You’ve got to consider your direction and the time it’ll take you to change course, gun emplacements can take time to turn (especially in the big battleships), and when it comes to attacking your distance and lead-time with your shots are also important. What sets it apart from most free-to-play arcade games though is that there’s a surprising amount of forethought required in order to play well. The F2P grind sets in at higher levels, but Tier 6 unlocks the special PVE scenarios Featuring ships that range from WW1-era right through to the end of WW2 and a bit beyond, World of Warships is what happens if you take the concept of something like Battlefield, or Call of Duty, except everyone is controlling a warship. While its definition as a ‘war game’ is understandably debatable, we decided to include this on our list because not only does it offer a refreshingly different experience to everything below it, but it’s also a fun and surprisingly cerebral game.

Fighting Steel: World War II Surface Combat 1939-1942.

So, seal all hatches and all hands to battle stations – let’s do this. The following titles have been selected to cover all these bases – and each counts as an absolute must-play for admiral-minded types looking to expand their naval-themed experiences.

There are many naval warfare games that are worth an investment, whether you're into stripped-down, arcade-style combat, action-oriented simulators that put you inside a single craft, tactics games focused on individual battles, or even grander strategic titles that have you developing strategy for an entire battlefleet. The answer, as it so often is with wargames, is that you can find something out there for every scale or taste. Undoubtedly, this is an important branch of a nation’s military, but how does this element of warfare translate to videogames? In combat, naval vessels have the capability to strike decisive blows against the opponent in battle, blockade their cities or conduct interdiction missions to sever their supply lines. Fleets and flotillas have been crucial for the logistical transportation of materials, goods, treasures and troops. Naval warfare has a rich history dating back to ancient times, spanning countless conflicts that have relied on access to the world’s oceans.

Ww1 grand strategy games