Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars

About

"Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars" is a real-time strategy game set in the 19th century, where players lead one of seven nations to glory through historical battles, a strategic campaign, or open-ended skirmishes. The game emphasizes varied tactics, weapons mastery, and economic strategy, with massive armies and diverse terrain presenting unique challenges. Building alliances, betrayals, and economic manipulation are all crucial elements of victory.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Local Multi-Player Play with friends in the same physical space using split-screen or multiple screens
2-Players Play with one other player, either online or locally, in a cooperative or competitive game mode
Multi-Player Compete or cooperate with other players online
Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo
PvP Player versus Player - Fight against other players in real-time, often in arena-style combat
Split Screen Play with multiple players on the same screen, often with divided or shared screen real estate

58%

Audience ScoreBased on 214 reviews

gameplay8 positive mentions

stability12 negative mentions

Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars is praised for its engaging strategic gameplay and unique mechanics, making it a standout in the RTS genre.
The game offers a nostalgic experience for fans of the original Cossacks, with detailed graphics and historical accuracy that appeals to history buffs.
Despite its flaws, many players find the game enjoyable and recommend it for its tactical depth and immersive battles.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and crashes, particularly on modern operating systems, making it frustrating and often unplayable.
Players have reported issues with saving progress and compatibility, requiring workarounds that detract from the overall experience.
The limited campaign content and skirmish options, along with a lack of variety in playable nations, leave many feeling that the game lacks depth and replayability.

gameplay
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
48%
14%
The gameplay of "Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars" is characterized by its unique mechanics and engaging strategic elements, offering a visually appealing experience despite some chaotic moments. While players appreciate the tactical focus on formations and the opportunity for strategic planning, some feel it lacks the refined RTS elements of its predecessor and has notable bugs. Overall, the game is seen as enjoyable, though opinions vary on its execution compared to earlier titles in the series.
- “Amazing RTS with unique game mechanics!”
- “Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars offers an engaging strategic experience with excellent mechanics and visually pleasing graphics.”
- “Overall, the formation-based RTS gameplay is quite enjoyable, albeit a bit chaotic at times.”
- “All in all, 0/10 for gameplay.”
- “The gameplay and mechanics are all completely different; this game has nothing in common with the first one.”
- “Also, the dialogues are done in such a boring way that you just want to skip to the gameplay right away.”
graphics
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
42%
16%
The graphics of "Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars" are generally praised for their visual appeal and art style, particularly the well-executed 2D animations, which many players find impressive despite being somewhat dated. However, some users report significant graphic glitches and compatibility issues that detract from the overall experience, leading to mixed feelings about the game's visual performance. Overall, while the graphics may not meet modern standards, they are often considered a fitting complement to the engaging gameplay and strategic mechanics.
- “Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars offers an engaging strategic experience with excellent mechanics and visually pleasing graphics.”
- “First of all, I would like to mention that the game has an incredible art style and that the 2D graphics hold up quite well.”
- “Many fans moan about the graphics; it looks good for 2D nonetheless, and the game has perfect animations, especially of reloading infantry weapons - it is awesome.”
- “I don't understand how to play this because it says the graphics are not supported and it's a waste of my time. I would say money, but it's a cheap pile of crap!”
- “I've tried various compatibility modes and graphic settings; this game is just unplayable 'out of the box' on Steam.”
- “It's an okay game, but graphic glitches make this nearly unplayable.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting frequent crashes, significant lag, and persistent graphical glitches that render it nearly unplayable, especially on modern systems. Despite being a previously well-regarded title, the current version is plagued by bugs that have not been adequately addressed, leading to a frustrating experience for players.
- “Camera glitches, heavy lag from lots of units, scripts break - and lots of other problems that make the game barely playable.”
- “Great game but very buggy and keeps crashing on modern systems.”
- “Without this patch it's really unplayable because of the freezes and crashes.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
38%
38%
The story aspect of the game is criticized for its lack of depth and variety, with missions primarily focused on fulfilling objectives rather than engaging narrative. Players find the campaign lacking in quality, with poor voice acting and a limited selection of nations, making it feel underwhelming and frustrating, especially since it is required to unlock other game modes. Overall, the narrative is deemed unimportant compared to gameplay mechanics.
- “Most missions give you units and resources, where you have to fulfill certain objectives.”
- “Some missions have base building as well.”
- “The number of nations you can play as is smaller than ever, and the campaign is as poor as always, with laughable voice-over work too. It's required to play through in order to do anything like playing skirmish or single missions, which makes no real sense.”
- “The story is a bit hammy, but who really cares?”
- “Well, at least the campaign doesn't work: first mission okay, second, the game says no.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
50%
The music in the game is generally well-received, featuring a few pleasant classical symphonic themes, though it lacks variety with limited overall themes. It has been rated 16 out of 20.
- “The music is present and adds to the atmosphere, featuring a few nice themes with hints of classical symphonies.”
- “The music enhances the experience, providing a pleasant backdrop to the gameplay.”
- “The music is present, it's alright, but there are very few themes. There are a few notes reminiscent of classical symphonies, which is nice.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
Reviewers generally find the game's replayability to be low, citing a lack of appealing game modes and subpar AI as significant factors that diminish the incentive to replay.
- “The AI is kind of dumb, and the replayability is low.”
- “Once you complete the game, there's little incentive to play it again.”
- “The lack of meaningful choices makes replaying the game feel pointless.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, indicating that it can become a monotonous and repetitive experience over time.
- “It's just tedious at some point.”
- “The grinding feels endless and repetitive.”
- “I find myself doing the same tasks over and over without any real reward.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues and numerous bugs, rendering it unplayable for some users; however, many still recognize its potential and overall quality.
- “The game runs smoothly after the latest optimization updates, making for a much more enjoyable experience.”
- “I appreciate the developers' efforts in optimizing the game; it has significantly improved performance.”
- “The optimization tweaks have made a noticeable difference, allowing for seamless gameplay even on lower-end systems.”
- “Not playable because of several bugs and poor optimization, but still a great game!”
- “The game suffers from severe optimization issues that make it frustrating to play.”
- “Optimization is lacking, leading to frequent crashes and performance drops.”