Five great, deep, and tough tactical strategies to sate that hardcore game hunger

We often acknowledge the fact that, in the eyes of dedicated gamers, mobile games are mostly a joke. The combination of limited input controls, smartphone hardware, and the general public that studios are trying to reach just ends up with shallow, easy, grindy games – well, most of the time. Of course, there are a few idealists among game creators who want to give gamers what they want – as much of a "real" gaming experience as they could cram into a mobile device. And, OK, real talk – even then, the titles are not ideal, but they are certainly worth keeping on one's phone, when a certain itch comes up, but there is no PC or console around.

So, we're about to talk tactical strategies – the genre really works well with touch controls, due to the fact that it's much less clicky-clicky and more thinky-thinky. That said, we will deliberately skip XCom: Enemy Within – it's a fantastic game, especially among mobile competitors, and we've mentioned it so many times that we'd rather not have you feel like we're beating you over the head with it.

So, without further ado, here are 5 tactical strategy games that fans of the genre should definitely check out:

Into the Void

A deep, sci-fi turn-based strategy with RPG elements, Into the Void features a long campaign, randomly-generated levels, 4 factions, and different tech trees. As you can see, there's loads of replay value in there. Unfortunately for you PvP-ers, the game doesn't feature a multiplayer mode. It's still worth considering if you're about to go on a trip and want to keep that gaming hunger sated.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf

One of the many WH40k games out there titles out there, Space Wolf is a turn- and squad-based tactical strategy. The core mechanic of the game reminds us of XCom, and that's definitely a good thing. There are some unique twists, however, such as a card mechanic, borrowed from collectible card games, and quick-time events, which are required to build up the damage of special moves.

Want to drive a chainsaw sword through your friends' squads? Well, you can, as Space Wolf has a PvP mode with some small maps – set up for frantic skirmishes. Go get 'em!