Sudden Strike 5: The Strategic World War II Review!

Sudden Strike 5: la strategia anche su console

If real-time strategy is your daily bread and you think the World War II setting is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for video games, then it's time to take command of your platoon and read our Sudden Strike 5 review. Developed by KITE Games and published by Kalypso Media, Sudden Strike 5 arrives after the good results of the previous installment and lands on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. While it's clear that the PC edition is the reference, I wanted to test the Sony console version to understand how enjoyable the game experience is with a controller in hand. We are talking about a real-time strategy game that leaves aside the building phase and is completely based on the tactical aspect and the management of troops and combat. Compared to Sudden Strike 4, the new installment expands practically every aspect of the game with larger maps, new units, and a general selection system that allows you to exploit their qualities and give different imprints to how battles are approached.

The World War II of Sudden Strike 5 can be played alone or with company, but currently, the most appealing dish seems to be the single-player campaign. All things considered, multiplayer is based on the skirmish mode that we can also play in single-player, where a maximum of four contenders (replaceable by artificial intelligence) challenge each other on a small number of maps, a situation that hopefully will improve with future updates. The campaign is much more articulated and is divided into three storylines where we can take command of American, Soviet, and Axis forces. The approximately 25 available missions allow us to relive the most famous battles of the conflict and give every player the opportunity to interpret them based on their preferred way of managing troops. We are not talking about true historical reconstructions, but we find ourselves on the fronts where real conflicts took place, and the developers have recalled the most famous operations, naturally deploying vehicles and troops of the era.

Sudden Strike 5: Gameplay and How to Play

Sudden Strike 5: gameplay e come giocare

Missions must be unlocked, so initially, we will only have access to the first of each faction, and we will gradually make the next one available. A warning is necessary: keep in mind that the learning curve of Sudden Strike 5 is decidedly steep, especially in the initial stages. The very first mission, regardless of the faction we choose, gives us very little information, and the only available tutorial is text-based, to be read through the pause menu. It would have been useful and appreciated to have some more guided practical situations, also because the tutorial itself is completely in English, just like the entire game. Those who do not have a good command of the language might have some problems, and there is also regret linked to the fact that in the previous installment, Italian texts were present. We know well that our market is not among the most attractive, but this step backward can only make us sad. That said, the fact remains that completing the first mission of Sudden Strike 5 is a significant hurdle and could discourage several players.

You arm yourself with patience, you account for several game overs, and you implement the basics of gameplay, trying to understand the right path to victory. The main missions are clear from the start, but to meet the requirements, we will have to learn to use the troops at our disposal, remembering that, compared to other strategy games, there is no structure management. Of course, we have many actions to perform, but one of the focal points is to carry out secondary missions that bring us various improvements which, in practice, prove vital. For example, we might find an enemy camp and, by conquering it, we will gain possession of, for example, tanks and supplies. In other cases, we might unlock new aid from our allies and so on. Going head-on towards the goal is unthinkable; it's better to be resourceful and use everything at your disposal to become stronger and stronger.

Sudden Strike 5: Pros and Cons of War

Sudden Strike 5: pregi e difetti della guerra

One of the most interesting innovations in Sudden Strike 5's gameplay is the ability to choose one of the available commanders at the start of a mission. Each faction allows the selection of different figures who made history in World War II, and each of these has specific perks that will give a different imprint to our games. For example, some commanders have bonuses in attack actions while others improve defensive performance, and you will have to think carefully based on your playstyle before choosing whether to have General Patton or the Desert Fox Erwin Rommel among your ranks. Sudden Strike 5 uses a tactical pause system, but the action takes place in real-time, and a fair amount of reaction capability and decision-making speed is required because, often, the outcome of a battle can change based on our ability to manage the situation. There is good tactical depth, but more than once, the artificial intelligence has proven to be inadequate for the situation. On several occasions, I noticed unrealistic behaviors, both in movements and in battle actions.

It's important to remember that my test was conducted on PlayStation 5. We know well how a real-time strategy game on console must be able to offer an adequate control system given the need to adapt to a controller, and the developers' efforts are noticeable, although they are not enough to completely resolve the situation. On the one hand, the command mapping allows for every desired action, but I noticed several cases where the input I wanted to give was not registered on the first attempt and required an additional button press. A considerable annoyance that I encountered especially during troop selection. The technical sector is also not exempt from criticism, not so much for the graphic quality which, however, does not do justice to the potential of PlayStation 5, but for some stylistic and chromatic choices that make it unintuitive to see our troops and enemy troops on certain terrains. In general, there is a certain confusion, and the available options do not improve the situation: in some situations, enemy troops are barely visible and blend in with the terrain, but I assure you that these are camouflage techniques.

At the end of the conflict, Sudden Strike 5 is a title that shows the Kite Games team's desire to improve, but while it has several merits, the flaws are also felt and undermine the final result. Sudden Strike 5 has good ideas, some well-executed, but there are many elements that seem to need a few more months of development, including questionable AI, a confusing technical sector, and controls that need optimization. Undoubtedly, multiplayer will receive updates related to the available maps, which are far too few; we hope that the opportunity will also be used to introduce some other improvements. War is always difficult to win, and Sudden Strike 5 reaches the end of the conflict still standing, but having to count several losses.