Company of Heroes Collection - Review
Way back in 2006 developer Relic Entertainment released the first entry in the Company of Heroes series, the game was awarded countless accolades for its incredible single player campaign and it's fantastic multiplayer. For 14 years the game was only ever available on PC, then in 2020 developer Feral Interactive brought the series to iPad OS and now a few years later the game and its two expansions have made its way to Switch. Is this a collection that should have you reporting for duty?
The main campaign story that you are given to play through, is set in 1944 and focuses on the Allies invasion of Normandy, against the Germans who had claimed the land as theirs and while D-Day certainly plays a part in the story, it is the opening mission after all, it is more about the skirmishes after the beach was taken. Following Able Company, you will move inland, taking towns back, capturing strategic points and taking the fight to the Germans as you find them, it is a similar story to what you have seen in almost every other WW2 game or movie, but it still holds up today. Between the missions, there some cutscenes that help tie the story together, but there is nothing to demanding in them, they just help connect it all back to the main narrative. As this is a port of the original game, the same story limits are present, being that you can only play as the Allies, but it is not something that feels restrictive. The expansion Opposing Fronts lets you take control of the Axis side of the war, which helps shake things up, while Tales of Valor throws in a mix from both sides.
When Feral Interactive brought the series to iPad, the biggest change was the fact that everything was done via touch interface, here the biggest change is that it's now done via a controller. This release actually marks the first time the original game in the series has hit a console, missing out as the series debut on console, by only a little bit as Company of Heroes 3 hit other consoles earlier this year. If anyone's coming across from the PC release or the iPad release, the new controls we'll take some time to acclimatise to, however by the time you've successfully defended Carentan, they should be second nature. The bulk of the actions are done by moving the reticule on screen over the appropriate group of soldiers, and then tapping A selects them. Once the squad or squads are selected you can then move the cursor away to give them directions on where to go, specific enemies to target, or pulling in the ZR button will bring up the radial wheel and this is the biggest change.
The radial wheel is where all your commands are situated, with the squad selected you can advise them to build barricades, erect structures over supply points, or get out of the building if they're inside. When you've selected a command post the radial wheel provides you with resupply options for soldiers, fortifications and so on. The wheel isn't just a way of accessing what would be on the number bar from the keyboard, it also acts as your unit command quick select. When the wheel is open you can use the D pad to quickly cycle through available units, perfect if you have them scattered across the map. Holding down L with it open will let you upgrade units and reinforce structures, both very welcome changes if you want to dig in for a battle. The wheel does take some getting used to, especially as there are some sub-wheels within some options, but again it should only take a few missions before you are able to quickly select what you need.
Thankfully the game has one of the best additions from Company of Heroes 3 included, the pause option. Now pausing a game is nothing new I hear you say and that is accurate, but here it’s a little different as there are two pause menus. The main pause menu lets you save your progress, modify options and all that usual game stuff, the second pauses the action. While the action is paused, you can go around and provide commands to your soldiers, directing them to take up positions, laydown fortifications or retreat to cover. I wasn’t able to find a limit on the number of orders that I could give, but once you have finished with the orders, resuming the game will see them carried out. This addition when it hit Company of Heroes 3, made the series far more approachable for gamers who may not be as fast or decisive and seeing it come to the original game, is a very welcome inclusion.
Perhaps the weakest part of the collection is the presentation and performance, not because its bad, but rather its quite old. As I said at the start the game is now 17 years old, so the animations and overall visual style is of its time and most of it still holds up today. The game still features its fully destructible environment and in some skirmish battles, you will see the world deform, which will impact options. There are nicer textures during gameplay than what the original released with; of course more recent mods have made the PC game look even better. Where things fall apart are in the cutscenes, the lack of detail in them, the faces of characters and texture quality is very low and the lack of shadows doesn’t help. None of this is an issue that Feral Interactive have created, only inherited, but thankfully its only in those moments. When you are playing the game, sending squads into battle and dealing with lots of enemies on screen, the game runs very nicely. While some folks may be put down by the 30fps cap, given the game is quite slow normally, given its tactical nature, I felt it played out very well.
Sound design wise, the game sounds great and even in handheld mode, ensuring that battles come through nice and clear. The voice work does repeat a bit much, but again that is a legacy issue and not one to this version of the game. While the game sounds fine in handheld, I found that headphones often provided a better experience than the base Switch speakers, but it also sounded incredible when connected to my home sound system.
The Company of Heroes Collection has brought one of the best real-time strategy games to Switch with near flawless work. The games inclusion of the radial wheel for commands does take some getting used to, but once you have it down, you will be issuing commands like a real general. The multiplayer mode being absent for now is not a big issue, as there is plenty of single player content to enjoy, but when it comes, it will make the entire package that much sweeter. If you are a fan of the series, this is a great version of the original game and if you are a newcomer to the series, it’s a great place to start.
The Score
9.0
Review code provided by Feral Interactive
The Pros
+The radial wheel and tactical pause mode, makes the game very more open to new players
+The included expansions means there is so much content to enjoy and skirmish mode enhances that even more
The Cons
-There are visual weirdness with the games cutscenes, mostly due to how old the game is, but some of them are quite jarring
-The lack of multiplayer (for now) is a bit of a letdown
