Video game publisher Hooded Horse caters for a very specific type of player: those who love the deep decision making and complexity of strategy, simulation, and role-playing games. Some of the titles already released under the indie publisher’s banner have included Old World, from Mohawk Games; Terra Invicta, developed by Pavonis Interactive; Falling Frontier, from Stutter Fox Studios; and The Way of Wrath, by Animmal.

At PAX East this past weekend, as part of their Publisher Showcase segment, Hooded Horse revealed three new games joining their stable (Sons of Valhalla, Espiocracy, Capital Command) in addition to developments with their other standouts. You can watch the full one-hour showcase here; below you’ll find the top three announcements that stood out for us specifically as history fans.

Espiocracy

Here’s a concept that we don’t think has ever been tackled before, and it sounds incredibly intriguing. Literally. From Ireland-based Ex Vivo Studios, Espiocracy is a strategy game that puts you in charge of an intelligence agency during the Cold War.

Players will be able to choose from 74 countries and rewrite history post-WWII in the era of the spymaster. As any contemporary history fan knows, this is a tumultuous period with the world shaken by the escalating nuclear arms race, decolonisation and the Space Race.   

Your nation is as at risk from the shadows as any other, but you’ll be in a position to choose your autonomous operatives, influence ideologies and popular opinion, stage coups, orchestrate assassinations of key actors, and trigger proxy wars to establish a world order in your favour.

Wishlist Espiocracy on Steam here.

Sons of Valhalla

Is it possible to have too many Viking games? We don’t think so. From German-based Pixel Chest, Sons of Valhalla is a side-scrolling strategy and base-building game set in the Viking Age. Coming across as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla by way of last year’s Song of Iron (which we loved), Sons of Valhalla sees you play as Thorald Olavson, who heads to England in pursuit of the Viking Jarl who destroyed Thorald’s village and kidnapped his love.

Featuring a lush pixel-art style and striking 24-hour weather cycle, Sons of Valhalla is as much about personal combat as it is about commanding raiding groups, laying siege to enemy strongholds, and building your own settlements to ensure a supply of resources and loyal warriors.

Wishlist Sons of Valhalla on Steam here.

Old World

Old World isn’t a new announcement, but after launch on the Epic Games Store back in July 2021, the historical 4X strategy game is coming to Steam and GOG next month, on 19 May.

From Mohawk Games, the studio of Soren Johnson – lead designer on Civilization IV and Offworld Trading Company – Old World is PC Gamer’s winner for best Strategy Game 2021. It can probably best be described as a smaller scale Civilization by way of Crusader Kings, set in the Ancient World.

Old World is unsurprisingly dense in terms of gameplay, but essentially you wage wars against rival rulers, manage your court, and build a family dynasty over multiple generations as you steer your empire to greatness. You can also assume the role of iconic rulers like Nebuchadnezzar, Dido, and Hatshepsut… and that roster is getting larger with first expansion Heroes of the Aegean, which is also releasing on Old World’s 19 May launch day.

Heroes of the Aegean will be free to keep for all players who purchase the base game in the first two weeks after release. The expansion covers key moments of Ancient Greek history, and features six new historical scenarios – including leading Athens in the Battle of Marathon, and playing widowed Queen Olympias as she shepherds young Alexander the Great. You’ll also get to step into the sandals of leaders such as Themistocles, Leonidas, and Alexander himself.

Wishlist Old World on Steam here.