Having been there since the official launch, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to test Company of Heroes 3’s pacing. A full month of exclusive content for IGN First. And given how open development has been, you’ve likely played a Slice of him or two already. But it was all like running your fingers through the various gears and armor plates that hadn’t been assembled into a full tank yet. Since I was able to see the whole picture, the whole picture is starting to come together.
What all previous builds lacked was, above all, a sense of cohesion and storytelling. Both campaigns are presented in the personal narrative framework that the series is known for. Get a feel for the different characters. I think I understand. All of this framing puts me into the thinking of the time and adds much-needed context to the trials ahead.
The linear North African campaign really seems to lean toward the idea of presenting the war in terms of the effects it had on the local non-combatants… Playable Axis powers. The cutscenes that set this up were still in the works, so I can’t show them, but I was impressed with the level of nuance and spotlight on aspects of WWII that most games like this overlook. Nor does it boil down to a black and white summary of the conflict. The narrator points out that the British bombing of German positions near her village was far from a harbinger of their liberation. It really makes you realize (ironically, given the name of the franchise) that there are no real heroes in war. .
Form up!
The dynamic Italian campaign has also undergone a major overhaul since we last played it a few months ago. I’ve compared it to Total War in the past, but the one that came out of the crucible of iterations and player feedback feels more focused and perhaps a little more guided. I think we are moving in a better direction. You can move your squadron wherever you want, call in air support, and leverage your navy for strategic and tactical advantages. It’s a complex, multi-layered problem. But it’s also less in scope and more direct narrative-driven than my previous impressions had suggested.
This is not to say that you are on the railroad. Italy happens to be a fairly narrow peninsula, and the ultimate goal of breaking through to Rome is always the same. So the decisions you make are less about setting your own goals and more about how you get there. He will also be faced with periodic decisions that require his one approach of command to be prioritized over others. In addition to unlocking perks, each Loyalty Track must be advanced to a certain point to secure your support in the final battle. However, we never really got to see how this scenario would play out with or without the help of certain characters.
in the mud
On the battlefield, not much has changed since we last saw Company of Heroes 3. In short, there are not many complaints. It feels like good old CoH tactical action, with a wider roster of units than ever before and a variety of unorthodox objectives to split up more traditional maps. , especially useful when you need to quickly change gears from attack to defense, or react quickly to unexpected enemy movements. The campaign has been repeated many times, but more or less it seems to have worked right from the start.
There are still quite a few unanswered questions about how the campaign will unfold over dozens of turns, and certain strategic elements still lack tooltips and what role they play. It’s still hard to fully grasp how the strategic aspects will change in terms of resources, logistics, and progression. Now that I’m more fleshed out, I can definitely say that I present a compelling excuse to draw you into an exciting tactical battle.
