SWAT Commander

About

SWAT Commander is a single player and multiplayer tactical shooter game. It was developed by Ritual Interactive and was released on July 31, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

SWAT Commander puts you in charge of a tactical team handling high-risk missions like hostage rescues and gang confrontations. The game emphasizes realism, with squad members responding dynamically to situations while following your commands and police protocols. Engage solo or co-op with up to five players to complete challenging operations together.

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82%

Audience ScoreBased on 157 reviews

story12 positive mentions

optimization4 negative mentions

The game captures the essence of classic SWAT games, providing a nostalgic experience with modern graphics and gameplay mechanics.
Gameplay is engaging and offers a variety of tactical options, allowing for creative approaches to missions.
The developers are responsive to community feedback and show promise for future updates and improvements.

The game suffers from significant AI issues, with both enemy and friendly AI often behaving poorly and failing to follow commands effectively.
There are numerous bugs and technical issues, including crashes and glitches that disrupt gameplay.
The lack of matchmaking and server options limits multiplayer experiences, making it difficult to find players to team up with.

story
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
70%
6%
The game's story is primarily driven by realistic missions inspired by actual police operations, offering players a tactical experience with a focus on planning and execution. While some players appreciate the engaging mission dynamics and character development, others criticize the lack of a cohesive narrative and the reliance on procedural generation, which can detract from a more immersive storytelling experience. Overall, the game presents a variety of mission types and environments, but it lacks a deeper, branching storyline that could enhance player engagement.
- “As both commander and operative of an elite SWAT team, you tackle realistic missions inspired by real-world police operations.”
- “Delivers an immersive tactical experience, allowing players to lead a specialized team through high-stakes missions involving hostage situations, gang wars, and intense firefights.”
- “A cool shooter with good graphics and well-developed characters, great music, and a great storyline.”
- “☑ no story”
- “ no story”
- “But I feel the game kind of goes straight in for the shock value with items found for evidence on the first level etc. instead of building it up with your squad and a branching story overall.”
gameplay
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
54%
8%
The gameplay is generally well-received, characterized by fun mechanics, engaging mission flow, and a strong emphasis on tactical realism, though some users note that it can feel rough around the edges with minor technical issues. Customization options and dynamic elements like weather enhance the experience, while the potential for community-created content through Steam Workshop is highly anticipated. However, there are calls for improvements in AI and core mechanics to fully realize the game's potential.
- “The gameplay so far is solid: mission flow is engaging, gunplay feels responsive, and the vision clearly leans toward realism with fun, layered gameplay.”
- “The strategic depth combined with intense firefights makes for incredibly engaging gameplay.”
- “A tactical shooter with deep gameplay, realistic missions, and a vast arsenal.”
- “The graphics are slightly better, the gameplay marginally expanded, but the core loop remains exactly the same.”
- “Frequent crashes, especially in co-op, disrupt gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is a bit lacking, but the groundwork is there.”
graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
35%
11%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising their quality and detail, while others feel they are outdated, reminiscent of earlier gaming eras. Many highlight the dynamic weather and well-designed levels, contributing to an immersive experience, though comparisons to other titles like "Ready or Not" suggest that there is room for improvement. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered good, they may not meet the expectations set by more recent games in the genre.
- “Well, what can I say about this game? It has excellent action and super detailed graphics with lots of situations to solve.”
- “The gameplay is fun, the customization is great, and the graphics really stand out.”
- “The graphics are really good, and the developers have worked a lot on this.”
- “Graphics look like they are from the 2010 era.”
- “It is far worse than Ready or Not; the weapon handling is worse, the graphics are worse, and the movement feels really stiff. For a moment, I thought I was in Roblox.”
- “The game generally succeeds in its effort to create a simulation of SWAT operations, although we definitely get more 'sandbox game' and a little less 'realism', a situation contributed to by the game’s indie character and various factors like the graphics and animations used, which stand up in their own right but feel a little outdated.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
37%
50%
Overall, the optimization of the game is considered a mixed bag; while it performs better than many early access titles and some AAA games, users report issues such as bugs, micro-stutters, and input quirks that detract from the experience. Many players express a desire for further improvements, particularly in sound polish and stability, especially given the game's Unreal Engine 4 foundation. Despite these concerns, the game remains playable, with some users noting that it has become more stable after patches.
- “Continue polishing stability and performance.”
- “Yes, there are bugs (as expected in early access), and some optimizations are needed, like sound polish, rare micro-stutters, and minor input quirks, but nothing game-breaking.”
- “Being that it is Unreal Engine 4, it should be way better optimized. It's hard to play at even medium settings; if they change the flash and optimize it, it would be 5 stars.”
- “Random stuttering on a 5080/Ryzen 7 7700X (especially with door mirror).”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
40%
40%
The game offers high replayability due to its procedural generation of elements like weather, enemies, and mission layouts, ensuring a unique experience with each playthrough. Additionally, the co-op mode allows players to take on different roles, further enhancing the game's replay value. Overall, it is considered more playable than many early access titles and even some AAA games.
- “Infinitely replayable.”
- “The weather is always different when you start a mission, doors, enemies, civilians, and blocked doors with objects are all procedurally generated, so you have endless replayability.”
- “Realism emphasizes minimizing casualties, while co-op mode enhances replayability with roles like assault, support, or defense.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The stability of the game has received mixed feedback, with many users reporting numerous glitches, particularly in team command menus, as well as occasional lag and issues with stairways and corners. However, some players have experienced no glitches at all, indicating variability in performance.
- “No glitches so far.”
- “The game runs smoothly without any crashes.”
- “I've experienced consistent performance throughout my playtime.”
- “Way too many glitches for now, particularly with the team command menus.”
- “Buggy and laggy.”
- “Some stairways and corners can be slightly buggy.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is enhanced by missions that are grounded in real scenarios, effectively creating an authentic SWAT experience that immerses players in the tactical environment.
- “Missions based on real scenarios create an authentic SWAT atmosphere.”
- “The immersive sound design and detailed environments truly enhance the game's atmosphere.”
- “The lighting and visual effects contribute to a tense and gripping atmosphere that keeps you on edge.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The music in the game is generally praised for its quality and contribution to the overall experience, enhancing the cool graphics and well-developed characters. However, some users express a desire for improvements and upgrades to the music and gunplay to elevate the gameplay further.
- “A cool shooter with good graphics and well-developed characters, great music, and a great storyline.”
- “Devs, please make improvements to the music. It's not good as it is right now, and I'm waiting for changes. The gunplay needs an upgrade too, but the music is particularly lacking.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the cumbersome command system that requires cycling through multiple groups without customizable key bindings. This has led to frustrations, with some suggesting that the grinding experience feels excessively time-consuming.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “This is a pretty good SWAT game, but it really needs a key bind option for each element. Cycling through three groups every time you want to give a command is tedious and silly considering the countless keys on a keyboard.”