Is this game a masterpiece? Probably not, but it is still not a bad game, based on the gameplay of the previous instalments. Lots of sneaking, stabbing and reloading an old save file. The main technical issues it had at release are patched with version 1.1. Once again, you control a team of specialists in the service of the Allies, who are on dangerous missions in areas occupied by the Nazis. These are usually places that are teeming with Nazi soldiers (or civilians). Essentially, there are exactly two ways to deal with this danger - you eliminate your opponents or you sneak past them. If you incapacitate them, you can stun them (they will wake up again after a short time, unless you have hidden them somewhere in a crate or bush while they were unconscious), you can kill them silently, or you can kill them and the noise (e.g. when using firearms) will alert other enemies. Most enemies will raise the alarm and call for reinforcements if they discover you. As a rule, however, they will simply shoot you... so most of the time you will be busy trying to avoid running into the enemies' green cones of vision.

An elegant way to dispose of enemies is to fake an accident - oops, the safety chains have come loose and the falling crates have crushed the sentry. If patrolling enemies discover their dead comrades, they will raise the alarm - unless it looks like an accident. Of course, you can also carry away the bodies of your opponents and make them disappear to keep your presence a secret. You can find ammunition, first aid kits or even just uniforms for your spy. Some stationary weapons can be operated, some vehicles can be used. Some devices can be manipulated to make noise - and thus attract enemies. Oil barrels standing around explode in a beautiful (and deadly) fireball when fired upon. It is particularly impressive (and effective) if you have strategically placed several oil drums, which then explode in a chain reaction (and hopefully take many enemies with them).

It is a puzzle game. Ok, of course it's a real-time tactics game, but it plays like a puzzle game. It consists of individual challenges that you have to solve piece by piece in order to progress. Very often there is not just one, but several possible solutions. You always have the choice of which path you want to take, and there are also many corners on the extensive maps that you do not have to enter in order to successfully complete a mission. You may only miss out on bonus objectives, such as freeing prisoners.

Your team consists of a total of six members that you already know from the older Commandos games. The Green Beret is your first team member. You take him on in June 1940 in an English prison near the front - after he has beaten up his superior officer. His main strength is his physical strength. He is also the only one who can climb over rocks. But that's not his only special ability; each character always has several special abilities. Thomas ‘the Pioneer’ Hancock can, for example, whistle loudly to attract enemies, set a bear trap or cut barbed wire. There is also a driver who can control any vehicle (including enemy tanks), while the spy can wear enemy uniforms to move (more or less) freely around the enemy camp. Francis T. Woolridge is a sniper who can take out enemies at long range

You control your commandos individually, while the action takes place in real time. Of course, not much really happens as a rule - enemies either stand at fixed points or patrol along predetermined routes. They often move their heads (and thus change their field of vision) - a green cone of vision shows you what is currently in their field of vision. Only when enemies notice something unusual do they react and interrupt their routine, for example to investigate the source of noises or raise the alarm when they discover your soldiers or dead comrades. You can also pause real-time at any time to give your soldiers several orders, which they then carry out one after the other. Or you can give several of your soldiers orders during the pause, which they then carry out simultaneously. Your soldiers can walk, crawl, run, use their weapons and, of course, they all have special abilities that they can use. Or they can throw a hand grenade and (hopefully) kill a whole crowd of enemies standing close together.

Your task is to fulfil various mission objectives, such as blowing something up, liquidating certain people or freeing a prisoner. After completing the mission objective, you must leave the area of operation. There are 14 missions in total, set in a wide variety of locations around the world (from the desert of North Africa, right in Germany or on a secret station in the Arctic), each of which can keep you busy for hours if you investigate the areas conscientiously and don't just look for the quickest way in and out. But even the quickest route takes time. You can find collectibles during the missions. Saving is possible at any time - and highly recommended. The F5 key is for quicksave - and therefore one of the most important keys in the game. If one of your characters dies, the game is over and you go back to the last save state... if you have saved. You can choose between three difficulty levels - in the easiest setting, the enemies are a little slow and won't spot you immediately if the tip of your toe slips into their field of vision for a second.

What does the game offer that other real-time tactics games don't? Commandos: Origins can be played in pairs in split-screen or online. Play together to complete a mission. There has never been a co-op mode in this genre before. It is also possible to control the game with the gamepad. Logical, otherwise the game could not be released on consoles. There are only a few good alternatives to the Commandos games. The absolute top games are of course those from Mimimi (Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, Desperados III, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun) and then the mediocre Stargate: Timekeepers comes to mind. If you want to stay in the Second World War, you can take a look at War Mongrels, Partisans 1941 or 63 Days.

Conclusion:
Finally, there's new material from the Commandos universe! Anyone who, like me, has been eagerly waiting for new missions since 2003 will be delighted. The game mechanics of the original have been retained, but the graphics (Unreal Engine 5) and user interface have been brought up to date. You can zoom in continuously, view the action from all sides, save at any time - and fight (or rather puzzle) your way through the large environments step by step, just like back then, while you use your people's special abilities and kill or evade the Nazi henchmen in order to ultimately fulfil your mission objectives.

Well, lets just say its the next best thing in genre after mimimi games. And since mimimi is closed we have no other hope.
You can somehow target your own troops with abilities, AND DAMAGE THEM! Skill targeting is not sticking to enemy so you might find yourself in situation when you just walk like an idiot into enemy instead of atttacking. And there's no time rewind like in desperados 3. And it would be really nice if missions had some kind of "theme" or feature, like its night and noise is really bad or its storm and its the opposite, no one will hear gunshots, etc. Oh, and story is pretty much non-existent, so there's that.
Buy it on a sale or if you are really itching for this type of game, otherwise its meh.

This game is a mess. It's way too buggy. The missions are repetitive and boring. And the cherry on top? It started crashing every time I try to load a save. Honestly, total garbage. Not even close to living up to its name. Not worth your time or money.