Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault
- November 17, 2014
- Relic Entertainment
- 2h median play time
CoH 2: Ardennes Assault is an adept interweaving of the strategic, tactical, and personal facets of warfare.
Get on Steam"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.
PC
Cloud
NVIDIA GeForce NOW
Reviews
- The Ardennes Assault DLC introduces a dynamic campaign that adds depth and replayability to the gameplay experience.
- The tactical gameplay is intense and immersive, requiring strategic thinking and quick decision-making.
- The graphics and voice acting are well done, enhancing the overall atmosphere and engagement of the campaign.
- The lack of a save option is frustrating, as failing a mission results in losing progress and having to restart the entire campaign.
- Many missions are unbalanced and overly difficult, often leading to a feeling of hopelessness against overwhelming enemy forces.
- The monetization strategy is criticized, as key factions and units are locked behind additional paywalls, making the experience feel incomplete.
- story75 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 83 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is set against the backdrop of World War II's Eastern Front, effectively portraying the brutal conflict between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, highlighting both heroism and sacrifice. However, players have noted that the campaign lacks a cohesive narrative, often feeling more like a series of skirmishes rather than a structured story, with many missions being unbalanced and frustratingly difficult. The permanent loss of units upon mission failure adds a layer of consequence, but it can lead to repetitive gameplay and a sense of frustration due to the inability to save progress during missions.
“The engaging storyline is 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.”
“The missions are more open-ended, allowing you to use numerous means to achieve an objective.”
“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.”
“The game feels cheap with its shameless DLC, short and uninteresting missions, recycled multiplayer maps, and poor voice acting.”
- gameplay15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
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 autosave features, and a perceived focus on armor assaults over infantry tactics. Additionally, the introduction of microtransactions and bugs in the DLC detracts from the overall experience, leading to a mix of enjoyment and frustration among players.
“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.”
“While the gameplay within is quite good, it is repetitive (chasing crippled tanks and supplies). Each match relies on the metagame to track your company's strength and morale.”
“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.”
- stability8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of persistent bugs that hinder gameplay, such as unit construction failures and frequent freezes. Players express frustration over the lack of fixes and support, describing the experience as a "buggy, unsupported nightmare." Overall, while the game has potential, its stability issues significantly detract from the enjoyment.
“Fun and challenging, but buggy and they will likely never get fixed.”
“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.”
- graphics4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics are praised for effectively capturing the frozen and war-torn landscapes of Eastern Europe, showcasing significant improvements over the first game in the series. Reviewers highlight the stunning detail and overall visual quality as a standout feature.
“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 Company of Heroes.”
“The graphics and detailing are flawless and stunning.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers highlight that the new interactive campaign and the American expansion significantly enhance the game's replayability, offering unique experiences that encourage players to revisit the content. The effort put into these additions is appreciated, making the game more enjoyable and engaging.
“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.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the DLC has been criticized as lacking, with some users finding it unfunny and even absurd, particularly noting the existence of a DLC for a DLC as a point of contention.
“Hilarious, really?”
“This DLC has its own DLC... it's not even funny!”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding mechanic to be frustrating and tedious, as scenarios often devolve into monotonous battles that lack strategic depth and rely heavily on luck. The experience is described as exhausting and unengaging, with little reward for the effort put into overcoming the grind.
“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's 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.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is highly immersive, effectively conveying the chaos and intensity of battle, which enhances the overall gaming experience.
“An immersive atmosphere that captures the chaos and intensity of battle.”
“The game's atmosphere is hauntingly beautiful, drawing players into its world.”
“Every sound and visual detail contributes to an atmosphere that feels alive and engaging.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization in the game is highly praised, with users describing it as exceptionally well-executed and effective.
“Monetization at its finest.”
“The game feels more like a cash grab than a genuine experience.”
“It's frustrating how much you have to spend to enjoy the game fully.”
Critic Reviews
Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault Review
CoH 2: Ardennes Assault is an adept interweaving of the strategic, tactical, and personal facets of warfare.
82%Company of Heroes 2 - Ardennes Assault Review
But perhaps I’m being a bit of a sissy. After 18 missions of blood, blood, sweat, blood, and tears, I felt like I’d achieved something. I felt like someone should be presenting me with a medal. The war was won, but at the same time I couldn’t shake the feeling I could’ve done more for my squad. If I’d flanked left instead of right that one time, maybe half of my Dog team would still be with us, collecting their medals with me. Maybe the captain wasn’t such a bastard after all.
80%Company of Heroes 2 – Ardennes Assault Review (PC)
Company of Heroes 2 – Ardennes Assault is a good standalone package and the campaign that Relic has created manages to capture the tension associated with the Battle of the Bulge, although there are some moments when the company deviates from historical reality in order to increase the dramatic element. The various companies ensure that battles are different enough to keep players engaged and the various upgrades deliver a lot of replayability. Company of Heroes 2 – Ardennes Assault should have arrived earlier in the lifetime of the game, which by now might be too associated with its multiplayer side to become appealing again to those who enjoy their strategy experiences solo. But the strategic map and the management options point to how the familiar formula of the series can be enhanced, and I would like to see how Relic deals with the North African front, the battles in Scandinavia, or the engagements in Italy, some of the most overlooked elements of World War II.
85%
