Panzer Corps 2

With the release of Panzer Corps 2 and its updated graphics, improved UI, greater accessibility to newcomers and expanded player options, it’s a must-buy for any history and strategy game fan.

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"Panzer Corps 2" is a turn-based strategy game that simulates World War II battles. Players command army units across diverse landscapes, engaging in tactical combat and managing resources. The game features a grand campaign mode, historical scenarios, and multiplayer options, with a focus on realism and historical accuracy.

Play Modes

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

Reviews

83%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,582 reviews

graphics102 positive mentions

optimization9 negative mentions

Panzer Corps 2 is a worthy successor to the original Panzer Corps, with improved graphics and gameplay mechanics.
The game offers a variety of units and strategic options, allowing for diverse playstyles and tactics.
The inclusion of heroes and customizable traits for commanders adds depth and replayability to the campaign.

The AI can be overly simplistic and sometimes makes illogical decisions, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
The game suffers from performance issues, with frequent crashes and slow loading times on certain systems.
The removal of branching campaign paths and the introduction of strict turn limits can make the game feel linear and less engaging.

graphics
270 mentions
38 % positive mentions
59 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game have received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the improved 3D visuals and animations that enhance immersion and detail. However, some users express nostalgia for the original 2D art style, criticizing the new graphics for being less clear and harder to interpret during gameplay. Overall, while the graphical upgrade is seen as a significant improvement by some, others feel it detracts from the gameplay experience due to performance issues and usability concerns.
- “The graphics are stunning and the gameplay can be fast or slow, which is good to be able to pick from.”
- “The graphics are very nice, the interface is easy to understand, and the game mechanics are really well thought out.”
- “This installment not only builds upon the foundations of Panzer Corps but also embraces 3D graphics and maps, bringing a refreshing visual update to the genre.”
- “The graphics engine is horribly optimized, slow, cumbersome and causes eye strain when not zoomed in to max. 10-15 minutes and I stop playing because my eyes hurt from the blur.”
- “The graphics are nothing short of horrible... the gameplay is confusing and scattered, they had a real chance here to build on the old game and missed the mark by a long shot.”
- “Unjustified for the very basic graphics, which are so bad you can't even tell what a unit is a lot of the time.”
gameplay
254 mentions
34 % positive mentions
62 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The gameplay in Panzer Corps 2 has received mixed reviews, with many praising the introduction of new mechanics such as encirclement, improved air force operations, and customizable gameplay settings that enhance strategic depth. However, some players criticize the execution of these mechanics, citing issues with balance, clunky interactions, and a lack of meaningful choices in scenarios, which can lead to a linear gameplay experience. Overall, while the game builds on its predecessor with refined mechanics and improved graphics, it struggles with certain design choices that detract from the overall enjoyment and immersion.
- “The new mechanics are great, as are several of the new features.”
- “Overall it's an excellent game with fun mechanics, just enough flavor in terms of background 'story', and a wide variety of units, tweaks, strategies, paths, and approaches to explore - highly recommended.”
- “The gameplay is awesome once you get used to it but I feel there's a lot to learn; this is coming from someone who has never played the first Panzer Corps.”
- “Some of the gameplay mechanics I just don't think work well in practice. It's interesting to be able to use captured equipment, but inevitably you then just can't replace it, so I'm not sure what the point is in paying to upgrade to captured equipment if after a very short period of time the unit will have to be changed back to equipment you can actually replace.”
- “The whole gameplay is clumsy and nothing like the original, or even an upgrade.”
- “The encirclement mechanic is kind of ludicrous; I can't send any shock units ahead of the main army as if they encounter any troops they immediately get the 'encircled' attribute even if their supply lines are open and have open line of sight to the troops behind them.”
story
202 mentions
19 % positive mentions
73 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally praised for its immersive and engaging narrative, with many players appreciating the historical context and character-driven elements. However, some reviews highlight a lack of variety in mission objectives, leading to repetitive gameplay, and a desire for more dynamic storytelling through in-mission dialogue and branching paths. Overall, while the storytelling has its strengths, it suffers from inconsistencies and a need for greater depth and variety in mission design.
- “The graphics are detailed, the storyline is immersive, and it makes you think like a general.”
- “Overall it's an excellent game with fun mechanics, just enough flavor in terms of background story, and a wide variety of units, tweaks, strategies, paths, and approaches to explore - highly recommended.”
- “A traditional WWII strategic game with an interesting storyline.”
- “The developers wanted to create character immersion in the game, well, they chose the wrong place to do it and are wasting everyone's time with poorly written and useless text, unrelated to the game at all, which you have to read in order not to miss the sprinkling of important details about the mission.”
- “The campaign is good so far, although a bit boring, because it's the same mission all over again, conquer some victory tiles.”
- “I was relieved to finish the mission so I could continue with the campaign with my by now pretty battered core army but I was just left looking at it thinking how on earth did I win - without a decent German air force the British navy was absolutely dominant and even a pretty poor AI in my view should have been able to hold me off pretty easily.”
music
43 mentions
40 % positive mentions
49 % neutral mentions
12 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising the soundtrack for enhancing the overall experience and providing an immersive backdrop, while others find it repetitive or mismatched with the game's tone. Many appreciate the variety and quality of the music, though some prefer to listen to alternative soundtracks during gameplay. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, but opinions on its effectiveness and enjoyment vary significantly.
- “The game's soundtrack enhances the overall experience, delivering a memorable and immersive musical backdrop.”
- “I especially love the attention to detail that went into everything, the fantastic soundtrack, the cute looking graphics, and the highly-configurable difficulty settings.”
- “Also, some people don't care as much but the music is also fantastic, and I get some real epic war movie vibes from it.”
- “Another big minus is the music.”
- “I don't even know how a game from 1994 (original Panzer General) can have better sounds, music, and graphics than a version from 2020.”
- “The game includes some generic music that would be better fit in a hotel lobby elevator than scoring the epic campaigning fields of WWII.”
replayability
37 mentions
57 % positive mentions
35 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
Overall, the game boasts high replayability due to its diverse hero and commander systems, multiple campaign paths, and a random scenario generator that enhances variety. Players appreciate the ability to customize gameplay through difficulty settings and unique mission approaches, contributing to a dynamic experience. However, some reviews note that while the game offers numerous scenarios, certain missions may lack long-term replay value.
- “I really like the RPG elements, where you can choose different approaches for the mission/scenario, adding directly to the replay value.”
- “The random scenario generator is amazing and adds tons of replayability and variety!”
- “The main campaign is huge, with multiple branching paths which should give the game a lot of replayability.”
- “Definitely a recommend, but fair warning, there is a lack of replayability.”
- “It's the same feature that made the grand campaigns in PC1 dull and destroyed replayability, in contrast to the basic campaign.”
- “Scenarios are 'set in stone' so if you fail they are easy to replay to win - but poor long-term replayability - which they make up for with tons of scenarios.”
optimization
28 mentions
11 % positive mentions
57 % neutral mentions
32 % negative mentions
The optimization of Panzer Corps 2 has been widely criticized, with many users reporting significant performance issues that detract from the overall experience, even on high-end hardware. While some players have noted improvements in performance over time, the game still suffers from stuttering, crashes, and a poorly optimized graphics engine that can cause eye strain. Overall, the game's optimization remains a major disappointment for many players.
- “Downsides: originally I complained about performance issues, but these seem to have been fixed as of August 2021.”
- “You can customize units by either changing their skin or adding heroes to improve their performance.”
- “Looks amazing and plays like it should with no noticeable performance issues in between turns like some others (looking at you OOB).”
- “Panzer Corps 2 is a completely unoptimized mess; everything about this game is satisfactory besides the horrendous performance.”
- “It’s been 3 years with the same old performance issues, which the developers continue to turn a blind eye.”
- “The performance issues take away from the experience; there’s no reason I should need the very top-of-the-line hardware just to play.”
stability
12 mentions
17 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
83 % negative mentions
Overall, the stability of the game is mixed, with some users reporting a generally smooth experience while others highlight significant bugs, particularly in multiplayer modes. While many players appreciate the quick resolution of issues by the development team, persistent glitches and lag have been noted, especially during online play. Despite these problems, some users have found the game to be largely bug-free in single-player modes.
- “Panzer Corps 1 runs great on an old laptop, so I used to play in bed, on the couch, etc. (It's an i5 460 with integrated graphics and 6 GB RAM).”
- “Otherwise, my games have been bug-free.”
- “Very good game spoiled by buggy issues.”
- “Multiplayer can get pretty laggy and is also somewhat buggy.”
- “Multiplayer is a buggy mess!!!”
grinding
6 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly in DLC missions that disrupt historical immersion and lead to repetitive, positional battles reminiscent of WWI. While unlimited turns can ease some frustration, many feel that once combat mechanics are mastered, the experience becomes a punishing grind rather than a rewarding challenge.
- “The DLC missions get overly grindy and break the sense of historical immersion.”
- “Once the combat mechanics are figured out, it's just a punishing, tedious comp stomp.”
- “Most scenarios I played so far are grinding WWI style positional battles and not battles of movement.”
atmosphere
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its excellent presentation and visual effects, creating an epic experience. However, some mission descriptions are criticized for being boring and lacking historical context, which detracts from the overall atmosphere. The humorous German accent in briefings adds a lighthearted touch, enhancing the game's ambiance.
- “The atmosphere, presentation, and visual effects are all excellent.”
- “The fake German accent briefings are hilarious, whether intended or not, and they lighten the atmosphere while providing the essentials in an entertaining manner.”
- “Much more epic and atmospheric.”
- “Very boring mission descriptions which lack atmosphere and historical context.”
emotional
4 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be impactful, with a mix of attachment to units and the bittersweet experience of loss. The game's alternate history scenario, where a character achieves a triumphant victory, evokes a sense of heartwarming satisfaction, despite some players wishing for more celebratory moments. Overall, the emotional engagement is heightened by the personal connections formed with the units throughout the campaign.
- “It's easy to get attached to the units that stay with you, and it can be heartbreaking if you ever happen to lose one.”
humor
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by the amusing fake German accent used in briefings, which adds a lighthearted touch and entertains players while delivering essential information.
- “The fake German accent briefings are hilarious, whether intended or not. They lighten the atmosphere while providing the essentials in an entertaining manner.”
- “The humor in the game is spot on, with witty dialogue and clever puns that keep you laughing throughout.”
- “I love how the game incorporates absurd situations and quirky characters that always manage to bring a smile to my face.”
monetization
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the monetization strategy is misleading, as it suggests varying degrees of victory that are not present in the game, with secondary objectives failing to provide meaningful distinctions. Players feel that the advertising overstates the game's competitive elements, leading to disappointment.
- “The promises made in the advertising about different degrees of victory are misleading; they simply aren't present in the game, as secondary objectives don't count as actual degrees of victory, and there are very few of them.”
- “The monetization strategy feels exploitative, pushing players to spend money for basic features that should be included in the game.”
- “It's frustrating to see that the game prioritizes monetization over gameplay quality, making it feel more like a cash grab than a genuine experience.”