8 Essential Video Games To Get You Into A New Genre

Turn-based strategy/tactics games are part of a fundamentally hardcore genre, where players are typically required to make tricky, painstaking decisions in order to press on against enemy forces.

The XCOM franchise is the undisputed king of the genre, though its relatively unforgiving level of difficulty makes it less-than-ideal for those looking for a gentler introduction.

But Nintendo come to the rescue once again, with the shockingly great Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. 

Though many initially groaned at a Ubisoft-developed crossover with Nintendo, Mario + Rabbids proved itself to be an ingeniously streamlined take on the XCOM formula that still offered up enough challenge not to feel watered down.

Key to the game's success is its more forgiving difficulty combined with an utter lack of self-seriousness, and yet, the turn-based gameplay still requires players to use their noggin and think ahead to avoid getting tripped up.

It's a tricky balance to strike, but Ubisoft absolutely nailed it, ensuring that once you've made it to the end of this game, you'll be more than ready to give XCOM a try.