The best World War II games

Ad perpetuam rei memoriam - In eternal memory of the event

After six long years of war, Germany has finally laid down its arms. The last Nazi government surrendered, the troops on all fronts for the most part ceased resistance. Of course, World War II itself has not yet ended - Japan will resist until the fall, and only the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki will break the emperor's resolve.

However, in Europe it was all over. The act of surrender came into force at 23:01 on May 8 CET and at 1:01 on May 9 Moscow time - which is why the victory over Germany in Europe is celebrated a day earlier.

This small time difference prompted us to make not one, but two collections of the best games about the largest and most terrible war in the history of mankind. First, we will talk about foreign projects, and then we will talk about domestically produced games.

Note: Our selection is not the TOP, as it includes games of various genres, some of which have been released relatively recently, while others have already managed to celebrate their decade. We are well aware that some people may like simulators more, and others - global turn-based strategies or RTS, so we decided to simply present a list of the best projects about World War II.

Foreign games about World War II

Velvet Assassin

• Release date: 2009
• Genre: stealth action
• Score (Metacritic): 61 points

Few consider this game to be a masterpiece, but, nevertheless, in my opinion, it deserves a place on our list. After all, many people love stealth action games, and Velvet Assassin belongs to this genre - a rarity for games dedicated to World War II.

The plot of Velvet Assassin is based on the story of Violette Szabo, a British intelligence agent. The real Violetta died in February 1945, and here the game does not sin against the truth of life: at the beginning we find our heroine in the hospital in a coma, and everything we do next is nothing more than the memories of the dying Miss Sabo.

The action takes place in Germany, France and Poland. Violetta infiltrates strategic German installations, eliminates Nazi commanders, rescues failed spies, and sabotages communications. It is desirable to carry out tasks silently (receptions are quite common: hide and seek in the shadows, dressing in SS uniform, etc.), although sometimes it is allowed to shoot. At the same time, VA did not allow saving anywhere, rather severely punishing mistakes.

Most critics praised the authenticity of the game: the war is shown in Velvet Assassin very realistic, despite the indestructible environment and other obvious engine flaws. Clothing, weapons, language, even the morphine that the beautiful spy uses to replenish her health (this circumstance almost caused a scandal when published in Australia) look appropriate in the chosen setting.

Panzer General

• Release date: 1994
• Genre: strategy
• Rating (Metacritic): –

Panzer General is a representative of an almost extinct tribe of wargames, from the very classic, Strategic Simulations, Inc. Then, in the first half of the 90s, SSI (later absorbed by Ubisoft) bathed in the rays of success, and it was the Panzer General series that glorified them.

"General" was played on a schematic map made up of hexagons. A separate unit meant not a soldier or a tank, but an entire unit, company or battalion. Of course, the game was turn-based and included 50 scenarios. Scenarios could be completed both individually and as part of a large-scale campaign. True, here the players were waiting for the main blow from the developer: exactly one side was represented in the campaign - the German Wehrmacht.

Panzer General envisioned the opportunity to radically change history. So, it was possible to land troops in Britain (in reality, the British managed to stop all attempts by the Nazi troops to do this) or convince the Wehrmacht command to turn around to Moscow, and not waste time near Kiev. And if the virtual Guderian won both victories, in foggy Albion and near Moscow, the game ended... with an assault on Washington. In case of failure, the general could cover himself with glory, desperately defending Berlin from the allies.

Of course, not everyone liked this one-sidedness, and already in 1995 SSI released Allied General, which included the Soviet, British and American campaigns. Almost a dozen more sequels followed, including the fully 3D Panzer General 3D, and in 2011 Slitherine released Panzer Corps, a tribute re-release of the original Panzer General. The series was so loved by fans of military history that the scripts continue to be released to this day: now there are already almost 2 and a half thousand of them.

Call of duty

• Release date: 2003
• Genre: strategy shooter
• Score (Metacritic): 91 points

Yes, now Call of Duty is associated mainly with the Middle East, and the latest series has completely rushed into the future, but let's remember how it all began. The very first CoD was devoted specifically to the Second World War, and the player had to pull the strap of a simple soldier: first the American paratrooper Joey Martin, then the subject of His Majesty Jack Evans, and, finally, the Red Army soldier Alexei Ivanovich Voronin.

The units to which our heroes are assigned performed various tasks according to the plot. In the game, it was possible to take part in the landing in Normandy, in the Battle of Stalingrad, in the Vistula-Oder operation, and the developers even entrusted the developers who had risen to lieutenant Voronin to raise the banner of Victory over the Reichstag.

Call of Duty has taken a big step towards realism. The game character was supposed to have only a few slots for weapons - two for large barrels, one for a pistol, and one more for a bunch of grenades. It was a stark contrast to classic shooters, where 10-12 guns were considered normal. In addition, Call of Duty had four levels of difficulty, and the higher, the more like a real war: the last of them, Veteran, did not have first-aid kits, and almost any injury turned into a serious problem.

But more importantly, Infinity Ward reminded us that people don't usually fight alone. One of the main achievements of the first game in the never-ending series is the emergence of independent allies controlled by artificial intelligence.

And although now you can think about what the 4.5 million copies of the game sold later led to, Call of Duty rightfully occupies eighth place in our hit parade.

Silent Hunter III

• Release date: 2005
• Genre: submarine simulator
• Score (Metacritic): 90 points

Like tactical games, simulators are now going through hard times, and we certainly don’t see submarine simulators very often.

Silent Hunter III invited the player to become part of the Kriegsmarine and take the captain's bridge of one of the German submarines that terrified the waters and coasts of several oceans. The degree of plausibility here went off scale: all damage to the submarine was honestly calculated, a certain percentage of torpedoes could turn out to be defective, and even the periscope had to be stabilized.

The human factor also played an important role: each member of the team had a specialization and a whole bunch of parameters, so that, in addition to patrolling the sea and performing various combat missions, our lieutenant zur see also had to deal with personnel work. Whom to assign to which compartment, how to distribute responsibilities, who should be trained in a new specialty, and who is doing well anyway - all this had to be thought about.

Silent Hunter III became the crowning achievement of the series: the fourth and fifth parts could not repeat the success of their serious, button-down predecessor.

Company of Heroes

• Release date: 2006
• Genre: strategy
• Score (Metacritic): 93 points

The original Company of Heroes was, in fact, an attempt by Relic Entertainment to transfer the successful game model of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War to the realities of World War II. The same level of units, the same struggle for resources (fuel, personnel and ammunition), even the weapon distribution system remained untouched. Only instead of Space Marines and Chaos - the American and German armies, each of which is divided into three directions (for the USA) or three doctrines (for Germany).

Covers became the main innovation of CoH: now it was possible to place a unit somehow more successfully behind a wall or, say, the skeleton of a tank, so that it would be more difficult for the enemy to hit it. In addition, engineering troops appeared in the game, specializing in the construction of barricades, anti-tank hedgehogs and other means of defense in depth. In many cases, cover was simply necessary: ​​in Company of Heroes, like Warhammer, units had a morale that dropped catastrophically if soldiers came under artillery or machine gun fire. In the worst case, the detachment simply pressed into the ground and stopped firing - again a tribute to realism.

CoH was not passed by a tank rush, forcing the player to work with their brains and take care of the control of the territory and the suppression of firing points. This slowed things down a lot, but the almost perfect game balance and polished game design allowed many influential gaming publications to name Company of Heroes the best game of 2006.

Hearts of Iron III and IV

• Release date: 2009 and 2016
• Genre: strategy
• Rating (Metacritic): 77 and 83 points

Paradox do not knit brooms: their global strategies are the best of their kind. Hearts of Iron, a colleague of the great Europa Universalis, does not aim to take us to Iwo Jima, to the Ardennes or to the trenches of Stalingrad. No, in "Iron Hearts" the player gets a unique chance to look at the war through the eyes of a general bending over the map - at the level of armies, fronts and entire countries.

The game starts back in 1936 and allows you to lead any of the 160 states. Things are heading towards a world war, so even if you rule, say, some semi-colony on the outskirts of the planet, you will have to choose from three military-political blocs: the Western Allies, the Axis and the Comintern.

Hearts of Iron is solid and complex: in order to play at least slightly successfully, you need to take into account a dozen factors. Climate, weather conditions, supply, production, natural and human resources, scientific and technological progress... Almost everything is modeled, from the production of fuel from crude oil to the command and control system of troops (headquarters, chain of orders, etc.).

So if you like and can think big, and the real time of Company of Heroes is too fast for you, then HoI is exactly what you are looking for. You won't find anything better in war strategies.

Medal of Honor

• Release date: 1999
• Genre: shooter
• Score (Metacritic): 92 points

In 1998, the sensational film “Saving Private Ryan” was released, and the very next year the first “Medal for Courage” appeared - a PlayStation-exclusive, the creation of which also had a hand in the great Steven Spielberg.

Not surprisingly, Medal of Honor turned out to be very cinematic. Our alter ego is pilot James Patterson, who proved himself a hero after he was shot down in the skies over Normandy. The command invites Patterson to join the Office of Special Services, and James agrees.

The game consists of 7 missions divided into 22 levels. Basically, we destroy all kinds of frightening creations of the military-technical genius of the Reich: from the latest submarine to the V-2 rocket, although there are exceptions: in the sixth mission, Patterson saves priceless works of art from destruction. AI did not shine even by the standards of the late 90s, but scripts and elements of the environment saved the situation: an enemy soldier could sit down at a machine gun and stuff the hero with lead, and at first glance, unarmed scientists snatched pistols from under the hem of their white coats and fired in the back without hesitation.

Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, a new MoH has been released almost every year, but it is the first game that periodically appears in lists like the "Top 25 best games for the PlayStation."

Commandos: Behind the Enemy Lines

• Release date: 1998
• Genre: tactics
• Rating (Metacritic): –

To tell the truth, when I sat down to write this collection, it was Commandos that first came to my mind. Perhaps because it is very difficult to find a game similar to them, or maybe personal impressions have affected: I remember well the evenings spent “behind enemy lines” in the company of the Green Beret, Spy, Sniper and other colorful personalities.

At Commandos, we lead a sabotage group carrying out responsible missions from Scandinavia to Algeria. Each of our brave fighters has unique abilities: the Sniper silently takes out enemies, the Marine knows how to drive boats and is an excellent scuba diver, the Chauffeur masterfully drives everything from a motorcycle to a heavy tank.

Each of the tasks in Behind the Enemy Lines is a small masterpiece, starting from the most beautiful backdrops and ending with well-thought-out logic. It doesn’t matter whether we kill some Sturmbannfuehrer or pull a downed pilot out of trouble, in order to successfully complete the task, we need to think a lot and build whole schemes: here, stun the sentry and drag his body somewhere into a corner, cut the “thorn” here, and there the Spy will get to the coveted black uniform... The second part of the series is in many ways even better than the original.

Battlefield 1942

• Release date: 2002
• Genre: shooter
• Score (Metacritic): 89 points

DICE in our hit parade will still bypass the eternal rivals Infinity Ward. We have already said that one is not a warrior in the field - but in Call of Duty the role of a neighbor in the ranks was entrusted to AI, and Battlefield 1942 allowed players to cooperate with each other.

The bet has passed: the team shooter has gained considerable popularity. Instead of simply stuffing frags, DICE offered a game to hold points, and each of the five sides (in Battlefield 1942 Japan appeared as an independent faction, additions also introduced Italy and the French Resistance) were equipped with unique weapons and equipment. In addition, combat specialties of characters (read classes) appeared in the game: snipers, attack aircraft, orderlies, engineers and grenade launchers.

Although people who are fond of military history blamed Battlefield 1942 for numerous mistakes, the impact of the game on the industry cannot be overestimated. In my opinion, it was she and her ideological successors, and not numerous simulators of tanks, aircraft and ships that paved the way for the success of the World of series from Wargaming.net.

Wolfenstein 3D

• Release date: 1992
• Genre: shooter
• Rating (Metacritic): –

Of course, the war shown in Wolfenstein is infinitely far from the real World War II. This is the war of Wilm Blazhkovich, where on the one hand the brave hero himself speaks, and on the other - a panopticon of paranoid clichés. Levels, almost like the moon base in Iron Sky, are often laid out in the form of a giant swastika (!). Blazhkovich is opposed by ghosts, terrible experimental doctors from the Ahnenerbe, gray-skinned mutants with machine guns built right into their chests, a dozen clones of Hans Gross, the embodiment of the idea of ​​a Nazi officer. In the final battle, BJ converges with Adolf Hitler himself, dressed in exoskeleton armor.

Then a prequel came out, where the hero successfully snatched an ancient artifact from the hands of the Nazis - the Spear of Destiny, and the author's fantasy really went off scale. But players, despite all the strangeness of the setting, remember Wolfenstein 3D to this day: the brand is alive, new Wolfensteins appear quite regularly (there was another revival of the series in 2014-2015), and almost every one of them contains a level full of sprite German soldier - a small tribute to the legendary game.

Patriotic games about World War II

Blitzkrieg Series

• Release date: 2003-2017
• Genre: strategy
• Rating (Metacritic): Average 70 points

The Blitzkrieg series currently includes 3 full-scale projects and several major expansions. The first part is a real-time strategy game developed by the Russian studio Nival Interactive and released in March 2003.

The storyline of "Blitzkrieg" is based on the Great Patriotic War. Three single player campaigns are available to players: Allies (US and British military forces), Nazi Germany and the USSR. Each campaign consists of several major chapters covering various stages of the war. The battles in the game take place on the territories of 9 countries.

The main difference between Blitzkrieg and similar strategies of that time is the absence of the need to create its own base in it, but there is the possibility of capturing enemy command centers. At the beginning of each mission, the player receives several units of infantry and vehicles, with which he must complete certain tasks.

This RTS boasted beautiful graphics for that time, addictive gameplay and large-scale story campaigns, so it was highly appreciated by the press and players.

Within 2 years, the second part of Blitzkrieg appeared on store shelves, which covered most of the main fronts of World War II, from Europe to the Pacific islands. It was again developed by the Russian Nival team, and a modified Enigma Engine was used as a graphics engine.

Critics and players were pleasantly surprised by the incredible scale of the continuation - it had over 300 units of various vehicles and more than 60 types of infantry, and the total number of missions exceeded 60 pieces.

In terms of gameplay, Blitzkrieg 2 did not differ much from the original, however, it was not without innovations. For example, the developers added an interconnected task structure, that is, the results in one mission directly influenced the experience and composition of the units controlled by the user in the following battles. There was also a global map on which the player could assess the state of affairs at the front, take a look at their awards and study the level of their troops. As a result, this game was included in the list of the best strategies about the Second World War according to many publications.

A year later, a major addition to "Blitzkrieg 2" called "Retribution" was released, dedicated to the last stage of hostilities on the Eastern Front. In 2007, the release of the "Liberation" add-on took place, which tells about the clashes between the German troops and the Allied forces.

However, in view of the decrease in the popularity of the strategy genre, Nival decided to postpone the Blitzkrieg series to the back of the box. The third part was announced only in August 2013. After 2 years, it was released in early access on Steam. Many fans note that the game "Blitzkrieg 3" is significantly inferior to the previous parts and is currently not able to offer players an interesting gameplay. I got on the list only because of my involvement in the legendary series.

IL-2 Sturmovik

• Release date: 2001
• Genre: flight simulator
• Score (Metacritic): 91 points

Domestic developers are not only famous for strategies, and IL-2 Sturmovik, an aviation simulator created by Maddox Games in 2001, is a direct proof of this. At the time of its release, this flight simulator was the most technologically advanced game in its genre.

Air battles in the IL-2 Sturmovik amaze with their scale and level of sophistication. She has received many awards, both from Russian and foreign publications. The editors of the IGN website even added it to the TOP-25 of the best PC games.

This flight simulator is known to many not only for its beautiful picture, but also for its great attention to detail, as well as exciting tasks and a large number of different scenarios. Many custom mods have been released for it, greatly diversifying the gameplay.

Death to Spies

• Release date: 2007
• Genre: stealth action
• Score (Metacritic): 69 points

What happens if you send the famous Agent 47 back in time to World War II? Apparently, such thoughts were spinning among the guys from the Russian studio Haggard Games when they created the game "Death to Spies", which is an action game with stealth elements.

The game takes place in 1943. The protagonist is a member of the Main Directorate of Military Counterintelligence SMERSH. He has to perform various top-secret missions related to the elimination of enemy generals, obtaining important information and conducting sabotage behind enemy lines.

The gameplay of the project is similar to the gameplay of Hitman, that is, the player appears in a huge location where he needs to complete one or more tasks using any available methods. The passage of "Death to Spies" is complicated by the fact that the enemies have smart Al, for example, they are able to notice blood on the hero's clothes or begin to suspect him if he wears a soldier's uniform, but does not have a machine gun with him.

In general, the project was positively evaluated by players and critics, although it copied the mechanics of other games. However, he did not gain much popularity among the players, so the second part came out only after 9 years and only with the help of a foreign publisher. So do a good deed and buy at least the original, otherwise we will have to wait another 10 years for the continuation of this good stealth action.

Series "Behind Enemy Lines"

• Release date: 2004-2016
• Genre: strategy with elements of tactics
• Rating (Metacritic): Average 70 points

About 15 years ago, the first part of the famous game series "Behind Enemy Lines" was born, which was created by the Ukrainian studio Best Way. It is a real-time strategy game with tactical, RPG and even simulation elements.

In many strategies, the gameplay is based on raising the economy of your faction and conducting competent military operations, however, in the creation of Ukrainians, intelligence and preparation for upcoming battles are at the forefront. The advantages of the project also include realism (shells may not reach the target if it is too far away, transport requires replenishment of fuel, and so on) and good physics (there is destructibility and a cover system).

In 2006, the second part was released, created by the same team from Ukraine. The developers did not significantly rework the gameplay, but simply improved the game mechanics of the original and pulled up the picture. Later, several major expansions were released, but fans of the series continue to wait for the release of a full-fledged 3rd part.

Submarine chaser

• Release date: 2009
• Genre: torpedo boat simulator
• Rating (Metacritic): –

Akella also wanted to contribute to the release of games about World War II, so they funded the development of a project about torpedo boats. The first information about him appeared in 2004, but he came out only after 5 years. However, despite the long development period, in the end this project turned out to be a good simulator with original gameplay.

The main feature of the "Sea Hunter" is the ability not only to follow the course of the entire battle, giving orders to various warships, but also to instantly move at the helm of a small boat that can shoot back from enemy aircraft or sink a huge enemy ship.

Tasks in the game are based on real naval battles of the corresponding era, and all vehicle models exactly copy real prototypes. In addition, the project even now looks pretty nice. The developers managed the sea especially well.