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Combat Mission Cold War

Combat Mission Cold War Game Cover
69%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
optimization, stability
69% User Score Based on 167 reviews

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PCWindows
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Combat Mission Cold War Game Cover

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Combat Mission Cold War is a single player and multiplayer tactical turn-based strategy game. It was developed by Battlefront and was released on November 16, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Combat Mission Cold War is set in the tipping-point years of a conflict that gripped the world for 45 years. Between 1979-1982, both the NATO and Soviet Warsaw Pact militaries began the shift away from industrialized warfare of the early 20th century and towards the modern digital battlefield of today. Combat Mission Cold War simulates several “what if” conflict scenarios between US and Soviet for…

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Combat Mission Cold War screenshot
Combat Mission Cold War screenshot
Combat Mission Cold War screenshot
Combat Mission Cold War screenshot
Combat Mission Cold War screenshot
Combat Mission Cold War screenshot
Combat Mission Cold War screenshot
Combat Mission Cold War screenshot
Combat Mission Cold War screenshot
Combat Mission Cold War screenshot
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69%
Audience ScoreBased on 167 reviews
story29 positive mentions
optimization12 negative mentions
  • Highly realistic and authentic Cold War tactical combat simulation with detailed modeling of weapons, vehicles, terrain, morale, and battlefield behavior.
  • Deep strategic gameplay with large, challenging scenarios that reward careful planning, combined-arms tactics, and understanding of unit capabilities.
  • Strong replayability including multiple campaigns, quick battles, single scenarios, and multiplayer support with PBEM++ system.
  • Outdated game engine causes severe performance issues including lag, crashes, input lag, and poor optimization on modern hardware, especially in large battles.
  • Clunky and unintuitive user interface with a steep learning curve, poor controls, lack of modern quality of life features like formations and easy pathfinding.
  • Campaigns and scenario design criticized for poor balancing, unfair AI advantages, frustrating difficulty, limited content, and lack of DLC/faction variety.
  • story
    109 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story aspect of Combat Mission: Cold War is centered around a hypothetical NATO-Warsaw Pact conflict during the late Cold War, offering a deeply realistic and intricate tactical experience that appeals primarily to dedicated fans familiar with the series. However, many users find the narrative missions confusing, with unclear objectives and difficulty spikes that feel punishing or unfair, compounded by technical issues and limited mission variety. Overall, the story is praised for its authenticity and scale but is not considered beginner-friendly and may feel slow or overly demanding for casual players.

    • “Combat Mission: Cold War is a deeply intricate tactical wargame developed by Battlefront and published by Matrix Games that explores a tense hypothetical conflict between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces during the late Cold War period.”
    • “It captures the uncertainty, lethality, and complexity of a conflict that thankfully never happened, making it a standout entry in the Combat Mission series and a rewarding experience for serious tactical wargame enthusiasts.”
    • “Combat Mission: Cold War is a dream come true for anyone fascinated by the hypothetical clash between NATO and the Warsaw Pact during the tense decades of the 1970s and 1980s.”
    • “The campaign missions are brutal, like there is no feasible way one is supposed to win any of those battles blindly, and as a complete newcomer to the series this has been both a beautiful and intensely irritating struggle, with reloading maps over and over again because you didn't know that the tree over there was see-through but this one isn't.”
    • “There's no J2 feed and many of the missions simply don't make sense.”
    • “The clunky control system also frequently reduces column deployments to chaotic disarray, and if you deviate even slightly from the scenario designers’ intended playstyle, every mission devolves into something ridiculous and farcical.”
  • graphics
    41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics are generally described as dated and functional, prioritizing tactical clarity over modern visual fidelity, with an aging engine limiting visual quality and performance, especially in large battles. Many users find the visuals acceptable given the gameplay focus, though optimization issues and occasional crashes detract from the experience. Overall, graphics are modest and unpolished but sufficient for fans valuing realism and gameplay over cutting-edge aesthetics.

    • “Graphics are functional and clear, prioritizing battlefield readability over modern visual flair.”
    • “Unit models and terrain are detailed enough to convey important tactical information, but the overall aesthetic can feel dated compared to contemporary strategy titles.”
    • “Mods galore to enhance the sounds, graphics, UI... excellent AI for single player.”
    • “The engine, with its botched implementations of newer and newer versions of graphic pipelines (duct tape it! yaaay!) even after said "updates" simply cannot handle modern amount of polys and game entities on screen; what was apparent around Red Thunder is now obvious and painful to watch.”
    • “Update: upgraded my PC with a Ryzen 5 4500 and RX6600, now the graphics broke so hard it flashes hard enough to give me a seizure.”
    • “Constant crashes when saving or loading means I can't even finish a single mission without losing all progress, I can't run the game past balanced graphics, numerous artifacts, especially in shadows.”
  • optimization
    32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game suffers from significant optimization issues, especially during large battles and on expansive maps, leading to frequent stuttering, freezing, and low frame rates even on modern hardware. While smaller maps run better and some performance tweaks help, the outdated engine struggles with high unit counts and complex simulations, making gameplay frustrating at times. Developers are reportedly working on a new engine version to address these problems, but current performance severely impacts the overall experience.

    • “Performance is infinitely better on the more normal sized maps, the issues with the AI cheating are of course gone as you are facing players, and there is a lot of strategy to sus out which makes the game more interesting.”
    • “But overall CMCW isn't perfect but it also isn't awful, it's just in that limbo of being a good game but its performance issues set it back. I do recommend the game only if you think your computer can handle it, and I hope they update the engine sometime in the future to fix some of these performance issues.”
    • “Supposedly the developers are developing a new version of the engine that will focus on performance issues, but I wouldn't expect that update for some time.”
    • “I tried refunding it before writing such a negative review because I only learned how badly optimized it is after playing it for a bit.”
    • “(Seriously, map 3 of the US campaign is so intensely overloaded with units and stuff that the game actually freezes repeatedly if you look in a certain direction during game start. It took me over an hour to set up my units because the game would constantly freeze trying to overcome its own programming. My rig is pretty modern and runs other games well, but this is just awful optimization.)”
    • “During the 3rd campaign mission (Bear in the Sun '79), the performance is horrible/unplayable (5 fps) during the setup phase when attempting to reposition infantry units.”
  • gameplay
    25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Combat Mission Cold War offers a deeply realistic and tactical experience that builds on the established Combat Mission formula, with an emphasis on planning and accurate modeling of units and weapons. While the mechanics are highly praised and deliver rewarding challenges, the game can be difficult for newcomers and is somewhat hampered by an aging engine and limited innovation. Players who appreciate strategic depth over graphics and are willing to invest time learning the controls will find hours of engaging gameplay, though it may not appeal to those seeking significant advancements or broader army selections.

    • “The gameplay builds on the established combat mission formula, offering both real-time and wego modes, with wego remaining the preferred choice for many players due to its emphasis on planning and anticipation.”
    • “Every unit, weapon, and mechanic feels accurately modeled and simulated.”
    • “The game is hyper realistic and focuses on gameplay over graphics to a large extent, which I did not mind (I've always been a gameplay over graphics person myself).”
    • “A great game mechanics-wise, completely ruined by ancient engine and the developers being stuck in 20th century with their business practices and unwillingness to change.”
    • “After Combat Mission Shock Force 2 and Black Sea that I like a lot I can't recommend this game; Cold War has a lot of units on the board (total mobilization like IRL) but both the engine and gameplay aren't adapted for this type of scope.”
    • “It is what it says on the tin: Combat Mission Cold War. If you've grown tired of the same old combat mission formula with little to no improvements in AI, graphics, gameplay, engine, etc., then this is not the game for you.”
  • replayability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers strong replayability through standalone scenarios and a customizable quick battle system, allowing for varied tactical challenges and experimentation. Its depth rewards strategic planning and historical interest, providing hundreds of hours of engaging gameplay.

    • “Standalone scenarios provide focused tactical challenges, while the quick battle system allows for highly customizable engagements, giving the game strong replay value for players who enjoy experimenting with different force compositions and battlefield conditions.”
    • “It rewards patience, planning, and historical curiosity, offering hundreds of hours of replay value.”
    • “This game will pay for itself fairly soon with the amount of hours of replayability.”
  • stability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users report significant stability issues, including frequent freezes and input lag, especially during intense scenes with many units. Even on modern rigs, the game suffers from poor optimization, leading to frustrating gameplay interruptions.

    • “Map 3 of the US campaign is so intensely overloaded with units that the game freezes repeatedly if you look in a certain direction during game start. It took me over an hour to set up my units because the game constantly froze trying to overcome its own programming. My rig is modern and runs other games well, but this is awful optimization.”
    • “Be prepared to deal with some buggy input lag.”
    • “If you want great graphics look elsewhere.”
  • grinding
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding is described as a tedious and repetitive task that lacks engaging command elements, though it helps reduce micromanagement and lowers the learning curve.

    • “It's ultimately an incredibly tedious job which poorly simulates anything like 'command'.”
  • music
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users overwhelmingly criticize the music, particularly in the main menu, describing it as extremely unpleasant and intrusive, with no option to adjust or mute the volume.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Combat Mission Cold War is a tactical turn-based strategy game.

Combat Mission Cold War is available on PC and Windows.

Combat Mission Cold War was released on November 16, 2021.

Combat Mission Cold War was developed by Battlefront.

Combat Mission Cold War has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its optimization.

Combat Mission Cold War is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Combat Mission Black Sea, Combat Mission Shock Force 2, Combat Mission Battle for Normandy, WARNO, Wargame: Airland Battle and others.