscent of a time when strategy games were simpler and RTS developers hadn't yet started incorporating gameplay features from other genres. However, the game takes the top spot on this list for a reason; It's just so much fun to play. The game was unavailable for a while, but was put back on sale a few years ago. There is also an open source project, OpenRA, which has completely recreated the gameplay of the original release.
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