Analysis | Company of Heroes 3 delivers a good strategy game, but with poor performance

Developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sega, Company of Heroes 3 is the sequel to one of the best games of its kind on the platform, bringing a new side of warfare to players hungry for gunfire, explosions and of course, strategy.

Company of Heroes 3 delivers a good strategy game

Two different sides of the same war

Company of Heroes 3 is a real-time strategy game set during World War II, more precisely during the Italian and African campaigns that took place between 1941 and 1945. This time, the game offers two different ways to play, based on real conflicts.

The first way to play Company of Heroes 3 is through the new Italian campaign. Through a board in the shape of Italy, the player needs to manage resources and command different squadrons while taking back the country from the claws of the axis. The campaign is fully dynamic, and reacts according to the actions taken by the player. The central objective is simple: march to Rome and stop the advance of fascist forces.

In this campaign, the game lessens the focus on real-time battles and introduces a turn-based dynamic. Being guided by three military leaders with different tactics, the player needs to make strategic decisions on his turn, taking into account the tips and preferences of each character. This mode can be a little confusing at first, especially for those who are used to other games in the genre, but a brief tutorial introduces the player to the main mechanics.

When encountering an enemy faction or starting the siege of a controlled city, the game returns to real-time battles, which have undergone several improvements compared to the previous game in the franchise. Several mechanics have been added to make the game’s combat lighter and more fun than its predecessor, with the main addition being the possibility of activating a “tactical pause”, which pauses the combat and allows you to perform new moves without losing the moment. focus.

During combat, the player needs to control individual units, having to manage resources, build bases and come up with strategies to lead his soldiers to victory. Units are divided into different types such as infantry, tanks and artillery, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Unfortunately, the game can become repetitive in some situations, with similar objectives being repeated over and over again in different battles.

In addition to the Italian campaign, the game offers a more traditional mode where the focus is on the narrative. The African campaign is inspired by real events in Libya and Egypt, and tells the moving story of the plight of Benghazi Jews. In this mode, we take control of a German commander who leads the “Afrikakorps”, the German military force that was created to defend the Italian colonies on the African continent against the military attack of the allies.

Although this mode only offers 8 missions, it tells an emotional story about the effects of war on ordinary people. Unlike the first campaign, the gameplay of the African campaign revolves around a squadron that needs to survive even with the scarcity of resources generated by the British invasion.

The eight missions put the player in improvised positions, and are differentiated enough to break the replay cycles. Although I enjoyed the first game mode more, the story and situations presented here are engaging, and I’m curious to see more in some expansion in the future. Unfortunately, the story of the African campaign is not represented much in WWII games, and that should change.

Multiplayer is by far the best part of Company of Heroes 3. With 1v1 and 4v4 matches, four factions and 14 maps at launch, the online mode has the potential to hold the attention of many players. In addition to PvP combat, the game also offers cooperative matches, which can serve as training camps before participating in the real fights.

Performance could be better

Company of Heroes 3 is a heavy game. Whether in real-time battles or on the Italian campaign board, the game suffered from frame drops due to the absurd amount of detailed objects present on the screen. Even holding 60 frames most of the time, it was common to see several drops and “chokes”, especially on the open map of Italy.

Also, I had some crashes that caused me to lose progress in some fights, but it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed with updates. The game’s graphics are beautiful and of high quality, especially the design of environments and maps in the desert and Europe.

Conclusion

Company of Heroes 3 is a good strategy game perfect for fans. Its two campaigns present good challenges, its gameplay is addictive and its multiplayer has great potential for years to come. Despite the combat becoming repetitive in the Italian campaign across several missions, the game’s dynamics have a good pace that should satisfy newcomers and veterans alike.

pros

• Engaging story in the African campaign
• The shift mode in the Italian campaign is a nice addition.
• Fun and enjoyable combat
• Diverse multiplayer with growth potential

cons

• Poor performance on more powerful machines
• Repeated missions in the single player campaign
• Frequent crashes ruin the experience

Grade: 8.0/10.0