Combat Mission: Final Blitzkrieg
Combat Mission: Final Blitzkrieg
Game
Game2023
Combat Mission: Red Thunder
Developer Battlefront
Combat Mission Red Thunder focuses on the hard fought Eastern Front battles of Bagration and Poland, from the swamps of Belarus to the gates of Warsaw during the summer of 1944. From the Steam store page
125 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Nov 3, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
82
LovedLoved
84 positive · 18 negative
95% range 74–89%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 84 | 18 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 7 | 1 | 14 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
91 of 111 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
83% recommend · 85 yes, 17 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 102 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (122 of 152 positive).
Players praise the game's deep tactical simulation and authentic Eastern Front setting. [1][2][3] Many note the outdated graphics and engine performance issues. [4][5][6] Some criticize the high price and lack of engine updates. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
Like all the rest of the Combat series of games, this is a great addition to the series. HOWEVER, it's time to update the engine guys, it runs like ass and while, we pretty much all enjoy the game, there's no excuse for producing 9 out of 10 games on (What the development team calls new) an Engine that has the same piss poor performance with ZERO updates... Great series, horrendous business practices.
- [1]
Initially turned off by the outdated graphics and complicated UI and controls, I was pushed away from the combat mission franchise. Then a sale came about. I bought the complete edition of CMSF2, CMBS and now Combat Mission: Red Thunder directly at launch without hesitation. I learned the incredible depth of the mechanics and systems of the game, developed an appreciation for the skill level required to command …
- [6]
Combat mission red thunder ... Gonna keep it simple ... its combat mission on the eastern front 44 to 45, if you know what that means than yes its a combat mission game which means outdated but yet charming graphics, deeply tactical and rewarding game play and yes the engine is about 20 years old and can run like a dustbin falling down a set of spiral stairs. but its combat mission so you know its gonna be a fun …
- [2]
Combat Mission: Red Thunder is a demanding and deeply authentic tactical wargame developed by Battlefront and published by Matrix Games that focuses on the ferocious late-war fighting on the Eastern Front during 1944. Centered on the massive Soviet offensives that shattered German lines in Belarus and pushed toward Poland, the game captures a phase of World War II defined by large-scale armored clashes, relentless …
- [3]
A great game if you want to reproduce the scale and distances of company to battalion level tactical combat on the Eastern front in World War II. Fairly deep game mechanics allow for multiple, overlapping factors to effect combat, an example ; tank crews can panic and bail out of their vehicles only to be ordered back in after a couple of game turns. A very serviceable physics model reproduces ballistics and damage, …
Summarised from 34 of the 124 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Combat Mission: Red Thunder talk about deep tactical gameplay and realistic combat simulation; those who didn't talk about outdated graphics and poor performance. Which matters more to you?
Reactions
60 of 125 · most liked firstReview by [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34633003-Gaming-Masterpieces/lists/] Gaming Masterpieces - The greatest games of all time on Steam. Is this game a masterpiece? No, but it is still not to be missed if you enjoy the genre. It is yet another game that was actually released many years ago, but is only now appearing on Steam. Red Thunder was released back in 2014, and to be honest, the engine behind it was already out of date at that time. It is already the umpteenth part…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Like all the rest of the Combat series of games, this is a great addition to the series. HOWEVER, it's time to update the engine guys, it runs like ass and while, we pretty much all enjoy the game, there's no excuse for producing 9 out of 10 games on (What the development team calls new) an Engine that has the same piss poor performance with ZERO updates... Great series, horrendous business practices.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →NO, Combat mission is not worth $80. There is no universe in which this ancient piece of software that is held together with scotch tape and prayers is worth a AAA premium price. MAYBE $15 to $30 at most. The price isn't even the worst of it though..... If you plan on playing Multiplayer, I can't in good faith recommend Combat Mission (any game in the series) given how TCP/IP Multiplayer is STILL undermined by game breaking bugs (chiefly weapons teams losing their deployables) that have been…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Terrible game with an elitist fanbase. They ban people with constructive criticism of which there cannot be enough of from their forums. Antiquated play by email multiplayer with a jank real-time option in which all the flaws of this game only get exponentially worse. Units will have their weapons deleted. Deploy-able weapons systems will be unable to deploy ~70% of the time. The worst mechanic of this game is the line of sight. Units will not see a tank 100 meters in front of them yet see…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is primarily a strategy simulator that offers a unique gameplay experience. However, it is worth noting that the graphics are quite outdated. Despite this drawback, the game stands out, particularly due to its engaging player versus player (PvP) mode. I am thrilled that the game has been released on Steam. Nevertheless, it is important for the publishers and developers to recognize that the current pricing may deter many potential players. In addition to implementing a more affordable…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Initially turned off by the outdated graphics and complicated UI and controls, I was pushed away from the combat mission franchise. Then a sale came about. I bought the complete edition of CMSF2, CMBS and now Combat Mission: Red Thunder directly at launch without hesitation. I learned the incredible depth of the mechanics and systems of the game, developed an appreciation for the skill level required to command battalion level tactical operations, and the satisfaction that is gained from…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is still a lot of fun and has hundreds of hours of content. The graphics and Performance are not up to modern standards but overall this remains a strong recommendation especially if you like large tank battles. Check out the Full Review here https://youtu.be/_vKtonjCOOk Pro's +Huge amount of content +Massive Tank battles on the Eastern Front in WW2 +Intense game play that can be played in real time or turn based Con's -High price of entry -Outdated graphics and engine
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Something I respect about Combat Mission is that as a series, its motto has always been "okay we'll make a game but we refuse to make it fun"
negative · AI labelView post →The games engine runs like **** but man I love these games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →CM:RT lets you play as either the Red Army or fascist Germany during the Operation Bagration in the Summer of 1944, which was perhaps the most important campaign of the last phase of the Great Patriotic War. The campaign, which resulted in the wholesale destruction of the German Heeresgruppe Mitte with the masterful strokes of commanders such as Rokossovsky, Zakharov, Bagramyan etc., was one of the highest points of the Soviet Art of War: the deep operations and deep battle (see David Glantz…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →$60 for the same game over and over is just ridiculous.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dont buy if you have an AMD GPU Im serious about this, not ranting or seething or other type of cope It will run like ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ & it will randomly crash I can only play tiny, small & medium scenarios which is a pitty Every scenario which is bigger than "Medium" will definitely CTD your game without any warning The unit spotting & Tank accuracy at lower distances is horrendous: Ive had 2 stationary Panthers with joint fire sectors having trouble to take out 1 T-34 150-200m away Both of them…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love Red Thunder and combat mission in general, but my god the Red Army was not represented well here at all, in comparison to the Germans. Unfortunately like most eastern-front focused games, the majority of historical research into TO&E's, unit appearances, and attention to detail clearly went to the Germans. The Germans have 6 campaigns while the soviets have 3 (not including the soviet tutorial campaign). The Scenarios/battles are pretty evenly split between scenarios designed for play as…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dont buy this game, an over priced over praised crap. The unit scouting system is nonsense, 5 tanks cant see an enemy tank in front of them of like 10 meters away. Buy Graviteam instead it is much better. I gave Combat Mission so much chance so much time, but the spotting system in this game is pure nonsense in any of its series. You will not convince me that a 44 tonnage tank can dissapear in a flat field in front of like 5 tanks and then noscope your tanks in few seconds. The game would be…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I haven't played They Are Billions probably since the podcast we did on it, but this comfort game sweet spot is where Civilization and Dungeon Crawl and Classic Combat Mission sit for me. Something I do for 40 minutes to help time pass pleasantly. I have so many new games to play. I just...don't.
neutral · AI labelView post →Horrible. Absolutely horrible. The performance is catastrophic. It lags and has fps drops at every corner. Next problem is that your troops have to be organized at every single step. What buggers me the most is that units ignore that they are under fire, when you told them to move somewhere. Everything that isnt the "hunt" or "attack area/target" command just plainly ignores being attacked. I understand that it can be nice to have such complex controls, but some things should be handled by…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have purchased all of the Combat Mission games that are available on Steam. I have to say ShockForce 2 and this one are the best. I would give this one a slight edge as the amount of missions and massive amount of units and different tactics is incredible. The CM engine was basically made for this theatre. I can only imagine if a AAA studio made a similar game with a modern engine.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am not sure where they got those videos and screenshots on the store page from, but that is NOT what the game looked like for me. Absolutely horrible graphics. I'd rather go back to Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin, at least there I know why the game looks like it's 20 years old. Charging 60 $ at full price is absolutely ridicoulous. And to top it off, the in-game text is illegible. No way this game is from 2023. Asked for a refund and got it within 10 minutes. Seems I am not the only…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unimaginative campaign and mission design, challenge is reliant on maps stuffed with too many units to compensate for static AI that doesn't do anything contrary to the player's plans ever. Succeeding is a matter of savescumming your way through scenarios until you get the result you need to progress and moving on from there.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is great and you can really feel the ambiance and complexity of it ONLY on small maps. I have a Ryzen 5 3600 at 3.59GHz, 16Go of Ram and a 5600 XT and i CAN'T play any of the huge maps without a crash in the first 30 secs and can barrely handle the medium size map as it is laggy at best with every option on the lowest setting possible... Definitly would not recommend it for more than 10€. EDIT : so it seems that the franchise has a long time running issues with AMD GPU and it doesn't…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Combat Mission is the best!! Try the demo before you buy :) the game is not without it's quirks and flaws. https://www.battlefront.com/red-thunder/cmrt-base-game/?tab=demo FYI: there have been problems with newer drivers for the AMD GPU's. https://community.battlefront.com/topic/141554-amd-228-series-breaks-game-again/
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Combat mission red thunder ... Gonna keep it simple ... its combat mission on the eastern front 44 to 45, if you know what that means than yes its a combat mission game which means outdated but yet charming graphics, deeply tactical and rewarding game play and yes the engine is about 20 years old and can run like a dustbin falling down a set of spiral stairs. but its combat mission so you know its gonna be a fun ride from start to finish, plus you finally get to recreate those epic tank…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Killing nazis sim.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"No I want a game that is ACCURATE and REALISTIC" says a person who would never touch the Combat Mission series with a ten foot pole
neutral · AI labelView post →It's Combat Mission - you hopefully know what you are getting: a pretty janky wargame built on a 20 year old game engine. It's still the only thing that does what it does. Red Thunder is the version of Combat Mission that covers the Eastern Front of WW2 and if you are only going to buy one of these games this is the one I would buy - it's set in 1944 so you get all the big toys to play with but this is also an interesting period where the 'elite' Germany army is falling apart and the Soviet…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overpricced,runs on an old engine and its a ♥♥♥♥ game,not to mention the fact that they released a dlc that only works if you buy another one (which is 35$) and did not mention it anywhere. I strongly suggest you stay away from any of their games too
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Had it ever since it first came out. Best tactical level representation of the summer of '44 out there. The settings to avoid are shadows (control-W) and you need to set the 3D model quality setting to the fastset (affects drawing distance of grass/vegetation) and all the complaints about the game being a slideshow experience will be moot while the drama and historicity that the game offers will be out of the roof. Get it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Combat Mission: Red Thunder is a demanding and deeply authentic tactical wargame developed by Battlefront and published by Matrix Games that focuses on the ferocious late-war fighting on the Eastern Front during 1944. Centered on the massive Soviet offensives that shattered German lines in Belarus and pushed toward Poland, the game captures a phase of World War II defined by large-scale armored clashes, relentless infantry assaults, and rapidly shifting front lines. Rather than presenting a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →graphics are outdated, controls and ui are pretty poor but no other game can do what CM does
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing game, especially with multiplayer.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Typical Combat mission game with all its strentghs and weaknesses. Eastern Front Scenario is fun; i personally like the red army in terms of tactics and armor. Battles tend to be big, even medium ones can be quite big, but maybe thats subjective. Pathfinding is gruesome as always. Units tend to pile up und block roads. you have to micromanage almost every move, and even then it sometimes dont work out like you think it would. Red Thunder lacks quality of life Features. Checking line of sight…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Our final #Mastertronic game review for the week is UCM - Ultimate Combat Mission for the #ZXSpectrum mastertronic.co.uk/game-review-... #Spectrum #retrogaming #retrogames #8bit
neutral · AI labelView post →Is an absolute gem for tactical warfare fans!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A great game if you want to reproduce the scale and distances of company to battalion level tactical combat on the Eastern front in World War II. Fairly deep game mechanics allow for multiple, overlapping factors to effect combat, an example ; tank crews can panic and bail out of their vehicles only to be ordered back in after a couple of game turns. A very serviceable physics model reproduces ballistics and damage, one example : nearby infantry can be injured by spalling from non-penetrating…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →very detailed game. you need good tactics to do well.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Actual playtime is significantly higher since I have had this for several years before it finally came to Steam. This game is fantastic.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PBEM with a friend from the other side of the world. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very good so far, better then what I thought it would be, It is a great authentic WW2 experience and a lot less stressful to use compared to previous titles, Helmets go flying off soldiers heads when shot, very enjoyable experience, to see what your actions result in not to mention all the different explosive effects and enemy troops who surrender, this combat mission is an improvement on previous titles.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Combate mission is the best strategy modern wargame in a tactical level ever created.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"WE NEED MILITARY!!!" go play Steel Division or pick up a Combat Mission game
neutral · AI labelView post →There are popular video games with variably delayed orders, like the tactical game Combat Mission
neutral · AI labelView post →I have and love every game in the Combat Mission Series. BUT -- truth be told, after a while, every game begins to feels like the exact same game, and it gets boring, honestly. I could not even bring myself to buy the one DLC I don't have. There is no need to reinvent a genius game, but CM is slowly beginning to pale in comparison to its competitors, especially in regards to the audio and "fun to play" factor, which immerses you in the game (or not). The new game The Troop is not nearly as…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have an AMD Graphics card and it seems that apparently a 3 year old issue with drivers still exists making the game virtually unplayable limiting the size of the battles you can play even if your PC has good specs.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic Game. The historical accuracy is what got me hooked. The level of detail is really incredible. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in military history. This goes for all the WW2 titles.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Combat Mission series is the best of its kind.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's still the same Combat Mission we know and love
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is trash and functions more like malware than anything else. -10/10 would pay to avoid. Forced to suffer through it by my school.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A very detailed war strategy game that will keep you entertained for a long time. This game has many improvements over the original Combat Mission games. No arcade type gaming here. You have to actually think out your plan of attack to be victorious in battle. I highly recommend this game if you like immersive game play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game. Highly recommended.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good, well executed tactical game covering the Russian front from high summer 44 to autumn 44.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Old but gold! Still one of the best game ever made with realism in mind! I have not played any games since that can match the realism and immersion as CMRT or the combat mission franchise as a whole. They are working on CM3 already as the engine has it limitations! Keep an eye out for that. Fantastic community and has a lot of fantastic mods. Go check a few good men forum. Worth it for anyone who loves ww2 realism and immersion. Make sure to double check which graphic card you are running…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →FANTASTIC game! Just brilliant! (I also have had the whole Combat Mission WWII series work with zero problems on a brand new gaming pc--so I have no idea why anyone else is having tech issues.) Anyhow, I played the original CM series (Barbarossa to Berlin and Beyond Overlord) quite a bit some 15-20 years ago. This series has far surpassed it in terms of realism and especially unit control and combat feedback. These games work by far the best in the hybrid turn based system rather than…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →22-30 fps with my RTX 4070ti :) Looks bad, tutorial doesn't even trying to show or explain anything.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Can somebody design a emulator on modern PCs so we can play these old goldies without crashs every minute. What a waste of good game like this.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →All of the CM games are in a league of their own. The only other game that is slightly comparable (that I've played) are the graviteam games (Mius Front, etc.). Sure the game runs on an outdated engine and there are quality of life changes that could use an update... but even with it's faults it's probably the game series that I come back and play the most. I've played CMFI, CMBFN & CMFB- they are all unique and great games and all do a great job of capturing the tactical aspect of war from a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Combat Mission, in the eastern front, late war. Fantastic as always. People moan about the graphics but I think overall the landscapes and units have a certain charm to them, esp if you get the camera just right while everything is kicking off. I do wish the FX were a little better though, the arty explosions, tracer, flames. Just a tweak here and there to get them a bit better. That is all I would change.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's one of the few tactical wargames that has a big number of scenarios and campaigns centered in the Eastern Front in 1945. Graviteam only cover the first half of 1944 so enjoy this Combat Mission because it is something truly unique. I find the control scheme pretty modern (for a Combat Mission) as it allows the regulaw WASD and the performance is not as atrocious as I expected given the reviews of the other games of the series. It is worth it, with all the expansions
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →7. Combat Mission II: Barbarossa to Berlin This, and other Combat Mission games were like an ultimate war game from me in many respects. While not real-time per se (it's WEGO with turn resolutions in real time), their marketing made a lot of how it gets you to stop thinking about game mechanics and
positive · AI labelView post →Red thunder is a fantastic game, it is among my favorite in the series. The campaigns and scenarios provide hours of fun and if you find people to play on the active discord channel this one really shines. Can not recommend it enough. 5/5
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →THis game is very realistic in that the soldiers act like they would in real life.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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