Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault

About

"Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault" is a real-time strategy game set in the Ardennes Forest during World War II. Players command American forces in brutal winter conditions to repel the German offensive. The game features a single-player campaign with dynamic objectives and persistent units that carry over between missions. Multiple distinct companies can be customized and upgraded, providing a variety of tactical options.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault screenshot

43%

Audience ScoreBased on 296 reviews

story18 positive mentions

stability16 negative mentions

The Ardennes Assault DLC introduces a dynamic campaign that adds depth to the gameplay experience, allowing players to manage different companies with unique skills.
The graphics and voice acting are praised for their quality, enhancing the immersive experience of the campaign.
The gameplay is challenging and requires strategic thinking, making it engaging for players who enjoy tactical decision-making.

The lack of a save option is a major frustration, as failing a mission results in losing progress and having to restart the entire campaign.
Many players report game-breaking bugs, such as invincible enemy units and issues with unit deployment, which severely impact the gameplay experience.
The monetization strategy is criticized, as players must purchase additional DLC to access certain factions and units, leading to feelings of being misled or cheated.

story
150 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
83%
5%
The game's story is set against the backdrop of World War II, specifically the Eastern Front, and effectively conveys the brutal realities of war, highlighting the heroism and sacrifices of soldiers. However, many players feel that the campaign lacks a cohesive narrative, often resembling a series of skirmishes rather than a structured storyline, which detracts from the overall experience. Additionally, the high stakes of mission failures, where losing units leads to permanent consequences, adds tension but can also lead to frustration due to the lack of save options during missions.
- “- engaging storyline set in the Eastern Front of World War II, offering insight into the brutal conflict between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.”
- “- the story effectively captures the harsh realities of war, portraying both the heroism and sacrifices of soldiers.”
- “Was a fun if basic campaign for the US that added options to change the way the missions played out depending on your selections and which companies you used as well as their upgrades.”
- “If you fail a mission, that's it; whatever company you were using for that mission is wiped out and not accessible for the remainder of the campaign.”
- “The only aspect of it that I don't like, however, is that each mission feels more like a skirmish in the campaign and there is no clear storyline to the campaign.”
- “Some missions in this campaign are completely broken! Especially the Houffalize mission where the enemy spawns endless Tiger Aces... impossible to complete.”
gameplay
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
67%
13%
The gameplay is described as intense and immersive, requiring strategic thinking and quick decision-making, with varied missions that keep it engaging. However, it suffers from repetitiveness, frustrating mechanics like limited manpower and no manual save options, and a perceived focus on microtransactions over quality. The Ardennes Assault expansion adds depth with a dynamic campaign, but many players find the overall experience marred by bugs and unbalanced gameplay.
- “- intense and immersive tactical gameplay, requiring strategic thinking and quick decision-making.”
- “- varied missions and objectives keep the gameplay fresh and engaging.”
- “- the Ardennes Assault expansion introduces a dynamic campaign where your decisions affect the outcome, adding depth to the gameplay experience.”
- “All gameplay caters towards armor assaults rather than infantry.”
- “Couple this with the utterly moronic decision to not allow you to save during actual scenarios (a feature they have in the other campaign but not here for god only knows what reason) and you just have frustrating and boring gameplay overall.”
- “Second great WTF feature is limited manpower for your platoons, what a joke... again there is a basic problem with this mechanic, when you play a defending mission, you will get extremely big casualties thanks to spam, after that your platoon will become unplayable.”
stability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of persistent bugs that hinder gameplay, such as freezing and issues with unit construction. Players express frustration over the lack of fixes and support, describing the experience as a "buggy, unsupported nightmare." Overall, the game's stability issues significantly detract from its enjoyment and challenge.
- “Game is buggy still, and the bugs prevent some units from even being built.”
- “However you quickly realize that the playable factions are broken and buggy as hell.”
- “If you can get it to work, more power to you, but I can't stand playing this buggy, unsupported nightmare of a campaign add-on anymore.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The graphics are praised for effectively capturing the frozen, war-torn landscapes of Eastern Europe, showcasing significant improvements over the previous installment. Reviewers highlight the stunning detail and overall visual quality, describing them as flawless and a notable upgrade in both graphics and gameplay.
- “The graphics and detailing are flawless and stunning.”
- “Good graphics for its time, that bring the frozen and war-torn landscapes of Eastern Europe to life.”
- “The graphics, advanced gameplay, and AI are an upgrade from the first COH.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The new interactive campaign and expansion significantly enhance the game's replayability, offering unique experiences that encourage players to revisit the content. Users appreciate the effort put into making the game more enjoyable and engaging, resulting in increased replay value.
- “This new interactive campaign is a great addition to the game; it becomes evident that effort was made to give it replayability and make it unique and stand out.”
- “This is a really fun expansion, and I enjoy COH2, so this American expansion makes the game more enjoyable and adds more replay value.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it unfunny and criticizing the excessive use of DLC as a joke that falls flat. Overall, the comedic elements seem to miss the mark for a portion of the audience.
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding mechanic to be theoretically enjoyable, but in practice, it leads to tedious and exhausting gameplay. The scenarios are criticized for being overly repetitive and lacking strategic depth, often relying on luck rather than skill, which diminishes the overall fun and challenge.
- “This is a pretty fun mechanic in theory, but the scenarios are designed to be exhausting, meat-grindy slogs that require you to wade through enemy corpses to advance anywhere near the objective. It is utterly stupid.”
- “The scenarios simply aren't fun or challenging; they're boring, grindy, and sluggish with no real strategy apart from hoping the RNG works in your favor so you can kill an enemy squad and complete an objective fast enough before the enemy brings up another Panzer IV or two.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is highly immersive, effectively conveying the chaos and intensity of battle, which enhances the overall gaming experience.
- “The immersive atmosphere captures the chaos and intensity of battle.”
- “The immersive atmosphere captures the chaos and intensity of battle.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization in the game is highly praised, with users describing it as exemplary and well-executed.
- “Monetization at its finest.”
- “Monetization at its finest.”