Real Time Strategy
Total War: WARHAMMER III
The best thing to come out of Creative Assembly since Medieval 2 is finally coming to a glorious and brutal end in Total War: Warhammer III. A Total War game that does the best job to bring new tactical and strategical conundrums seldom seen elsewhere. Each faction mechanics tailor-made to their lore, and specific world map objectives give the Total War Warhammer series that speckle of flair long gone in previous games.
A recent interview that was done by pcgamesn.com has a developer stating that “We’re also killing a god, which isn’t an everyday occurrence, even in the Warhammer world”. It will be interesting to see how the four Ruinous Powers impact the gameplay and how the story is going to unfold in this third and final act.
Total War: WARHAMMER III is coming out on February 17th, 2022.
Company of Heroes 3
Technically, one could argue, with varying degrees of success, that Company of Heroes 3 is already coming out in bite-sized, easily digestible portions. The first reveal and gameplay test took place in September of last year and focused on showing how the grand-map campaign and mechanics will work and intertwine with tactical battles. After a successful first go, veterans were recalled back to the frontlines in late November for a second operation- a multiplayer test that brought the US Forces and the Wehrmacht face to face, with players fighting against AI opponents or real players.
Personal first impressions of the game are: it’s more Company of Heroes with more of everything- features, units, mechanics, weapons, a new dynamic campaign, skills, etc. Other than that, the game retains much of what made the first one great, and that was a focus on infantry combat, a design decision that was side-stepped during Relic’s adventures in the Eastern Front, in favor of mechanized combat, with German and Russian steel beasts occupying all the front row seats.
No precise release date was announced but Relic is aiming for a 2022 release.
Men of War 2
Another heavyweight joins the fight for 2022- Men of War 2 is, in essence, going to be more of the same classic RTS goodness the series is famous for. The announcement of this “second” entry in the franchise also came out of nowhere but smashed into the scene like a katyusha rocket barrage- with a lot of noise and flare but little in terms of substance, but from the looks of what we have, it’s safe to assume the development team will continue using their GEM 2 engine and their bets will be one delivering “the most extensive and highly detailed WWII locations, vehicle and characters roster in the series to date: three sides, 45 battalions, and over 300 vehicles”.
The game will have mod support and will be out sometime during 2022.
Regiments
Wargame series lovers and Cold War enthusiasts will be pleased to know that Regiments, alongside WARNO- and possibly Broken Arrow- will arrive sometime during 2022. Regiments is, for the lack of a better expression, a watered-down version of the Wargame formula. I’ve been playing it and it must be said that while I can commend their introduction of a dynamic campaign, pretty unit models, slick UI, and removed a lot of the unnecessary micromanagement one could usually find in Wargame, at the moment I would have a hard time recommending it over Red Dragon because it plays like an even more arcadey version of Wargame. Now with the surprise announcement of WARNO out of nowhere, the competition just got serious. But we still have to see how that one launches.
Dune: Spice Wars
Another flash announcement that came as 2021 was coming to a close. Dune: Spice Wars is currently lacking any kind of meaningful information rather than having the pedigree of the team behind the critically acclaimed Northgard. Dune: Spice Wars is going to be a real-time strategy game with 4X elements.
Dune: Spice Wars will be out sometime during 2022 even though no day and month date has been announced as of yet but what’s certain is that it’s going to be an ongoing work through Steam Early Access.
Starship Troopers: Terran Command
Starship Troopers: Terran Command featured in the latest Steam Fest and it was one of the most successful games, securing its spot in nearly a quarter-million wishlists. Having played all the missions available in the preview, I wrote that: “There’s very little doubt in my head that this is going to be a sales hit, especially amongst starving fans of the series. The game is solid in its own right and is by no means expecting an easy piggyback ride from the franchise it’s drawing from. Unlike most cash grabs, the developers actually took their time to understand how they could properly translate the combat style seen in the movies to the digital realm and the result is phenomenal. Polish a few things here and there and it has all the necessary ingredients to become a core part of such a beloved franchise”.
Terran Command will be out on the 21st of March, 2022.
Homeworld 3
The peak of real-time space tactics is back after a successful stint in the Deserts of Kharak half a decade ago. Homeworld 3 is taking the franchise back to its roots, focusing on the continuation of its lore: now, the Hyperspace Gate Network is failing and it’s up to armchair space commanders to unravel the secrets of Karan and once again save the day. The three-dimensional space battles are making a comeback and I couldn’t be more excited.
Homeworld 3 is launching into space sometime during the fourth quarter of 2022.
Ratten Reich
This weird fascination with anthropomorphism is grossly unsettling and I can’t wrap my head around why would someone create a game with fantastic graphics, a gritty atmosphere, invest a lot in small tactics realism, and for some vexatious reasons place rats instead of people. Sure, these disease-ridden scoundrels are gross and lived aplenty in the humid trenches of the First World War but I struggle to recall ever seeing a picture of a mouse holding a Mauser rifle over the trench and shooting Anglo-Saxon mice. From the looks of it, it seems to be running on a probably modified (and prettier) version of the GEM engine from Men of War.
Ratten Reich will infest the Steam Store in September 2022.
Terminator Dark Fate- Defiance
I don’t know what to tell you about Terminator Dark Fate- Defiance unless that it is set to be released on PC in 2022.
Tactics of World War I
Tactics of World War I is on this list because since I last booted up Battle of Empires and found out that I was missing a Big Bertha size crater of World War 1 action in my life. The game graphics would feel outdated even back in 2003 but I’m willing to give any developer that tackles the First World War a chance with passion and respect for the subject. Two single-player campaigns will have players reliving the events of the war from 194 to 1918 by assuming the role of a Sturmtruppen commander in the german campaign and witness the advent of the first British tanks when commanding the Entente.
“Tactics of World War I focuses on the tactical aspects of the battle like cover, suppressive fire, and flanking maneuvers” is all I need to know to boot up the game when it releases sometime during the first months of 2022.
Strategy Games | Strategy and Wargaming 
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