Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand review - A solid twist on a WW2 classic, if a little thin on content

Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand is a standalone roguelite wave defence mode, and I've spent several hours with it over the last couple of days. It's a proper twist on Relic's iconic real-time strategy formula, and it gives hardcore fans of this WW2 series something genuinely different to sink their teeth into after they're done with the campaign and get sick of multiplayer.

I'll be upfront about where I'm coming from here. I haven't played Company of Heroes religiously since my high school days and the excellent Opposing Fronts standalone expansion, so I'm coming at Final Stand as someone who knows the bones of the series without being knee-deep in it recently.

Company of Heroes 3 Final Stand screenshots (PC, Max settings)

Difficulty and how the mode works

Final Stand comes with a proper spread of difficulty levels, from beginner-friendly Easy right up to the stuff of nightmares which is Expert difficulty, which I never managed to beat in my playthrough. I did survive all 12 waves on Normal, though that's still not the kind of challenge you're after in a mode like this, so anyone with even a bit of franchise experience should head straight for Hard or Expert. There's also Expert 1+, 2+ and 3+ that can be unlocked for the sort who genuinely enjoy hair-pulling difficulty spikes. Not for me, but fair play to anyone who takes that on. Worth noting that there's also an endless mode after you reach Wave 12. You can simply continue playing for as long as you want.

Structurally, it's exactly what you'd expect from a roguelite: you start a run, beat a wave, prepare for the next, take down a boss, then repeat until wave 12. Between runs, a perk menu lets you unlock permanent boosts, higher damage, better damage negation, faster units, more starting resources, that sort of thing. Once activated, those perks stay on for every run after, making you stronger, though there's an option to reset or switch them off entirely if you fancy a more hardcore experience.

You do want the whole thing to feel a bit overwhelming, to be fair. It's a horde mode. That's the point.

AltChar

Company of Heroes 3 - Final Stand

How it plays

In terms of actually playing it, Final Stand is a solid experience. You spend resources spawning units, and the whole thing hinges on getting your balance right to counter whatever the enemy throws at you next: tanks, infantry, mortars, sometimes even artillery and air strikes. Every so often you'll face a boss, a beefed-up, more unique version of the standard enemy with a serious health pool that takes real firepower to bring down. And after every Wave, you also choose either a bonus perk or a new unit to help you overcome the enemy. 

Depending on the difficulty, the game will show you where the enemy is coming from. There are basically three paths, and each of them leads to your HQ that you must defend at all costs. Sometimes, the enemy will have blitzkrieg attacks immediately after their last attack, which adds a bit of dynamic to the gameplay and breaks the usual flow.

Unit variety and factions

Where it disappointed me a bit was unit variety. You're working with two infantry units, and while the vehicle roster holds up reasonably well- transports, light tanks, heavy tanks- I found myself wanting more. I can't speak to how this compares to the base game's roster since I haven't played it, but within Final Stand specifically, it could do with some padding out.

That said, you're choosing from four factions here, US, Brits, and two Wehrmacht-aligned sides in the Wehrmacht proper and the Afrika Korps, each with their own unique units. That variety across factions softens the issue somewhat, unless you're the sort who sticks to one faction religiously. At that point, I think you'll start to feel repetitiveness fairly quickly.

Maps

The map count feels shallow too. There are five in total: Fall of Sousse, Gela Beachhead, Qattara Depression, The Alpine Wall and Torrente Ruins. Each one is tonally distinct, with its own biome and look, but five just isn't enough. I understand the devs had to build and tune entirely new maps for this mode specifically, but after five or six playthroughs, you're already starting to feel the repetition.

AltChar

While all the maps feel distinct, the quantity does seem a bit shallow

Visuals

Company of Heroes isn't an ugly game by any stretch. It's got charm and an art style that's instantly recognisable. But stack it up against recent strategy releases, Anno: Pax Romana, Frostpunk 2, the Total War series and its upcoming Warhammer 40,000 entry, Dawn of War 4, and Company of Heroes starts to show its age. It's most noticeable in the textures and the overall level of detail across the maps. Again, not ugly, not even mediocre, but as someone who cares about this stuff, I expected a bit more.

Is it worth buying?

This is a solid mode, but I'm not entirely sold on the $29.99 price point. It does get cheaper, 20% off for existing Company of Heroes 3 owners, and 10% off during launch week, which makes it a fair bit easier to swallow. At roughly $20 for people who already own the base game, that's a fair price for something that'll keep you engaged for several playthroughs, shortcomings and all. At full price, it's a tougher sell.