After playing the deckbuilding RTS just revealed at Summer Game Fest, I believe in better, simpler realtime strategy

GamesRTSAfter playing the deckbuilding RTS just revealed at Summer Game Fest, I believe in better, simpler realtime strategyWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

YouTubeWatch On

YouTube

If the words “deckbuilder RTS” generate some immediate skepticism for you—even an instinctive animal hiss—I understand. It did for me, too, and Uncapped is fully aware it’s going to get that reaction. But let me dispel some of those doubts: Battle Aces isn’t a StarCraft knockoff with card mechanics hastily bolted onto it as a gimmick retrofit. It’s a reevaluation of RTS philosophy, designed to focus on the core joys of realtime strategy—of pairing broad-scale strategic decision making with commanding your units in satisfying moment-to-moment action—while streamlining everything else.

Strategic revisioning

Putting you in the role of a mercenary commander of a sci-fi army of space drones, Battle Aces pares the RTS down to one core base building with one build menu. That building produces all your units and its workers harvest resources automatically. There’s no unit cap, no worker management, and no complicated build orders to follow.

(Image credit: Uncapped Games)

Mortars bombard a force of King Crabs in Battle Aces.

It’s streamlined to the point that it might seem like anathema to RTS veterans. Units build instantly once you spend your resources, and when you want to expand to increase your resource income, you push a single button to immediately drop another base at a predetermined location on the map. But it’s a purposefully designed speed ramp angled to accelerate you towards what’s most fun about RTS games: making a bunch of cool little guys, and coming up with a strategy for how best to smash them into someone else’s.

“We want to reduce or remove as much of the tedious clicks that are required to even experience the game,” Kim said inan interviewI wrote about back in April. RTS design, Kim said, had become too preoccupied with arbitrary complexity, emphasizing execution skill ceilings that were alienating to the average player. Battle Aces is an intentional return to the core RTS fantasy of building an army of your favorite units and making strategic decisions about when to defend and when to expand and claim more ground.

Decked out

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

If I fired up StarCraft and jumped into a competitive game, I wouldn’t even know where to begin figuring out what went wrong when I inevitably get slaughtered. Did I do my buildings out of order? Was I too slow with building SCVs? Did I tech incorrectly? I’d need a graduate-level course in StarCraft esports to start making those calls. But if I’ve built a Battle Aces deck around the King Crab—a burly, armored robot crustacean with buzzsaw claws—my problems are easier to diagnose. If I’m struggling with enemy aircraft, maybe I swap out one of my other units for one of the anti-air options, like the teleporting robots with dual pistols who can warp to the side of my terrorized crabs.

(Image credit: Uncapped Games)

A swarm of flying drones descends in Battle Aces.

Competitive spirit

Early in our first day with Battle Aces the competitive StarCraft players were skeptical in a way that felt like professional obligation. A common sentiment I heard was that they weren’t gamers—they were StarCraft players. If it wasn’t for David Kim, to whom they offered almost saintlike veneration, they wouldn’t have paid the game any attention at all.

YouTubeWatch On

YouTube

The pros kept up their theorycrafting throughout the shuttle ride back to the hotel, and probably beyond. At the end of the second day, during an opt-in tournament, attendees were invested to the point of audibly cheering during big plays.

And it wasn’t just the pros who were getting bought in. Also attending were variety streamers and competitive players from other genres. Over the course of two days, I watched asDekkster—a CCG streamer and YouTuber—transformed from someone who’d never played an RTS before into someone who’d gained an intuitive proficiency to the point of dividing his forces on the fly for pushes on multiple fronts. It was wild to watch, and a strong case for Uncapped’s effort at making a more approachable RTS that could still deliver on the kinds of the dramatic moments StarCraft is famous for.

Battle Aces is set to kick off a closed beta soon, and sign-ups are open now.

More about rtsFormer Age of Empires developer says the RTS genre’s stuck in a rut: ‘you’re still playing the same game’Creeper World IXE breaks the RTS mold and adds a dash of Noita’s alchemy to the gooey war

More about rts

Former Age of Empires developer says the RTS genre’s stuck in a rut: ‘you’re still playing the same game’Creeper World IXE breaks the RTS mold and adds a dash of Noita’s alchemy to the gooey war

null

Former Age of Empires developer says the RTS genre’s stuck in a rut: ‘you’re still playing the same game’

Creeper World IXE

Creeper World IXE breaks the RTS mold and adds a dash of Noita’s alchemy to the gooey war

Latest

Masked Counter-Terrorist in helmet in forefront with sunglasses and beret-wearing CT in background touching headset

See more latest►

Most Popular

This bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines

18 games the PC Gamer team can’t wait to play in 2025

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Strategic revisioning#

Decked out#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

Competitive spirit#

Strategic revisioning

Decked out

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Competitive spirit