0 A.D. vs Rise to Ruins
0 A.D.
0 A.D. is a really unique game not because it is possibly one of the most well-made, open-source, historical real-time strategy games we've ever seen; the game started off as a mod for Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings but ended up being a standalone game with its own game engine and everything. This is a pretty huge feat and puts 0 A.D. on the same level as other successful mod-turned games like Garry's Mod. However, the game may lose out a bit when it comes to popularity mainly because it's not available on Steam, which happens to be the current largest PC gaming platform, and partly because there isn't a lot of promoting from established gaming media, or marketing, even.That said, the game is incredibly impressive for an under-development and completely free game. You can play as a number of civilizations that has their own graphics and models to set them apart. There are also citizen-soldiers who like in real-life, can switch between gatheirng resources like a civilian and fighting as a soldier depending on need. Unlike certain RTS games that allow you to unlock every branch of the tech tree, this game offers technological tradeoffs between two equally important tech, forcing you to really consider your choices and pick one that fits your play style.
0 A.D. also tries to be as historically accurate as possible, conforming its 3D models and maps to actual historical depictions of the people and land back in the day. The effort into making game realistic is astounding, but of course, the devs have mentioned that if they had to choose between having a feature that's historically accurate or playable, they will definitely choose playable every time... naturally, since this is still mainly a game and all.
So, if you're interested, know that you can get the game for free on their site.
Rise to Ruins
Rise to Ruins is a godlike empire-building strategy game that incorporates some elements of tower defense (during night time). Inspired by games like Towns, Gnomoria, Banished and Dwarf Fortress, you will need to build a thriving empire, recruit new nomads to join you, manage your empire's resources, and ensure that your people are content in this game. During the night, however, enemies will start hammering at your gates, and as such, set up proper tower-defense-like defenses to funnel your enemies into easily manageable "slaughter zones" as well as appoint guards to patrol your empire's parameters.There are also tons of fun little features that made this game so engaging to play, including your special godlike powers which you can use to help your little people survive or to cause them a huge amount of distress, and how the creatures and people in the game react to the presence of godly powers. You can even completely change the landscape of a map if you wish. The game has a ton of maps and game modes, even in its early access form, for you to play around with as well!
Rise to Ruins is still a work in progress but the game seems almost completely done and ready for launch. So, although it's still technically in early access, you can rest assured that the game is in its playable stage of development - you can immediately dive right in after purchasing the game!
P/S: There's also a trick that you can use to stop enemies from proliferating at all on the map you play on if you fancy a peaceful sort of game.