Ah! We’re finally in July, and the weather is warm, vacations are fast approaching, and free time to play all the games in the World is finally upon us. Well, at least it’s finally upon me, and I could not be more excited. While the entire game’s industry is crashing about Sony ending physical media (a very stupid move that will only drive PC and mobile sales further), here in our Strategy and Wargaming corner things are a lot brigther: Slitherine takes over the iconic Blood Bowl franchise, Company of Heroes 3 gets a roguelike (yes, really) expansion, ZeroSpace, one of the best RTS coming this year is coming out this month, and we got a first look at Expeditions Samurai. Let’s take a look at the biggest news of the week and comment on it!
Slitherine Takes Over Blood Bowl
Over the last couple of years, Slitherine has been doing some amazing work as a great publisher of amazing games, alongside the likes of Hooded Horse. Now, the company has given Blood Bowl a new home, and they’ll be sharing more about the future of the franchise on July 22nd, during the Slitherine Next livestream, which you’ll be able to watch on their Slitherine Twitch channel.
Company of Heroes 3 Final Stand DLC Announced
Have you noticed my constant commentary on how strategy games have been embracing the roguelike/roguelite elements a lot as of late? With games like FTL, MENACE, Battle Brothers, Into The Breach, 9 Kings, and Master of Command being the prime examples of what can be done with the concept, one game I never imagined making the cut was Company of Heroes 3, but here we are. A all-new standalone wave defense experience called Final Stand is coming to the World War 2 RTS, and it’s coming out on July 29.
This new DLC is going to be single-player and cooperative-focused, is inspired by the Dawn of War II: The Last Stand and Age of Empires IV Crucible modes, and will be all about hanging on for dear life against overwhelming odds, across 12 rounds. There are in-game events, 8 different difficulty levels, 5 battlegrounds specially designed for this sort of gameplay, and 36 boss units. I’m calling it right now, the last big boss is going to be a Maus tank.
Look, it sounds silly, but also fun, and Company of Heroes 3 has long ditched the gritty and semi-authentic nature of its predecessors, so I consider myself interested and willing to give this one a go.
Slitherine’s Battleplan Delayed
Looks like we are going to have to wait a bit longer to kickstart the liberation of France, as Battleplan release date has been pushed back to Q3 of this year. The main reason for that delay is very straightforward, as the team is going to use the remaining time to improve the tools used to draft battle plans, improve precision, create a better army management tool, do bug fixes, and just do an overall polish pass. While I was excited and planned on reviewing this one for its originally intended July release window, I do think this is for the best, as one of my main complaints about it was the lack of precise controls and floaty feel the units had while moving around.
Kriegsspiel ~ 7 Years’ War Kickstarter
Franzoar, the sole developer behind Kriegsspiel ~ 7 Years’ War, a real-time wargame about commanding huge armies using a realistic chain of command, during the titular conflict. Franzoar is looking for funding to help him continue working full-time on the game. The campaign started on June 25 and will end on July 25, and it’s currently looking for 13,700$(12,000€ or 10,300£). At just $1,152, the campaign is still a long way off, so if you’re interested in the title, give him a hand.
Dawn of War IV – 1v1 Multiplayer Match Looks So Cool
A new “full” multiplayer match between the Creative Director and Senior Game Designer of Dawn of War IV was released, and I have to say that this game looks absolutely amazing! As I always say, if you want to predict the quality of a strategy game, have a look at how detailed their animations are. Dawn of War’s are just phenomenal, with the fighting, firing, and above all else, the Ork buildings dropping from space are just a chef’s kiss. Now, I have some concerns as well, because the sound design doesn’t feel all that impactful, though that might be due to the video’s mixing. The frame drops are also a bit worrying, but I’m hoping that will be ironed out before release. The whole unit bursting into pools of blood looks very weird.
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