Battle Fleet 2

[h3]RANKING:[/h3] [table] [tr] [td] [h3][strike]AVOID | FLAWED[/strike] | [b]MAYBE[/b] | [strike]WORTHWHILE | COMPELLING | UNMISSABLE [/strike] [/h3] [/td] [/tr] [/table] [h3]SYNOPSIS:[/h3] [table] [tr] [th][b]ASSESSMENT:[/b][/th] [/tr] [tr] [td] Battlefleet 2 is a semi-convincing naval wargame with an emphasis on turn-based encounters comprised of arcade style manual targeting & movement. While the experience delivers tactically, the strategy layer suffers a real lack of sophistication, with many elements not deeply modelled. Something that suggests it could be an after-thought, these need to be flushed out. As a consequence the gameloop is lean. Customisation allows ships to have an anti-ship, sub or air role or mix thereof. No research component means there is never a need to upgrade these. Audiovisuals provide fair immersion, but are crude in places. At least content unlocks from its mobile origins can be bypassed in the settings. While very repetitive it is quite fun & addictive at times. [b]MAYBE[/b] one to consider if mobile ports are your thing. [/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [td][b]STATUS:[/b][/td] [td]A mature product, with its first dlc. Numerous features are in need of QoL & some bug fixing [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b]APPEAL:[/b][/td] [td]For fans of turn-based naval combat requiring some skill. That don't mind the heavy repetition of movement & aiming, who prefer their strategy lite [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b]VALUE:[/b][/td] [td]For what it offers would only consider at around 50% sale [/td] [/tr] [/table] [quote=]Key supplied by developer through curator [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/tbtactics/][b]TURN-BASED TACTICS[/b] [/url] | Click to follow & get updates[/quote] [i]More info below....[/i] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3626272774 [h3]HIGHLIGHTS:[/h3] 🟡 NAVAL COMBAT is a lot more fun than it should be. Mainly due to the cathartic mix of targeting, hitting & sinking ships. The turn sequence of individual ships gives it a chess-like feel. Yet due to its simple nature & the constant need to fiddle around to move ships, it is incredibly repetitive. Ship vs ship fights are the best part of the game. AA screens are effective. Submarines add a little depth. 🟡 AIM SYSTEM works off facing, line-of-sight & range. It can be fun, but does not incorporate enough modifiers to affect targeting much. Its too easy to get a ship's bearing & hit it multiple times in a turn. Minor telemetry adjustments do allow players to tailor which ship section to hit. The process proves inefficient as previous attempts disappear forcing fresh guesswork in hitting the mark. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3626316239 [h3]OFF TARGET:[/h3] ⚪ GAME MODES are built around the same core gameplay with a mixture of historical quick battles & campaigns. Clean slate modes are essentially sandbox variants allowing starting fleets to be purchased with points. Custom engagements come defined by map, factions, fleet purchase points & time limit. ⚪ ENCOUNTERS are the cornerstone of gameplay, occurring in large numbers during a campaign. Are fought on the same maps for scenarios or in a campaign map zone. Covered with a fog of war & sometimes airfields & coastal defences. Distribute ships randomly across x3 pre-defined zones per side during deployment, causing tactical problems of a positional nature to immediately rectify. ⚪ AIR COMBAT is restricted to engagements when attacking air squadrons meet defending ones &/or ships with anti-air turrets. They operate from airfields, some ships & carriers. Up to x4 units available to send on recon, air defence or to attack specific targets. Rotated on a cooldown. ⚪ DAMAGE MODEL works on arbitrary hit point damage that varies depending on the armaments & precision. Good enough for ship combat with the ability to cripple components such as the engine, bridge, rudder, ammo or weapons. Limiting their use or capability. A shame that holing below the water line is not modelled. Coastal defences are too easy to destroy. ⚪ SHIPS are differentiated across x6 specific classes, greatly reducing the nuance in ship building. Only cruisers having a light variant. Limited customisation defines particular roles: Anti-ship, anti-sub or anti-air, by outfitting a number of slots with specific weapons. Only destroyers can be fitted with depth charges & smoke generators to extend tactical options. Carriers house bomber or torpedo bombers when unlocked. Player defined classes cannot be saved for quick builds. ⚪ AI behaviour is inconsistent, but better at the tactical than the strategic level. Has a some idea where to recon & send fleets. Makes fair use of the ships it has at hand. Prioritises land defences. Keeps a decent screen near capital ships sometimes. Picks up & plays tactical cards. Knows which zones to seize & naval bases to occupy. Can easily be led into ambushes due to its use of smaller fleets. Repeatedly attempts to grab unoccupied zones. Doesn't disengage early enough when losing. ⚪ UNLOCKS for new game modes & variants, harder difficulty, additional ship classes &, aircraft & strategic cards are the remnant of its original mobile gaming design. Thankfully all of these can be instantly unlocked in the settings menu. Though this will somewhat impact the game's longevity. ⚪ STAYING POWER is good, with REPLAY VALUE coming mainly from the enjoyable combat mechanics, but also the different make-up of encounters. Otherwise it would be a lot more repetitive than it already is. Some LONGEVITY comes from levelling up the player level to unlock content. Steam Achievements are easy. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3626007599 [h3]SHORTCOMINGS:[/h3] 🟤 STRATEGY feels limited with campaign options restricted to fleet movement, zone recon, ship construction, refits & automatic repairs. Mostly a little cat & mouse between engagements. Defence installations are generic & fixed to predetermined zones. New ones can't be built or upgraded. Solo ships or subs can wrest control of sea zones without a fight. At least transports are needed for those with bases. 🟤 LACKS SOPHISTICATION such as: randomised deployments. Minefields are abstracted through cards. There is no real concept of logistics, fleet patrols or even a need to resupply. No weather or day & night. Nor submarine nets or convoy war. No radar too. Only a lite implementation of sonar for subs. No research for equipment upgrades. Ship commanders experience provides an abstracted benefit only. Repairs require a single turn & have no bearing on damage. Torpedoes can target submerged submarines at depth. Friendly fire is possible where air units shooting down their own aircraft in return. Replacing lost aircraft requires no cost in industry points. 🟤 RETREATING from engagements is a drawn out affair as ships inch their way out of bounds while trying to avoid being seen & attacked. The lack of quick retreat option to hasten this pedantic endeavour is a real hassle. 🟤 PRODUCTION needs to be better. It does have a decent amount of polish, but numerous bugs have been reported which sadly impact the experience. OPTIMISATION is fine at 60FPS. STABILITY is without issue. QoL is needed across many features to bring them up to standard for a PC strategy game. BUGS in the * FULL REVIEW * [table][tr] [td]Click for:[/td] [td][h1][url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/TheIrregularGamer/discussions/0/687492779657612160/]Full Review[/url][/h1][/td] [/tr][/table] [table] [tr] [td][b]REVIEWED WITH:[/b][/td] [td]Build v 1.700. No VR. INTEL i5 6600 3.3GHz, 8GB RAM, GTX970 4GB @ 1920x1080 fullscreen, EVO850 SSD [/td] [/tr] [/table] [quote=]Thank you for reading | Click to follow my curator[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40556040-The-Irregular-Gamer/] THE IRREGULAR GAMER[/url][/quote]

Gameplay Mechanics: 7/10 Narrative: 4/10 Graphics: 6/10 Sound and Music: 5/10 Replayability: 6/10 Innovation: 7/10 Battle Fleet 2 is a turn-based naval tactics game that combines classic strategy with manual aiming mechanics—making each shot feel personal and impactful. It’s not a flashy game, but it carves out a unique niche in WW2 naval warfare. Gameplay mechanics are the core attraction. You command fleets in turn-based combat, carefully maneuvering ships, managing firing arcs, and manually aiming your shots for maximum damage. It adds a layer of tension and skill not seen in most turn-based games. Score: 7/10. Narrative is basically nonexistent. There’s a loose campaign structure and some brief context for missions, but it’s more of a tactical sandbox than a story-driven experience. Score: 4/10. Graphics are simple but serviceable. Ships are cleanly modeled, the UI is functional, and explosions look decent. It won’t win any visual awards, but it gets the job done for a strategy title. Score: 6/10. Sound and music are a bit barebones. The effects are basic, and the soundtrack fades into the background quickly. Nothing offensive—just forgettable. Score: 5/10. Replayability is okay. You can try different fleet builds and play through skirmish or campaign modes, but there's not a ton of long-term variety. Score: 6/10. Innovation scores well for the manual targeting system. Unlike most naval strategy games, you actually aim your guns, which creates a more tactile and engaging feel during battles. It’s a cool mechanic that adds a lot of personality. Score: 7/10. Bottom line: Battle Fleet 2 is a fun and unique naval tactics game with an old-school feel. It’s not deep or cinematic, but the manual aiming and fleet management make it worth checking out for fans of WW2 strategy and turn-based combat with a twist.

Decent gameplay, has potential... but when you load a saved game, everything is a mess. The map doesn't show ownership, ships have barely any turrets, so on and so forth. Would not recommend until they fix the save-load system.

Amazing game. Well-designed, very few bugs if any, and loads of fun. Easy to pause if work or RL calls.

Easy but really fun to play.

Easy to play, but with enough difficulty to make it enjoyable.

Super simple to learn but fun enough to play - I'm enjoying this game a lot.

Its a fun game and gives players a basic understanding of how important the naval campaign was during the second world war

Covering the campaigns of the Atlantic and Pacific during the Second World War, BATTLE FLEET 2 is a naval war simulator which gives us the chance to fight as the British, Germans, Japanese or Americans in either single battle or campaign mode. Obviously the latter is merely the former but on a grander scale via a map of our chosen theatre of war. For campaigns, we create fleets at home ports with Industry Points, a valuable resource which increases each turn depending on what we control, and move these ships onto the seascapes until they encounter an enemy, when a naval clash takes place. This replaces the map with a smaller section of ocean where the fleets will attempt to destroy each other. We must then control individual ships, one by one, by giving them movement and firing orders. Battles, much like the campaign itself, are turn-based affairs. Various ships can be built, anything from Aircraft Carriers and Submarines to Destroyers and Battleships, while Transports are required if we wish to conquer islands from opposing forces. Every type of ship only takes a single turn to complete, which seems rather unrealistic, as long as we have enough Industry Points to do so. (I remember playing the excellent EMPIRE - WARGAME OF THE CENTURY on my trusty old C64 back in the 1980's and that classic had different ships requiring various turns to create. While I would have liked BATTLE FLEET 2 to have been more like this to increase the realism and strategic thinking, on the whole it does not distract from the game too much.) One nice feature is that we can modify our new ships with a somewhat limited arsenal. Do we swap a gun turret for another torpedo tube, for example, or instead fix on an anti-aircraft gun? Battles can take quite some time to reach an outcome, especially when lots of vessels are present, due to having us control each ship. There is no option to toggle them to AI, perhaps with a pre-defined strategy, which would speed up the proceedings nicely. Still, any military mistakes we make are thus our own and the enemy is always quick to take advantage! Movement is carried out simply by setting a direction and speed, then our vessel will head that way for as far as it can go. Firing is similar but slightly more complex. We set an aiming direction for our shells and then a range for them to hopefully hit a target. As a guide there is a circle radiating outwards from our ship showing maximum range and we have to estimate exactly where our shells will fall within it. For example, if our armament range is 3000 metres and an enemy is sighted within 2900 metres, we can safely assume that the range to fire at will be just within the circle. This seemed a little confusing at first but soon becomes second nature! Torpedoes are much easier as we just aim them and they run their course until either they hit a target or reach their maximum range and sink. Bear in mind, however, that various armaments have different range patterns. Hence torpedoes have a very limited bearing and often turrets at the port or bow of a ship cannot traverse to shoot in the opposite direction. This only adds to the strategic feeling of the game and often it is wise to check a firing arc before moving a vessel if we want to fire a certain armament. Some guns may fire several salvos per turn. Aircraft Carriers have 4 air wings onboard and each turn a single wing can be given orders. These include various sorties for reconnaissance, combat or defending the mother vessel in case of enemy air attack. Once a sortie is over the surviving aircraft land on the Carrier and several turns will pass (for refuelling and rearming etc) before another mission can be selected for that particular air group. Scattered randomly around the map are Chance Cards, which if picked up by a vessel can be used on a later turn. These have various conditions, anything from repairing ships and added reconnaissance flights to temporarily disabling enemies, so are well worth the effort to collect. Sometimes they may even help turn the tide of battle, although the enemy will also be hunting for them too! Damage to ships may destroy vital necessities, such as engines and armaments, which will reduce the craft's abilities for the remainder of the battle. These cannot be repaired during the encounter unless, of course, we are lucky enough to find a Chance Card allowing us to do so. Once a ship loses all of its Hit Points it will sink and be removed permanently from the game. Graphically the game is fine with a nice level of zoom. Sound effects include a theme tune while on the main screen, then a series of explosions and splashes, aircraft and engine noises while participating in battles. There is an option to play Multiplayer battles but despite trying to do so on numerous occasions I never found an opponent so, sadly, gave this up as a lost cause. However, there is a Hot Seat mode for 2 players and this can also be used as a tool to learning the game after playing the helpful Tutorial. BATTLE FLEET 2 comes with a fine array of options to fine tune the playing experience. There are 3 levels of difficulty, 4 languages available, 6 graphics quality and 5 interface sizes to choose from. We also have 28 locations to pick from for single battles, anything from islands like Iwo Jima and Midway to sections of the Philippines and Atlantic, so there is something to suite all strategic tastes. Furthermore, campaigns allow us to use either historical fleets or a clean slate for us to create our own. Players should expect to invest lots of time and effort into the game but winning both battles and campaigns is often very rewarding. Some may dislike the slow pace of the action but at least it allows for serious pondering of strategic moves at our leisure, a luxury often not granted in typical RTS games! There are 17 Trophies to unlock, although some grind is required to do so, and despite BATTLE FLEET 2 now being somewhat elderly, in fairness the Developers do occasionally come back to it with improvements after listening to player feedback. I am delighted to see the game has not been abandoned even after all of this time. Highly recommended!

This game is very fun! It is a fun WWII strategy game with fun immersive PvE combat action. It also requires math to calculate range, angle and strategy to play. 10/10. My favorite steam game