Company of Heroes 3, the highly anticipated real-time strategy game from Relic Entertainment, has been out for a couple of months now. Fans of the franchise, old and new alike, have had ample time to experiment with the game's features and gameplay. In this article, we’ll reflect upon what the first couple of months of Company of Heroes 3 has felt like for the players and try to take a look at what we can expect from Relic regarding CoH 3’s future.
Our Thoughts About CoH 3 So Far
As of writing this article, it has been two months since Company of Heroes 3 was released. While there are certain aspects of the game that we appreciate, such as the new mechanics, we cannot ignore the many significant drawbacks (looking at you The Boys Blobbers). Unfortunately, the game has garnered mostly negative reviews on Steam, with a 64% negative rating at the moment (which we believe is somewhat fair). Let’s take a look into what the CoHdex team thinks about Company of Heroes 3 so far.
Single Player Campaigns
I’ll start off by saying that I primarily play Company of Heroes for its multiplayer format. I’m a competitive person at heart and the only single-player campaigns that have ever really ever kept me interested were the ones in the early Total War series. While I had nothing against the other Company of Heroes campaigns, they never really intrigued me all that much. Company of Heroes 3’s campaign did a much better job than the previous installments.
Although there are two campaigns, I mainly focused on completing the Italian campaign, which took around 20 hours. While the Dynamic Campaign Map doesn’t add Total War levels of control, impact, and game dynamics, it does succeed in making the single-player missions and objectives feel like you’re working towards something bigger. The loyalty rewards and branching narrative are interesting mechanics that give the campaign an extra sense of progression and power scaling.
The decisions made on the map scarcely seemed to affect the skirmishes or missions.
Regrettably, following the initial few missions in the Italian campaign, a sense of monotony started to creep in. Although the Dynamic Campaign Map sets an ultimate objective for the player, it started to feel more like a cumbersome process than a tactical system at some point. Moreover, the decisions made on the map scarcely seemed to affect the skirmishes or missions. Adding to these issues, the campaign is hampered by buggy unit movement, map panning, and an awkward user interface, further detracting from the gameplay experience.
With the right tweaks, and adding life to the map units and AI, I think the Dynamic Campaign Map system could actually be used to create a very immersive and fun campaign. I think that with time, passion, and player feedback, Relic could potentially create an awesome campaign theater for the entire RTS community to enjoy!
Company of Heroes 3 Multiplayer
Welp, let’s start with the negatives. As an avid player of Company of Heroes 2, I have to admit that I’m currently unimpressed with the Company of Heroes 3 multiplayer experience. The game will feature four factions: the Allies have the U.S. and the British and the Axis have the Wehrmacht and the Afrikakorps. Each of these factions has three commanders and each faction has a fairly unique style of play. That being said, CoH 3 multiplayer is plagued with imbalances and bugs.
The balance at launch was just plain awful. British artillery and The Boys rifles were way over-tuned, the U.S forces had the Pathfinder and SSF that was really it, the Wehrmacht Nebelwerfer was way too powerful to be such a cheap call-in, the Afrikakorps Bersaglieri felt as if it was making way too much impact for a 0CP call in, and some call ins were way too strong (cough loiter cough). Fortunately, a lot of these issues have been tuned in the “Operation Saphire Jackal” and “Balance 1.1.4” updates but many balance issues continue to exist. Let's hope that Relic is able to balance Company of Heroes 3 more quickly than they did Company of Heroes 2. Remembering the early days of CoH 2 multiplayer, it is clear that this is a common issue with the franchise, but let’s hope they’ve learned from the past!
Long gone are the days of ninety-minute-long team game slog fests. I don’t miss the feeling of exhaustion after one of these games, but I do kind of miss the relief and jubilation of playing a good hour-long game.
One of the more neutral items that we noticed was the changes to some game systems. The movement of units feels much heavier as if all the units have more inertia now than they did in Company of Heroes 2. This just took some time to get used to and to be honest, I welcome the addition of auto vaulting and the cover animations. The game time also feels way shorter, long gone are the days of ninety-minute-long team game slog fests. I don’t miss the feeling of exhaustion after one of these games, but I do kind of miss the relief and jubilation of playing a good hour-long game. The tech trees in the game are much more similar to CoH 1 than to CoH 2. It sometimes feels like there are fewer options, but I think that’s fine given that the shorter matches give players shorter times to react.
Now onto the things we love! The maps are awesome. While not perfectly balanced, the different feelings you get in urban maps such as Miganano have a completely different feel than more open ones such as Winter Line. The elevation line of sight changes and destruction changes make the map feel dynamic and make setting up the perfect MG arc that much more rewarding. On top of this, the infantry being able to hop onto tanks was something I never knew I wanted until now (until a loiter that is)! While the range of commanders now doesn’t feel as great as CoH 2, they still offer up enough diversity in playstyles to keep replaying factions fun.
All in all, while there’s still a mountain of work to get Company of Heroes 3 multiplayer to the level of CoH 2, it’s still a lot of fun to play and I’m excited for the future of multiplayer!
CoH3 Reflecs Image
What We Want to See in the Future
One of the greatest things about the Company of Heroes franchise that has us buzzing is the emphasis on community and user-generated content. From what we’ve seen, the game features a robust modding system, allowing players to create and share their own maps, campaigns, and game modes. This opens up endless possibilities for players to customize their experience and add new content long after the game's release. We hope that Relic will continually support the modding and mapping community to further expand the game!
We also believe that Company of Heroes 3 has been designed with the potential to be a successful eSport. One of the primary reasons why Company of Heroes 3 has the potential to be successful in the eSports arena is its strategic depth. The game requires a player to be quick-thinking, adaptable, and possess excellent decision-making skills. It is a game that rewards players who are creative in their approach and can come up with effective tactics on the fly. The game already has a small but dedicated group of players competing at a competitive level. We hope that the addition of a solid ranking system and additional Relic support will help grow the CoH 3 competitive scene!
Company of Heroes 3 is "designed to be a long-term platform," with plans for post-launch content and updates
We have high hopes for the continued development and improvement of CoH 3. In a recent interview with PCGamesN, Game Director Justin Dowdeswell stated that Company of Heroes 3 is "designed to be a long-term platform," with plans for post-launch content and updates.
Dowdeswell went on to say that the team is "very much committed to supporting the game long-term," and that they have a "roadmap of post-launch content" already in place. While he didn't go into specifics, he did mention that the team is open to adding new factions and units, as well as expanding the game's modding capabilities.
This commitment to long-term support is excellent news for Company of Heroes 3 fans, as it means the game will continue to evolve and grow long after its release. As the community creates new content and the developers add more features, the game will only become more immersive and engaging.
In conclusion, Company of Heroes 3 looks to be an incredible addition to the franchise, offering a truly immersive World War II experience with new mechanics and features. With a commitment to long-term support and community-driven content, the future of the game looks bright. Fans eagerly await its release and the potential for endless hours of gameplay and customization.