First of all, I would like to say that I have really enjoyed this game and thank the developers for their effort and for making such game available. Some of the things I’ve really enjoyed about it so far, which are good directions for the game development to stay on, are:
- The fact that it has historically accurate factions and weapons
Really, this is the main thing. In other games there are hardly things like “guns of the soviets, guns of the germans” (and equipment), usually people can just join a side, but pick any weapons they want. They also usually can, from the beggining, start with things like semi-auto rifles… and a pistol… and two grenade types & so forth - even rare experimental and prototype weapons are usually widely available (like japanese smgs, stg44s in Stalingrad, etc.).
I really like how soldiers are equiped in this game and how you actually have to give them grenades, other equipment & such (historically, the average infantry soldier in ww2 didn’t carry a pistol alongside a rifle, only officers did, in general), this is something very nice to see in this game that you don’t see in others.
I really enjoyed seeing bolt-action fights properly designed in-game, and how everyone would start and actually eventually fight with one - people actually using the main infantry weapons of world war 2, which is rarely the case in other games, that is just so satisfying. The fact that at the beggining you start with weapons such as the mosin carbine version, the gewehr 33 and the springfield, and really have to get access to the mainstay weapons like the k98 and m1 garand, is also very pleasing. The availability of military surplus & weapons from allied countries also really enrich the game - using the Lee Enfield as Americans and the Mannlicher or the Breda as Germans is also really interesting.
Another thing that really pleased me, and really sold the game for me, were the realistic reloads - the magazines being properly represented, the bullet per bullet reload in rifles with stripper clips only when they were empty. This was a personal favorite to see. Also, some guns feel really smooth when shooting the MP40, the M1 Garand… just awesome (some guns feel really awful though, like the G43 and the Breda, but the variety is good).
- The fact the game isn’t dumbed down
I really enjoyed the constant artillery strikes and other bombardments (even if they kill you a lot, as it was historically the case), the fact that it is difficult to actually attack an enemy position head-on, which, along with the artillery strikes (and the well-designed game-objectives), makes you have to plan your moves and play tactically rather than mindlessly rushing around to get kills. I was very pleased with the battle formats such as Invasion and Assault and the fact that the maps allow for static defenses (unlike other games which make stupid maps where you always have to rush and move around because there is never proper cover/defensive positions and enemies can just creep in at your back anytime). I really didn’t appreciate the massive nerf on artillery in the last patch, though, as it made mindless rushing easier.
- The game has a learning curve and many levels to unlock
It took me until I was like, level 6, for me to have an actual clue of what was actually going on. Watched some videos on the game, learned how to actually set-up your soldiers and squads, what weapons were available, all the commands and keys and how to properly behave in game. This is actually very good as it gives the game depth - it takes you longer to learn and get good, and so it takes you longer to get bored with the game, as you’re still constantly learning. The fact there are so many levels, so many cool weapons to unlock, really motivates you to play further and to try to win the matches for that extra experience. Just an awesome feeling.
I actually only played Lone Fighters in Moscow (because, I reasoned, why play with bots?) until I tried squads and found out it was also really fun. I will also add that I really had no problem finding matches on LF (always less than 1 min queue) and had a great time playing it (I hope it gets further developed, with statistics showing your kill/death ration so you can brag about it to your friends :p).
- How smoothly the game runs
My computer doesn’t run most other shooter games, but this one runs perfectly in my computer. I haven’t had a single crash or significant bug while playing it - and this is an open beta of a free game, which really puts several gaming companies to shame. Very impressive. The game runs so well that, as a South American, I’m able to play in North American servers with ~160 ping and I barely even feel it. In others games that ping would probably have been a dealbreaker.
I had not played a multiplayer shooting game in over a decade, because the releases were shitty and dumbed down & historically innacurate (run&gun bs). Finding this game was a really nice surprise (I was looking for new games), because it is what one would expect from a game in 2021. I’m somewhat of a pirate myself, but, really, this game is so good and gave me such a good time that, if a few tweaks are made (such as adding better chat/player interaction, statistics & reverting some of the nerfs to make artillery minimally playable again), I might actually purchase something to help with the development (not that I need to for gameplay reasons, I don’t think the game in its current state is a "pay-to-win, and it shouldn’t be)
Anyway just my 2 cents (actually free, I love this game man :D)
