Headquarters: World War II

Headquarters: World War II is a turn-based strategy game set during World War II. The game was developed by Starni Games, known for Panzer Strategy and Strategic Mind: Blitzkrieg, and published by Slitherine.

Plot

The authors did not try to reproduce the entire World War II. Instead, Headquarters: World War II focuses exclusively on The Battle of Normandy, the battles that took place between the legendary landing on the beaches on June 6, 1944 and the liberation of Paris on August 25 of the same year.

Game mechanics

Headquarters: World War II is a turn-based strategy game that focuses on the battle aspect. The game approaches its subject matter quite realistically. Armored units have different armor strength at the front, rear and sides, so their positioning plays a key role during battles.

Achieving success requires exploiting the advantage that the map's terrain can provide. Different terrain types offer unique bonuses and affect visibility. The battlefields are full of different types of obstacles (including the wreckage of destroyed vehicles), which can provide protection against attacks. Moreover, from higher positions we can fire on enemy units more effectively and detect their movements more easily.

Another attraction is the mechanics of building destruction. Destroying each of them is divided into several phases, and each of them offers different challenges and tactical possibilities. Players can also upgrade units and use special command abilities, which can significantly change the situation on the battlefield.

Game modes

Headquarters: World War II offers both single player and multiplayer modes. Within the first of them we can play solo battles against AI in different scenarios or check ourselves in three campaigns - one for the German, British and American forces. Each of them consists of three operations.

Meanwhile, multiplayer allows one-on-one or two-on-two skirmishes. An additional advantage is the level editor, which lets you create your own scenarios, both for battles against AI and for multiplayer battles.

Technical aspects

The game features attractive 3D graphics built on Unreal Engine 4. The authors put a lot of effort in faithfully reproducing units and locations, as well as in preparing a realistic physics engine, which also affects gameplay.