Original War

Original War, developed by Altar Games and published by Bohemia Interactive, stands as a fascinating relic of early 2000s strategy game design that dared to break from the genre's conventions. Unlike many real-time strategy games of its era that relied on resource-gathering loops and expendable armies, Original War introduced an ambitious blend of tactical warfare, role-playing mechanics, and narrative-driven gameplay set in an alternate history shaped by time travel. While it’s visually dated by modern standards, its core gameplay ideas remain remarkably bold and distinctive, making it a compelling title even decades after its initial release.
The game takes place in a divergent timeline where a mysterious alien substance called Siberite (or Alaskite, depending on the faction) is discovered—one with the potential to revolutionize energy as we know it. The twist, however, is that it’s only found in present-day Siberia but is theorized to exist in abundance in prehistoric Alaska. With the help of an alien artifact called the EON, capable of enabling time travel, both the United States and Soviet Russia launch covert missions to the distant past in a race to control this powerful resource and, by extension, the future of the world. The result is a narrative that balances speculative science fiction with geopolitical tension, offering multiple perspectives through two primary campaigns—one from the American side and one from the Soviet side.
Original War's gameplay diverges sharply from traditional RTS norms. Instead of infinite unit production or replaceable troops, every character under your control is a finite and valuable asset. Soldiers, engineers, scientists, and mechanics all have unique abilities and skill trees, and the death of a skilled unit can have long-lasting consequences. This imbues every mission with a sense of tension, forcing the player to weigh each decision carefully. You can't simply throw wave after wave of troops at a problem—you must use cunning, terrain, and smart planning to overcome your challenges. The RPG elements further deepen this by allowing characters to improve over time, becoming more proficient in their roles and more vital to your success. These characters can even carry over between missions, encouraging players to keep them alive not just for tactical reasons, but for emotional ones as well.
The missions themselves are varied and often complex. Objectives range from straightforward combat operations to intricate scenarios involving escorting convoys, capturing enemy technology, or navigating hostile terrain filled with prehistoric threats. The environment itself plays an active role in the strategy, with wildlife occasionally interfering and natural obstacles influencing movement and base placement. Players must also manage resources like fuel and supplies, which aren’t gathered endlessly but are instead salvaged from the environment or recovered from the enemy. These limitations make the strategy feel grounded and force the player to think several steps ahead.
Despite its ambition, Original War does show its age, particularly in its presentation. The graphics are functional but clearly rooted in early 2000s design, with relatively simple sprite work and limited animation. The voice acting varies wildly in quality, with some performances veering into awkward or overly dramatic territory. Pathfinding issues can also be a persistent annoyance, especially in larger, more complex maps where unit micro-management becomes essential. However, these flaws are largely superficial when compared to the depth of the systems at play, and many long-time fans argue that they add to the game’s charm rather than detract from it.
One of the game’s most innovative features is how narrative and gameplay are interwoven. Dialogue choices and mission outcomes can influence the direction of the story, including character relationships and campaign branches. There are multiple endings based on the player's actions, adding replay value and reinforcing the game's emphasis on consequence. Characters may desert you, grow hostile, or make sacrifices depending on your decisions, creating a storyline that feels reactive rather than scripted. This level of narrative integration was uncommon at the time and still feels unique within the strategy genre.
Over the years, Original War has maintained a dedicated cult following, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. The game’s Steam release and ongoing community support have helped preserve its legacy, with fan patches, mods, and balance tweaks keeping it alive on modern systems. It may not have achieved mainstream success in its time, but its influence and reputation have only grown, especially among players who appreciate games that challenge the norms of their genres.
In hindsight, Original War can be seen as a game ahead of its time. Its blend of strategy, narrative, and role-playing mechanics creates a uniquely personal experience where each unit matters, every choice counts, and the stakes are more than just territory on a map. While it lacks the graphical polish and quality-of-life features of modern RTS titles, its ambitious design and richly imagined setting make it well worth revisiting. For those willing to look past its rough edges, Original War offers one of the most original and rewarding strategy experiences of its era.
Rating: 9/10

This review is only for the campaign.
As someone who grew up playing old school RTS, this hidden gem of a game made me very happy. It has a unique take where unit spamming isn't an option. Your soldiers are persistent characters with skills across 4 areas tied to building and operating your forces. If one dies, they're gone for the rest of the campaign, including any dialogue or effects they carried. This gives the game a slight micro focus, though nothing intensive. Injured units need pulling back, and a time-slow mechanic makes it manageable. The campaign also features branching decisions, some minor, some more significant.
The game originally released in 2002, but since 2005 a community group has been maintaining it, patching it and actively improving it, big thanks to them.

Important note! This is a personal, very personal and community-focused review. My verdict is of course a "YES! Recommend it". I like the game for many reasons but here I explain a bit of a more human way of why I like it, rather than what it is. Feel free to comment and make questions if you wish to know more. :D

BEFORE THE REVIEW, TL;DR:

A kind TL;DR for you beforehand: Original War is one of my favorite games, to me it's a 10/10, a memorable gem, and a place in my heart that will stay in, since the beginning. The gameplay, the characters, the plot and genre, the music, even the sound effects, the graphics of the terrains, units, the customizability, the modding. Everything. And of course, again, the modding (and multiplayer), and if that wasn't enough: The great friends I made along the way!

You have the words of someone who has played the game through the tests of time through 20+ years and counting.
That was the TL;DR, but keep reading to learn a bit more from my perspective, if you're interested. :)

Now, the full Review:

INTRO:

I've played, play, and keep playing this game since it released back in around 2002. It was the Gamespy Arcade times, where this was one if not the only way to play Original War finding lobbies in multiplayer and nice players to enjoy playing with. Now that changed into something a lot more updated and in some many aspects, integrated.

MY FIRST INTERACTIONS 1, THE GAME AS A DEMO:

The first thing I did, before playing this game in 2001-2002, was to enjoy the Demo. A lot. I got that Demo from a PC magazine named "PC Actual", a Spanish magazine. And it was the Demo for the American Campaign, I remember the only mission I'd play for hours and hours (without a way to speed-up or slow-down gameplay, unlike in the full version of the game) was the Gamma Base one. It was not precisely addicting, but more like a sandbox-hype to me: Restricted by the few technologies and things you could do in the mission, I'd still find my creative ways to play, making vehicles, researching these finite techs, defending myself from attacks from the enemy, even trying to capture one of their bases or rather, relax in my base and play my own "Tower Defense" way. Or if I wanted to, take on the challenge of perhaps, defeating the enemy with my really young age back then.
Of course, that was just the beginning... ...who would've guessed?

MY FIRST INTERACTIONS 2, THE GAME AS A FULL VANILLA GAME:

Then, of course, I got the full game. I didn't want to miss playing the Red guys, after so much time spent with the Blue ones, and especially since when I wanted to quit the demo, a nice ending screen ad of the full game would inspire me about the so many things I could do in the full game, including of course the ability to play the campaign of the Red guys!
So, yes, naturally, after playing so, sooo many times the demo, it was about time to give this Campaign a good first try. It was early night, and I was really excited to do this.

With all my excitement, I booted up the campaign, and fed my hype bit by bit, through watching the intro for this campaign, realizing things I didn't know about the plot of the game (A decision some may or may not want to take if you play the game first), as naturally the game will suggest me to play the Blue guys' campaign first. Still, it was worth it.

After a while, since I was very young, I realized that this campaign was a bit too difficult for me in the beginning, so I (of course) naturally switched to the other one, and went through all the missions one by one.

THE GAME AS A MODDING SANDBOX:

A while after, I decided to experiment with what were the little modding tools that were available, actually the only one in that time (Nowadays the game is extremely moddable), the Map Editor! They used to say "try it if you're crazy enough to use it!", and I was like "A map editor? No way!! I'm gonna play with it too!!". Let me say, that map editor was used by the makers of this game to design the missions, if I'm not mistaken, so I was getting into some serious business! I remember I used to place my units in the map editor (human units, vehicles, buildings, trees, etc.) and make my own sandboxing maps and things where I'd roleplay or simply having fun switching sides and characters and making my own mission-stories.

Back in the day, a group of modders who also got access to the map editor, or something along those lines, created something called, if I remember well, the "Datadisk", which was a group of missions that'd override the in-game campaign to bring a different experience, it was exciting although I'd have to reinstall the game to play again, haha, but you get the idea.

Of course, with time all the modding tools we see nowadays that allow us to customize the game to our liking were being developed through time by the patch-maker, known as Stucuk (pronounced Stu C UK). He started the modding community and since then, many things were improved, the game got even better, and the multiplayer and stability of the entire game improved more and more, despite its complexity.

THE GAME AS A COMMUNITY:

And of course, the multiplayer being one of the core features of the game, is awesome. With so many maps to play, a decent amount of players you can find on the Discord or other really cool communities of the game, and stability patches that made things a lot more enjoyable, the game has become super feature-rich by its community.

The people who play the game are super interesting, and I've made many friends along the way. I recommend engaging in the different community channels and trying the different many ways to interact with the people that play it, be it through there or sometimes in the multiplayer (although nowadays playing competitively in this game can be tough, it's still enjoyable).

Overall, and I know this has been a long review but, I am and will still be short on words, my advice is, given it's at least for now a relatively affordable game, especially on sale, do try it and feel free to comment back what you think, what you liked or simply reply to my review if you wish.

And most importantly, enjoy, have fun and make a lot of nice friends in the community!

After all, it's not about the War in the title, it's more about how Original the game is. Be it now, or 2,000,000 years before! :)

10/10, enjoy!

Even after all these years, I’ve never found another game quite like Original War. Its blend of RPG and RTS elements creates a strategic experience that feels both personal and intense. The story unfolds from multiple perspectives, the battlefield decisions are small enough to feel meaningful yet broad enough to stay engaging, and the asymmetrical factions constantly force you to adapt rather than rely on rote strategies. Every mission pushes you to think creatively, and the level design keeps you on edge.

But what truly sets Original War apart is how much your units matter. You don’t just manage soldiers—you come to know them, invest in them, and worry about them. Losing someone isn’t an inconvenience; it’s permanent. In most strategy games you might throw bodies at a problem without a second thought. In Original War, sometimes the optimal move is sending Cyrus and Lisa into danger, fully aware they might not make it back—and that you’ll have to live with it.

Don't pay too much attention to my playtime. I was one of the lucky people who owned this game long before Steam became popular, back when it came on CD-ROM.
Original War is a fantastic game with a unique story and gameplay. It gave me the same special feeling I got from SpellForce 1, where your companions truly matter and become an important part of the experience.
The voice acting ranges from good to excellent depending on the language version you choose. The story is unlike anything else, and I don't want to spoil it, but it's worth playing for the story alone.
The game features two main campaigns: an American campaign and a Russian campaign. With mods installed, you can even access additional content and campaigns.
The difficulty isn't overwhelming, but some of the later missions can be quite challenging and may require multiple attempts, especially if, like me, you grow attached to your squad and hate losing any of them.
There are also RPG elements. Your teammates have individual stats and can develop skills across four different specialization paths, which adds depth and makes every soldier feel valuable.
If you can pick this game up during a sale, don't hesitate. It's a unique and highly enjoyable experience that still holds up today.

Rts that has interesting story, music and art, but ruined by bad, slow and monotonous gameplay
I don't know how they managed to fail at making basic fun gameplay when this game came out in 2001/2002 and when starcraft and other great rts classics like C&C had literally released around 4 years earlier
O̶v̶e̶r̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶t̶h̶ ̶a̶ ̶t̶r̶y̶ ̶6̶/̶1̶0̶
EDIT: I think i may have been harsh in my first review. After playing the game again and actually beating the campaign this time I have a few more words to say.
Even tho i still don't like the gameplay that much, it did a good job for what it was going for. In making you take things slower with your units and being more careful with them.
I also want to talk about the difficulty this time. The game was pretty challenging on the normal difficulty that I played on, and I like it for that, because it did a really good job at immersing me in the fact the american side was vastly outnumbered and weak. I also liked all the choices you can make which is rare for rts campaign of any kind.
This time i'll rate the game a 7, maybe a 7.5/10

OH YES! Fantastic game, fantastic concept, cool story.