In Headquarters: World War II on Steam, we command our units in World War II on a very small scale.
What kind of game is this? In Headquarters: World War II, we command a platoon, meaning not the means of transport, but a military task force with tanks, infantry, and vehicles.
The game takes place, as the title suggests, in World War II and features 3 factions: the Germans, the British, and the Americans. In 3 campaigns with 9 operations each, we experience the different phases of the landing in Normandy.
Unlike other games where it’s about the big picture, in Headquarters: World War II we fight for every little hedge. The game focuses on realism and offers both a morale system for units as well as aspects like weak points in armor and troop cover.
Although the game is from an indie developer, there are co-op and multiplayer battles with up to four players.
Here you can watch the trailer:
Tactics and strategic action are necessary
How does Headquarters: World War II play? The game is turn-based. Similar to XCOM, the area is divided into small squares. Each unit can move a certain distance and can only perform a limited number of actions.
Players must engage the enemy as tactically as possible, because due to the weak points in the armor of enemy tanks, it’s better not to charge straight in with all troops.
Your infantry can, for example, take cover behind tanks to cross fields. Units can hide in buildings, but these can also be destroyed. Shooting at enemies lowers their morale, which is almost as good as eliminating the enemies.
How realistic is the game? While the game aims to be realistic, there are also a few things that are simply unrealistic. On Steam, several points have been raised in the reviews, such as:
- There is no ammunition and therefore no ammunition shortage
- Units can freely seek cover in buildings and leave them without using extra action points
- The AI sometimes behaves very stupidly – for example, infantry stands openly in front of a machine gun
While a good dose of realism is certainly beneficial for a World War II game, a game doesn’t have to simulate all aspects. Things like ammunition shortages wouldn’t really come into play in small skirmishes anyway.
If you find zombies cooler than World War II, you might be interested in another strategy game that was released recently: A new survival game on Steam shows how your neighborhood would fare in a zombie apocalypse
