Real time strategy games have always struggled to find their footing on consoles, often feeling limited in comparison to the complete control a keyboard and mouse provide. However, Company of Heroes 3 minimizes this issue by emphasizing smaller teams with greater survivability, providing a unique and satisfying gameplay experience that fills a niche in the genre.

Set in the Italian and Northern African campaigns of WW2, Company of Heroes 3 operates with a lower unit cap than other RTS games, meaning you’re unable to spam units and must think tactically about which units to use and where to position them. Yes, you’ll need to build a base and capture control points, but the true focus on the game is the firefights themselves. Rather than relying on dominant methods like tank spamming in Red Alert or the Zerg Rush from Starcraft, Company of Heroes 3 takes a more methodical approach that will make players think about which platoon to use, where to position them, and what tactics to use. Players must set up traps like tank mines to defend against attacks and use different squads to deploy smoke grenades or satchel charges for explosive results. Soldiers themselves can pick up new weapons on the field like machine guns, flamethrowers, and anti-tank guns, giving players a variety of options to choose from in any given situation. Due to these elements, Company of Heroes 3 truly shines as it requires you to think like a commander in the field of battle and make smart decisions to outsmart your enemies.

The game features battles taking place in Northern Africa and the Italian campaign, which are often forgotten about in comparison to larger and more well-known theaters of war in France, Germany, and Russia. The game puts these important battles into the forefront, reminding us how pivotal they were in the overall conflict of WWII. However, the game does falter when it switches to a macro-style RTS format in a way similar to Civilization. While it’s understandable that the game wants to emphasize commanding larger groups on a larger scale, it can cause the gameplay to slow down significantly and lose players’ interest. Ultimately, Company of Heroes 3 delivers a unique gameplay experience for RTS fans and history aficionados alike, combining elements from both grand strategy and tactical games to create something unique and worth playing.