Hello, guys, this is going to be a smaller article, and that’s because, if you want to know my first impressions about Broken Arrow, you can read them here, where I go a bit in-depth on some of its mechanics and what I think could be improved prior to the game’s official launch, now confirmed to be on the 19th of June, so less than two months away.
Recently, I and some other influencers/YouTubers were given access to another Broken Arrow build by Slitherine, and this one was comprised of three single-player missions. The first was the tutorial, which was already available the last time I played it, and I think it does a decent job of easing you into the game’s mechanics. The other two missions were brand new. The first is played from the US side, where you’re tasked with taking over a Russian-controlled airport by making use of airborne troops. The second mission was played from the Russian perspective, and you had to seize the enemy infrastructure, hold it for as long as possible, and retreat when the counterattack got too heated.
Let me get out of the way the things I enjoyed before I go on to tell you what I didn’t. The team is clearly putting some work into the campaign of Broken Arrow, and there’s a narrative, cutscenes, and missions are broken into several, distinct segments, with pre-scripted objectives and actions. I think it’s fair to say that my fear of the Broken Arrow campaign being nothing less than a couple of very generic skirmishes held together by strapping the campaign sign over it and hoping people wouldn’t notice is now something I don’t have to worry about anymore. I also enjoyed the way the missions were put together, and how unpredictable they felt, managing to keep me on my toes at all times, with all the operational back and forth which is to be expected: you capture an objective, then a new one shows up, and that might be to hold-up and defend, find some intel, prepare for a counter-attack, reposition, etc. All very well done and very fun to play through.
Now, I can see how some people might not enjoy these more on-rail experiences, and certainly, I do think the campaign won’t offer much replayability, but as long as the base thing is great, and we can set up together our own skirmishes, with our own armies, I think it’s not going to be a problem, as not every campaign needs to be endlessly replayable, and when they are, they also come with their own set of problems, most of which is usually being too generic to offer something special.
Now, my main complaint is going to follow the same line of thought presented on my original first impressions, and that was the fact that I think the infantry combat isn’t still what I was hoping for. I read some of your comments on my article, and some of you agree with me, while others think Broken Arrow’s approach is perfectly fine and works amazingly well. I guess it just comes down to expectations and what kind of experience you were hoping to get out of it.
Unlike other similar games in this real-time strategy sub-genre which I call “Eugen-like”, I was hoping that Broken Arrow would go for a more infantry-focused approach, taking into account things like a cover system and morale, and I believe this expectation stems from the fact that, in early previews, I remember the scale of the urban scenarios being mentioned as quite a prominent feature that was supposed to make Broken Arrow stand apart from the competition. In these two missions I have played, which were mostly infantry-focused, the combat came down to occupying buildings and using those positions to fire on the enemy. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case as of right now, with Broken Arrow focusing most of its in-depth mechanics into vehicular combat, and in the mission I played on the previous preview, where I was tasked with securing a highway with my armoured combat force, the game flowed a lot better. I can say, without hesitation, that Broken Arrow is the kind of game that excels when you’re using combined operations because it makes you take a look at the bigger picture, and not focus on the street-to-street skirmishes.
As of right now, what I think might set Broken Arrow apart from other titles like Wargame, Regiments, and WARNO is its modern setting, promising single-player campaign, and the fact that the game is quite the looker, even amongst some of the best looking real-time strategy (RTS) titles.
Again, I know that this whole problem I have with infantry is my problem, but I’m sure it also reflects the concerns some of you might have, I’m almost certain that we are in the minority. Recently, the Head of Communications for Slitherine published on LinkedIn how Broken Arrow is now the 15th top-selling game on Steam, and the 16th most wishlist title. To say that expectations are quite high would be an understatement.
Support Strategy and Wargaming
I do what I do in Strategy and Wargaming because I love to do this, and I’m never going to stop. If you would like to support me with that, you can buy me a coffee for a dollar if you’re feeling generous. If you can’t, no worries, Strategy and Wargaming will always be free, and I’d love to have you around!
Leave a Reply