I would have squads firing from behind cover at enemies that would just stand out in the open, returning shots to no avail. By the time they were ready, I needed something different from them. I found myself, at times, clicking on a unit to offer a command, and then watched them take a few moments to execute it. I often wished, however, that my forces would respond with the haste necessary to complete their tasks. Witnessing the real-time physics in action is incredibly satisfying. Whereas some strategy games have you order commands, wait to see what the outcome is, and then shuffle your forces around, Iron Harvest offers no such reprieve, making it a refreshing entry in the genre. There is always something to do, and you will constantly be reacting to the turning tides of battles.
Adding mechs to the fight that can obliterate that cover in a matter of seconds makes for an incredibly active RTS.
Iron Harvest emphasizes taking cover and flanking the enemy, something only a few other games in the genre concern themselves with.
Gameplay is deep but difficult to master Provided by Deep Silver Playing the game is like watching one of Rozalski’s works come to life, which is a visual delight, as variations of brown are contrasted with the bright orange of exploding rockets or the deep blues of the Polanian riflemen’s uniform. The aesthetics of the game are inspired by Polish artist Jakub Rozalski and his 1920+ collection of paintings. It’s incredibly satisfying to target enemies with a mech and watch it charge through a warehouse, a pile of bricks left in its wake. What makes the world even more fun to inhabit is how destructible it is. The graphics in the cutscenes leave a lot to be desired, but when the game pulls the camera out for gameplay, the world really comes together with some of the missing details getting lost in the broader, well-realized level design. This and stiff animations during cutscenes made me wish the developers had a slightly bigger budget to work with to iron out some of the kinks and provide a more polished presentation. Unfortunately, some of the voice acting from side characters and NPCs is far weaker, compromising the immersion somewhat. While the beats of the story can sometimes be seen coming from a mile away, strong performances from the core cast help sell the narrative. It’s an emotional tale of loss, duty, and sacrifice that meshes surprisingly well with some of the more zany elements of the game, such as the comically villainous Lev Zubov, leader of the opposing Rusviet forces. While the game draws you in with its giant, lumbering mechs, it is the surprisingly personal story at the heart of the campaign that will keep you playing, along with an excellent visual design. Anna and her pet bear, Wojtek, get caught up in the aftermath of the crisis, which, like real-world history, stokes the flames for a second, even more devastating conflict. What was meant to be a short engagement ends up spanning years, and the wreckage of mechanical war machines eventually litters the land, creating the titular iron harvest. At a very young age, her brother leaves her village to fight in the Great War. Iron Harvest features these conflicts, but at the heart of its story is Anna Kos, a young citizen of the fictional eastern European nation of Polania. Real-time strategy games are all about controlling multiple units at a time in large-scale conflicts, so the campaigns included in these games typically work on a macro level, and are concerned with telling the big picture of the combative forces. Still, its steep learning curve might be off-putting to new players of strategy games, and its rather limited selection of content could turn away RTS veterans. With a variety of ways to tackle the various conflicts, Iron Harvest is an enjoyable RTS. Iron Harvest is a real-time strategy game that takes place in an alternate history of early 20th century Europe, where the wildest creations of steampunk were a reality.