Classified: France '44

73%
Game Brain Score Based on 629 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Classified: France '44 Game Cover
Classified: France '44 is an authentic and thrilling turn-based strategy where every decision can come undone with the slightest mistake.
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"Classified: France '44" is a first-person shooter game set in World War II France. The Overlord Edition includes the base game, Season Pass for 2024 DLCs, and additional content such as Special Ops missions, weapons, and clothing sets. The Deluxe Edition contains the base game and the Guerrilla Pack, which includes a new map, Special Ops missions, weapon variants, and a clothing set.

  • PC
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

73%
Audience ScoreBased on 629 reviews
story78 positive mentions
replayability10 negative mentions
  • Engaging turn-based tactical gameplay with a unique morale system that adds depth to combat.
  • Well-crafted historical context and character development, making the narrative immersive and interesting.
  • Variety in mission types (Ambush, Assault, Stealth) and the ability to recruit diverse characters enhances replayability.
  • Significant balance issues, with enemies often feeling overpowered and the RNG mechanics leading to frustrating misses.
  • Limited character customization and a fixed roster of characters reduce replayability and personal investment.
  • Slow pacing during turns and clunky UI can detract from the overall experience, making gameplay feel tedious at times.
  • story537 mentions

    The game's story is centered around the French resistance during World War II, featuring engaging character interactions and historical context that enrich the missions. However, many players find the narrative lacking depth and character-driven elements, with some missions feeling repetitive and unbalanced, leading to frustration. While the overarching plot is appreciated, the execution and mission design often detract from the overall storytelling experience.

    • “The story delves into facets of the French resistance, and conversations between the characters between missions give you insight into their motivations.”
    • “The story was well-crafted, and the characters were interesting and charming.”
    • “Every mission feels like an episode of Band of Brothers, and after every mission, you'll get a little historical context, with an artistic vignette that tells you what was happening outside the bubble of your little resistance as we march toward D-Day.”
    • “The story is not worth mentioning.”
    • “The lack of dynamic random missions, coupled with the locked in objectives and mission routes meant I could cherry pick the missions to suit my squad and know what I was going in to each mission, as well as being able to specifically remember certain maps and enemy wave spawns, etc. kills all challenge in playthrough #2.”
    • “The story is alright, but not really enough for me personally to distinguish itself enough from the competition and make me stick to finishing the game.”
  • gameplay233 mentions

    The gameplay of this title has received mixed reviews, with some praising its strategic depth and innovative morale mechanics, while others criticize its clunky stealth system and forced mechanics that detract from the overall experience. Many players find the turn-based combat reminiscent of XCOM, but feel that the game lacks the polish and engaging narrative elements that would elevate it further. Overall, while there are enjoyable aspects, such as the variety in gameplay and historical attention to detail, the execution of certain mechanics leaves much to be desired, leading to a frustrating experience for some players.

    • “Engrossing gameplay with a lot of variety in how to approach missions.”
    • “The gameplay and morale system are great.”
    • “It takes the XCOM tactical gameplay systems and concepts, builds on them to make more expanded and enjoyable gameplay, and puts them into an engaging WWII lead-up to D-Day historical setting.”
    • “What could have been a great game just turns into pure annoyance due to halfwit mechanics.”
    • “The stealth gameplay in particular is fairly garbage, with too many enemies that can't be stealth-killed hovering over objectives, which is particularly aggravating.”
    • “The gameplay mechanics leave much to be desired, often feeling unfinished and unrefined.”
  • graphics61 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the detailed environments and overall aesthetic, while others criticize the character models and awkward animations. Many players note that while the visuals are decent for the price, they lack the polish of AAA titles, and there are calls for improvements in player models and animations. Overall, the graphics are seen as a mixed bag, with some appreciating the art style and others finding it outdated and in need of a significant overhaul.

    • “The music is nice, the sound effects feel great, the visuals are nice, the whole aesthetic of the game is well done.”
    • “Very good turn-based WWII game, sound design and voice work excellent, graphics are detailed and locations well designed and interesting.”
    • “Graphics are sharp and good looking, and it runs smoothly except for some minor lag on certain enemy turn moves.”
    • “The graphics are okay, but the models are very ugly and the animations... noises/sounds, e.g. from firearms, are not particularly appealing, which is bizarre, because the developers Team17 are also the makers of Hell Let Loose, which actually has pretty acceptable sounds/noises.”
    • “Player models and clothing/uniform options need a graphic overhaul to make the game a bit more aesthetically appealing.”
    • “They seem to have saved money where money should be saved, such as the cutscene conversations are not motion capture or extensively animated and the graphics are not AAA.”
  • replayability41 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed, with many players noting a lack of variety in missions and characters, leading to limited incentive for multiple playthroughs. While some appreciate the handcrafted nature of the game and the potential for different character interactions, others feel that the repetitive content diminishes long-term engagement. However, features like community-created missions and upcoming DLCs may enhance replay value for some players.

    • “Somewhere along the line I realized this game is very handcrafted in comparison, with a focus on replayability.”
    • “Not being able to recruit everyone in a single playthrough gives this game replayability and makes me interested to hear how the various characters will interact with one another.”
    • “The ability to craft, share, and download custom missions ensures that the community remains vibrant and the replay value remains sky-high.”
    • “Very little replayability but a good enough game for 1 playthrough.”
    • “Little content and no replay value at all.”
    • “After 2 playthroughs (one ironman and one on max difficulty) I have completed all achievements and do not see further replayability.”
  • stability25 mentions

    The game's stability is frequently criticized, with users reporting a significant number of glitches and performance issues, particularly during enemy turns, which often lead to game freezes. While some players note that these bugs are not game-breaking and are somewhat manageable due to frequent auto-saves, the overall experience is marred by clunky mechanics and persistent instability.

    • “It is almost entirely bug-free and offers some pretty cool new ideas with the morale suppression/broken mechanic.”
    • “The game constantly freezes during the AI's turn.”
    • “Even with adjustments to game settings, it freezes like it cannot decide what one of its pieces should do.”
    • “The actual mechanics are clunky and I have had way too many game freezes, always on enemy turns for some reason.”
  • grinding24 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, particularly in stealth missions where the mechanics become repetitive and frustrating. The controls are often described as confusing, and the lack of meaningful consequences for actions, such as leaving bodies behind, contributes to a sense of simplicity that detracts from the experience. Additionally, the campaign map gameplay and frequent equipment switching are seen as major design flaws that further exacerbate the grind.

    • “So no grinding to get perfect gear, which some of us completionists expect.”
    • “The stealth mechanic at first was fun but quickly became very tedious.”
    • “Campaign map gameplay is super boring and all that tedious equipment switching before each mission is a major game design flaw.”
    • “Your units are too powerful, your unit and weapon upgrades don't change how the game plays very much, and the stealth aspect of the missions is tedious.”
  • music22 mentions

    The music in the game is generally well-received, with some praising its fitting historical ambiance and quality, reminiscent of classic WWII soundtracks. However, many reviewers noted a lack of variety, citing only two main musical scores throughout the game, which detracts from the overall experience. While the music complements the visuals and sound effects effectively, players expressed a desire for more diverse tracks to enhance gameplay.

    • “The music is great--in-mission music often reminds me of the old Medal of Honor WWII game soundtracks by Giacchino.”
    • “The music is nice, the sound effects feel great, the visuals are nice, the whole aesthetic of the game is well done.”
    • “With great music, great sound effects, voice acting, decent gameplay, and overall a fairly well-designed game.”
    • “The music is not enough.”
    • “It's fine, it fits, but I don't think I could hum a single song from it right now, and there needed to be way more variety.”
    • “While the missions themselves start to blend together after a while, the soundtrack could have stood to throw in one or two new battle themes for the sake of variety.”
  • optimization12 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with users reporting a significant number of glitches and performance issues, particularly on less powerful computers. While it runs well on Linux and performs adequately on certain maps, some players have experienced lag and struggled with the demo version. Overall, there are concerns about how well the game is optimized for lower-end hardware.

    • “Graphics are sharp and good looking, and it runs smoothly except for some minor lag on certain enemy turn moves.”
    • “Working great on Linux, small performance problem on single airfield map.”
    • “The one thing I would say against it is that I don't know how well it's optimized for less powerful computers; my laptop struggled with the demo, and I've been using GeForce Now to play the full game, so I don't know if the optimization problems have been addressed since the demo.”
    • “Annoying amount of glitches and performance issues.”
    • “I am among the early reviewers, but I'm kind of ignorant as to the scope of this company. I really like a response... it's not my PC, it's a performance thing.”
    • “The one thing I would say against it is that I don't know how well it's optimized for less powerful computers. My laptop struggled with the demo, and I've been using GeForce Now to play the full game, so I don't know if the optimization problems have been addressed since the demo.”
  • character development9 mentions

    Character development in the game is generally praised, with highlights including strong voice acting and unique talents for each character. However, some reviewers note that the overall design and user interface detract from the experience, suggesting that while the potential for character growth is present, it is not fully realized due to other shortcomings.

    • “The character development in the game is another highlight.”
    • “While I really enjoy the voice acting and character development, I think it fed into this problem.”
    • “Each character has one unique talent, and the rest you select, which adds depth to the character development.”
    • “I'm already tired of complaining, but the last thing is character development. They, as usual, have classes, and each character has 1 unique talent; the rest you select.”
    • “This style of gameplay alongside WWII goes hand-in-hand, but the laziness in the character design and UI makes it a boring game.”
  • atmosphere8 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its immersive sound effects and engaging environment, which enhance the overall experience during missions. Players appreciate the intelligent AI that adds depth to the gameplay, making it both atmospheric and thought-provoking.

    • “I love it! The very atmospheric sound effects create great immersion when playing missions, and the intelligent AI really makes you think.”
    • “It’s very atmospheric and engaging.”
    • “The atmosphere is nicely immersive.”
  • humor8 mentions

    The humor in the game strikes a balance between entertaining characters and a tone that blends humor with seriousness effectively. Players find the enemies amusingly oblivious during stealth segments, and some minor UI bugs add an unexpected comedic element to gameplay. However, comparisons to other tactical games suggest a lack of whimsical humor in certain aspects.

    • “Characters are entertaining and the tone is in a perfect sweet spot between humorous and serious, never leaning too far in either direction to lose enjoyment.”
    • “The enemies are hilariously unaware during the stealth phase of the combat.”
    • “A few UI bugs, like when you click to move close to the vehicle and the character moves all around it without triggering the alarm, it's funny.”
  • emotional7 mentions

    Players express mixed feelings about the emotional aspect of the game; while some appreciate the attempt to create a bond with characters, others feel that the emotional connections fall flat. The narrative and character engagement can enhance the gameplay experience, but not all players find it compelling enough to evoke strong feelings.

    • “Engaging with these characters adds an emotional depth to the gameplay experience, forging a bond that transcends mere pixels on the screen.”
    • “So you can't heal 2 of your injured (emotionally or physically) squad members at the same time.”
    • “I enjoyed the first playthrough mainly because of my interest in D-Day and the fact that my recent XCOM campaign ended so heartbreakingly catastrophically I couldn't face taking on Advent again...at least not for a while.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

80% average critic score

Buy Classified: France '44

Play time

7hMedian play time
7hAverage play time
5-10hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 8 analyzed playthroughs

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