Wondering if I should get this game

[Nicolas]

On paper, it's perfect for me: I love Frostpunk and RTS campaigns with an added macro layer.

On the other hand, the issues critical reviews raise about the RTS gameplay seem major to me: broken stealth, all weapons having the same range, weird accuracy, balance problems, etc.

I'm wondering if all of these mechanics are set in stone or if there are plans to overhaul them through patches.

[zpc]

Not sure what "broken stealth" means - but stealth is OP. RTS part is limited by that the enemy isn't using the same tactics which are available to the player. Basically the enemies patrol, engage when attacked and that's it. So the player has all freedom on how to approach the enemies. Either stealth them with scouts, or set ambushes and lure them into LMG setups or use explosives (grenades / landmines). You can also rush them with rifle squads (they have a "bayonet storm ability")

RE accuracy problems - cover is meaningful, for both you and the enemy. It makes little sense firing bullets if the enemy is entrenched. One has to use flanking attacks or lure them out into the open. A LMG gunner setting up a firing arc is deadly in terms of accuracy.

[BajMic]

Wait for a while, or you will get your experience ruined/spoiled for you. The game is definitely expensive, but it gets boring half-way and so far the execution speaks disrespect towards the player.

At the beginning of every mission, you must spend 5 minutes manually clicking on every tiny spot on the map to uncover it with binoculars. Given how you can just use active pause and binoculars are free, the only resource is your willingness to do 100 mouse clicks every mission.

Economy is based on arbitrary abstraction. If it was FrostPunk, each lake would have a number of fish in it, and it would be up to you how much time would you be willing to spend fishing. In The Last Train Home, however, each lake is a one-time fish dispenser. You can only use this dispenser once, then the lake becomes unavailable and you need to use another one. There are so few lakes, there is minimum amount of decision making from the player involved.

Writing is bad in a sense that it keeps telling you directly what you are supposed to think. There is no room for interpretation. FrostPunk was clever - it made up a silly world with steam robots and a fictional distopia in which you can feed people wood and enslave children. However, as the time goes on, you keep reading various stories, flavor texts and reports, and you begin noticing how the history starts to suspicously repeat itself and it inspires you to reflect. All of that without pointing fingers at any real person or group.

Every minute one of your soldiers levels up, and you are forced to watch a loud, unskippable, animated pop-up announcement. It will force itself on you every time you want to manage that soldier.

I have beat FrostPunk's Refugees scenario on Survival Difficulty and it was fun. I had to plan, think, draw conclusions. This game, however, is just a slideshow compared.

In Commandos series, if an alarm was sound, all soldiers changed their routine. Enemies here tend to ignore gunfights happening next door and just keep doing whatever, repairing trucks and such.

Men of War had a physics engine implemented. This game doesn't have it, except for ragdolls maybe, so it's just XCom in real time.

To further emphasize how this game is grounded in abstraction rather than reality, metal bells that you ring manually are considered to be significantly louder than gunshots and explosions.

[Scraphound]

I haven't read any reviews. Have you played the demo? It gives you like 5-7 hours of gameplay. I had no interest in this game until I played the demo. I'm not really into RTSes. In my opinion, the combat is more akin to old school Baldur's Gate real time w/ pause.

I think some people are upset that scouts aren't deadly assassins who kill everything from across the map. I find the main purpose of scouts is recon. They have binoculars which you can use to reveal areas shrouded in fog of war. They're more useful for helping me coordinate my other soldiers into good ambush spots. That said, a good scout with a tier 3 rifle is deadly and they will occasionally score long range kills on difficult to hit enemies. They're just not the solo killing machines other games portray them as.

Play the demo and see how it goes. I had no intention of buying this but I had such a good time. It hits all my micromanagement and delegation buttons just right.

[wery]

Hello, as Scraphound suggested, I recommend trying out the demo and seeing if you enjoy the game. :)

[Whit]

Realistically the Mannlicher and Mauser Sniper rifles are not going to have a longer range than the infantry rifles. They're just more precise, which the game represents. I like that Scouts are not death ray wielders, but they still might be my favorite class with the level 3 camo and 1 shot kill ability.

[Commodus]

Its a great game, train management, the art, live actions scenes, all amazing.

Also the setting and story, covering the story/journey of the Czechoslovak legionaries is different and interesting.

Its not all about the train either, the combat missions are well done, you get to defend trenches, use tanks, machine guns, armoured cars, artillery.

and you can press enter to sound the train horn, choo choo!

[A Rabid Dingo]

Originally posted by Commodus:

Its a great game, train management, the art, live actions scenes, all amazing.

Also the setting and story, covering the story/journey of the Czechoslovak legionaries is different and interesting.

Its not all about the train either, the combat missions are well done, you get to defend trenches, use tanks, machine guns, armoured cars, artillery.

and you can press enter to sound the train horn, choo choo!

oh ♥♥♥♥ i didn't know you could sound the horn, this is a game changer, 10/10, game of the year