Computed from player tags · Not ranked by quality
24 games like Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) (2026)
Every game below overlaps with Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) on things players said about it rather than on our opinion of what feels alike. Each entry shows what it matched on, so you can throw out the ones matching on the part you did not care about.
The short version
- Closest match: Stronghold: Definitive Edition, which made by the same studio, Firefly Studios.
- Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) is tagged Military, City Builder, Real Time Tactics, Medieval, Colony Sim, Building, War, Base-Building by Steam players. Those tags are what the matching runs on.
- 24 games qualify, each with at least fifty player reviews behind its sentiment figure.
- 2 are from the same studio: Stronghold: Definitive Edition, Stronghold Crusader 2.
How these were matched
Steam tags carry the most weight, because players apply them and they describe how a game feels rather than how it was filed. Souls-like, Atmospheric and Cozy exist as tags and as nothing else, which is exactly the vocabulary this question needs. Formal genres count for less, themes and a shared studio for more.
Tags carried by more than a third of the catalogue are thrown out before matching. Nearly everything is tagged Singleplayer, so matching on it is matching on nothing. That cutoff is computed from the catalogue rather than fixed, so it moves as the catalogue grows.
All 24, closest first
- 1
Stronghold: Definitive Edition
Why it matched: made by the same studio, Firefly Studios; both historical and strategy; shares 16 player tags including City Builder, Strategy and Real Time Tactics.
Greetings sire! Your stronghold awaits you. Build a castle economy, besiege unforgettable villains and return to the 'castle sim' that started it all. Experience this classic RTS with upgraded visuals, modernised gameplay, Steam multiplayer and a new campaign.
Stronghold: Definitive Edition at a glance Released 2023 Studio Firefly Studios Player sentiment 87% positive of 10,346 Price $4.49 City BuilderStrategyReal Time TacticsMedievalSandboxBuildingColony SimRTS
- 2
Farthest Frontier
Why it matched: both war, historical and strategy; shares 12 player tags including Historical, Medieval and City Builder.
Protect and guide your people as you forge a town from untamed wilderness at the edge of the known world. Harvest raw materials, hunt, fish and farm to survive. Produce crafted items to trade, consume, equip and fight with as you battle for your survival against the elements and outside threats.
Farthest Frontier at a glance Released 2025 Studio Crate Entertainment Player sentiment 86% positive of 25,411 Price $34.99 HistoricalMedievalCity BuilderResource ManagementRTSStrategyManagementBase-Building
- 3
Age of Empires III (2007)
Why it matched: both war, historical and strategy; shares 11 player tags including Strategy, RTS and Base-Building; released around the same time (2012).
Microsoft Studios brings you three epic Age of Empires III games in one monumental collection for the first time.
Age of Empires III (2007) at a glance Released 2012 Studio Ensemble Studios Player sentiment 91% positive of 32,254 Price Not listed StrategyRTSBase-BuildingHistoricalResource ManagementCity BuilderWarSimulation
- 4
Stronghold Crusader 2
Why it matched: made by the same studio, Firefly Studios; both historical and strategy; shares 10 player tags including Strategy, Medieval and City Builder; released around the same time (2014).
Stronghold Crusader 2 is the long awaited sequel to the original castle sim. After 12 years Stronghold returns to the desert with a new 3D engine and powerful Havok Physics. Crusader 2 recaptures the original game’s addictive, fast-paced gameplay and authentic castle simulation.
Stronghold Crusader 2 at a glance Released 2014 Studio Firefly Studios Player sentiment 72% positive of 18,080 Price $3.99 StrategyMedievalCity BuilderRTSSimulationHistoricalBuildingResource Management
- 5
Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic
Why it matched: both historical and strategy; shares 12 player tags including Strategy, Simulation and City Builder.
Build a soviet republic from an impoverished country into a rich industrial superpower in a city builder with intricate production chains and a fully simulated global economy. Manage the lives of your citizens from education to work and party loyalty to criminal activity.
Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic at a glance Released 2024 Studio 3Division Player sentiment 91% positive of 27,164 Price $9.99 StrategySimulationCity BuilderBase-BuildingManagementBuildingSandboxColony Sim
- 6
Manor Lords
Why it matched: both historical and strategy; shares 12 player tags including Strategy, City Builder and Simulation.
Manor Lords is a medieval strategy game featuring in-depth city building, large-scale tactical battles, and complex economic and social simulations. Rule your lands as a medieval lord – the seasons pass, the weather changes, and cities rise and fall.
Manor Lords at a glance Released 2024 Studio Slavic Magic Player sentiment 84% positive of 90,905 Price $25.99 StrategyCity BuilderSimulationHistoricalBase-BuildingMedievalManagementBuilding
- 7
Kingdoms and Castles
Why it matched: both strategy; shares 12 player tags including City Builder, Colony Sim and Strategy; released around the same time (2017).
Kingdoms and Castles is a city-building simulation game about growing a kingdom from a tiny hamlet to a sprawling city and imposing castle. Make trade agreements, alliance, and war with neighboring AI controlled kingdoms. Each villager and resource is individually simulated.
Kingdoms and Castles at a glance Released 2017 Studio Lion Shield, LLC Player sentiment 94% positive of 31,404 Price $19.99 City BuilderColony SimStrategyMedievalBuildingSimulationSandboxResource Management
- 8
Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition
Why it matched: both war, historical and strategy; shares 10 player tags including Strategy, RTS and Base-Building.
Celebrating its first year of delighting millions of global players, the award-winning and best-selling strategy franchise continues with Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition, putting you at the center of even more epic historical battles that shaped the world.
Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition at a glance Released 2021 Studio World's Edge Player sentiment 86% positive of 95,393 Price $39.99 StrategyRTSBase-BuildingWarResource ManagementMedievalCity BuilderHistorical
- 9
Northgard: Definitive Edition
Why it matched: both war and strategy; shares 11 player tags including Strategy, City Builder and Simulation.
Northgard: Definitive Edition is a critically acclaimed real-time strategy game based on Norse mythology. Lead your clan, uncover the secrets of a mysterious newfound continent and defeat your enemies to conquer the Throne!
Northgard: Definitive Edition at a glance Released 2018 Studio Shiro Games Player sentiment 85% positive of 68,673 Price $34.99 StrategyCity BuilderSimulationRTSBase-BuildingColony SimBuildingEconomy
- 10
Victoria II
Why it matched: both war, historical and strategy; shares 9 player tags including Strategy, Historical and Economy; released around the same time (2010).
Carefully guide your nation from the era of absolute monarchies in the early 19th century, through expansion and colonization, to finally become a truly great power by the dawn of the 20th century. Victoria II is a grand strategy game played during the colonial era of the 19th century, where the player takes control of a country, guiding...
Victoria II at a glance Released 2010 Studio Development Studio Player sentiment 92% positive of 20,016 Price $19.99 StrategyHistoricalEconomySimulationMilitaryWarSandboxRTS
- 11
Cossacks 3
Why it matched: both war, historical and strategy; shares 9 player tags including Strategy, RTS and War; released around the same time (2016).
Cossacks 3 is the return of RTS classics. Obtain resources, build cities and research technologies while taking command of great armies, crushing enemies in grand historical warfares on land and sea!
Cossacks 3 at a glance Released 2016 Studio GSC Game World Player sentiment 82% positive of 16,136 Price $19.99 StrategyRTSWarHistoricalResource ManagementBase-BuildingCity BuilderIsometric
- 12
Foundation
Why it matched: both strategy; shares 12 player tags including City Builder, Simulation and Medieval.
Foundation is a grid-less, laidback medieval city-building game with a focus on organic development, monument construction and resource management.
Foundation at a glance Released 2025 Studio Polymorph Games Player sentiment 87% positive of 24,163 Price $23.44 City BuilderSimulationMedievalStrategySandboxResource ManagementManagementEconomy
- 13
Age of Empires II (Retired)
Why it matched: both historical and strategy; shares 10 player tags including Strategy, RTS and Medieval; released around the same time (2013).
Age of Empires II has been re-imagined in high definition. With the release of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, this product will not be updated further.
Age of Empires II (Retired) at a glance Released 2013 Studio Skybox Labs Player sentiment 96% positive of 102,820 Price $19.99 StrategyRTSMedievalHistoricalBase-BuildingCity BuilderResource ManagementReal-Time
- 14
Prison Architect
Why it matched: both strategy; shares 11 player tags including Simulation, Building and Sandbox; released around the same time (2015).
Only the world’s most ruthless Warden can contain the world’s most ruthless inmates. Design and develop your personalized penitentiary in Prison Architect.
Prison Architect at a glance Released 2015 Studio Introversion Software Player sentiment 89% positive of 73,744 Price $5.99 SimulationBuildingSandboxBase-BuildingColony SimStrategyManagementCity Builder
- 15
Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition
Why it matched: both war, historical and strategy; shares 9 player tags including Strategy, Medieval and Historical.
Spanning the most turbulent era in Western history, your quest for territory and power takes you through Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and even onto the shores of the New World.
Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition at a glance Released 2006 Studio CREATIVE ASSEMBLY Player sentiment 96% positive of 36,357 Price $24.99 StrategyMedievalHistoricalWarRTSMilitaryReal Time TacticsSimulation
- 16
Crusader Kings III
Why it matched: both war, historical and strategy; shares 9 player tags including Strategy, Medieval and Simulation.
Love, fight, scheme, and claim greatness. Determine your noble house’s legacy in the sprawling grand strategy of Crusader Kings III. Death is only the beginning as you guide your dynasty’s bloodline in the rich and larger-than-life simulation of the Middle Ages.
Crusader Kings III at a glance Released 2020 Studio Development Studio Player sentiment 90% positive of 143,235 Price $49.99 StrategyMedievalSimulationHistoricalManagementSandboxRTSWar
- 17
Wargame: European Escalation
Why it matched: both war, historical and strategy; shares 8 player tags including Strategy, RTS and Military; released around the same time (2012).
The New Fatal Error DLC includes a new 5-mission Operation and touch-screen controls.
Wargame: European Escalation at a glance Released 2012 Studio Eugen Systems Player sentiment 78% positive of 3,402 Price $9.99 StrategyRTSMilitarySimulationReal Time TacticsWarReal-TimeHistorical
- 18
Dawn of Man
Why it matched: both historical and strategy; shares 10 player tags including City Builder, Colony Sim and Strategy.
Command a settlement of ancient humans, guide them through the ages in their struggle for survival. Hunt, gather, craft tools, fight, research new techs and face the challenges the environment will throw at you.
Dawn of Man at a glance Released 2019 Studio Madruga Works Player sentiment 87% positive of 17,830 Price $12.49 City BuilderColony SimStrategySimulationHistoricalSandboxEconomyRTS
- 19
Age of Empires III
Why it matched: both war, historical and strategy; shares 9 player tags including Strategy, Base-Building and RTS.
Lead powerful civilizations across the globe, master strategies and tactics, and relive history in co op battles—now remastered in stunning 4K and modernized gameplay.
Age of Empires III at a glance Released 2005 Studio Robot Entertainment Player sentiment 86% positive of 54,758 Price $34.99 StrategyBase-BuildingRTSMilitaryCity BuilderHistoricalWarResource Management
- 20
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
Why it matched: both war, historical and strategy; shares 9 player tags including Strategy, Base-Building and RTS.
Lead powerful civilizations across the globe, master strategies and tactics, and relive history in co op battles—now remastered in stunning 4K and modernized gameplay.
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition at a glance Released 2020 Studio World's Edge Player sentiment 86% positive of 54,770 Price $34.99 StrategyBase-BuildingRTSMilitaryCity BuilderHistoricalWarResource Management
- 21
Age of Empires
Why it matched: both war, historical and strategy; shares 9 player tags including Strategy, RTS and Base-Building.
Age of Empires, the pivotal real-time strategy game that launched a 20-year legacy returns with modernized gameplay, all-new 4K visuals, 8-person multiplayer battles and a host of other new features. Welcome back to history.
Age of Empires at a glance Released 1997 Studio Not recorded Player sentiment 84% positive of 15,616 Price $19.99 StrategyRTSBase-BuildingCity BuilderHistoricalMedievalReal-TimeWar
- 22
Age of Empires: Definitive Edition
Why it matched: both war, historical and strategy; shares 9 player tags including Strategy, RTS and Base-Building.
Age of Empires, the pivotal real-time strategy game that launched a 20-year legacy returns with modernized gameplay, all-new 4K visuals, 8-person multiplayer battles and a host of other new features. Welcome back to history.
Age of Empires: Definitive Edition at a glance Released 2019 Studio World's Edge Player sentiment 84% positive of 15,619 Price $19.99 StrategyRTSBase-BuildingCity BuilderHistoricalMedievalReal-TimeWar
- 23
Railway Empire
Why it matched: both historical and strategy; shares 10 player tags including Strategy, Simulation and Management.
In Railway Empire, you will create an elaborate and wide-ranging rail network, purchase over 40 different trains modelled in extraordinary detail, and buy or build railway stations, maintenance buildings, factories and tourist attractions to keep your travel network ahead of the competition.
Railway Empire at a glance Released 2018 Studio Gaming Minds Studios Player sentiment 83% positive of 9,712 Price $29.99 StrategySimulationManagementEconomyBuildingHistoricalReal-TimeSandbox
- 24
Anno 1800
Why it matched: both historical and strategy; shares 10 player tags including City Builder, Strategy and Simulation.
Anno 1800™ – Lead the Industrial Revolution! Welcome to the dawn of the Industrial Age. The path you choose will define your world. Are you an innovator or an exploiter? A conqueror or a liberator? How the world remembers your name is up to you.
Anno 1800 at a glance Released 2019 Studio Ubisoft Mainz Player sentiment 81% positive of 32,232 Price $59.99 City BuilderStrategySimulationEconomyResource ManagementSandboxRTSManagement
Common questions
What game is most like Stronghold Crusader HD (2012)?
Stronghold: Definitive Edition, on the evidence we have. It made by the same studio, Firefly Studios. That is a statement about overlap, not a promise you will like it as much: two games can share every tag and still feel different to play.
How is "similar to Stronghold Crusader HD (2012)" decided?
By overlap on the tags Steam players applied to each game, the formal genres, the themes both sit in, and whether the same studio made them. Tags carry the most weight because players write them, so they describe how a game feels rather than how it was filed. Tags carried by more than a third of the catalogue are ignored: matching on "Singleplayer" is matching on nothing. Every entry below shows exactly what it matched on.
Are these ranked by quality?
No. They are ordered by how much they overlap with Stronghold Crusader HD (2012). Where two games overlap equally, the better received one goes first, but that only moves a game a place or two. Each entry shows its own player sentiment so you can weigh that separately.
What else did the makers of Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) do?
Stronghold: Definitive Edition, Stronghold Crusader 2 are also from Firefly Studios, and appear in the list below for that reason as well as on tag overlap.
Do you get paid for these recommendations?
No. The order is computed from tag and genre overlap and nothing else. No placement here can be bought, and a game appearing high on this page is a statement about resemblance rather than an endorsement.