Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism
- November 13, 2020
- Starni Games
Get on SteamStrategic Mind: Spectre of Communism is a (hi)story-driven turn-based strategy set in the WW2 period. It offers refined wargame mechanics, story-rich gameplay, and modern 3D graphics. Lead the USSR Armed forces staging the world Communist revolution. For Stalin! For the Motherland!
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
Xbox One
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game offers engaging turn-based combat with a variety of mechanics, including RPG elements and unit customization, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
- Graphics and cutscenes are well-designed, enhancing the immersive experience of the game, and the historical context is appreciated by players.
- The game features a challenging difficulty level that can be adjusted, allowing players to tailor their experience and providing a sense of accomplishment when completing missions.
- Mission design can be frustrating, with secondary objectives that are often impossible to complete, leading to a feeling of unfairness in gameplay.
- The voice acting is inconsistent, with some performances being subpar, detracting from the overall experience.
- Players have reported issues with unit stats and mechanics that feel unbalanced, leading to a lack of strategic depth in certain scenarios.
- story82 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 85 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story in this installment of the strategic mind series is described as captivating and well-crafted, with a focus on historical accuracy, particularly in the early missions. However, players express frustration with the mission design, noting that many side quests are unattainable and the main objectives often feel unrealistic, leading to a disconnect between the narrative and gameplay experience. While the cutscenes and plot are appreciated, the overwhelming challenge of secondary missions detracts from the overall enjoyment of the story.
“The story is very captivating and mesmerizing with its plot.”
“The developers made a very enjoyable storytelling and did a great job on historical accuracy.”
“But I find it entertaining, nice graphics created with love and a fun story.”
“The story - the 8 cutscenes I saw anyway - is somewhat ahistorical.”
“While the first 3 missions (Manchuria incident, Finland, Poland) are pretty normal, once Barbarossa starts, the game turns from a military strategy game into a caricature.”
“This is just a slog, no sense of the correct scale or at least semi-historical mission design.”
- gameplay44 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay is praised for its depth and variety, featuring well-thought-out mechanics that evolve traditional genre elements, including RPG aspects and overwatch abilities. However, some players find the large maps and excessive unit counts overwhelming, leading to reliance on mechanical exploits rather than strategic decision-making. Overall, the game offers a challenging experience with detailed tutorials, making it suitable for both veterans and newcomers to the strategy RPG genre.
“There is some good evolution of genre-typical mechanics in this game.”
“The gameplay is very detailed, which also pleases.”
“This is a great 3D strategy game with a lot of cool mechanics and new features.”
“It simply makes the maps too huge and gives you too many units based on mechanics that are really meant to be for much fewer units.”
“Some mechanics are strange or overpowered, like AA guns' overwatch (look at their range!), but hey, you can use it too, especially if you play for the Germans with their highly mobile AA units.”
“The mechanics are pretty deep, and I would be lying if I said the game wasn't hard.”
- graphics32 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their quality and visual appeal, described as "great eye candy" with well-developed designs and immersive cutscenes. Players appreciate the use of Unreal Engine 4, which enhances the game's optimization and introduces dynamic elements like changing weather and day cycles. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's atmosphere and enjoyment, marking an improvement over previous installments in the series.
“The graphics look great, there is a change of day and weather conditions.”
“The game is perfectly optimized and has well-developed graphics, because it is based on Unreal Engine 4.”
“Nice graphics, thoughtful tactical component, many interesting cutscenes that allow you to better immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the game.”
“The graphics look very decent, the engine works well and is intuitive.”
“Here, the graphics and the mechanics of the game itself have also improved in comparison with other parts of this series.”
“Finally, a new part of my favorite game has come out, I have played it for a long time, they have improved the graphics and the gameplay well, but it is still just as interesting the game.”
- music8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised for its excellence, enhancing the overall experience with a well-chosen background soundtrack that complements the action. Reviewers highlight the music as a key element that contributes to the game's appeal, alongside its impressive graphics and rich content. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a significant improvement that elevates the game's atmosphere.
“A huge amount of content, well-developed locations with changing weather and well-chosen music make this game one of the favorites in this genre.”
“The background soundtrack enhances the action as much as possible.”
“Great plot, good music as always.”
“The background soundtrack loads the action as much as possible.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its impressive graphics and engaging tactical elements, which, combined with numerous captivating cutscenes, create a strong sense of immersion in the wartime setting. Players feel deeply connected to the events unfolding, enhancing their overall experience.
“Nice graphics, thoughtful tactical component, and many interesting cutscenes that allow you to better immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the game.”
“The atmosphere of war is very palpable, and you truly feel immersed in those events.”
“The atmosphere of war is very palpable, and you truly feel immersed in those events.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its excellent optimization, requiring minimal PC resources while delivering well-developed graphics, thanks to its use of Unreal Engine 4.
“The game is perfectly optimized and has well-developed graphics because it is based on Unreal Engine 4.”
“Good optimization and not very demanding for PC components.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers a satisfactory experience for a single playthrough, but players find it lacks replayability due to several frustrating elements. Overall, it is not considered worth revisiting after the initial experience.
“It's a reasonable game that's alright for a single playthrough, but has several annoying aspects and no replayability.”
“It's a reasonable game that's alright for a single playthrough, but has several annoying aspects and no replayability.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a notable amount of humor that adds an engaging layer to its historical narrative, providing players with an interesting and entertaining perspective on the past.
“There's a pretty decent amount of humor, believe it or not, and it's an interesting perspective of history to play through.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features no monetization, providing players with a completely free experience without any in-game purchases or ads.
