Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront

Much better than MoWII. Feels like a solid improvement over MoWAS2; graphics are fairly pretty, destruction mechanics are fun, the artillery is a BLAST. Solid 8/10.

sad to experience that developers completely abandoned multiplayer part of this game.

Gates of Hell: Ostfront is a mess when it comes to performance. Even on high-end rigs with RTX 4090s and top-tier CPUs, the game barely utilizes GPU resources — hovering around 30–50% usage during battles, while FPS tanks below 60 or even 30. The absurd part? When you pause the game (press Esc), GPU usage jumps to 80–90%, which perfectly highlights how poorly optimized the engine is. It runs on the outdated GEM engine that lacks proper multithreading support, making the CPU a major bottleneck while the GPU just idles. Large maps like Liberation are a slideshow, and tweaking graphic settings does next to nothing. Some players tried DXVK or other hacks, but the results are marginal at best. This game has huge potential, but in its current state, it's borderline unplayable unless you're willing to overlook the fact that your $3000 setup is sweating harder in the pause menu than in actual combat.

this game is like cocaine you try it once and its great and then the more you have the worse it gets but you can never stop taking it

Beyond clunky. I've played RTS's from two decades ago that were executed better than this.

It's got some theoretically neat ideas, but they are buried under an unnecessasry amount of micromanagement.

This game is essentially Men of War: Assault Squad 2 but everything has been upgraded a bit, this is the Men of War 2 we deserved. Since they are so similar, here's just a little rundown of the upgrades:

Huge Upgrades:
+ Particle effects
+ Textures
+ ANIMATIONS (They're so much better omg)
+ Sound Design (also so much better)
+ Ability to dig foxholes and trenches
+ Conquest Mode (Its so fun, you research units and build your army through attack and defense missions. Could use some work but its awesome)

Mid Upgrades
+ The AI (Its like a little bit smarter, but not by much, they attack in larger groups and use fire support)
+ Command UI (Things like dragging for line formations, and better button placement are welcome improvements, but overall very similar for better or for worse)
+ The multiplayer (Its a little bit refined, its been brought up to more of a modern standard)

Almost the same
+ Unit Deployment System (Its been balance changed but they still use the strange adaptable slow increase CP and MP combo system that kind of always baffled me)
+ Direct Control (Its nearly the same, but a slightly closer perspective and it benefits from the graphical upgrades)
+ Vehicle Variety (They have most of the same vehicles, but with some more early war options for conquest.)

Downgrades
- Campaign (There are no single player skirmish missions, they have campaign missions but they're very linear, which kind of defeats the purpose of Men of War)
- Stability (Definitely some framerate and load issues with this one, it crashes a lot more, but not unplayable)

If Saving Private Ryan had a baby with a real-time strategy game, this would be it. Gates of Hell lets you rain chaos on the Eastern Front, and then take direct control of a tank to personally finish the job—with style and unnecessarily dramatic explosions.

The attention to armor detail is so precise, I’m convinced the devs used a welding torch and a time machine. It hits that sweet spot between "I’m a battlefield commander" and "I just blew up a Panzer by accident and it was awesome."

Realism? Check. Fun? Double check. Sanity? Questionable, after micromanaging infantry during a mortar barrage.

This is my most favorite video game ever made! The amount of micromanaging is incredibly rewarding for those who dare!

Very few other RTS's come close to this level of detail. And when most games are trying to dumb down and simplify everything, Ostfront takes the less trodden path and makes things more detailed! Much love!

this game is a combination of RTS and Third Person Shooter. the best game ever

Was expecting more, but it just feels like it's just less than what it should be. It's ok, nothing special. Some parts are like wtf were they thinking, and other parts are like a chore. Slow to get units into place and perform tasks, and by the time they do it's almost pointless. You get shot at from the other side of the map, while your own units struggle to find the target, that's if they got the ammo or not damaged. There are just a lot of things that let it down and it's hard to find anything that makes it worthwhile.

A bit of a learning curve but great to play out scenarios with classic WW2 equipment we've all heard of. If I were to start again I would go through the tutorial quickly, then jump right into single player conquest at lower difficulties

i have tried launching this game for up to what feels like over a year now and it refuses, no other game in my library does this, the game is awesome if you can play it.... my drivers are good, ive reinstalled, i even deleted all files on computer did a full wipe and still nothing, updated steam, verified game files, spent hours on youtube tutorials to get this game to launch and it wont. i was denied a refund for how many hours i have playing it (im pretty sure thats why i couldnt get my refund atleast). i just feel ripped off

fun if you are adept at the Captain-of-a-ship-of-fools type games where you are expected to micro manage a mind boggling amount of decisions by yourself against a computer program that can do all this easily

Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront

Good game, recommended for:
-Company of heroes fans who want to play a more realistic rts
-Tank fans who dont want to feed the snail

I'd like to give a thumbs up but man the modding stability is completely ass. I encounter problems every time I activate a mod, every time I coop with a friend, every time I deactivate a mod and hell, the game has a mind and preference of its own when you're not looking as it can automatically delete your mods next time you open it back up. Resource desync this, searching for session that, or just straight up crash even when internet conditions are perfect and mods accounted for and updated. By gahd fix yo insufferable game.

The learning curve is steep and the interface is a little clunky, but the gameplay is fantastic if you love WW2. There are a ton of vehicles and distinct units. Overall, a quite challenging but fun and cinematic game.

Really solid game, especially if you're into WW2 RTS games.

I've played Men of War before, but Call to Arms: Gates of Hell is just better in almost every way. The combat feels more intense, the AI is smarter, and the visuals are great. What really makes it stand out though is the ability to go into first and third person view—you can manually aim your shots, which is super satisfying, especially when controlling tanks or sniping infantry. It adds a whole new level of immersion that other RTS games don't offer.

I also bought some of the DLCs and for me, they were worth it. They add more missions, factions, and maps, and just give you more of the good stuff. Not everything is perfect—some small bugs here and there—but nothing game-breaking.

If you're into tactical gameplay with a bit of chaos and realism, definitely give this one a shot. Totally recommend it.

i have been liking the game but the units are too stupid, they will casually run over my artillery and shoot straight into my units

It is a really good game, though in current state it is totally unplayable - I play a coop with a friend, there is no game save system and the game crashes from time to time - which makes you play a really long mission from the very beginning.

The gameplay is fun. The UI is out of the 90s. It could use some tooltips in many places. The selling point of this game is being able to take control of a single unit and it does that well enough. Overall it's a fun game, but lacks a lot of the bells & whistles you'd expect.

game decided to randomly break. played well for 30 hours, then on both of my pc's this and mowas decided to develop a disease where as soon as I make any sort of input they freeze and lag to hell when each pc has a 4070 super and i7+. Their support team on discord offered no help. Don't buy this game if you want to play for a decent amount of time. 30 dollars wasted

Call to Arms – Gates of Hell: Ostfront (god, that's a mouthful for a game title) requires a lot of micromanagement, so the game is not beginner-friendly at all. It's extremely annoying if you take control of a big squad as they love to move out of cover and run into enemy fire when you try to move them to the nearest position, like a trench, for example.

Not only is unit control abysmal, but some objectives in the single-player campaign will also waste your precious time while you try to figure out how to get past them. These weren't explained during the tutorials and are purely based on your instincts and logical thinking. Even then, I feel like they could’ve given some hints on how to deal with the mission objectives.

Laughable AI aside, the game is more or less realistic. If you're looking for a war game, then this is not the right game, because it’s an RTS. It's not turn-based, but you do have a certain amount of time to prepare. Once the timer is up, you have to constantly pay attention to every sector and all the units under your command, as both the enemy and you are continuously sending reinforcements into the meat grinder. If you fail to keep your units in check e.g. well-supplied with ammunition, having a good strategic positions, and adapting to the situation of certain phase. You’ll quickly see how one exposed flank can lead to total defeat and the janky AI control makes the problem worse.

The greatest ww2 game ever made. A must-have for military enthusiasts.

Nice rts elements with a perfect mix of direct control, historically accurate vehicles and infantry units, all round very nice

I need help I can’t play this game anymore my current Rex mode 3840x2160 it’s grayed out and will not let me change the mode it never did this before but just about 2 months ago this happned

I been a loyal fan of the franchise bought all expansion now I can’t play it everything so freaking small. Can some help me fix this please

An amazing RTS / RTT game with the unique ability to take control of individual soldiers and controld them in third person.

Very detailed, fun to play and lots of extra mods. Its also fun with friends, but its a bit glitchy playing co-op. I recommend getting a first-person mod, it will change the game for you and will give it a neat Call Of Duty 2 feel.

The best rts i've ever played , but i gave it up after finding out the AI cheats like a mf. The AI knows exactly where your units are at even if they are outside of the fight and hidden. I had an infantry squad hiding in the bushes way far out from where the fight was taking place and the AI spawns a tank and drives it out in the middle of nowhere (where my squad was located) and stopped an inch from their faces and blew them all to hell. Completely ruined the game for me.

The DLC is a whole story to activate and even though I own it all some of it isnt working. This is a payed product and I expect to receive my product without need to unpack and troubleshoot it myself.

The game is IMO one of the best RTS games out there for pure micro.

The Discord is also great since the GOH ticket support is good and quick

I gave it a go, and while I love the concept on paper - I found even the most basic elements of the RTS portion of the game extremely difficult to control. It also feels like there are basic features like control groups, hotkeys for most actions, or the ability to easily command more than one unit at a time are missing, which does not meet my expectations for an RTS post 1997.

I would love to see this game made more accessible by adopting more of the conventions of modern RTS at least when it comes to the basic control mechanics of the game. If they can fix that, then I think they will have a much better game.

This is just Men of War, but somehow even worse. Cover is complete bullshit, with a single centimeter of steel or an inch of mud protecting infantry from just about everything. Unit pathfinding is even worse, why does a tank have to worry about running a tree (Not even, it could just be a slight depression in the ground) over? The UI also overlaps with itself a good portion of the time, normally when you have like 8+ units causing their portraits to block out the minimap. Campaigns are fairly meh, with a lot of the missions being centered on stealth or defense, which you also have very few reinforcements if any at all.
Of course, there are a few good things compared to MoW, now you can actually refuel vehicles without having to go through 10 demonic rituals, and infantry can actually hit things now.

W wargame sale, I bought the game and some DLC for my comrade, and he bought one of the DLC too, can't wait to play it with him. Amazing game, expensive, but amazing

Good game overall. However, the last update unfortunately made the experience worse. German tanks have been nerfed, and the AI-controlled Soviet forces are now far more accurate and deadly even at long distances. I really miss the gameplay from the previous update .Love the addition of automated medics, which is a great feature. Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed. It feels similar to what happened with Company of Heroes: from the first to the third game, the experience kept declining. Right now, German units feel like they're firing water guns, while the Soviets seem to have nothing but snipers.
Could we please strive for more historical accuracy?
I still recommend the game, but I’m concerned that it might continue to get worse with future updates.

Gates of Hell" is a good game with impressive graphics, great gun sounds, and a well-designed environment. However, it has a major flaw: there are no servers. Considering the huge effort they put into developing such a detailed game, setting up a server should have been much easier for them. It's disappointing that such a crucial feature is missing."

One of the best WW2 RTS game of modern times, I absolutely recommend it!
Totally love this Direct Control function which game has because you can directly jump into action as soldier.

The lag is real in single player. When loading in the start there will be a lag window of about 3 minutes where the game is really laggy and mostly unplayable. And my pc is not even bad (the game is using around 45% GPU and 30% CPU). Maybe buy it when it's on sale but when it's not on sale I suggest you wait.

EDIT: And the path finding is out of this world, because my tank just drove into my truck and destroyed it and killed the crew operating it. Like WTF.

I think this is the most interesting RTS title currently available on Steam. It's probably also one of the jankiest.

The unit AI is awful and braindead, the pathfinding sucks, the squad controls are wonky, the camera is often wrong, the machinima / marionette cinematics in the latest Airborne DLC are terrible, the artillery balance is out of whack, the enforced stealth sections are hilariously bad, the conquest mode is a chaotic mess, the Steam page is a big pile of nonsense, and most of all the name is absolutely downright awful ...

... and yet it's a glorious game to play. It's the apex of the Men Of War / Outfront series, and is heaps better than the prequel (Call To Arms 1). It definitely holds the most potential of all the current in-development RTS games and I wish it to keep going and improve and maybe one day reach that potential. It has a huge amount of content (single, and multiplayer) and is so much more engaging to play than its most direct comparisons (e.g. Men Of War, COH) and indeed all other wee-men RTS games. The campaign missions are varied and fun. The procedurally generated Conquest mission is much improved from CTA1 and works well to feed hungry players with infinite content (discounting the hilarious movement AI often displayed by the enemy)

The base game is often on sale for a few quid and that's a massive bargain. Once it has its hooks in you'll be desperately buying full-price DLC before you know it as you're too eager to wait for a sale.

If you have even the minimal interest in WW2 or RTS games then it's a must buy. If you're a fan of the (once amazing) Company Of Heroes games, it's a must but. If you long for something to come close to the previous glory of Close Combat, then its a must buy. If you like challenging and engaging games, then it's a must buy

tons of fun! I love the complexity of it, with each unit having its own inventory and being able to pick up ammo and weapons from dead enemies. the tactics and everything are all wonderful. I only wish there were more single player campaigns. absolutely recommend. 9/10

As someone who’s a big fan of Men of War: Assault Squad 2, I can confidently say that Gates of Hell: Ostfront is a fantastic upgrade in nearly every way. Both games are phenomenal in their own right, so I don’t want it to seem like I’m downplaying MOWAS2, but this new installment brings a refreshing array of new features and improvements.

One of the standout elements of Gates of Hell is the variety of campaigns it offers. The single-player and co-op modes are both a blast, allowing for hours of strategic gameplay, whether you're tackling missions solo or teaming up with a few friends. The cooperative aspect in particular is where the game really shines—it's easy to get lost in the tactical depth and the team dynamics.

As for the multiplayer, I’ll admit I’m not much of a competitive player, so I can't speak much to the PvP side of things. I mostly enjoy jumping into private matches with friends and having fun without worrying too much about rankings. If you're into that casual, laid-back multiplayer experience, this game definitely delivers.

Overall, I picked up the entire game + DLC during a Spring Sale for just $30, and I can honestly say it’s been worth every penny. The gameplay is solid, the campaigns are engaging, and it’s an easy recommendation for fans of tactical strategy games.

used to be good. not really worth playing anymore. Conquest mode is always jacked so enemy gets late game arty/antitank while you struggle to even get 6 battles in.

the game doesnt seem to want to launch anymore. at first, it will just randomly crash and now i cant play it at all.

Best balance of fun/realism out of arguably any RTS out right now. Updates and mods will only make it better.

If your getting this game for multiplayer don't.

It requires that everyone in your friend group has a good connection AND a good computer with SSD.
So if anyone lacks either the game forces everyone to wait for the slowest person to catch up.

Additionally it lacks game modes for pvp and co-op is poorly optimised.

Only buy this game for singleplayer and when it goes on a deep discount

Good game, It scratches the MOW itch.

The audio and explosions are really good. I'm glad to see it is expanding beyond the east with the DLC. Love the details to each unit and how they sometimes change and have seasonal camo.

Critique about conquest:
No way to hide locked units, gotta scroll through all these units.
On defense maps if I manage to wipe the floor with the opposing force the game doesn't end until the timer runs out, not fun.

On the game: Cheaper DLC please, The pricing has gone up just in time to 'lower' it for a sale and it discourages purchase.

I love it when I micromanage so poorly I lose 90% of my troops, but clutch with just a flak cannon Blitz and a dream... Seriously though, this game is like alcohol for me, absolutely needed to enjoy the day. Only problem I've had is crashing when loading into a map (though it is probably a very easy fix, just haven't bothered lol).

This is the successor of Sudden Strike and Men of War Assault Squad 2! So realistic and amazing!

This game is absolutely awesome, especially if you can get it at an on sale price. Most realistic WW2 RTS games with the sort of depth seen in GoH are rather clunky and feel a tad lacking in production value. That's not the case here. The gameplay is solid and intuitive. The tutorials are excellent and they don't bombard you with information. After running through an hour or so of pretty slick and engaging tutorial content, you'll be commanding your forces without much trouble.

This isn't to say that the game isn't hard. Most of my time in the game so far has been spent trying to crack the first German mission where you need to break through Russian defenses. It took some trial and error, and some reloading of old saves, but it's a good way to get familiar with the game. Mission 2 scales things up in a big way, and I'm really impressed by the depth, spectacle, and smoothness of the game.

Yes, the AI can be a bit stupid, especially when you're in 3rd person control and the AI seems to just stand there with head poking up out of trench lines, but for the scope and scale of the game this can be forgiven. If you're into WW2 and RTS games, get this.

AVOID! This company went out of business and I was unable to complete the tutorial as the controls do not work.