It's pretty cool - another 4X game, with some great visuals and interesting lore. Somehow it didn't capture my attention quite like Civ did, though - gameplay-wise alone, it's just not as interesting somehow. I did enjoy it, but I didn't play it for too long.

My recommendation if you like Civ is Warlock 2: the Exiled.

It's one of the only games I've actually completed the campaign for, and have gone back for more. It's a little like Civ in that you plop down cities and take over the realms with your vast legions of armies, but unlike Civ the combat system is kind of RPG-like, and incredibly fun.

It's a fantasy-based 4X game, and the unique twist on the whole thing is that you yourself are a powerful warlock and can cast spells to directly influence the game. I found all of the mechanics very fun apart from perhaps never being able to wipe out monster spawns entirely, and the campaign mode is very engaging.

Give it a go!

 

Endless Legend seems fun in theory, but I think its biggest issues, at least for me, was that I really didn't give a crap about any of the nations/tribes. With Civ, you immediately have a connection or at least some knowledge to at least half of the playable Civs and their leaders. So, it is fun to play as Rome or whatnot, whereas being more or less generic fantasy desert tribe is a bit meh.

I usually love fantasy worldbuilding but Endless Legend just didn't do it for me. Civ 5 and CK2 are both pretty fun though.

 

Generally it's easier to get shit done; Paradox loves fiddly mechanics, but I feel they made them easier to understand and use in EU4 than in CK2. Religion is a much more interesting mechanic, and wars have more depth than just "who has the largest army," though that still counts for a lot.

Go check outsome let's plays to reallly see the difference.

 

EU4 is very fun, I feel like there's a bit more to do than in CK2 (Forming the Russian Empire, Brandenburg- Prussia- Germany ect) as well as the alt history stuff like restoring England to the Danelaw or forming a lasting Iberian Union which gives it bit more variety than CK2.

And the historical events have a bit more impact than in CK2 where they mostly just set the Crusades and Jihad's off.

There's a fairly big new expansion coming out soon however, so you might be better off waiting for that and seeing what it's like before you decide on getting it as it's going to change how you play and manage a lot of things.

Edit

Adding on to this, Paradox also has Victoria 2 which is more money focused than anything and runs from 1836 until 1936. Your're not going to be painting the map in it but it's reasonably fun and quicker than the other Paradox games. And it can be fun turning Brazil into a global power. The only criticism I would have is that Britain is pretty bad at intervening in Europe which means that it is hard to counter the other European powers unless Prussia completely wrecks Austria and ends up forming greater Germany.

Hearts of Iron III is the other one which is WW2. I haven't played it much so I can't really comment on it aside from that it's rather hard to play as a minor or regional power as you generally lack the resources to compete with the Great Powers. Hearts of Iron IV is in development though so it's probably worth waiting for that.

There is March of Eagles (Napoleonic Wars) as well, but aside from having a pretty map I hear that one is kind of dull. Never played it myself though.

 

Turn based strategy in Fire Emblem and Valkyria Chronicles was interesting, from the first page though not the kind of strategy you're looking for?

EU4 is pretty good from what little I've played.

 

FTL is a strategy, Rogue-like if you'd like to branch out.

There's always Master of Orion if you want to go old school.

 

Doesn't EU4 have a pretty amazing GoT mod? Or am I thinking of something else?

Xcom has been mentioned, but with games like CK2, EU4 and Civ being bandied about, my guess is that's not your cup of tea. You rather be in the Oval Office than on the battlefield?

 

CK2 has a GoT mod. https://ck2agot.wordpress.com/

 

See people reccomending EUIV and CK2 over and over. Well, my reccomendation in the game Grey Goo.

Its a classic RTS game, in the veins of the C&C games of yore, complete with free different Races/Factions, all with their own unique playstyle required, it also have a nice campaign. And best of all, there is no Micro/Macro stuff. Alas, the game is incredibly underrated.

 

If you want something that's a hybrid between 4X and RTS, go for Sins of a Solar Empire. Explore the map, conduct diplomacy, colonise planets, build up your forces and then send them off to go blow shit up.

Lots of complex strategy both on the logistics/research front as well as when it comes to troop movements. This is helped by the fact that you can zoom in/out from one view to the other with just the mouse wheel.