Iron Harvest

You have a first world war setting (somewhat, it's 1920) and giant mechs to destroy everything with. Do you need anything else?

A game made to satisfy its audience, something it has done pretty well. The narrative is entertaining and engaging, and could possibly be expanded further. The gameplay in a similar fashion, is just perfect as it is. Including more things, mechanics and features would have made the game too complex, but if they can balance future improvements and continue to maintain dynamism, they can achieve a game that attracts a large audience, and could even be attractive to see in competitions.

Overall, Iron Harvest 1920 is a solid title to buy and play. It is available on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 right now for $49.99 USD. It gives you the story of a role-playing game with the fun factor of a AAA RTS title. Once you get past the length of the first few missions and into the meat of the story you will see just how big it can get.

Iron Harvest is one of the few RTS titles to take after Company of Heroes, and it does so in a unique way. Maybe some of it is due to budgetary constraints, or maybe those were conscious decisions to get the right gameplay that the developers wanted. Either way, the game is fun and good in a way the forsaken sequel to Company of Heroes never was.

King Art Games display a versatile knack for resuscitating comatose genres, first with Book of Unwritten Tales (point-and-click adventures) and now with Iron Harvest (Real-Time Strategy). Despite a few details which need, ironing out, Iron Harvest will provide you countless of hours of much-needed RTS goodness. The support roadmap can only inspire confidence that most excellent things are yet to come for the game.

For advanced players, it may be more of the same with a different paint job, but as someone who has had less engagement with RTS titles as a whole, Iron Harvest has been a really solid introduction for me. With a unique well-researched universe and context, and interesting combat mechanics, I look forward to diving further into multiplayer and to seeing more of the 1920+ universe down the road.

For a first foray into the RTS genre, Iron Harvest 1920+ is a very good proof of competence. It’s not perfect; while it’s rich in singleplayer content, six maps is too little of a pool for multiplayer, and the gameplay could use some refinement. But it’s a solid start, and the potential for greater things is definitely there.

Iron Harvest's mech-based strategy can burn a little slow, but the payoff is undoubtedly worth it.

It’s a solid, very pretty and well-balanced RTS in the vein of Company of Heroes and Dawn of War II. Its most important quality though is that it managed to retain the atmosphere and allure of the unique dieselpunk 1920+ universe it’s set in. [11/2020, p.74]

Overall, I loved my time that I spent with Iron Harvest and I can’t wait to convince some friends to get it too so we can have some skirmish battles.

Genuine setting, story and gameplay mechanics make a great mixture. Pour in some more diesel for you hungry machines and there you go - strategic game worth playing not just for hardcore genre fans. [Issue#306]

Do I think Iron Harvest has the makings of legends? Not exactly. But I do think it offers a unique enough flavor for anyone looking to sate their RTS appetite will find a good offering here. You won’t see it headlining any major esports events, but not every game needs to be the next big thing to be worth it. Sometimes just being different and relatively well made makes it worth checking out.

Iron Harvest shines the brightest when it focuses on its imaginative alternative history milieu, incredibly well-designed robots, and even its story, which is much more engaging than simply being a premise to get the mechs on the battlefield. One could complain that it doesn’t go far enough in changing the mechanics of the genre, but it isn’t like gamers are inundated with Company of Heroes-like titles. Expansive and worth looking at for its setting and robots alone, Iron Harvest is, if not an instant classic, a welcome reminder of just how fun small-scale RTS games can be.

By borrowing solid mechanics from the best of the genre, Iron Harvest has the makings of a pretty good RTS. What pushes it across the finish line is a well-realized setting, a wonderful aesthetic, and a solid grounding in what sort of story it wants to tell. I personally wish it could have had more fun with the world, but that’s just me. If you want crazy cool mechs and partisan soldiers with bear companions to be played totally seriously, you’ll love Iron Harvest. And if you want an RTS that’s a little bit different well, that’ll work out for you too.

If you love RTS games (and can stand a few movement/AI issues) then this is a great looking, interesting take on the genre. I still love the paintings that inspired the game and the idea of being able to “live in their world” for a while is pretty appealing in and of itself.

A solid, fascinating and well thought RTS. Iron Harvest has a good and thrilling plot, the ambition to become an eSport and an original concept behind all the skirmishes. The art of Jakub Różalski fits perfectly with this genre. The gameplay is too classic, but very balanced.

Iron Harvest 1920+ is an amazing, fun and fast-paced game. His direct action, betting on what is strictly necessary and setting his sights on satisfying the player is his greatest success. Hours fly by building and managing his precious war machines. It only remains to see how the game works in the competitive scene, but its background, and KING Art Games' approach to continue providing it with content, are good starting points. I've had a great time playing this unexpected surprise. The hours have flown by and I still want more. If you like the genre, Iron Harvest is a must-have title.

Although I prefer more responsiveness, quicker movement, and greater control than the new RTS has to offer – Iron Harvest strongly delivers in its own way. It’s an absolute must-buy for fans of Company of Heroes or steam-punk aesthetic lovers. Even if you’re just a moderate fan of RTS games, Iron Harvest is a tough experience to pass up.

Iron Harvest doesn’t feel like an RTS for seasoned players of the genre. Much like its mechs, some parts of it feel clunky. But past its rusted exterior, inside Iron Harvest is a fun and entertaining time sink. It’s one of the few titles I’ve played this year where I can totally get lost in a match. Just start it up and poof, suddenly an hour is gone. You get so wrapped up in your strategies, enemies attacking your resources, your units, that even with a real-time clock in the top right I found myself up in the early morning playing at points. While it won’t provide the blistering fast gameplay of other time-honored RTS titles, Iron Harvest is still worth your time if you’re looking for a more-than-solid experience.

Iron Harvest leverages its unique setting and strong design into an impressive and memorable RTS.

Iron Harvest could be best described as Company of Heroes with Mechs. That's high enough praise in itself and Iron Harvest lives up to it. Featuring great RTS combat across an extensive and engaging, campaign, skirmish levels, challenges, and multiplayer, you'll have a lot to bite into and enjoy. It's well balanced and at a pace which rewards tactical thinking over simple fast gameplay. There are a few slight issues, aesthetically it does feel like more could have been done, but it's still a decent enough looking game. There are also a few very minor bugs here and there, but nothing that can mar your enjoyment. Iron Harvest is a game I heartily recommend for strategy fans, particularly those who like the Company of Heroes style gameplay.

I haven’t enjoyed an RTS game this much since Company of Heroes 2. Forget the comparisons and enjoy Iron Harvest for what it is: a squad-focused, narrative-driven, old-school real-time strategy game. If you enjoy your RTS games with a strong single-player element and a multiplayer scene that is seemingly well balanced and competitive, then there’s a lot to like here. I wish the production values were higher in both the cutscenes and the audio and voice-over elements, but if you can look past that as I did, Iron Harvest can be a lot of fun.

Iron Harvest 1920+ has its campaign and its art style carry most of the weight of the experience, and it needs some adjustments in its formula to truly shine.

As promising as Iron Harvest’s setting is, the story just can’t keep up, while gameplay is a straight copy/paste from Company of Heroes 2. [Issue#248, p.50]

Iron Harvest presents beautiful machine design and campaign experience. But how the infantries fight machines does poorly to the combat experience, and it really needs to fix AI problems.

Iron Harvest is a good game. KING Art Games did a good job responding to the demand of the players who clearly enjoy these types of games, but with all the ideas they proposed, they could have done something really new. It has a lot of single player content and a good AI both in the campaign and in quick games.

Iron Harvest doesn’t reinvent the wheel — it doesn’t have to. Instead, the game is a celebration of the sub-genre’s tried-and-true design. It is a student of the greats that came before it, taking and presenting that core gameplay experience in a way that is familiar, but also exceptionally engaging.

Iron Harvest is quite a nice RTS (which is a rare thing ATM), and even if we can find a few hiccups with the AI and more specifically it's pathfinding, we can expect some updates to correct all of this. Seven years after the last Company of Heroes, it's great to see some new faces.

After a long period of waiting finally a good RTS arrives. While the scenario is great and the campaign is exemplary, the tactical complexity, AI and base building leave room for improvement.

Iron Harvest is a classical RTS game, very inspired by Company of Heroes. It is not a revolutionary game, but the 1920+ universe adds a unique flavour.

It is worth to give Iron Harvest a chance, at the very least for a great story campaign, unconventional setting and a childlike wonder of seeing mecha-teapots fight themselves to the death.

A pretty decent start to Iron Harvest's RTS journey. Lacking some much needed additional content and the campaign could be better, but there's a solid foundation here.

Iron Harvest unfortunately cannot quite replicate the amazing combat system of its greatest inspiration, the legendary Company of Heroes. But if you like your strategies in real time, you’ll surely enjoy this glorious butchery of crazy armored mechs.

Iron Harvest delivers some fun tactical gameplay, some gorgeous visuals, and some real disappointment.

While the game is certainly not perfect, for the developers’ second attempt at an RTS, Iron Harvest has a lot of potential. Once the multiplayer, competitive, and co-op features are added, Iron Harvest is sure to become a staple of the RTS genre.

Iron Harvest offers a strong, story-driven campaign split into three interwoven parts. However, its core RTS mechanics leave something to be desired, and some common RTS features are lacking or missing.

While Iron Harvest is a fun game, it still has some kinks to work out. For those on the fence, wait for a few patches before checking it out.

Iron Harvest presents a fascinating alternate reality of which I’d like to see more. The war is intense, the maps are rather pretty, and the units are an escalating maelstrom of steel and steam from which delightfully concepted war machines come into play. The battles are intense and the deployment of armaments can make one feel giddy in the rush of it as bullets and shells fly and explode. That said, some unfortunate aspects distract from the experience. The game’s increasing technology tree makes cover-based tactics a questionable proposition, the slowness can make downtime between events seem just a bit too long, and multiplayer is a bit too limited. The game is not horribly marred by these drawbacks, but best bear Wojtek can only carry the spirit of Polania so far with the baggage weighing him down.

Iron Harvest isn’t perfect, but it is an engaging journey into a new world that’s fun to explore. The factions are crazy and their units even crazier, yet the threat of death still feels very real. It’s a shame some of the functionalities of playing let the game down, and its lack of tactical options do hold it back. However, I still found myself having a great time; its mechanics aren’t perfect, but its world is a joy to get lost in.

What we’re presented with throughout the campaign and as a whole though is as they say, rough around the edges. A scrappy mech with inconsistent and sometimes unpredictable movement. Perhaps the machine of choice for a squad of Polanian fighters looking to take back a village or two from the overwhelming size of the Rusviet army but not something you’d want for a full-scale invasion.

A long time ago, when RTS games reached their peak in popularity, this game wouldn't receive this much attention. But now, Iron Harvest has a chance to become one of the best strategies in years despite copying ideas without providing anything new. Well, maybe the setting is original, but it hasn't reached its potential either.

Iron Harvest is currently only an expensive early access version. The purchase must be made with the awareness that the single player campaign is the main game mode and that we will have to wait several months for a more refined and rewarding multiplayer experience.

While not quite hitting the heights of Company of Heroes or World in Conflict, Iron Harvest is one of the best RTS games to come out within the past few years, largely indebted to Jakub Rozalski's art and the lore already built upon by Scythe. Fans of the genre who are tired of replaying the classics should definitely consider stepping into the WWI-style mechs of Iron Harvest, though consumers who aren't already interested in RTS titles won't find any compelling reason to dive in to this one, either.

Iron Harvest’s incredible presentation and scrappy, dynamic battles can’t always save it from uneven mechanical depth and arbitrary-feeling limitations. A celebration of the some classic RTS, but not an evolution of it.

The strengths of Iron Harvest are its style and its imagery.

As found in many good RTS games, the potential for mastery of Iron Harvest's mechanics is immense, but it can also be plenty of fun to turn down the difficulty, crank up the starting resources, and watch the big robots fight. Against a high-difficulty AI with a wide array of units, players will need to be clever, quick, and good at micro-managing units, taking advantage of cover and unique abilities to turn the tide. For RTS or other strategy fans, the game is definitely worth checking out, but those who find themselves primarily interested in the setting and not the focused gameplay may want to wait for a sale.

With one foot in classical RTS storytelling and the other in squad-based tactical strategy, Iron Harvest offers a take on the genre that doesn’t quite live up to Jakub Różalski’s evocative artwork. While the developers have already laid out a roadmap of updates that could potentially tighten up many issues with unit behavior and balance, the opportunity for a better future may already have passed.

An enjoyable real-time strategy game held back by a lack of polish and content.

Iron Harvest has a unique setting with some original ideas, and borrows heavily from another RTS series. But rather than improve on those elements, it oversimplifies them, and lacks the content to justify its full asking price.

Iron Harvest seemed like a promising game, even to someone not really into RTS titles like myself. In some aspects, it does deliver. The story is surprisingly good, the design and usage of the mech units is top notch, and I personally appreciate the streamlining of base and resource management (the bane of my existence in most RTS games) to focus on combat. The act of performing combat and moving troops around, though – the core of the game – is weirdly uneven. Moving units is awkward, and the pathing issues the units have make what should be simple skirmishes often risky and sometimes infuriating. KING Art did state that they plan to watch for community feedback and continue updating the game. Perhaps all of the above issues will be fixed. However, as the game is right now at launch, Iron Harvest is rough. Promising, but rough.

Iron Harvest is a typical KING Art production, intriguing and appealing at first, but having spent some time with it, you notice the shoddy workmanship and a heap of technical problems.