7 people found this review helpful
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Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 13.4 hrs on record
Posted: Jul 16, 2023 @ 3:52am
Updated: Jul 16, 2023 @ 4:05am

Pros 👍🏻
Cons 👎🏻
  • Stunning graphics
  • All-new vertical field of view
  • Great campaign locations
  • Four player factions including all new Afrika Korps
  • Realistic units, weapons and maps
  • Very good system optimization
  • More realistic weapon sounds
  • No historically relevant NSDAP symbols depicted for Wehrmacht or Afrika Korps
  • Boring and useless campaign map feature
  • Only two campaigns
  • Many bugs and glitches yet to be fixed

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🎮 Gameplay and Story 📖

Company of Heroes 3 (CoH3) is the latest installment in the series and focuses on the Mediterranean Theatres of World War 2.

There are currently two campaigns, one based in the Italian Peninsula and one in Northern Africa. I enjoyed them, although the storytelling was mediocre at best. They were unique as not many WW2 games have ever focused on these areas, which I really liked.

CoH3 also introduces a new campaign strategic ‘map’, where you move your armies and make decisions that will affect actual battles when they commence. I absolutely hated this map, it was slow and pointless, and there were no options to skip it. It does not make any sense to have it in a Company of Heroes game.

Another new feature is the new ‘line of sight’ mechanic, which adds vertical vision to units. This means that you won’t be able to shoot at units over cliffs or generally in positions higher than you. This is an interesting mechanic and a great strategic addition to the game.

Sadly, the campaign uses fictional main story characters, which is pointless and ruins immersion. And, once again, Nazi memorabilia or references are completely missing, whether they are in flags or text.

💻 Graphics

CoH3 has appealing graphics, whether they are buildings, units or terrain. Although units’ detail has been degraded when you zoom in close-up, I do not see this as an issue. I see it as an improvement on the first two games. Although you could see spectacular detail while zooming in on the older games, this was very heavy on your computer’s performance, for something you did for a split second. Making them less detailed while max zoomed in, gets rid of a little esthetic but gives you much better performance. Everything still looks great when you zoom out.

🎤 Sounds and Music 🎶

CoH3 contains realistic sounds and captivating music. Each explosion or gunshot is crisp and clean. Once again, each faction has many unique voice lines in their respective languages, increasing immersion. I played with Final A4000 earphones. Overall sound quality will be impacted by generic laptop speakers or cheaper speakers and headsets.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Audience

This game is best enjoyed by people in their late teens or adulthood. Not recommended for children due to violence, swearing and strategic depth.

🔥 Performance

System: Gigabyte G5 KF (11th Gen i5 12500H + RTX 4060 8GB 75W)

Frame rate can be quite unstable from time to time but generally achieves a higher frames than any of the prequels. The instability can be a little frustrating at times, especially when not much is happening on the map.

❓ Conclusion

Overall, CoH3 is a solid game, but comes with a lot of issues and frustrations. If you liked the previous titles, you will be disappointed to an extent. The gameplay and story are there for those who can manage it, but I found it quickly put me off of playing, especially due to the new strategic map, and low-effort cutscenes.

At this time I was unable to take any screenshots because the game just refused to load any skirmishes or campaigns. I will update in future.

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⚠️ Overall rating: 5/10
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