Steel Division 2 | worth it in 2022? | Unbiased detailed review
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- Опубліковано 25 чер 2024
- Is Steel Division 2 worth playing in 2022? This video provides an in depth look at the gameplay to help you make an informed decision.
If you enjoy real time strategy games (RTS) and World War Two games you may have heard of Steel Division 2. But is it worth the money? Is it worth the time it would take to learn the various mechanics?
00:00 - Introduction
00:34 - 30 Second Summary for the TLDR
01:28 - First Impressions matter
01:53 - The Tutorials might not be boring!
02:52 - The Big Picture - game mechanics are everything
03:43 - The Big Picture - micro heavy? Please God no...
04:23 - The Big Picture - base building? Please God yes...
04:44 - The Big Picture - resource management is basically my fave.
05:47 - The Small Picture - troop deployment is surprisingly fun!
06:59 - The Small Picture - vision & cover vision & cover vision & cover
08:48 - The Small Picture - the units, all about the units
09:25 - The Small Picture - sound effects & music, John Williams? Meh, not quite.
10:50 - The Game Modes - Did you want to be surprised?
13:22 - 15 Hour Summary - I'm a noob, but aren't we all? Oh, just me then.
15:59 - Overall Summary - it's the journey that counts.
I'm a big strategy game fan, any game with tanks, planes, and BIG BATTLES will get my attention. So I've purchased the game and played it for 15 hours to help you decide, is Steel Division 2 worth it? We look at all aspects of the game, the big picture, the small picture, the game mechanics, and how it compares to other games such as Company of Heroes and Hearts of Iron 4. - Ігри
I play from 2 years. 100% must buyed if you like ww2 and strategy games
Was looking at this or warno…
This one is much better balanced than Warno
@@alexzeee They worked a lot on game,probably and warno will be the same,but now is and tech of a modern army
I debated getting this since it's release. This review is what finally convinced me to pull the trigger on the purchase. And so happy I did. Subbed, looking forward to more content like this.
Thanks man I'm glad you found it useful! Do you like WW2 games in general or prefer to stick with strategy games? Just curious! Helps me figure out which video to make next :)
@@twiglets2 Both, but I probably play more strategy games. My recommendation would be Age of Empires 4 next as it's one of the more recent strategy games out there. It comes with a GamePass subscription.
@@brents2500 Great shout, I've got Xbox GamePass and have had a little go at the AoE4 single player but need to give it more attention, perhaps over Christmas!
It is a great game. I think most of the lower review scores from "Gaming Jornalists" are due to the lack of disabled black trans women represented and the historically accurate represention of German units. Most fun I have had since Panzer General.
This is perhaps the best quick overview of the game I've seen! The concise and to the point commentary with references to similar titles is very helpful. I've shared this with a few buddies who are deciding whether to jump in or not.
I agree that it's an under-rated game as it doesn't have the visual spectacle of something like Company of Heroes or Total War which draws in many players. But the design is well done and rewarding for those that manage to stick with it. I haven't spent time with Army General mode which feels a little awkward to me at this point. But who knows, maybe in time that will grow on me too.
Thanks for the video. Well done. Subbed ;-)
Thanks for your comment Jon, I'm glad you found the references to other games etc useful as that's exactly what I was going for! It's interesting you mention the Army General mode, I must admit it felt clunky, but I suspect 90% of that is because I need more experience with it and 10% it's just a bit clunky! With that said the developers are showing a lot of support for the game and releasing new content/updates so I'm confident the 10% clunkiness will be addressed.
Glad you enjoyed it, and happy gaming!
Are you considering Steel Division 2? Honestly, I think it's underrated and worth the attention of anybody looking for a new strategy game. What do you think?! Look out for my DLC guide to be released in the coming days...
well i like the game but i miss some actual urban combat. I have cca 830hrs and although i love the game, im always bit dissapointed when i endup in cityfight. After some time cities will become nothing but dust and whole place usually turns into one big killbox. Sadly devs stumbled upon this prblm while doin urban map and stated that solving it would be resource sink :(. Other thing that dissapoints me abit is AI, its by far weakest part of game IMO
sorry for bad english thou
I got it December last year, enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.
@@schwarziek3630 Sorry for the late reply, I think you're totally right on the ai, it's enough to challenge me but I see a lot of people saying it's not hard enough for them. Your English is great by the way!
@@MrWoodii That's the reason I made the video, it seems like an underrated game and I enjoyed it more than I was expecting. Hopefully more people buy it! I'm still deciding which DLC to get though, there are so many.
@@twiglets2 oooo, i didnt even expect answer, imo problem aint with ai being easy, its rather dull, but well, thats cuz its ai, it doesnt learn from its mistakes midgame like players would do and thats why it usually ends up spamming units right into your killboxes (or how is taht thing named)
Im rather experienced in this game and I have to say your review is the best I have seen so far. If you play a bit, you will notice a lot of shortcomings about the game, but its still such an insane experience, especially combined with the active community on several discords. I highly recommend this game to the same kind of players you recommended it to.
Thanks! I'm always nervous when hearing from experienced players in case they think my reviews are subpar, I'm glad you think mine was okay. This game deserves more attention, such frantic battles!
A few weeks ago I imagined this game: a corps-level rts that I could zoom in and watch the units. I'm so happy it's real.
The moment you zoom in for the first time and you can see individual soldier's faces, or see a Tiger tank up close....really awesome!
Hi Twiglets, thanks for this awesome review. It's very detailed and concise. I have already played some 300 hours of this game but it's great to hear some new feedback and opinions now that the game is 2 years old. I love everything about this game, but I just really wish that the player base could grow a bit more, not sure if that will happen.
Thank you for the comment Luis, it's always a pleasure to hear from the more experienced players. I thought this was a good game and don't understand why there are not more players, I hope there will be more soon with more content and a Steam sale later this month!
What a fantastic review, very thorough and answered any possible question I could think of, subbed and liked deserves more attention!
I'm glad you found it useful and thank you for the sub too - happy gaming my friend!
I'm a new player with almost 20 hours in the game, and this video is a perfect summary for my feelings toward the game so far. well done!
Thanks for the kind words! Have you purchased any of the DLC yet?
@@twiglets2 Yep! I have the majority of the dlc for the game. I got the dlc because I wanted to play the western front as well. Sadly there aren't any maps for the western front though.
@@globul3410 nordmoy 44 exists lmao
Very thorough and appreciated review. A section specifically on Enemy AI wouldve been nice, in my opinion one of the most important aspects in a good Strategy game. You mentioned a few things in segments but its own section is important.
Thank you Bob I hope you found the review useful and I definitely take on your point about the enemy ai needing it's own section. I'll be sure to add that to future reviews (I've just finished up the next one which should be uploaded on Friday, but after that!)
at no point trough this video did i guess that you had only 1,34k subs, for the quality of it i assumed you had much more, awsome vid, convinced me to get the game too
Thank you for the kind words my friend, if means a lot! I'm glad you found it useful and hope you enjoy the game!
That "thinking about the game on toilet" line was spot-on.
Good work!
Haha I'm glad you approve - I like to keep things relatable! Are you considering picking this game up in the next sale?
@@twiglets2 I already own for quite a while. But I started to play it seriously just few weeks ago. I felt overwhelmed first and the lack of a good tutorial scared me away. Videos cannot replace a good ingame tutorial.
But now got into it a bit and play every day - with little success in winning :D
But the action and great tension makes me sticking to it.
@@der_Mann_mit_der_Nase It's a shame the tutorial isn't better, it must scare off potential players. I need to play again soon, I would like the DLC's but there are so many I don't know which to buy, it would be expensive to get them all!
@@twiglets2 Judging by the video I would have expected you to play regularly and own all the DLCs :D
Absolutely fantastic review. Thanks a lot for your effort.
Thank you for your kind words. I hope you found the review useful and future videos too. All ideas are welcome if you would like to suggest a game.
Amazing overview, this was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you very much!
@ViciousTriangle You are very welcome! Did you make a purchase in the end?
@@twiglets2 Have yet to play it but I did make the purchase!
A guy with a Brit or Australian accent with great grammar and mindful reviews. Not being one sided but also thinks outside the box to try and relate. Really helps to make a consumer make a decision. I subbed
Thank you for your kind words Emmanuel and I'm glad it helped you make a decision! If you would like a review on any other games, please let me know!
Only watched the first half - and I am already thinking: "Really good video, mate!". Thanks a lot!
@clemensjanes8998 that's very kind of you! I hope you find it useful and let me know if you have any questions
Awesome video, thank you so much!
No problem at all, I'm glad you found it useful!
Great review! I've been waiting for a sale on this and Gates of Hell because I've missed the last few. I've been playing Men of War: Assault Squad 2 and Warno in the meantime which are fantastic but I want to add more WW2 RTS goodness to my library. Thanks for the comprehensive reviews on all of these strategy games! It's really helpful in deciding which ones are worth the time. I love trying out a bunch of different games which is fun but it also adds up money and timewise so I'm trying to be a bit more selective.
@THMbass90 I'm glad you've found them useful! I haven't tried Warno yet, would you recommend it to somebody who enjoys these games?
Im going to buy this. I was scared that there was no tutorial, but now I know there is. Ill wait for a sale though. Thanks!! Great video mate
Thanks for the kind words and for the sub too!! I'm glad the video helped, I reckon there's a Steam sale at the end of October, definitely worth it imo!
A bargain if you ask me! I'm considering some of the DLC content in the sale...a lot to choose from
This is a pretty great overview; thanks!
Just got it on sale & still a bit undecided coming off of CoH 2, Order of Battle & Unity of Command 2, but that’s largely just cos I’m overwhelmed & have no idea what I’m actually doing even AFTER the tutorials & my time to ask for a refund had almost expired.
This video, though, has made me wanna explore it some more & come to better terms with it, as I’ve only heard & seen great thing.
One big thing I’m missing, though, is something with a slightly deeper narrative arc, but let’s see.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! I hadn't heard of Order of Battle or Unity of Command before, would you recommend those?
I think you're right in terms of deeper narrative, it could just be I've yet to find it but I was hoping that future DLC might flesh that part out a bit. The base game is worth spending time with in my opinion and the DLC to add British and Americans definitely increased the value for me.
I also buy it when on sale, wanna play army general together?
@@twiglets2 hey there... sorry for the slow response I've heard they're apparently developing Western divisions in some upcoming DLC, and that there's also potentially more AG campaigns coming out, not to mention a Normandy 44 "remaster"; I tried 44 but got a refund, as it runs rather poorly, which is strange cos SD2 feels like it runs better (I think it's better optimised).
As for OoB and UiC2; they're honestly very different beasts cos they're hex and turn-based, and more abstract; supply is incredibly important, and it's a much slower grand command type game than SD is, I reckon. If you're solely into RTS, it's probably not for you, but you should at least check out OoB on Steam: you can play the tutorial campaign for free (that's well over five hours of play time, I reckon), and the the first mission of each DLC campaign; people aren't a big fan of the game's DLC monetisation scheme, so it's worth waiting for a sale OR buying one campaign and playing user-made content, of which there's apparently a ton of great value stuff. So, check it out, at least! :)
Alright your review style seriously deserves a million sub channel. I think you are a strategist. Great job, here have a sub.
Thank you for your kind words! I'll keep creating videos and see what happens I guess. Let me know if there are any games you think need this kind of review, always looking for ideas!
Sold! Great review! Thanks and keep it up
Thank you - I hope it was helpful!
@@twiglets2 it was indeed. 10 hour in and this game is awesome! Great WW2/RTS fan here so all my prayers are answered.
Great review. Much appreciated, Cheers
Thank you, glad you found it useful :)
During the summer sale I bought this game and some DLC for $40 (which would have been $135) so I'm glad to see a nice review to get me going!
@KyoOnTheInternet Excellent value! What do you think of the game so far?
Great review!
Thank you! I hope you found it useful
This was a fantastic review, and answered almost everything I needed to know about the game. I still do have one question though - is it possible to create a private game with my friends and play the AI?
Thank you I'm glad you found it useful! I believe you can, but I haven't tried this myself. When you go onto online matches you'll see plenty of them are real players vs the ai, I'm assuming you can create a private match and invite your friends. There's also a co-op version of the Army General mode if that's what you're after, but you'd have to download the relevant DLC (which is free) I believe it's "reinforcement pack 11", again not something I've tried but that's definitely possible too. I hope that helps! I've got another video specifically on what's in each DLC which you may find interesting. Enjoy!
@@twiglets2 thank you!
This is a solid review, I'll likely plan to get this on sale.
Thanks - I hope you found it useful! There's a similar game you may also be interested in called Ostfront, here's a similar review of that game you may find useful: ua-cam.com/video/CMrlqIcj6UI/v-deo.html Enjoy!
An excellent review. Thanks 🙏
Thanks, I'm glad you found it useful! I'll be releasing a video on the (confusing) list of SD2 DLC content, I don't suppose you've downloaded any and have a favourite?
Very well done 👏. I have listen to this at least 3 times
Thank you! I'm glad you've found it useful, I have a few others that are similar which may be worth checking out too :)
great video man, appreciate it
Not a problem bud, I hope you found it useful
i loved the video and the way you said things , i am playing the first one and you are right i feel like general montgomery after 10x times trying to take all map from the germans.. hehe what a game what a game..
@osimoes5513 thank you, I hope you found it useful! Happy gaming!
Great review :) I've got 3-400 hours invested in Wargame: Red Dragon (highly recommended if you're a fan of this game) and have been dancing around the edges of this game since it's release. I ended up finding Total War Warhammer instead and have dropped a tremendous amount of hours into that game instead. Steam's Summer Sale has brought this back to my attention though - Thanks for the review, subscribed.
Thank you! I hope you found it useful.
I'm basically the reverse with wargame red dragon, I can't bring myself to pull the trigger, usually because there are other games (like total war warhammer 3!) that get in the way.
Out of interest have you tried Warno? I recall a lot of buzz prior to release but then average at best reviews.
@@twiglets2 Sorely disappointed so far with TW3, stepped away from it until they get it sorted or Immortal Empires drops in Q3. Not sure that will fix all the issues though, just replace the current campaign.
With Wargame Red Dragon I found the campaigns engrossing but also very frustrating. There was no tutorial of any kind, luckily I found the game through some friends and they walked me through how the game works. It's a fantastic game with great maps that have a wide variety of eras and nation packs that can be used to play with. Goes up to mid-90's era maybe early 2000's with units. Highly recommend it. Incidentally they're very cheap right now with the Steam Summer Sale going currently.
Which would you recommend first? Steel Division, Steel Division 2 or Hearts of Iron IV?
@@Elliott1518 Brilliant thank you for the heads up David! I'm hoping my Steel Division 2 skills (or lack of) will transfer over to Red Dragon and help me over the initial learning curve.
I haven't played the original Steel Division, although I have Normandy 44 in my library from the summer sale so should give that a go soon! I would say SD2 and HoI4 are very different games. SD2 is much more RTS and HoI4 a very in depth 4X game. Both amazing, though I have a soft sport for Hearts of Iron, some of the complexity is outrageous but it keeps you coming back and there's always something new. SD2 I would suggest is more about the multiplayer / skirmish side of things, whereas HoI4 could be a single player campaign that lasts weeks if you want it to.
I hope that helps! Do let me know if you have any specific questions though.
Excellent comprehensive concise review. I was thinking of getting this game, this video helped.
@Ealdorman_of_Mercia Thank you I'm glad it helped! Did you decide to purchase in the end?
@@twiglets2 I will definitely get it some day, but for now I have my hands full with Gates of hell and Men of War assault squad 2. I just learnt about these 2 games and had to try them out :) So far I'm very impressed by Gates of Hell ! By the way I saw your excellent comparison video, it's top notch haha
@@Ealdorman_of_Mercia thank you! Both such great games but it seems gates of hell will win the test of time as it's a newer game. Glad you're enjoying them!
Good review. In campaign mode do you have persistent units who evolve over time or is that only in mp, or have I got it backwards??
Sorry it took me a while to reply. You decide the experience level of units while creating your division, after that it's set and doesn't change unless it's temporarily buffed by a leader who's close by at the time. I believe it's the same for Army General but you use the divisions provided to you for historical accuracy, so you don't get to choose the experience level as you don't create the divisions yourself. I hope that helps!
@@twiglets2 Excellent response. Thank you.
Dope review
Cheers buddy - I hope it was useful
Thank you for the review
@josefschon6434 I hope you found it useful!
Yes, I am going to buy it
Thank you for this. Well done. I'm gonna get it =D
No problem I hope it was useful, let us know how you get on!
Still my favorite Game. I like the combined arms warfare in this scale. Nice review!
Thank you! It's the first game of this type I've played before and although frustrating at times it's awesome!
I actually got this on the current steam sale and all the DLC for the retail price of the base game and I’ve been honestly loving it. If you’ve played war game this is much more flushed out and a bit slower paced which add quality of life to this type of game. I honestly hated war game but this…I’m down with. Easily spend an hour and a half on an engagement and not even realize it
Glad you're enjoying it! Some say it's too repetitive, the maps especially, but I haven't found that, you can put hours into the game and keep coming back for more - enjoy!
Wow man, this was a REALLY good review. This game is amazing and I agree that it's one of the best WW2 single player strategy games on the market. I'd say it's kind of a WW2 Total War, for many Total War players out there - I love Total War (from Shogun onward, mainly Warhammer though) games AND Company Of Heroes (1,2 & 3 and various mods) and this is THE game that has brought me that juicy Total War style of gameplay in a WW2 version.
Thank you, I'm glad you found it useful!
Absolutely with the Total War vibes, I don't hugely play Total War but have dabbled with Warhammer 3 lately and it's pretty awesome! Have you given that a try?
@@twiglets2 Yeah, about 100 hours of a tryout 😜 I love that game haha
absolute best overview of a game ive seen in a long while. on point for every group of players that may want to buy this game with the inclusion of some nice humor!
Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad you found it useful! I'll be making some more as soon as I can :)
Great review. I’ve been thinking about buying this game for a while and this review gave me the info I needed. I actually prefer having to manage an econ system and having the rewards of capturing and holding cities/regions. With that said though this game looks really intriguing and covers one of my favorite time periods. Looking forward to giving it a go.
I hope you found the video useful, let me know how it goes!
If this game had a world map like RTW, then I would've been perfect
@@jean-pierre5221 Now THAT would be interesting to play. I'm not sure it would ever happen but it should.
Thank for going such depth of the game
You're very welcome, I hope it was useful
You're a fantastic reviewer. Underrated channel. Subbed
Thank you Hans that means a lot! If there are any games in particular you think need to be looked at please let me know, always looking for suggestions
@@twiglets2 well I heard in one of your other videos you're a RTS and strategy fan in general, so I'm on board with you there. Going round a friends house when I was about 8 and seeing his big brother playing C&C red alert (original) blew my mind and I've loved the genre since. Unfortunately it's neglected these days. So happy to see a good UA-camr covering this subject. You've got a very clear and easy to follow style as well. Good luck with the channel. Personally I Iove seeing people play online and record the repays and then show cast them with commentary
I am a player from Blitzkrieg Anthology (good old game, must play) and wargame red dragon within others, I need to mention that like what i see. Now that is in sales it is coming home.
Great video
Thank you!
FANTASTIC REVIEW! Jesus! I subscribed based solely on how well you did this video. Kudos mate, i rarely do this. You really helped me in deciding to get this game.
Wow thanks man, I really appreciate that! I hope you found it useful, and please let me know if there are any other games you're considering. I'm always looking for suggestions.
Good review - always liked Steel Division, but got bogged down with what felt like micro-mgmt. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Thanks for taking the time to check it out! I'd be the first to admit I'm awful at this game, but it scratched a ww2 itch for a while. I don't suppose there are any strategy and/or ww2 games you'd recommend? I'm on the lookout!
Thanks for the review. I wisht hey did more marketing it is a great strat. Game It is rough around the edges but overall solid. Only real issues beside some gameplay stuff, is the DLC divisons so much money has been spent (lucky I just waited on sales)
no problem I hope you found it useful. I was very confused when one of my subscribers recommended this game, how I had never heard of it before when I play loads of similar games, it didn't make sense. Do you have any recommendations on which DLC's are best?
@@twiglets2 It is tough to say as each one is unique. I personally like the DDay one as I get some cool divisions.
How is the destruction model as far as buildings and vehicles and terrain?
Great review :)
One of the biggest advantages of SD2 is it's reprensations of nations other WW2 games gloss over. Romania, Hungary, Italy, new Zealand , finland, Estonia, Brasil and Greece, indians and south Africans all can be found
100% for me it was New Zealand but the variety of those you mentioned must be special for so many different players. I noticed you make content on Warno - I can't decide whether to give it a go based on the current price / reviews. Would you recommend it to a SD2 player?
@@twiglets2 hey sorry for the late response. Now I would start recommending warno. It has come a long way over the year of EA and all announcements sound really promising and like Eugen really listens to the community.
Interesting looking game, glad taht found your video, good and detailed review
Thank you I hope it was useful. It's a fun game though it does have it's flaws.
Holy Shit! Excellent Video!
Thank you my friend, I hope you found it useful!
thanks for the video
@Greyghost760 you're welcome, I hope it was useful!
@twiglets2 well it worked I bought the game .
Good Review Sir!
Why thank you! I hope you found it useful :)
This is a very, very good video.
Besides the game i just found your channel and i very much like the more objective and constructive opinion you just offered in this video. With a good plan, good presentation, big picture at first and then dive in some details without going too far for most people, your work is truly enjoyable to watch. So just because of that, you earned a new subscriber !
With that being said, talking about the game even so i'll talk about it 6 months later but hey, never know who will read this.
So beginner or still not sure about SD2 ? You can read this comment if you want to, as i'll give my opinion as a "veteran" player.
First, for beginners : do not worry if you get destroyed by AI or another human, this game has a high learning curve. I would only quote this motto for you to sum up : "Easy to understand, hard to master". Why ? Well, first of all, as mentionned in this video, there's much more emphazise around units capabilities and strength than in Wargame for example. You can't just send 10 units straight into a town and expect to win. Well yes you can if you want to but i mean you will probably lose, because the game doesn't work that way. It does not rely on spamming infantry until enemy dead and that's it. From a tactical point of view, there's much to learn, around infantry units, armor, anti-air units etc. You have to LEARN and TRY every possibilities in order to find out YOUR sweet spot. I must agree with what was said about this game, don't judge by only seeing someone play, just play the game and you will find out how you will like the game, either from all division possible (there's actually a total of 70 divisions, means 35 divisions per side to choose from and in 3 days 8 more to come!) but also with all units possibles within a single division.
Will you choose a more expensive unit rather than many small units ? Are they really that bad, since they have 12 rifles instead of 10 ? Those are the kind of question you can ask yourself when playing this game. If you are a new player and you are reading this comment and have question about tactical thing, units or anything, i would be delighted to answer your question here.
Secondly, for uncertain people : the game has a lot to offer, currently 70 divisions in total (always more each updates) which sometimes gives new units or unique units. Unique units are units that are only available for one specific division, i would say that they are all interesting to have because they all offer different options. I would still recommend to buy this game on sale, as it offers a lot of DLCs and things, BUT DO NOT GET TRAPPED ! Many people have purchased things they didnt know exactly what it would be. For example, nemesis DLCs only focuses on 2 divisions that fought during the WW2, they are not including maps or anything more, which was the main complain about some DLCs ! Of course, new maps are provided in some DLCs : i recommend you to buy the History Pass DLC which in fact is a package of 3 DLCs. Those 3 DLCs gives a few new maps and of course, new divisions and new units. There will still be the Burning Baltics DLC and the Tribute to Italy DLC, and others DLCs, which gives "only" new divisions. Anyway, i just wanted to make sure that if anyone reads this would have a better understanding of those DLCs that are, let say it, pretty painful. If you have any question about content, DLCs, prices, or anything related to the game, please ask and i would be delighted to answer you.
As a more personnal point of view, i love SD2 because of everything it brings to the table. The AI is very, very good BUT you need to find the sweet spot : you have to build the AI's deck, if you put too many units you will probably lose because the AI has buffs. If you put not enough units, this will be boring as hell. The way i play with the AI is very fun and most likely play like a human. I once played against a friend of mine + an AI and i hardly could see the difference in terms of deployements, placements and reactivity ! I'm not even kidding. (AI set on very difficult, which is the 4th/5 difficulty choice, the 5/5 is barely playable).
And just a little note, i love playing this game with a mod ! Only one mod : Shatras Gameplay Mod Redux Extreme, as it gives more units, more time to play, changes some values to make them more realistic/enjoyable.
Well this was a very long comment, sorry about that, i just hope someone will read this and find it interesting for you, please ask anything about the game and i will be glad to answer if i can.
Thank you Jean I hope you think I did the game justice! One thing I can't do in these reviews is speak as an experienced player so I hope plenty of viewers read this comment to help them decide whether to purchase the game!
Also, I'm going to try the Shatras Gameplay mod, thanks for the heads up!
If there are any similar games you would like me to review in this style please let me know, I'd be more than happy to try new games :)
@@twiglets2 Sorry i didn't see your comment earlier !
Sure, i'm glad to help if anyone needs it and you're welcome i hope you'll like the mod ! It pretty much changes everything about the game, from game mechanics to units stats such as range, speed, ammo etc etc. Well, if you try it you will see ! You will also see different mods which does differents things, one is just more units, one is just units balancing thing as so on.
Well if you are looking to similar games of this kind, may be you can give a try to Warno (the last one from Eugen), but there's also a lot of way older games like the Wargame series, the RUSE series and even Steel Division 1 !
I don't know exactly what kind of game you prefer but there's plenty for anyone... May be you will prefer the Hearts of Iron kind of game, Crusaders King, Europa Universalis, huuuuh let me think what else.... Age of Empire, Total War and that's about all i can think of right now, even if they are all completely different games, as i said there's plenty for anyone so just try and see (if you didn't know all of them already).
But just an idea why not reviewing DLCs for SD2 ? That can be an easy content for your channel, much videos with content and you could give your opinion as a non-vet player ! Your videos are very detailed and can be very educative about those DLCs (content, price etc.) besides it's always very interesting to have differents points of view and to share opinions so why not giving your thoughts about some of them ? That being said if you are still playing and enjoying the game of course !
I wasn't expecting anyone to actually reads my comment so i'm thanking you for taking your time and even giving me an answer,
Have a nice day, take care buddy
Absolutely solid review, especially for the style of game you're reviewing boss. Interested and maturely passionate voice without being exhaustingly high-energy. Great organization of review points, good comparisons, well thought-out and didnt overstay its welcome. subscribed.
Thank you for the kind words sir, this is the kind of comment that keeps me making videos. I hope you enjoy the future ones!
Currently on sale for $9.99, bought it as soon as I got the notification
Hell yes, I like your style! Enjoy my friend
I have to agree with everyone else, I think this is the best review of game I have possibly ever seen. It is 75% off now and I both love strategy as well as the WW2 setting. Thank you, I have liked and subscribed. Looking forward to more in the future.
@McLoed22 Thank you I'm glad it was useful. Let us know how you get on with the game!
@@twiglets2 It is such a good game, and a massive improvement in unit control from Normandy '44. Every time you kill a unit it feels so satisfying because you have to work for it, you're usually really glad the RNG didn't do you over and I think knowing there's unit limits really adds to it too. I thought the Tutorial was enough to get you started but not bore you to tears. The multiplayer is spares now, from my experience, but I am 4 years late to the game. Also the graphics are on point and those explosions. All in all, I am very happy with the purchase.
Just bought it after watching your video(never heard of it, but I have loved HOI since it first came out. HOI 2 was my fav.) Got it on sale with all DLC for $39bucks..but it is a massive game; 84GB(Steam).
@alexsmart5452 With all the DLC's too, that's impressive! let us know how you get on once you've had a chance to work your way through it all
YOU and SD2 deserve more attention :)
Thank you my friend - you are too kind!
Got it in the sale the 13 quid version with dlc`s, downloading while watching your review ,i`m just assuming i will like it, love the total war games ,IL-2 sturmovik ,world of tanks and history about ww2
I have a feeling you will love it! It's also worth checking out Ostfront, a similar game about the Eastern Front of WW2, I think both games compliment each other well. Here's a link to a review which you may find helpful ua-cam.com/video/CMrlqIcj6UI/v-deo.html
Visuals actually look pretty nice to me. Classy.
I think so too! Okay you could say they're showing their age but on the whole the WW2 hardware looks good.
What are the videos that are playing in the background? Are those part of the game (cutscenes), or is that a documentary that you are using for filler material/atmosphere?
Great question. They're actually from the game and they play between the missions which I think is a nice touch. So much so that I thought they would be good to use for the review. I'm not sure where they got the footage from, it must be from a documentary or something, but I think it adds to the fact that the game tries to be as historically accurate as possible, at least with the units. Great for atmosphere before jumping into a mission!
Love this game, love this review thanks for sharing the word on its greatness!
@masonmoore3473 It was my pleasure!
so i played warthunder, men of war assault squad 2, company of heroes 1 and 2, and hearts of iron 4. I can confidently say that this game is a child of all those together and done absolutley right. Though prepare for a bit of a learning curve with the battlegroups. I would absolutely recommend this game if you enjoyed any of the previously mentioned.
@MassiveFrostbite What a great comparison, I love all of those games so you've explained why I enjoy SD2 so much! I hope potential new players see your comment as it's very useful
You did so good job
Thank you my friend! I hope you found it useful :)
Is the campaign mode in this comparable to a WW2 Total War game? Looking for something like that with a large map to conquer rather than just unconnected skirmish battles (and Hearts of Iron looks too complicated for my tiny brain)
If Hearts of Iron looks too complicated (I love the game but I don't have a clue what I'm doing!) this may be worth checking out. Specifically the "Army General" mode as that takes place on a strategic map where you can auto-resolve battles or go into an individual skirmish. This video ua-cam.com/video/UrUYx-nzW3U/v-deo.html will give you a good idea of what that mode is like, I prefer the skirmish battles myself so I've not fully explored it. The game seems to go on sale often so perhaps waiting for a price drop will then make it worth taking the plunge. Thanks for the comment, hope you find the game you're looking for!
Yea the Army General Mode is basically that
Totally worth it, got in on Steam autumn sale; had Normandy 44 before and played for maybe 4h, whereas SD2 is just so much better, somehow the pace and the maps are just way better.
I've never actually played Normandy 44 but was considering it for the American divisions. Should I just stick with sd2 and get back to war?
@@twiglets2 I mean there are some popular and highly rated divisions in the back to war addon so maybe worth it especially if on sale; some people really prefer SDN44 but for me it's SD2 all the way.
@@Willtoskill thanks for the tip, I'm going to look at back to war more closely!
The biggest complaints of this game were enemy arty knowing exactly where all your troops were, even those in cover and battle timers forcing constant rush attack.
I have found that too with the enemy arty, but I thought that was because I was doing something wrong.
@@twiglets2 No, it was an early fault observation and Eugen have a new modern warfare game with a lot of SD2 features being released in Jan 22, wait and see if it has the same Ai problem
@@lisa-azrabroad4137 I saw the advert for the new game, Warno I think it's called, we'll need to keep an eye on it.
8:30 *LOL!*
I'm here because I watched too many recent Ukraine-Russia war videos with map footage in them and now i'm craving a game where you take territories piecemeal. If I had a beefier SSD (my storage is already only 239/476 GB of space free) I'd give this a whirl. But until I upgrade my boot drive to 2TB I'm going to have to try Gary Grisby's War in The East 2.
By the way, I watched another review video you made and I really like your get-to-the-point approach to covering these games. You're great.
@oldencreek6587 thank you! I hope it was useful and you treat yourself to that new SSD sooner than later!
Thank you. This was one of the best reviews I ever saw. Because it says which kind of people this game relate to instead of merely saying if it is good.
How competent is AI? That is achilleas' heel for strategy games so you should have addressed it in detail. Also this game faced criticism about having greedy content dlc. Like base game being robbed out with day 1 content dlc. How about now? Lastly, is this a good starting point or shall we start with first game, Normandy 44 ? Because maybe this one is wide in scope due to eastern front being too big.
You just referenced supreme commander
New sub right off the bat lmao
Haha I'm glad to hear it! It's been a long time since I've played it properly though - do you have a preference between 1 or 2?
@@twiglets2 honestly 1, and on a specific note, Forged alliance forever.
2 is great but it’s more simplified and comparative to smaller scale RTS like halo wars, Star craft, and C&C.
Forged alliance(SupCom 1) is the opposite and holds true to its identity. Absolutely love both but 1 is the king of Large scale RTS. Have yet to come across a game that full does what it does but better. Planetary annihilation is close but it’s missing the unit variety(no factions, lack of different Units).
Steel division is similar tho !!! And I’m loving it
Well, I am late to the game on this, as I have just seen this video today. I have ALL of the Steel Division expansions (DLCs) to date (Sept 2023). As a WW2 fan(?)/historical freak(?) I found this game to be quite immersive. I have been playing conflict simulations since 1964, this is my first real WW2 computer game and it does remind me much of Advanced Squad Leader rolled into .... well ... one big frigging box like GDW's Europa Series. I know that might not make such sense to most of you, but I have a hard time describing how much I like this whole game set. I currently uninstalled all of my other WW2 games, Except War in the East and Pacific War, dumped all my fantasy games and only recently added Baldur's Gate 3. It looks like for the remainder of my years on this planet Baldur's Gate 3 and Steel Divisions II will be my go to game entertainment package. Well, that being said, I strongly recommend this game, these is sooooo much to learn and once you get the hang of it I am pretty damn sure you are gonna love it. I can't say enough abut this game. I have it on Steam on a rather new PC designed just for games, I have ZERO complaints. ZERO. And I 100% support Eugen Systems. Thanks for your time. and Thanks Eugen Systems for making this and keeping up on it.
@SundraTanakoh Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Would you recommend the DLCs to a player who enjoys the base version of Steel Division 2?
@@twiglets2 First take all of the free DLS and load them in. From that point on I simply bought them as they came out, I am not sure if I found one over another as better as I was focused on playing. To date I have everything, I would suggest if this game interest you to pony up and get all the expansions. I know that is not as helpful as you wanted :-( But I have NOT been disappointed any anything I purchased, which is rare in a game.
@@SundraTanakoh Thank you! That's very useful
Hey
Which DLCS right now
You people recomend?
I need it fast because the sales finish in 1 hour and a half
I have the "Tribute to D-Day Pack" which is pretty cool, it includes British and American tanks etc but that's just because I like British and American tanks haha There are so many to choose from though, I guess it depends on what you like. Hopefully others will have some recommendations too :)
@@twiglets2 thanks my man
Me and my friend decided to go full monkey for the eastern front
We are gonna get
History pass (the pack)
Burning baltics (possibly)
And Lvov offensive (possibly)
@@tinchorb1340 sounds awesome, please let me know what you think of them as I'm looking to pick up more dlc's in the next sale!
@@twiglets2 ok
Burning baltics is when the north (?) Group center got inside a pocket in estonia
I know that about the dlc
And you basically have divisions whit 0/18% strength
Basically hoi4 when the soviet player does the encirclement in the baltics
Sadly, my friend had problems and he dint get the game or the dlcs
So
Yeah, i hope he can at least buy the game and one dlc
Hey, I will not have the time to get into competitive multiplayer so will I get my money's worth out of DLC and playing VS AI?
Personally I think you will. I predict 90% of players only play against the ai! Personally I found getting the dday pack added a lot of replayability as you get british/American units to mix things up a bit. I have a separate video that goes into detail on each dlc, and they're dirt cheap at the moment too! You might also want to consider Gates of Hell Ostfront which has a fantastic single player akin to company of heroes. Hope that helps!
@@twiglets2 Game looks very fun and tactical, maps look amazing from what I've seen so far. I might get it with couple of DLC
Thanks
@@techpriest8965 No problem, enjoy!
It's on sale and cheap on steam rn!
Hell yes GO GO GO PEOPLE!
good review
Thanks, I hope you found it useful
@@twiglets2 Can you tell me how easy it is to play online? i see there are not a lot of players playing. I am thinking about buying this one, but i remember from red dragon that the good players would all go together which was not a fun experience. I am not a bad player myself, but it seems that is the case with sd2
@@pietzaken2220 One thing I have noticed is the number of players online has gone up and down significantly over the last few months. My guess is you will see more online when the game is on sale or a new DLC has been released. It depends how much you are looking for the single player experience or the multiplayer. If you are only interested in multiplayer you will be taking more of a risk. If you're still not sure I suggest waiting until the next Steam sale (if you use Steam) which starts October 29th. The game will be cheap and there should be more players then. They still release updates regularly so there might be a lot more players in the future, I think the game has a lot more life in it yet! I hope that helps you decide :)
It's on the steam lunar sale now 28/I/22. Only £7.29! GRAB IT PEOPLE!! I'm enjoying steel division Normandy now as well as warno.
Bargain! I've not had a chance to try Warno, would you recommend it to a SD2 fan? Looks good from the videos!
@@twiglets2 yes indeed!! And the steam lunar sale lasts till Feb 3 😁
Army General has got to be the most underrated part of this game
@ralphsaavedra2326 Absolutely! I don't know about you but when I realised it had an army general mode that's when I decided to purchase the game!
And I'm getting it
I hope you enjoy! If you do, let me know as there are several other games worth considering that are similar
can i know wish edition to buy and whats the difference between them ? thank uu :D
I'm making a video on that right now haha if you can wait a few days it should be up :) The most confusing part for me was what's in the "history pass", that includes the DLC's Black Sunday, The Fate of Finland and Death on the Vistula which are all pretty big DLC. I hope that helps for now!
@@twiglets2 thank you i will wait for the vid
ua-cam.com/video/H3iJ1lsTKeE/v-deo.html There is the video about the DLC's, sorry it took a while! I hope it's useful, there should be a sale in a few days :)
CHERNOPIDZHACHNIKI translates as Black Jacketeers (Squad that wears a Black Jackets).
Thank you! I will have more chance of remembering it now.
I just picked up this game on sale and my first impressions have been pretty .. "meh". There is clearly a steep learning curve and the reinforcement mechanic seems very gamey and artificial and not at all "realistic". On the other hand, there might be some depth there and your video has convinced me to dig a little deeper so thanks for that :)
You never know, it may be worth that extra push to get further up the learning curve, but if it's not for you, at least you tried!
I am a WW2 pro-modeller and amateur historian and specifically bought an Alienware laptop for Steel Division Normandy and its DLCS. Never owned a PC and quite frankly I am having some fits with a mouse and keypad. I suspect it will take me a while to get the hang of it. Never used a PC and only adore MACS BUT they don't make games like these for it. To not appreciate the greatest conflict/war in Human History and BE a strategy gamer is absolutely ridiculous. lol, Anyways plan on getting this sequel when I figure out how to play the Normandy edition. which in my book had MORE interesting units (Normandy). By 44 the germans had pretty much moved all of their "sexy" units like the Waffen-SS and Fallschirmjagers to Italy and France.
It's great to hear someone so passionate about the historic side of these games! I hope the mouse and keyboard feel more comfortable in time and you end up playing Steel Division 2 as it's a great game. Also take a look at Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront (a long name for just one game!) which is also Eastern Front based and incredibly detailed.
I bought this game at one point, a couple of years ago. The tutorials didn't do too good a job and I got a bad first impression, so I refunded the game after a bit over an hour.
Still am sort of eyeing it though, because I recognize that once I get used to the game more I'll probably like it more. In theory it looks a lot like something I'd enjoy, mostly because of army general. I got hooked on the strategic/tactical mix over a decade ago from games like star wars: empire at war and the total war series. Maybe I will get it, sometime in the future when I can get it and all the army general DLCs in one fell swoop for cheap on a sale.
I have heard the tutorial was basically non-existent previously but it's not too bad now I found. Out of curiosity which Total War games do you prefer? I've been meaning to get into them but there are so many to choose from!
@@twiglets2 Well, I started out with Empire but that's honestly not a particularly good one in many respects. Medieval 2 is great, in many ways it's the best "classic" total war game and it has a lot of options for mods too (my favorite being the divide and conquer submod for the third age mod).
The warhammer total wars are also quite decent, spellcasting rounds out the game surprisingly well and you get multiplayer campaigns too, but its siege battles are lacklustre. Total war attila has a lot of the same mechanics, barring the spellcasting, though its sieges are better than warhammer's. I don't quite like those games as much though, mostly because units self-replenish over time under the right conditions which I feel sort of takes away the point of doing well in a losing battle.
Overall, I'd probably recommend Total War: Medieval II as the better total war game overall, it's a classic for a reason, but at the same time the newer total wars are probably more beginner-friendly if I look at it objectively.
@@shieldphaser Thank you for the detailed response! I've installed Medieval II specifically because of the third age mod, anything LOTR gets my attention.
It looks like it can be awkward to install if using the Steam version (which I am) but I am determined!
@@twiglets2 It's not that complicated to get it working on steam once you know the trick to it. I use the steam version myself. If you get stuck I can probably explain the process.
Word of advice though. The base third age mod is a little bit unstable around mirkwood in particular. It's the spider cavalry that does it, game seems more prone to crash with them around. From what I recall it's not an issue in divide and conquer (and that one gives neat extra factions like dol amroth and balin's expedition to khazad-dum too), but I don't fault you for starting with the simpler version.
@@shieldphaser Amazing, thank you for the heads up. I'm going to give it a go over the weekend and fingers crossed I don't get many crashes! I'm tempted to dive into the deep end with divide and conquer as I've always found Moria and Dol Amroth intriguing!
If you still play leave you're units on hunt mode. So more easy as units automatically stops to engage instead of keep moving and die. Less micro heavy
Thanks for the tip. Anything to reduce micro is at the top of my list!
Excellent review. Game looks interesting except for the grahics, which look dated.
great video .. i watched it after i bought the game
lol
Haha I hope you're happy with your purchase!
Love the game but I wish Eugen had allowed any form of modding for army general. However, it would make their DLC pointless so it'll never happen. It does piss me off knowing that they're allowing extensive modding for warno but oh well.. I just wanted a Stalingrad army general campaign lol
I didn't realise that, I know next to nothing about modding but always a shame when the community isn't allowed to let their imagination run wild!
The best war RTS game ever
@dringoghant7059 it's so underrated!
Love the game
Love seeing other nations you dont usually see and be able to play as them
I dont know how to use smoke or how it works, so my men will have to bravely face machine gun fire.
@dnaseb9214 that's a great point, I'm not aware of another WW2 game that has as much diversity, most others stick with a boring western front narrative with a bit of eastern front for flavor!
@@twiglets2
I found how to do smokes, B, a random load screen told me.
It is very cool to see something other then Germans, USSR, America. I hope they do pacific factions too.
Special maps with water and ships would be cool.
I find this game to be much less micro heavy than COH 2, despite on average there being anywhere fron 2-5 times the units present. The slower pace, lack of unit abilities and no objectives to capture/building means that actions per unit are satisfyingly low
I guess it depends on the player's taste as to which they prefer. I like how you can automate the units to an extent in SD2 by giving them orders beyond just clicking a location or enemy. Not that I'm any good at the game but I know that it's there!
@@twiglets2 I saw you just moving units in your gameplay. First thing you need to do to improve is to ditch the habit of using move/move fast, and instead use hunt/quickhunt 90%of the time. If you are moving you are not accurate, and your infantry no longer uses the appropriate cover bonus, as well as actually getting an on-the-move hidden debuff the game doesn't tell you about
Hunt/Quick hunt work the same as move/move fast, except the unit will automatically stop and fire upon seeing an enemy in combat range. Rarely there will be occasions where you'd prefer to move, but most of the time on the contrary, since (as you most likely know already despite you being relatively fresh) suppression matters in this game. in fact it MATTERS MATTERS
@@antonikubiak5798 Amazing thank you! I've not played for a while but I'm going to boot it up soon and get the hunt/quickhunt embedded into my brain from now on!
you should talk about warno same developers as steel division 2 but its set during the cold war like what if ww3 broke out during the cold war
@the-goat165 Have you tried Warno? I've been tempted but all I hear is it's not worth it. They must be improving it though!
@@twiglets2 yes i think its good but the only down side i think is that they split the map but i think you could review it if you want
@@the-goat165 I've been waiting for the right time, it sounds like it might be now, thanks for the heads up!
@@twiglets2 no thank you
Speaking of "deserving more attention," your subscriber count is far too low for the quality of your content. This is great work.
Thanks Craig that means a lot, I'll keep churning them out and keeping my fingers cross the algorithm is kind to me!
Have you checked out the AI of this game. Cus I want to find a strategy game with engaging and dynamic AI without using cheats
In my opinion the AI of this game is average. You'll hear a variety of opinions but one of the main complaints seem to be the ai can be a little repetitive in its approach. You will also hear others say the AI effectively cheats because it knows where your units are.
Personally I think the AI is fine, but if it means a lot to you that the AI is engaging and dynamic, you may not be all too impressed in this game.
@@twiglets2 Thank you for the response.
I
Is this game balanced factions? Had to delete coh2 bc of the damn okw being so op.
I'm afraid I don't have a detailed knowledge of the faction balance as at today. However, my understanding is that the factions do have balance issues, and also the way the ai plays is unbalanced also.
This doesn't necessarily need to be an issue for you. If you are interested in the campaign / scenarios vs the ai then there is a lot for you to enjoy. But if you are specifically interested in balanced multiplayer, the game isn't in a great place right now - though this can easily change in future updates.
That's my understanding. I'm sure a more experienced / involved player will correct me or go into more detail if they disagree!
Sold!!😃
@Edward-Plantagenet I hope you enjoy!
@@twiglets2 Yeah me too LOL. Bit concerned that it might be a bit too arcade style for me with too much stuff rushing about (it is an RTS afterall) and seriosuly considered getting Graviteam MIUS (I still might) but I could do with a break from Combat Mission and CoH doesn't appeal at all.
@@Edward-Plantagenet Yes I can see CoH3 is on sale with 20% discount and I just can't bring myself to purchase it!
Tooo much bass on the mic brother, crank that treble up...