| Genre | Strategy |
| Publisher | |
| Publisher in Russia | |
| developer | |
| Minimum requirements | Intel Core i5-4460 3,4 GHz / AMD Ryzen 3 1200 3,1 GHz, 8 GB RAM, DirectX 11 graphics card, 4 GB memory such as NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 / AMD Radeon R9 380, 30 GB storage, Internet connection, Windows 10 operating system |
| Recommended Requirements | Processor Intel Core i7-8700k 3,7GHz / AMD Ryzen 7 1800X 3,6GHz, 16GB RAM, DirectX 12 graphics card, 6GB memory such as NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 / AMD Radeon RX 5700 |
| Release date | 1 September 2020 years |
| Age requirement | from 16 years |
| Platforms | PC, Xbox One, PS4 |
Played on PC
It is the twentieth year of the twentieth century of an alternative historical reality. The development of mankind has reached industrial wonders, embodied in diesel mechanical giants and incredible examples of electric weapons, but not to the prevailing ideas of humanism and constructive international dialogue. And therefore, quite naturally, the world of Iron Harvest is suffocating in the smoke of incessant wars. A terrible picture of non-stop mutual destruction is interrupted by a decrepit truce. But even this is not a hindrance to local conflicts, which are about to flare up into a new large-scale war...
Life for the Tsar (Kaiser, Motherland)!
The extraordinary surroundings of dieselpunk (with moderate inclusions of Teslapunk), acting as an atmospheric context for the clash of world ways, ideally stood up to the principles of classic real-time strategy. An experienced RTS commander will not have to re-learn military craft - the basics of Iron Harvest are familiar and familiar: construction, exploration, mining, maneuvers. And some factional nuances...
Three global forces are involved in the conflicts on the fields of the Iron Harvest: Saxony with recognizable features of the German Empire; Rusvet, embodying an alternative Russian empire; Polania, reminiscent of isolated Poland, whose lands are constantly encroached on by neighbors. The general tactical algorithm of all factions is more or less similar: each has a certain set of combat measures and countermeasures with a slight advantage in one or another strategic idea. The buildings are the same for everyone, and the infantry, for example, for some, for others, for others, is represented by an identical set of engineers, shooters (except that Saxony has an improved version of them - attack aircraft), grenadiers, flamethrowers and armor-piercing units.
But tangible differences are present among infantrymen in exoskeletons - an intermediate force between ordinary employees and mecha giants! Take the Rusvete armed forces: in this category they have at their disposal powerful melee fighters, whose blades cope with both simple soldier's tunics and the reinforced iron plating of mechanized giants with almost the same efficiency. The Saxons boast devastating ramming units and extremely long-range mortars at the ready. And at Polania, iron-framed troops carry heavy weapons of devastating defeat - appropriate in most skirmishes.
Much more tangible factional differences in a completely different weight class, where the key features of the factions can be traced in the lineup of giants of the industrial revolution. Polania, being at the junction of warring highly developed powers, gained access to advanced technologies. But the Polanian mechs look handicraft, their power is modest, and in terms of size they are noticeably inferior to the diesel giants of the opponents, but they are mobile and well suited to the partisan way of warfare.
The huge monstrous mechanisms of Rusvet reflect imperial appetites and immeasurable industrial strength, expressed, for example, in the gigantic weapons complex "Gulyai-gorod" (the name, no doubt, speaks volumes). The Saxons, having no less technical potential, rely on effective artillery and long-range tactics. They also have ingenious combat units at their disposal, such as the MWF 28 "Stiefmutter", capable of releasing homing kolobok charges. But the main feature of Saxon cars is that they look the most aesthetically pleasing!
Salt of War
It may seem that when such colossus converge in battle, the participation of the infantry is completely pointless. But that was not the case: without ordinary soldiers it will not be possible to capture resource and control points, without them it will be difficult to conduct reconnaissance. Yes, and armor-piercing squads, with proper command, are able to destroy single mechanical monsters, and a squad of engineers will fix the allied giants.
The key participants in hostilities are heroes who can not only change the course of the battle by helping the troops, but sometimes even win small battles alone. Each side is allocated three of these characters, divided among themselves into three classes, like regular units: light infantry, heavy diesel fighters, and an intermediate medium variant. According to subjective feelings, Rusvet got the most powerful heroes - what is Lev Zubov worth in a huge fur, full face similar to a frightening cruiser and restoring his health by causing damage (and he does a lot of damage).
Among Polan's heroes, the partisan Anna Kos is very strong, armed with a sniper rifle, with which she can easily destroy soldiers, cars, and buildings. And a tame bear named Wojtek helps her keep a comfortable distance with the enemy. The Saxons, on the other hand, surprised with Brunnhilde, a huge, clumsy walker that clearly resembles an AT-AT from a galaxy far, far away.
The heroes bring a nice strategic variety to the game, and, speaking of the campaign, they are well-designed, have bright personalities and well-defined motivations. That is why it is worth starting your acquaintance with the Iron Harvest universe with a story that offers a solid variety of missions - from secret infiltration to a closed reception to escorting an armored train, as well as an action-packed plot!
Harsh twentieth year
Most of the story of Iron Harvest takes place in 1920 and is divided into three campaigns (according to the number of countries participating in the conflict), united by one through plot. The characters are constantly changing, and the story is gaining serious momentum: here the Polan partisan Anna Kos is fighting against the interventionists and trying to prevent unnecessary bloodshed, and here we are already in St. Petersburg, the capital of Rusvet, where, in the role of intelligence agent Olga Morozova, we are trying to uncover and disrupt the plans of the mysterious Fenris organization, while simultaneously moving towards the secret technogenic city of Nikola Tesla. The third act, dedicated to Gunther von Duisburg, a retired Saxon commander, suddenly slows down the pace of the epic, moving on to reminiscences about the past war, soul-searching and torment of an old soldier. Then - a small epic about how he ended up where he ended up (to avoid spoilers, we will do without details), and now the grand finale gets nothing at all.
But as it soon turns out, the developers decided not to put an end to history, keeping almost all storylines suspended. Having ended the Iron Harvest campaign where the main action should have begun, and having created an obvious reserve for continuation in additions, KING Art, alas, deprived the main story of independence. I would like to hope that the ending of at least a level is prepared in the scenario bins. .
And there are reasons to think so: that part of the plot that was included in the main game is executed perfectly and touches on important painful topics of humanity. Iron Harvest does not try to romanticize the war and avoids militaristic bravado, focusing on its tragedy. In each chapter of the story, the authors emphasize that the clash of civilizations is a hell in which the concepts of humanity disappear, the lines between the permissible and the unthinkable are erased (the episode with the combat use of gas is a vivid example of this), and ordinary people suffer from all this first of all. Many characters in history are ambiguous: there is a staunch idealist who is ready to sacrifice civilians in the name of the “great good”; the other is ready to make an alliance with a hated enemy in order to achieve a goal; and someone, disappointed in their fundamental values, nevertheless finds the strength to fight for what is really important, stepping on the throat of their own prejudices. And the main moral: one must live for ideals, not die!
***
Iron Harvest is clearly at the beginning of its journey: in addition to continuing the main story, the developers from KING Art are obviously preparing to introduce other countries and new conflicts. The game casually mentions both wars on other continents (on the American ones, for example, there is a campaign to seize Mexico by its northern neighbor), and other geopolitical players like the Shogunate, the Franks, Albion and others. With them, air and sea combat units, new modes and much more will surely appear. Even so, Iron Harvest is a great strategy!
Advantages:
- deep story with beautifully written characters;
- fresh and unusual surroundings;
- excellent embodiment and development of classic strategic mechanics;
- giant diesel giants in battle are a clear advantage.
Disadvantages:
- engine Unity is not always ready for the scale of events - during particularly intense battle scenes, the frame rate sags noticeably;
- the network part of Iron Harvest is still unfinished.
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Graphics |
The world of Iron Harvest is excellently executed: cities, farms, forests and fields are colorful and perfectly convey the mood of Eastern Europe. Combat units are drawn in detail and impressively. But the facial animation in the cut-scenes does not reach the general level of quality. |
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Sound |
The roar of explosions, the heavy steps of diesel mechs, the shots of artillery and simple rifles - the noise of war is conveyed atmospherically. Yes, and solemnly militaristic musical themes are good for the entourage of the game. |
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Single player game |
Iron Harvest offers not the most extensive, but still entertaining set of strategic challenges: a campaign with diverse missions, battles in 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3 formats, as well as challenges. |
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Collective game |
So far, it will be possible to play a quick game (there were no problems with finding matches after the release), but the announced rating matches and the cooperative mode, unfortunately, have not been presented yet. The developers promise additional information about them in the near future. |
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Overall Impression |
A unique setting, an excellent strategic component, a strong story and a colossal, like "Walk City" potential make Iron Harvest one of the most worthy representatives of the genre in recent years. |
Rating: 9,0/10
Source: 3dnews.ru