Men of War 2 review

What is it? Rock hard real-time strategy

Release date May 15, 2024

Developer Best Way

Publisher Fulqrum Publishing

Reviewed on AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, 32 GB RAM

Steam Deck Unsupported

Link: Official site

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Men of War 2 layers in new deck-building elements and some shiny graphics alongside a wedge of singleplayer and multiplayer options but, beyond that, this sequel is the same as the franchise ever was: brutal, shocking violence that can see scores of your forces wiped out in an instant.  

This is what Men of War 2 does best. No other strategy game in this recent real-time strategy resurgence can deliver moments quite like it: a single soldier on a mounted machine gun holding off a hundred enemy infantry, a lucky artillery shell wiping out a terrifying enemy tank, or a brave paratrooper demolishing your opponent's defences by crawling up to a defensive line with a satchel full of explosives. 

These moments will leave you feeling elated, and crafting a dynamic sandbox in which they can happen is a massive achievement. Original developers BestWay, returning for their first entry into the series since 2008’s Men of War, show a deft eye for creating drama out of what could be meaningless death.

Combat in Men of War 2 feels mechanically deep and incredibly satisfying when you get it right. Instead of the traditional rock, paper, scissors style balancing found in many RTS games, Men of War 2 is even simpler. Bullets will kill most infantry without issue, bigger bullets—say from an anti-aircraft gun or vehicle mounted cannon—will shred light armour, and explosions will kill basically anything if you hit it right, whether that’s a Panther tank or a squad of riflemen hiding in a barn.

Direct control returns and allows you to take command of a unit and tool them around yourself. There’s a real joy to taking your own shots as a sniper or going hands on with your anti-tank gun to wang a round into the tracks