I would recommend giving Galaxy Squad a miss. One of the few games I've gotten a refund for; it's very rough - and not in an endearing or acceptable way - in a broken and bad kind of way. I will say though, it this was in July when I played it, so I guess it's possible that there's been some major improvements since then?

I was also pretty lukewarm on Blair Witch - the dogtech is the real standout. There's some good stuff in that game, but it can also be a real slog. Although, it is on Game Pass, so you can go check it out for a dollar (or a krona, probably? I guess).

Speaking of Game Pass - Void Bastards is also on there. It's something I would strongly recommend, and I think it's something you'd probably be into. I'll just say that It's tentatively #3 on my GOTY list at the moment.

I actually already own nearly all the games on this list aside from At The Gates, Pathologic 2, Unity of Command 2, Fantasy General 2 and Close Combat: The Bloody First, so it's just a matter of finding the time to play them. Void Bastards has a fairly high priority though, especially since it seems like finishing a run doesn't take all that long. I guess Galaxy Squad will have to wait a bit longer.

(also, the dollar to krona conversion generally goes 1USD=10SEK)

I'm a pretty big fan of Age of Wonders Planetfall, if my ringing endorsement counts for anything. It seems like Triumph is listening to player feedback and making meaningful tweaks and improvements, which was one of the things I really appreciated with AoW III.

Of the games on this list, I'm also very curious in knowing what the hell is up with Fantasy General II. The first one was a genuine surprise when I messed around with it a few years ago, and the idea that some dev decided to make a sequel to it 24 years later is fascinating.

Yeah, I only got Planetfall a couple of weeks ago as I couldn't afford it when it was released. Are those improvements available for the base game too, or only through expansion packs? I only purchased the standard edition. Agreed on Fantasy General II, very odd thing to make a sequel to so long after the original, and there's been so little coverage of it that I still don't quite know how it turned out.

From what I understand most of the meaningful tweaks in Age of Wonders are free for everyone, which includes slight reworks to the tech tree (it's easier to invest in and maintain naval power), significant balance changes (Each colonizer unit is progressively more expensive, so you can't just bum-rush to grab as much territory as possible) as well as the actually very significant addition of orbital relays (which allow you to build up teleporter networks, essentially.)

I think the only things you'll be locked out from the expansion are the new secret tech (which are basically akin to the "classes" of Age of Wonders III) the new NPC faction, and the ability to do archeological digs, which are little mini-quests that often are good ways to give heroes experience without fighting.