Company of Heroes 3

This is going to be a long review, and honestly I don’t know why I’m spending time writing it for a game hardly anyone plays, maybe three people will actually read the whole thing. But I feel like I’d be doing a disservice to my fellow gamers if I stayed silent, so here we go.
Let me set the stage, it’s 2006, Company of Heroes just released, and at the ripe age of 10 I experienced a game that left an everlasting impact on my life. Like many of you, I was living through the golden era of gaming, a time when passion drove video games, not greed or profit. Games were created as art, not as products. That’s where gaming should have stayed, and sadly it’s drifted far far away from that.
I remember Company of Heroes being violent, brutal, and real, or at least as real as a game could feel. It didn’t hold back, it stayed true to itself. It was, like so many games back then, a product of its time. Three years later I would be a pre teen playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, not realizing my best days of gaming were starting to exist behind me.
Games like Company of Heroes felt like they were made by people who loved playing them, people who wanted to show what a passionate group of individuals could create if they came together through their differences, not because it was a job but because it was their way of life. I remember long nights playing Skirmish against AI, alongside other incredible titles of that era. RTS games had a special pull for me, Dawn of War, Age of Empires, StarCraft, all beloved by millions, each holding a special place in someone’s heart.
Another favorite of mine was World in Conflict. Oh how I wish Ubisoft still made gems like that. Its campaign was incredible, and if you’ve never played it I highly recomend watching a full playthrough on YouTube. It still radiates the love and care that helps it stand the test of time, something many modern titles lack.
I even played tons of Empire Earth. As a kid it felt massive compared to how I see it now. But all these games, including Company of Heroes, had one thing in common, they were great games.
Fast forward 20 years. I’m on the cusp of turning 30, and not only has my view of the world changed but so has gaming and the industry as a whole. I still crave the same passion and artistry in games, and while some titles still spark that feeling, finding truly great games is rare and becoming rarer by the day.
It’s a sad reality RTS fans like us need to face, this genre is no longer a major money maker. It’s niche and it’s dying. Why? Probably a mix of factors, shorter attention spans in the younger generations, games treated as products to squeeze every cent out of us, developers making games as a job rather than a calling.
You could apply this to the movie or music industry too, but the writing is on the wall. And as a quote from Lord of the Rings perfectly says
“The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it.”
Games today are pushed out faster, with less polish, less passion, more issues, and rarely done right, because too many decisions are made by people staring at spreadsheets, focused only on maximizing profit for minimal effort. They expect us to be grateful, expect us to buy their dog crap storefront purchases, expect us to deal with the bugs for years so they can look good on their fiscal year reports.
Company of Heroes 3 is a product of this era. While it has improved since launch, it suffers from the same problem plaguing many modern titles, a lack of soul. I picked it up on sale at 60 percent off three years after release and, against my better judgement, bought all the DLC. Like many others have said, the DLC is overpriced and feels like a cash grab. But someone has to take the plunge and share their experience, because if we don’t look out for each other, what’s the point.
I’m not sure if the industry can ever return to those golden days, but I hold onto hope. And to be fair, Company of Heroes 3 isn’t a complete failure. While it lacks the passion of its predecessors, the developers did manage to capture the classic feel of the series in some ways. Booting up a Skirmish against AI still feels fun, it feels like Company of Heroes, even if it isn’t quite the same.
I played a lot of Company of Heroes 2 as well. It had its strengths and weaknesses, and ideally each new entry should build on the good and fix the bad. Company of Heroes 3 took steps forward but also steps back. There’s still enjoyment to be found here, and I saw a comment claiming Company of Heroes 2 didn’t hit its peak until five years after release. I don’t know if that’s true, but I cling to that hope, hope that one day games will feel like games again.
That said, it’s still missing a lot. It feels more like a product than a passion project, complete with storefronts, microtransactions, and all the modern day clutter. That saddens me because the core gameplay feels great. I bought this game hoping to relive that feeling of being a 10 year old kid, staying up late playing Skirmish until bedtime. Sadly that magic is hard to find.
I haven’t and probably never will play the campaign. Some people love it, some people hate it, but I just know in my heart it wont have the kind of impact I wish it would. World in Conflict was the last RTS I played that actually had heart. Look at games today like Call of Duty Black Ops 7, the campaign is a joke. Then go look at the World at War campaign.
Even games that built their identity on incredible campaign stories fail now. If you’re looking at this game, an RTS, for a meaningful and impactful campaign, what kind of kool aid are you drinking. I wish it wasnt this way, but I am starting to accept that gaming as I once knew it has changed, possibly forever, and I need to find peace in that which does exist still to get me through this ultimate game called life.
I bet we all wish the campaign was incredible, wish it would move us, make us ask questions, make us look at things in a different way, but not even the big names can do that anymore. You’re only going to get that from pure single player focused games now, the industry itself is dying, a hard fact no one wants to face.
I bought this game for Skirmish vs AI, and that’s what I’m reviewing. The player count is low and may stay that way. Multiplayer can be fun but it’s impossible to know how long it can survive, and something about this game nags at me like so many others, the passion is missing.
I look at other games I play and even games I dont play anymore, and most of them have higher player counts than Company of Heroes 3. This game is on life support and it’s impossible to tell when Relic will cut tail and run. If they had stayed true from the very start, the game would be in a different place.
So overall, do I recommend this game? Yes, if you can get it on sale, but temper your expectations and understand what you are getting. At full price I’d honestly be disappointed by what it could have been. But there is fun to be had, and performance wise I think it feels great compared to the older titles.
There’s so much more I could say, but I hope I’ve gotten my point across. Company of Heroes 3 is definitely lacking, and I accept it may never be more than what it is, but for now it’s enough to scratch that itch, however small, until the hope I cling to one day becomes reality and a new game releases with the passion that lights a fire in my heart.
Until then, I wish anyone reading this the best and hope you can make an informed decision about whether or not to purchase this game. If I could go back, I’d buy just the base game. God Bless.
Edit: Removed the dashes because people whine, game is fun, not as good as it could be - good enough to recommend though.

Idk why everyone doesn't like COH3.... So far im enjoying it. BUT. there is a few things I do not like...For example:
CONS:
I Mainly played as the U.S. forces in COH2, so i was massively disappointed that you dont have combat engineers jump out of your tank (or really playing any faction not just U.S.) and are able too make repairs right out there on the field....Now you need engineers hanging around all the time so there is that... And the way they made how you traverse Italy (first campaign...at least thats what I chose first.) It has this weird RISK like battle that you bombard and attack etc, and some of the cities have skirmishes where you can fight. And IDK what happens if you lose a city and come back too capture it if you play the whole mission over or what.... Everything is changed... Everything... so it is a bit confusing.. When you requisition more Units they come from the ships at sea and have too be shipped in which tank a few turns especially if you are kinda far away the battalion needs 3-4 turns and if you needed them ASAP then most likely you lose...The DLCS shouldve been free. hopefully no one paid full price and waited until it was $15 on sale, I did that and was glad I only spent that much cuz like Ive said...DLCS shouldve been included already.
Pros:
They got rid of that "your squad only has "x" amount of requistion until the whole platoon is wiped out and can no longer play as them." You can use both U.S. and British forces as separate units so there is a diversity of ways too play with there own unique fighting and tactics and weapons. The graphics was always one of my favs in this franchise so I can Zoom in and almost read the decals and medals on officers shirts and seeing Ze Germanz blow up its hilarious. Same gameplay with new units and weapons and can still pick up enemies panzerschreck, flame thrower and a light machine gun etc. so pretty much your whole 5-6 man squad basically has one of the above mentioned. Game mechanics are better, hard too explain you would need too watch a gameplay vid too really understand what I mean.
and on and on. sorry for writing a book im 2 years late so Im sure no one will read this but hey. there is my two cents. Ciao

,,!,,,__________(0;0)

-FIN

I held off a long time on COH3 because of all the bad reviews and just played COH2, but it came on discount sale so I thought lets give it ago and after a slight leaning curve am really liking it and have not played COH2 since. A lot of bad reviews are about all the extra costs for DLC's etc but i have not spent a cent more than the discount price and have had many enjoyable hours for about the price of a movie ticket when the game was discounted. If i would of known how much i liked game i would of actually paid full price because at this stage i do think its worth it. ENJOY

I'm going to start out that most people love to say they hate this game and continue play it for hundreds of hours more. This is strictly a multiplayer review.
Company of Heroes 3 is a beautifully engineered psychological experiment disguised as a strategy game.
1-4 strangers per team.
Multiple different time zones.
Zero communication skills.
All united by one shared goal: making the worst possible tactical decisions at the exact same time.
For 15–60 minutes, you and your temporary war council of sleep-deprived generals will attempt to coordinate flanks, manage resources, and hold territory — while simultaneously questioning your life choices and the concept of teamwork itself.
You will learn patience.
You will learn rage.
You will learn insults in at least four languages you didn’t previously know.
You will blame your teammates.
You will blame balance patches.
You will blame pathfinding.
You will blame your mouse.
You will blame the alignment of the planets.
Every match starts as “we got this” and ends as either:
A 400 IQ masterpiece of coordinated destruction, or
A historical reenactment of a disaster nobody will speak about again.
Every win makes you feel like a tactical genius personally trained by ancient war gods.
Every loss was absolutely, unquestionably, scientifically not your fault.
Is it balanced? Debatable.
Is it polished? Sometimes.
Is it emotionally stable? Absolutely not.
But win or lose Company of Heroes 3 delivers a 10/10 multiplayer experience in chaos, ego management, and international diplomacy breakdowns.
Would I recommend it? Yea but emotionally prepare yourself.

Game was worse than CoH 2.
Now its better.
Rough launch. Recovered.
CoH 2's launch was the same over CoH1. I look forward to further improvements as CoH 3 further comes into its own. Keep up the good work team.

Been playing CoH3 for a while now, and honestly, it’s a solid RTS. The graphics look great — explosions, terrain damage, and unit details are all top-notch. The gameplay mechanics are smooth, and there’s a lot of tactical depth with positioning, flanking, and cover play.
Balance isn’t perfect right now, but you can tell the devs are working on it and improving things with each patch. Overall, it’s a fun, good-looking game that’s only getting better over time.

1000% improved over the ABYSMAL launch. Recommended in its current state!