Iron Harvest

Plenty of bugs and missing features, the game is labelled as complete but isn't. Wait another year at least for the game to actually (maybe) be at least feature-complete, if not bug-free.

Well, when the RTS genre was slowly steering away from limelight came Iron Harvest and restored its nimbus. This is really a classic top-down RTS with the usual tropes and user interface. Lacks the usual micromanagement nightmare most of the games in this genre are known for. There are a minimal set of buildings that you have to bring up and upgrade, plus the units you have to manage is also kept at a minimal level. The devs created a quite good, streamlined experience where you can concentrate on controlling a handful of awesome looking behemoths, heroes with a unique arsenal of skills and some soldiers next to them. Mechs? Like the ones from Mechwarrior? They all look the same, the weapons they sport are ridiculous looking and boring plus the sound they emit are like like muffled fa?ts in heavy wind. Oh and the explosions are usually boring too. Well, NOT THIS TIME. These are unique looking large behemoths that sport absolutely stunning looking aesthetics, with creative weaponry and good weapon sounds that command authority whenever they start their song of destruction. Everything is torn to shreds in their way, every step they make is believable, and they definitely won't make ballerina moves. There are a lot of cutscenes, which elevate the good overall atmosphere of the game plus provide some background information about the happenings. Besides some slow commando like missions, everything is top notch, so if you like mechs, a good story with some profound thoughts to chew on, then don't hesitate. A good 20+ hours of strategical destruction awaits you.

If you wanna enjoy a good and fun (in future co-op) campaign, or smash some mechs with your friends, this is a good RTS game for you. If you want the next-gen evolution of the RTS genre, you won't find it here. If you are looking for the next Company of Heroes game, you best wait 6~12 months before checking this game out. Iron Harvest mainly focuses around it's campaign, and now that it released, they are moving over to work on all things multiplayer and such. The devs are a relative small company, but they are committed to improving this game long term. Furthermore, the publisher Deep Silver even paid for a expansion for the game which will likely come with a new faction which is planned to come somewhere 2021. TL;DR: Currently game is a bit rough, but devs will continue working on it

Love the game for a lot of reasons. The setting is awesome, I'm enjoying the story so far, I enjoy the factions for the most part and some hints at future factions (Shogunate) and what not gets me excited. I've enjoyed unlocking things for my profile and unit skins. The combat is okay and the graphics are decent as are the sound effects and music. Overall I'm glad the game is released and I'm having fun playing it. That being said, it's raw in its current state. There are many bugs: quick saving not working, achievements which names are showing up as actual game files, campaign challenges not working, i've gotten platnium for no reason and I've missed out on other medals even though I did the challenge and much more. The game itself can be improved. I'd like the ability to change the colors in the game, they look a little too washed out and the filters are a bit much. The mechs are the stars here, don't hide them under brown filters and washed out colors. Combat could be better, units don't perform how you think they should and cover is all over the place. Example is Stormtroopers vs Riflemen. Troopers have submachine guns, rilfemen have rifles, so you would think they should perform different but they kinda do and don't. I assumed I should have my Troopers close distance with the Riflemen to perform better with their weapons but it doesn't seem to matter. This plays out with other units as well. I'd like to see unit uniquness increase. Each engineer for each faction should perform differently like in COH2. Maybe add in the ability to purchase addons for units, special faction abilities etc. I think the devs should focus on polish first and foremost. Get the experience to be flawless on a technical level. Then add in and change up the game so it feels good to play from a gameplay perspective and then lastly start work on future content. I really see huge potential with this game and like I said i'm having fun, just go in expecting raw ore.

Maybe it's the nostalgia, maybe I was starving for decent RTS games for some years. But this was quite fun. Really fun, actually. The gameplay is solid, al little simple maybe on the base building side, but come on - so was C&C. And therefore, it adds some tactical elements, like the cover system for infantry or the damage classes and vulnerable zones of mechs ect. The art design is just wonderful, and even the story is quite decent - sure, Starcraft2 is better, but gosh have I seen worse in all those years. Most of those harsher reviews seem to relate to the buggy state of the game - I started playing it in February 2022, and I had no problems with bugs whatsoever. Those who still criticize this game, propably did not expect an oldschool RTS with simple economics and base building, but with quick and intense gameplay, tactical variety and a strong focus on the singleplayer campaign. And it does a wonderful job at all that.