Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty

Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty is the fifth installment in a series of WW2 strategy games, originating from 2019 with Strategic Mind: The Pacific. It was developed by Starni Games and published by Hyperstrange.

Plot

Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty is set in WW2-times Finland. The game's extensive story campaign tells the story of three conflicts: the Winter War (1939-1940) and the Continuation War (1941-1944), during which Finland fought off the numerically and technologically superior Soviet Union, as well as the Lapland War (1944-1945) between Finland and Germany. The game features historical figures, such as Simo Häyhä, the deadliest sniper in history with 542 confirmed kills.

The game also features a second campaign set in an alternate history, during which Finland helped Germany occupy Leningrad and Murmask, cutting off the USSR from Allied supplies.

Mechanics

Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty is turn-based, the game taking place on a hexagonal grid. We play as the Finnish forces, leading them to victory at all costs. The enemies mostly have a significant numerical and technological advantage over us, so we must be cunning and think tactically to prevail.

We must take advantage of the terrain, time of day and the weather, which provide bonuses or penalties to specific units. For example, tanks are near helpless in narrow city streets, infantry can hide in forests and ambush enemies, swamps and river slow down all units, while during the night we can sneak up on our enemies.

We must also provide our men with fitting equipment; rifles, mortars, smoke grenades, Molotov coctails and winter gear to move through thick snow. The way we handle enemies also matters; though killing them will take them out of the equation, often it's better to wound them and force them to surrender.

To succeed, we also need to pay attention to our units' strengths and weaknesses.In addition to infantry, we'll get to use many vehicles, machines and heavy equipment: artillery, tanks, assault, anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, fighters, bombers and recon units. These include British Vickers tanks and Bristol Belnheim bombers, Dutch Fokker and American Buffalo fighters. We can also capture Soviet equipment, like the BT-7, T-34 and KV tanks, and purchase gear from Germany, such as the Pz-IV tanks, StuG guns and Ju-88 bombers. Specific units only become available at historically justified times.

Keeping in mind all of that, we still can't win without handling the infrastructure and supply lines. All units require ammunition, fuel or both, and we must build supply centers and redistribution points to distribute our resources across the map. These facilities can be destroyed, but so can hostile airports, harbors and warehouses, which prevents them from resupplying.

Between each operation we must spend time at our HQ. Developing it grants special passive and active skills, such as letting artillery fire twice per turn or calling in for aerial recon. Apart from that, we can consult our officers and ask for their opinions on what we should do.

Technical aspects

Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty features decent visuals. The graphics are colorful and easily understandable.