Company of Heroes

My all time favorite game1

Every gaming genre has titles that divide its history into “before” and “after.” Company of Heroes is a perfect example of such a game. I feel like no RTS has impressed me quite as much ever since. I still remember how blown away I was by the game’s attention to detail, visuals, and effects. The sounds of gunfire and explosions, the rattling submachine guns and machine guns, the especially satisfying sound of the MG42, muzzle flashes, artillery barrages, voice acting, and the incredibly high-quality localization - all of it felt outstanding. Then there was the interactive and destructible environment. Shells damaged buildings and fences, explosions left craters behind, and infantry could take cover behind objects - probably the feature that impressed me the most at the time. And when a shell landed directly on a squad, there was hardly any chance of anyone remaining in one piece. The graphics and effects were remarkably cinematic as well. The game was built on its own engine, by the way, back when Unreal Engine and Unity were nowhere near as dominant as they are today. During intense battles, the screen looked like a fireworks display, and once the smoke cleared, there was barely a single untouched patch of ground left. It felt as if I had stepped into an episode of "Band of Brothers" or a scene from "Saving Private Ryan". It was incredibly impressive, and I spent countless hours playing it back then. So how does the game feel almost twenty years later? Exactly the same. Despite its age, it is still incredibly engaging to play. The AI can still feel brutally difficult, although it also occasionally does something incredibly stupid. You will have to get used to the inability to remap the controls, and the old-fashioned mission design can sometimes leave you confused about what exactly you are supposed to do next. Nevertheless, the game has aged remarkably well and still plays wonderfully. Despite all my gaming experience and all the time that has passed, it gave me that same feeling of not being in a hurry and simply enjoying the process - carefully trying to micromanage my units, only to get completely destroyed by enemy artillery yet again. The excellent localization also deserves a special mention. This game absolutely belongs in the library of every fan of World War II RTS games. P.S. Anyone who enjoyed this game should also take a look at some interesting RTS hybrids such as Men of War and Call to Arms.