Choose Special Tactics
Choose Special Tactics if you want an Action and Free To Play game with Steam Leaderboards. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. Special Tactics launched in 2016.
Special Tactics vs Rising Lords
Special Tactics and Rising Lords both land in Strategy, Indie, Simulation on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Strategy, Indie, Simulation on Steam. Special Tactics (2016) is 8 years older than Rising Lords (2024). Special Tactics scores higher on Steam reviews (79.5% positive) than Rising Lords (71.6% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Rising Lords
Choose Rising Lords if you want the Steam Turn Notifications, LAN PvP, and LAN Co-op side of the pairing. On Steam, it's the newer release (2024) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Rising Lords launched in 2024.
Both Special Tactics and Rising Lords sit in Strategy, Indie, and Simulation on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and Online Co-op, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Special Tactics |  Rising Lords | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2016 | 2024 |
| Genres | Action, Strategy, Indie, Simulation, Free To Play | Strategy, Indie, Simulation |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Deck Playable |
| Price | Free to play | 19.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 79.5% positive (78 reviews) | 71.6% positive (341 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Online Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, LAN Co-op |
| Developers | Beast Mode Games | Argonwood |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie, Simulation on Steam.
- Special Tactics (2016) is 8 years older than Rising Lords (2024).
- Special Tactics scores higher on Steam reviews (79.5% positive) than Rising Lords (71.6% positive).
- Special Tactics is free; Rising Lords is paid (19.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Steam Deck: Special Tactics is Deck Unsupported, Rising Lords is Deck Playable.
Special Tactics vs Rising Lords — FAQ
- Should I play Special Tactics or Rising Lords first?
- If you want chronology, Special Tactics (2016) came out before Rising Lords (2024). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Special Tactics and Rising Lords similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Indie, Simulation on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Do both Special Tactics and Rising Lords have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Special Tactics ships Online Co-op, Co-op; Rising Lords ships Online Co-op, LAN Co-op.
- Is Special Tactics free?
- Yes — Special Tactics is a free-to-play Steam title. Rising Lords is paid (19.99 USD).