Commandos: Origins

Claymore Game Studios realized what made the original Commandos games so great, retained the heart and soul, and sanded off all the prickly edges. Commandos: Origins is a love letter to the originals in everything it does. The mechanic-heavy sandbox gameplay, the unique cast of commandos, the gorgeous environments, and the level design, all of it coalesces into an experience that is contemplative and intense. It’s a brilliant and challenging strategy game. And doesn’t it feel damn good to punch Nazis?

Mistakes on established systems and minor oversights significantly reduce the experience of a decent effort.

A revival in style for the Commandos series. The game is meticulous, with open-ended missions where your creativity will be put to the test to achieve your goal. A must-have for fans of the series and new players alike.

Lots of light, little shadow! The new Commandos adventures are every bit as good as the old games and, naturally, even better than they were back then in technical terms. The test version was already in perfect condition, with no crashes or stuttering whatsoever. However, Claymore Games must be criticized for not breaking any new ground in terms of innovation and relying entirely on the old warhorses who liked the gameplay back in 1998 and have no desire for major changes. Because there's nothing really new here. So if you like the gameplay and first got to know it through a game like Shadow Tactics, then we highly recommend taking a trip to the mother of the sub-genre. However, if you were actually expecting something new in the realm of real-time tactics, you might be slightly disappointed. The origins are also reflected in the game design – this is a return to the roots, not a move towards new branches.

Commandos: Origins strikes a great balance between the classic stealth tactics games and modern streamlined ideas, creating tons of potential for finding creative solutions to problems like “too many living fascists.” Pruning out elements like inventory management may not be to every older fan’s tastes, but that’s focused a spotlight on strict stealth – and it’s here Origins shines. Sneaking through its massive maps, each of which are swarming with hundreds of enemies, takes hours and hours of patient planning and careful clicking. I regularly gleaned a ton of pleasure from executing a perfect coordinated strike and fading away into the background, with the remaining Nazis none the wiser. No plan survives contact with this many bugs, but quick-loading will get you past nearly any issue and this otherwise might be the sneakiest fun you can have going commando with your underwear on.

Commandos: Origins is a great game in a genre that sorely needs one. With a difficulty that'll challenge even the most tactical minds, combined with refreshing visuals and characters that are fun to play, what you get is a satisfying,, rewarding experience that has you reloading save after save, believing the next strategy you try will be the winning one. The difficulty may cause the odd frustration here and there, and you may wish for a bit more besides a satisfying gameplay loop, but overall this is a win for the fans of RTS games out there.

Commandos: Origins brings the strength and weaknesses of the original-series to the table. While it suffers from a lack of user-guidance and certain inconsistencies, it also gives players a lot of freedom and creates some really satisfying moments.

Commandos Origins is, without a doubt, a love letter to the franchise, with familiar sensations and a modern touch. Even so, its ruthless design and some technical flaws make it hard to recommend to the general audience. If you are a hardcore stealth gamer, you should definitively check it out.

Commandos: Origins is a good reboot for the stealth RTS series, but lacks courage.

As an Real-time tactics title, Commandos: Origins stands out as a solid entry in the genre. It carries over key elements from the original series while blending in modern mechanics and stylistic choices reminiscent of Shadow Tactics. The generous number of missions offers plenty of content, inviting players to revisit and refine their strategies. That said, persistent bugs and technical hiccups remain noticeable issues and they might just become the unpredictable factors on your road to victory.