Tank Squad

This is a story about how not to release a game.
It's also a story about a financier and publisher (PlayWay) who ended their partnership literally overnight, demanding that the developers reimburse them for said funding. A story about a small team of five developers from Poland working with minimal funding and a strict budget decided to stick with their game instead of abandoning it, something that has become all to common these days.
I picked up Tank Squad when it initially launched in early May and refunded it in under 45 minutes, as did many others, that alone should speak volumes. The dev's were very open and frank about the state of the game and the issues the title was facing upon release, but I took a chance on it. Albeit it a 45 minute one. Broken and buggy doesn't begin to describe Tank Squad when in dropped in May. Given the games complexity it featured a highly necessary tutorial that was difficult if not impossible to follow and or complete, buggy vehicle physics, broken enemy and AI pathfinding, buggy infantry support options and command, bug riddled anims, you name a system or component and it had problems or room for a great deal of improvement.
To say that Tank Squad was rough was putting it lightly.
I repurchased Tank Squad in mid-November after seeing the updates and positive player feedback. I haven't been disappointed, whatsoever. The dev's have fixed countless bugs and released dozens of QoL patches since launch. They've added new features, new vehicles, continued to refine a highly accurate penetration and spall model, and are in the process of creating a dynamic campaign that will completely change how you play TS with regards to the tactical and strategic decision making processes. The dev's have consistently listened to feedback from the player-base, implementing requested features and fixes, continued to improve the GUI and game-play components, and are actively engaged with the community on every level. If you have a question, observation or complaint, no matter what it might be, they'll listen to and address it.
While it is true that the game has a ways to go before they get it to where they really want it to be, it is by no means in the state it was at launch. And moreover, it's actually fun and engaging.
The Good Stuff:
• Great overall sound design.
• Engaging and difficult linear campaign.
• Ability to call in IDF and fixed-wing CAS.
• Excellent penetration/spall ballistics model.
• Battalion level logistical management systems.
• Large variety of camo patterns and numbering schemes.
• Great combined-arms representation between dismounted infantry and armor.
• Highly customizable between simulation and a more streamlined experience. (user pref)
• Great representation of platoon level operations for a German heavy tank battalion. (S.Panzer-Abteilung).
The Needs Work Stuff:
• Still some jank and bugs here and there.
• Battalion/Company management (Squad) GUI is unintuitive.
• User camo patterns rarely matchup between hull/turret/skirts etc.
• Skybox needs to be redone from the ground up, IMHO. It's jarring.
• Foliage models need an upgrade from their current destruction systems.
• Friendly and enemy pathfinding while greatly improved can still lead to AFV's getting stuck.
• AI sees through most foliage though this is a priority for the team. (temp fix by disabling grass in settings)
• Some models are distinctly low-poly with low-res/blurry textures, model clipping issues, and LoD pop. Upscaling fixes this but it should be a go-to for the devs.
• The RKKA gunner AI can be overly spot-on which is historically speaking, inaccurate. Most Soviet crews/replacements were lucky to receive three hours (41-45) of familiarization before being thrown into combat. (ref. I. Konev's Year of Victory, Pritt Buttar's Meat Grinder/Rzhev & Battleground Prussia)
Conclusion:
They continue to fix bugs, redesign systems, add vehicles, and expand the game well beyond its initial scope. To say that the developers are passionate about their game and the community they've cultivated would be an understatement. DeGenerals could've easily moved on from the game but they didn't, which I think is a testament to who they are and the dedication they exhibit, especially in this modern development climate.
If you're a track-head and are looking for a WWII tank sim who is willing to put up with some jank here and there, an expanding development cycle, then this is probably the game for you.
Review System:
• R7 9800X3D OC'd
• ROG Strix B850F
• 64GB RAM 6000MT's
• Sapphire Pure 9070XT OC'd
• Samsung 990Pro w/HS
• Antec Flux Pro

A (careful) thumbs up from me.
This game is a little bit of a rough diamond. The framework is all there. You can command single tanks, either as a "one man crew" like in War Thunder or World of Tanks, or with friends in Co-Op. If you did play one of the aformentioned games, you will notice a pretty similar gameplay with some simulation aspect. You can command Fire Support, Infantry etc. Right now, all these are still a bit rough to use, since there are a lot of menus in menus. Clicking through them and learning where the ones you need are will take a bit of patience. But the battles feel alive, you got clear goals, missions (especially the campaign missions) are quite a undertaking with several missions, fights against tanks and infantry and AT-Weapons. Right now, it feels a bit like the AI can easily spot you through grass (i.E. longer grass on a hilltop you try to use as hull down) but its nothing gamebreaking.
Next thing is is management aspect. In your base camp, you can repair vehicles, refuel and rearm then, buy new vehicles and infantry support, convert or scavange/sell friendly and enemy damaged/destroyed vehicles you can capture after battle. This is fun, but if you prefer not to involve yourself in that you can either automate it (costs a bit of ressources) or even play all Missions in Single Missions mode. Which I think is a great thing for those who just want to go in and shoot some tanks up.
The developers are quite active on the bug front, you get a quick reply if you find one. You can also use a bug tracker. The one bug that made me not play was fixed the next day.
Content Wise, it was promised to be one Campaign, which they released. I therefore dont understand people who complain "only one campaign". I am sure they will release more in the future, after having this game fixed enough.
They had a demo released for quite some time, but my guess is that either the release brought in more bugs or that most people just played the game and not reported issues. So its hard to blame them for not having a bug free release.
Anyways, if you like the settings, I can recommend you buy. Its not bank breaking. If you are on the fence, keep an eye out for future updates, just dont dismiss this game quite yet.

It's clear the developers are working HARD on fixes, improvements, and content expansion, in that proper order too. I've played two sessions two weeks apart divided by one major update and it was as if every major issue I noticed while playing the first time- every problem I had that I could not figure out quickly on my own, was at least approached in the update. The complexity scale of a project like this and the kind of criticism it invites is such that...well there is a reason why no AAA publisher has even come close to touching it, isn't there? I'd like to see them focus on the enemy spawning in the near future and limit slow moving enemies at least by line of sight, like we saw with some of the mods made for Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries. So that anti-tank guns can't spawn on your flank 50 meters away in a field that you just drove through, for example. That's a bit hokey. Urban or wooden environment? All bets are off if there was a broken line of sight. Pop up guns in an open field? Maybe oooooonce in awhile.....but I digress
If you ever wanted to be responsible for your own company+ TOE, THIS GAME IS FOR YOU. Here is your note pad, go. If you ever wanted to walk the field of a WWII battle and examine every tank to see what happened to it- where every penetrating hit occurred, what happened to every crewman, get a precise aggregated value of how much fuel and ammo and generalized scrap value was left on them afterward- leaving you to agonize which ones your overworked recovery teams should grab in the limited time they had to grab them, then THIS GAME IS FOR YOU.
When you are out hunting in the next battle, you might soon find yourself calling it, "going shopping," like I do.

FACT: Game probably should have been listed as "early access" due to the unfinished state and bugs.
FACT: Game is certainly playable and enjoyable even with the problems.
FACT: Devs appear to be working very hard to fix the game issues and add more content.
FACT: Game is a "diamond in the rough" that has lots of potential, but unless we support it by purchasing and playing now, Tank Squad may never become the game we all want to see in the future. BUY THIS GAME!

Tank Squad is a World War II tank simulator that prioritizes crew-level authenticity over arcade spectacle. Rather than treating a tank as a single controllable vehicle, the game models it as a coordinated system of specialized roles—commander, gunner, loader, driver, and machine gunner—each with discrete mechanical responsibilities. The result is a simulation-first design that rewards procedural discipline, communication, and tactical awareness.

It sits somewhere between hardcore mil-sim and accessible co-op action, but leans decisively toward the former.

The simulation depth includes armor penetration modeling, module damage, crew injuries, fire suppression, and internal component failure. Engagements are slow, deliberate, and often lethal within a single well-placed shot.

The compartmentalization of duties is the game’s defining strength. It effectively models intra-vehicle friction—slow reloads, limited visibility, coordination delays—creating emergent tension.

The title is clearly optimized for multiplayer crews. With disciplined communication, it becomes a highly engaging cooperative experience. The procedural realism enhances immersion significantly when played with a consistent group.

Performance is generally stable on mid-tier hardware. Load times and occasional physics irregularities can occur, but nothing structurally destabilizing. Network stability in co-op is acceptable, though dependent on host quality.

Tank Squad succeeds in modeling the internal experience of operating a WWII tank crew under pressure. Its greatest strength—mechanical authenticity—is also its main barrier to entry. Content breadth and AI sophistication limit long-term solo appeal, but as a cooperative tactical simulator, it delivers a focused and credible experience.

7.5/10
DISASTER | BAD | MEDIOCRE | OKAY | GOOD | GREAT |AMAZING| MASTERPIECE

Reviewed on: Win11 Home 64-bit, Intel i5-11600K, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB PRIME, 32GB DDR4-3600 RAM, 2 x Kingston NV1 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD, Internet Broadband 1000/1000 Mbit


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After 17 hours I can say that despite the bugs this game has all the cards to become great, especially considering that the dev team is working on the game and releasing updates to add content and fix bugs and they are also communicating with the players.
Just let them cook guys.

Bought the game in late August, and couldn't get into it, regardless of how much I wanted to... Consequently Uninstalled the game to try "that one game from the competitors" and found that was a complete mess on release, so somewhat frustrated by that experience decided to give Tank Squad another go which, unbeknownst to me, had been updated to 1.1.3, and by golly gee whiz: major improvements! Apart from some quirks and bugs, it became a really, really fun experience!
If they get the AI to be more keen on self preservation and target painting, its well underway to become a 5/5 experience, and props to the devs for their constant work on the game.